Blog · WebJi® India

WooCommerce vs Shopify

Quick answer

WooCommerce is a free shop plugin you run on WordPress hosting you choose, so you own the files and pick any Indian gateway. Shopify is a hosted store: Basic costs ₹1,499 a month billed yearly, plus 2% per sale through a third-party gateway. Choose WooCommerce for control and lower cost, Shopify to avoid server upkeep.

For Indian sellers deciding between owning a WooCommerce store and renting a Shopify one, with real INR running costs.

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Read time: 5 min
Sections: 8
Updated: 14 Nov 2026
Written by: WebJi® team

Last editorial update: 14 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.

What is the difference between WooCommerce and Shopify?

WooCommerce is a free, open-source shop plugin you install on WordPress hosting you choose; Shopify is a hosted store where one subscription covers the software and the servers. The admin screens look alike, but who holds the files, who runs the server and how fees are charged are different.

WooCommerce vs Shopify, attribute by attribute
Attribute	WooCommerce	Shopify
What it is	Plugin for WordPress (GPL licence)	Hosted SaaS store platform
Hosting	You rent it; the store files and database sit there	Included; you cannot choose or move the server
Platform fee	None	Monthly plan
Payment gateway	Any: Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, COD	Shopify Payments where offered, or a third-party gateway with an extra fee
Updates and backups	You or your host	Shopify
Leaving the platform	Copy the files and database to any host	Export products and customers; the theme does not run elsewhere

Who should choose WooCommerce, and who should choose Shopify?

Choose WooCommerce when you want to own the store, pick any Indian gateway and keep running costs low; choose Shopify when nobody on your team will maintain a server or apply updates.

WooCommerce fits

A brand that also runs a blog, a seller who needs custom GST invoices or B2B pricing, and anyone who wants to move hosts freely.

Shopify fits

A founder who wants a store live this week, follows Shopify's checkout rules and accepts app-store subscriptions for extra features.

Either works

A small catalogue with steady orders, where launch speed and familiarity matter more than the fee difference.

Which costs less in India, WooCommerce or Shopify?

WooCommerce usually costs less to run: hosting from ₹299 a month at WebJi® with no platform commission, against Shopify Basic at ₹1,499 a month billed yearly plus a fee on each sale through a third-party gateway. WooCommerce shifts the cost into your time, or into paid maintenance.

Yearly running cost compared (WebJi® published prices before 18% GST; Shopify figures from the sources below)
Cost line	WooCommerce on WebJi®	Shopify Basic
Platform	₹0	₹1,499/month billed yearly = ₹17,988/year^[1]
Hosting	₹3,000/year on WordPress Unlimited (₹400/month monthly)	Included
Extra fee per sale with a third-party gateway	₹0	2% on Basic^[1]
Gateway's own rate	Yes	Yes
Paid extensions or apps	Optional	Optional

Worked example: on ₹5,00,000 of yearly sales through Razorpay, Shopify Basic's 2% third-party fee is ₹10,000 on top of the ₹17,988 plan. On higher Shopify plans the third-party fee is lower; Shopify's comparison tables, as published on WooCommerce's pricing page, list 1%, 0.6% and 0.2% for Grow, Advanced and Plus^[2]. Full store budgets are in the e-commerce website cost guide.

Who maintains the server, updates and checkout on each platform?

On WooCommerce you or your host apply WordPress, plugin and PHP updates and keep backups; on Shopify the vendor patches the platform and you change the store only through its editor and apps.

The WooCommerce risk is a plugin update that breaks checkout; the fix is a staging copy for testing updates and a restorable backup. The Shopify trade-off is control: deep checkout customisation is reserved for its top plan, and every added feature tends to be another monthly app. WebJi® WooCommerce hosting handles the server side, and done-for-you WordPress updates are available at ₹5,900 a year before GST.

How do payments work on WooCommerce and Shopify in India?

WooCommerce takes no cut and works with any Indian gateway, so you pay only the gateway's rate; Shopify adds its own percentage when an order is not paid through Shopify Payments.

WooCommerce: Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, UPI intent and COD plugins; set-up steps are in Razorpay for WooCommerce and UPI payments in WooCommerce.
Shopify: check whether Shopify Payments is available for your business in India before you budget; otherwise the per-plan third-party fee applies.
Both: place a live test order and confirm it shows as paid in the store and in the gateway dashboard before switching off test mode.

What limits each platform as the catalogue grows?

WooCommerce has no fixed product or variant cap; its limit is hosting capacity. Shopify caps variants per product and some features by plan, but scales the servers for you.

A WooCommerce store with thousands of products stays fast with enough PHP workers, an object cache and fast storage; when shared limits bite, a VPS or cloud server is the next step, as the e-commerce hosting guide explains. On Shopify, check the current variant and location limits for your plan before importing a large catalogue.

How do you move a Shopify store to WooCommerce?

Export products and customers from Shopify, import them into a new WooCommerce install, test an order, then point the domain; the Shopify theme does not come with you. Keep Shopify active until the new store is proven.

Leave the Shopify store online; do not cancel the plan first.
Order hosting and install WordPress and WooCommerce; done when the WooCommerce setup screen opens.
Export products and customers as CSV from Shopify and import them; check one product's price, images and variants.
Recreate URLs with 301 redirects from Shopify's /products/ paths to the new product URLs.
Place a test order in gateway test mode, then switch the domain's DNS.

For help, the website migration service quotes paid scope before payment; free migration is subject to terms and approval. Email support@webji.services before cancelling Shopify.

Sources for third-party prices

Shopify India pricing page (shopify.com/in/pricing): Basic ₹1,499 a month billed yearly; 2% on Basic when a third-party payment provider is used. Read 3 November 2026.
WooCommerce pricing and comparison page (woocommerce.com/pricing): Shopify third-party transaction fees by plan. Read 4 November 2026.

Third-party pages change without notice. WebJi® is not affiliated with Shopify or WooCommerce.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does Shopify take from a ₹1,000 sale?

On Basic with a third-party gateway such as Razorpay, Shopify's 2% fee is ₹20, and the gateway then charges its own rate on top. Through Shopify Payments, that extra Shopify fee does not apply. WooCommerce adds nothing; only the gateway charges.

Is WooCommerce really free?

The plugin is free under the GPL. You still pay for a domain, hosting and any paid extensions or themes. At WebJi®, hosting plus a .in domain starts around ₹4,000 a year before GST.

Which is better for SEO, WooCommerce or Shopify?

Both can rank well. WooCommerce gives full control of URLs, schema and server speed, and sits beside WordPress blogging. Shopify fixes some URL patterns such as /products/ and /collections/, but handles speed and hosting for you. Content quality decides more than the platform.

Can I use WooCommerce without technical skills?

Yes for day-to-day selling: adding products and processing orders is point-and-click. The technical part is updates, backups and troubleshooting, which you can hand to your host or a managed WordPress service.