The short answer
- Choose Shopify if you sell physical products to consumers, want to launch quickly and do not want to deal with hosting, updates or security.
- Choose WordPress with WooCommerce if you need an unusual flow (B2B quotes, rentals, bookings, product configurators), a lot of content next to the shop, or full control of your code and data.
- Choose custom code if the shop is the product itself, for example a marketplace where people buy from each other.
How each one works
Shopify is a hosted platform. You pay a monthly subscription and Shopify runs the servers, security, checkout and updates. You customise a theme, and extra features come from apps, many of which have their own monthly fee.
WooCommerce is a free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a shop. You need your own hosting, and someone has to look after updates, backups and security. Extra features come from plugins, some free and some with yearly licences. Everything, from files to database, is yours.
What you actually pay for
The design and build are one-off costs on either platform. The running costs are what differ, so compare them over two or three years, not the first month.
- Shopify: the subscription, card processing fees, an extra transaction fee if you use another payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, and the apps you add. The bill grows with every app.
- WooCommerce: good hosting, premium plugin licences, card processing fees, and maintenance time: updating WordPress, the theme and plugins, and checking the shop after each update.
Payments in Europe
Shoppers in each country expect their own way to pay: cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay everywhere, iDEAL in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, BLIK in Poland, bank links in the Baltics, and pay-later options like Klarna. Both platforms work with the big providers, such as Stripe, Mollie, Adyen, PayPal and Klarna.
- Shopify Payments is not available in every European country. Where it is not, you use another provider and pay Shopify's extra transaction fee on top.
- If you rely on a local provider, such as Montonio or Paysera in the Baltics, check that it works with your platform before you choose.
EU rules your shop has to follow
Both platforms can meet these rules. The work is in setting them up properly.
- VAT. Prices for consumers must include VAT. Once your sales to consumers in other EU countries pass €10,000 a year in total, you charge each customer's local VAT rate, usually reported through the One-Stop Shop (OSS). Shopify has EU tax settings built in. WooCommerce needs the rates configured or a tax plugin.
- Discounts. Under the EU Omnibus rules, a price reduction must show the lowest price of the previous 30 days. On both platforms this usually takes an app or plugin.
- Right of withdrawal. Consumers can cancel most online purchases within 14 days. Your terms, returns page and order emails must say so.
- Accessibility. Since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act covers most online shops selling to consumers. Micro-enterprises, with fewer than 10 staff and no more than €2 million in annual turnover or balance sheet, are exempt.
- Privacy and cookies. A privacy policy, and consent before tracking. Our ad tracking checklist covers the setup.
Languages and markets
- Shopify Markets lets one store sell in several countries with local currencies, languages and domains or subfolders. Translations come from Shopify's Translate & Adapt app or a third-party app.
- WooCommerce goes multilingual with plugins such as WPML, Polylang or TranslatePress, and multi-currency with another plugin. There are more moving parts, but you control the URL and the content of every language version.
- On either platform, use real translations rather than raw machine output, and make sure each language version carries hreflang tags so Google shows the right one.
Content and SEO
- WordPress is a content system first. If guides, landing pages and stories help you sell, it gives you the most freedom.
- Shopify has a fixed URL structure (
/products/,/collections/,/pages/) and a simpler blog. For most product shops that is enough. - Both can be fast. Speed depends on the theme and on how many apps or plugins load on every page. On ĀUROS we stopped heavy theme and plugin files from loading on pages that did not need them.
B2B, rentals and unusual flows
If your customers do not simply put products in a cart and pay, look closely at the checkout. WooCommerce lets a developer change the checkout itself: quote requests instead of payment, rental dates and deposits, custom price rules. Shopify supports wholesale through its B2B features and apps, but deep changes to the checkout are limited, especially below Shopify Plus.
Who looks after it
- Shopify: almost no technical upkeep. Your team adds products, and the platform handles the rest.
- WooCommerce: someone has to update WordPress, the theme and plugins, test the shop after updates and keep backups. Plan time or a care plan for it.
Moving later
You are not locked in for good. Products, customers and orders can be exported and moved. Page addresses usually change, especially to or from Shopify, so set up 301 redirects from every old URL to keep your links and search rankings.
What we chose on real projects
- MIMU Showroom, a women's fashion shop: Shopify. Products for consumers, a small team and sales driven by ads.
- ĀUROS, event decor rental and a shop: WooCommerce. Rental and shop on one site, with a lot of content.
- Kalėdinės dekoracijos, Christmas decor for businesses: WooCommerce. A B2B catalogue with a quote basket instead of a checkout.
- Marklea, a second-hand marketplace: custom code (Next.js). Sellers, buyers, auctions and parcel-locker delivery.