WooCommerce vs Shopify Monthly Fee Comparison Tool

A close race at this specific order volume

At $28,000 monthly GMV across 320 orders, a WooCommerce stack ($62/month hosting and plugins, 2.9% + $0.30 gateway fees) totals $970.00/month. A Shopify stack ($39/month plan, same 2.9% + $0.30 gateway rate) totals $947.00/month. Shopify comes out $23.00 cheaper this month -- a difference of less than 0.1% of GMV, essentially a toss-up at this volume.

The gap here is almost entirely the plan/hosting fee difference ($62 vs. $39 = $23), since both stacks use an identical 2.9% + $0.30 gateway rate on the same GMV and order count -- change either platform's fixed monthly cost and this comparison moves dollar-for-dollar with it.

This is a snapshot at one specific GMV and order count. Since WooCommerce's cost here is dominated by a fixed monthly fee ($62) while gateway costs scale with volume identically on both platforms, a much higher-GMV store would see this gap stay roughly the same in dollars, shrinking to nearly nothing as a percentage of revenue.

What both stacks leave out

You type both fee stacks. Theme, app, and hosting surprises are extra. Real WooCommerce costs frequently include a premium theme, several paid plugins (SEO, backups, security), and hosting that scales with traffic -- the $62/month figure here is only as accurate as what you've actually itemized.

Shopify's $39/month plan is its entry tier -- higher tiers unlock lower gateway rates and additional features, so a growing store on a higher Shopify plan could see this comparison shift in Shopify's favor beyond what this snapshot shows.

Neither stack in this comparison includes app subscription costs (Shopify apps or WooCommerce plugins for reviews, upsells, abandoned-cart recovery, etc.), which for many real stores add a meaningful amount on top of either base platform cost.

Getting a more accurate comparison for your store

Re-run this with your actual current hosting, plugin, and app costs on the WooCommerce side, and your actual Shopify plan and app spend, rather than the illustrative defaults -- the platform choice at your specific stack cost may look different from this default scenario.

If payment gateway fees specifically (rather than platform fees) are the main comparison you need, the WooCommerce Payment Gateway Fee Comparator isolates just that piece.

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