Shopify or WooCommerce? Which Shop Actually Drives More Revenue for Your SMB in 2026

Shopify or WooCommerce — almost everyone setting up an online shop faces this question. Both systems work, but for very different setups. Deciding without comparing means either paying too much in license fees or fighting years of technical maintenance.

Shopify

• →Strengths: ready to use, hosted, large app catalog, very stable.
• →Weaknesses: monthly fees plus transaction fees on external payment, design constrained by themes.
• →Cost: from $29/month, realistically $80–200/month with apps and theme.
• →Ideal for: dropshipping, fast market entry, simple B2C shops.

WooCommerce

• →Strengths: free, maximum flexibility, own data, no vendor lock-in.
• →Weaknesses: WordPress maintenance required, performance depends on hosting and plugins, security risks compound quickly.
• →Cost: hosting 10–40€/month plus your own maintenance, plugins 0–500€/year.
• →Ideal for: existing WordPress sites, custom B2B requirements, when data sovereignty matters.

When neither is right?

If you need complex B2B configurators, highly custom design or top performance, a tailored solution with Next.js + headless commerce backend (Shopify Hydrogen, Medusa, Saleor) is often better. Higher cost (from 15,000€), but no ceiling.

Realistic comparison over 3 years

Shopify standard plan with 5 apps: ~5,500€ over 3 years. WooCommerce with good hosting and 3 premium plugins: ~2,000€ — plus 20–40 hours of maintenance per year on average. If you have to pay those maintenance hours, you'll quickly hit the same total cost as Shopify.

Conclusion

Shopify wins for simple B2C shops and fast launches. WooCommerce wins for data sovereignty and customization needs, if someone handles maintenance. More on shop cost in Online shop cost.