Shopify → WooCommerce Migration

The Cost of Renting vs. Owning Your Store

Every month, Shopify rents you your own store — a subscription, paid apps for basic features, and a cut of every single sale. Own a self-hosted WooCommerce store and that margin goes back where it belongs: your bottom line.

Renting adds up — fast

Shopify’s convenience has a price that grows with you. The more you sell, the more you pay — in monthly fees, in app subscriptions to unlock features that should be standard, and in transaction fees skimmed off every order. That’s profit you already earned, leaving your account month after month.

Renting vs. Owning

The same store. Two very different cost structures.

Renting — Shopify

Monthly subscription that scales with your plan
Paid apps to unlock “basic” features
Transaction fees on every sale unless you use their payments
Rigid, templated layouts
You never actually own the platform

Owning — WooCommerce

Open-source core — no platform licence fee
Predictable hosting you control
No added transaction fees — bring your own gateway
Total design & layout freedom (it’s WordPress)
You own your store, data, and content — for good

The savings, by the numbers

Approximate recurring costs for a comparable store, based on 2026 published pricing. Your payment processor charges a similar rate either way — the real savings come from platform fees, extra transaction fees, and apps.

Cost area	Shopify (approx.)	WooCommerce (approx.)	Typical saving
Platform subscription	\$39–\$399 / mo	\$0 — open-source core	~100% on licence
Hosting	Included	~\$15–\$35 / mo	—
Extra transaction fee*	0.6%–2% of every sale	0%	100% removed
Payment processing	~2.9% + 30¢	~2.9% + 30¢	about the same
Apps / extensions	~\$50–\$150 / mo	many free / lower	~50–70%
Recurring cost overall	Higher	Much lower	~60–85% lower

Example: a growing store on Shopify’s Grow plan (~$105/mo) doing ~$15K/month through a third-party gateway, plus ~$80/mo in apps, pays roughly $4,000/year in platform + fees + apps. A comparable self-hosted WooCommerce store runs about $600–$900/year — roughly 80% less.

*Applies when using a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments. Figures are approximate, based on 2026 published pricing (Shopify Basic $39 / Grow $105 / Advanced $399 per month; third-party transaction fees 2% / 1% / 0.6%). WooCommerce core is free — you pay only hosting and your payment processor. Actual savings vary by plan, sales volume, and setup.

Your store, your rules

Shopify keeps you inside its templates. WooCommerce is built on WordPress, so every page, product layout, and checkout step is yours to shape — no theme jail, no “that’s not possible on our platform.”

Don’t just take our word for it

WooCommerce breaks down the same comparison — subscription costs, fees, and flexibility — in their own guide.

How the migration works

1. Audit

We map your products, customers, orders, and design so nothing gets lost.

2. Migrate

Catalog, customers, order history, and SEO move over to WooCommerce.

3. Rebuild

We recreate and upgrade your design with full layout control.

4. Launch

Go live, verify tracking, and hand you a store you own outright.

Are transaction fees or rigid layouts holding you back?

Tell us your current platform and we’ll map out your migration options — no obligation.