Is Shopify more expensive than WooCommerce?

Shopify has a predictable monthly fee; WooCommerce looks cheaper but adds hosting, security, maintenance and developer time. For most growing stores the total cost is similar — Shopify just moves it off your plate.

Will I lose SEO migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify?

Not with a proper redirect map and metadata migration. Lost rankings almost always come from skipped 301s and changed URLs — which is exactly what a planned migration protects.

Can I keep my custom checkout logic?

On Shopify, checkout customisation happens through Shopify Functions and checkout extensions rather than raw code. It is more constrained, but also far safer and upgrade-proof.

Compare · Platform

Shopify vs WooCommerce

Both can run a serious store. The real question is where you want to spend your time — selling, or maintaining infrastructure. Here’s the honest breakdown.

Shopify is for you if

You want to grow, not maintain

You’d rather ship offers than patch servers and plugins.
You want predictable costs and reliable checkout.
You value speed, security and support out of the box.

WooCommerce is for you if

You want full control

You already have developers and hosting handled.
You need deep custom logic WordPress makes easy.
Content/blog is the core and the shop is secondary.

Dimension	Shopify	WooCommerce
Hosting & uptime	Fully hosted — Shopify handles servers, scaling and Black Friday spikes.	You (or a host) manage servers, updates and uptime.
Security & PCI	PCI-compliant checkout out of the box; patched for you.	You own patching, plugins and PCI scope.
Speed	Global CDN and a tuned checkout; fast with good theme hygiene.	Fast is possible but depends on hosting, plugins and upkeep.
Checkout control	Checkout is standardised (Functions/extensions, not full code) — safer, less bespoke.	Full control of checkout code — powerful, but you own the risk.
Maintenance load	Minimal — no plugin/version churn.	Ongoing plugin, theme and core updates.
Apps & ecosystem	Large, vetted App Store; predictable APIs.	Huge plugin ecosystem, but quality and conflicts vary.
Total cost of ownership	Predictable monthly + app costs; less dev time.	Cheaper to start, but hosting + maintenance + dev add up.
Best when you want to	Sell and grow without running infrastructure.	Fully customise and already have dev resources.

Our recommendation

For most growing DTC brands, Shopify wins on total cost of ownership — you trade a little checkout flexibility for speed, security and far less maintenance. WooCommerce still makes sense when a store is content-led or you have in-house developers who want full control.

If you’re on WooCommerce and speed, security or maintenance is eating your time, a migration usually pays for itself — done right, you keep your SEO and data.

Thinking about moving to Shopify?

Get a free audit — we’ll map the migration, protect your rankings and data, and tell you honestly if it’s worth it for your store.

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