Before a single product is listed, an online store has to sit on a platform, and that choice quietly decides your monthly cost, how much you can customise, and who's responsible when something breaks at 2am. There are effectively four routes: Shopify, WooCommerce, a fully custom build, or headless. Most “which is best” advice is really a preference dressed as a verdict. Here's the trade honestly, so you buy the one that fits your store rather than the one someone likes.
What are the four ways to build an online store?
- Shopify: a hosted, all-in-one store you rent monthly. Hosting and an SSL certificate come with the plan, it launches fast, and there's an app for almost everything. You trade some control, and if you take payments through a third-party provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify adds its own transaction fee.
- WooCommerce: a free, open-source plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store. You self-host, so there are no platform fees and near-total control, but you (or your developer) own the hosting, security and updates. Flexible and economical if you're comfortable maintaining it.
- Custom build: a store built from the ground up (for example Next.js plus a payment provider). Maximum control, no platform constraints, best-in-class performance, at the highest build cost. Justified only when your requirements are genuinely unusual.
- Headless: the modern middle. A commerce engine (often Shopify's backend) powers the cart and checkout, while a custom front end (Next.js) renders the storefront for speed and control. You get Shopify's reliability with a bespoke experience, at the most complex setup of the four.
How do Shopify, WooCommerce, custom and headless compare?
| Platform | What you pay | Who maintains it | Right for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | A monthly plan. With a third-party payment provider, Shopify's published fee is 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus. | Shopify runs hosting and the platform; you run the store. | Most stores. The default choice. |
| WooCommerce | The plugin is free; you pay for hosting, premium extensions and upkeep. | You or your developer: security, updates and speed. | Stores already on WordPress, with someone to maintain them. |
| Custom build | The highest upfront build cost, then hosting and development. | Your developer, for everything. | Stores that do something the platforms genuinely can't. |
| Headless (Shopify + custom front end) | A Shopify plan plus a bespoke storefront build. | Shopify runs checkout; your developer runs the front end. | High-traffic stores where performance is revenue. |
When should you choose Shopify?
- You want to sell soon and don't want to think about servers, security patches or payment infrastructure.
- A standard catalog-and-checkout covers you, and an app fills any gap.
- You'd rather pay a predictable monthly fee than manage infrastructure.
When should you choose WooCommerce?
- You're already on WordPress and want commerce without moving platforms.
- You want deep control and no platform transaction fees, and you have someone to maintain it.
- Budget is tight and you're willing to trade managed convenience for self-hosting.
When is a custom or headless store worth it?
- Your store needs something off-the-shelf platforms can't do, or performance is directly tied to sales at scale.
- You're building a brand experience where a templated storefront would undersell the product.
- You have the budget to build and maintain a bespoke system, and the volume to justify it.
What do we build stores on, and why?
For most stores we launch on Shopify or WooCommerce: a catalog store with secure payments and a mobile-first checkout usually goes live in 2–3 weeks, without you inheriting a maintenance burden on day one. We reach for custom or headless (a Next.js storefront on a commerce backend) only when the store's traffic or brand genuinely earns the extra build. It's the same principle as our website-platform advice: match the tool to how the store makes money, not to what's fashionable. Tell us your catalog size, your channels and who'll maintain it, and we'll point you to the platform that fits, even when that's the cheaper one.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Shopify or WooCommerce better for a small business?
- Shopify is better if you want to launch fast and never touch infrastructure: hosting and SSL come with a monthly plan, with an extra transaction fee if you use a third-party payment provider. WooCommerce is better if you're already on WordPress, want maximum control with no platform fees, and have someone to maintain the self-hosted store. For most first-time stores, Shopify's managed convenience wins.
- When should I build a custom e-commerce store instead of using Shopify?
- Only when your store needs something the platforms genuinely can't do, or when you're at a scale where performance directly drives revenue and a bespoke build pays for itself. For a standard catalog-and-checkout, custom is usually over-engineering; Shopify or a headless Shopify setup covers it at far lower cost and maintenance.
- What is headless e-commerce?
- Headless means the storefront (what customers see) is decoupled from the commerce engine (cart, checkout, payments). A common setup uses Shopify's backend for reliability with a custom Next.js front end for speed and a bespoke brand experience. It offers the best performance and control but is the most complex and expensive of the options to build and maintain.
- Does Shopify or WooCommerce cost more over time?
- It depends on what you value. Shopify has predictable monthly fees, plus a transaction fee if you don't use Shopify Payments, but no maintenance burden. WooCommerce has no platform fees but you pay for hosting, security and updates in money or time. The honest comparison isn't sticker price; it's whether you'd rather spend money each month (Shopify) or attention each month (WooCommerce or custom).
Keep reading
Sources
- Shopify Pricing, Shopify (checked )
- WooCommerce (WordPress plugin directory), WordPress.org (checked )