Shopify or WooCommerce: which suits your store?

By Beschi Gnanaraj, founder of XLVI Arcus · Updated 12 November 2026

The short answer

Choose Shopify if you want to launch quickly, don’t want to think about servers or updates, and are happy paying a monthly fee for that. Choose WooCommerce if you want full control, no platform fee, and room to add almost any feature later. Both take UPI and card payments, both work well on phones, and both can be managed by you without a developer.

Side by side

• Who looks after it: Shopify handles hosting, security and updates for you. WooCommerce runs on your own hosting, so someone needs to keep it updated and backed up.
• Monthly costs: Shopify charges a monthly plan, and some apps add their own fees. WooCommerce has no platform fee; you pay for hosting and any paid plugins.
• Control: With WooCommerce you own every file and can change anything. Shopify is easier, but you work within what Shopify allows.
• Payments in India: Both work with Razorpay and other popular gateways for UPI, cards and net banking.
• Moving later: Moving between platforms is possible but takes work, so it pays to choose well at the start.
• Our starting price: Shopify store ₹39,999 onwards (2–3 weeks). WooCommerce store ₹47,999 onwards (3–4 weeks). Both include up to 50 products.

Shopify suits you if…

• You are a new brand and speed to launch matters most.
• You have no one to handle technical upkeep.
• Your products and checkout are fairly standard.

WooCommerce suits you if…

• You want to avoid a monthly platform fee as you grow.
• You need custom features, like special pricing, bookings or a link to your billing software.
• You already have a WordPress website and want the store on the same site.

What we usually recommend

There is no single winner. On a free call we ask how many products you sell, who will run the store day to day, and where you want to be in two years. Then we recommend one platform and explain why, in writing. Whichever you choose, the store, the accounts and the data are in your name from day one. See what’s included on our online store page, or read what a website costs in India.

Next read: How much does a website cost in India?