We've built and migrated stores on both platforms for years. Here's the unfiltered answer most agencies won't give you: for 95% of ecommerce businesses, Shopify wins in 2026. WooCommerce still has a place, but it's narrower than its fans pretend.
The short version
- Pick Shopify if you want to sell products and grow without fighting your platform.
- Pick WooCommerce if you have a developer on staff and need full code control.
- If you're choosing between them and you don't have a dev team — pick Shopify.
Total cost of ownership
WooCommerce is famously 'free.' It is not. By the time you pay for hosting, security, backups, premium plugins (subscriptions, reviews, page builders, shipping), SSL, and the inevitable maintenance hours, most WooCommerce stores cost $200–$500/month to run — and that's before something breaks. Shopify Basic at $39/month includes hosting, security, PCI compliance, 99.99% uptime, and a CDN. The 'free' platform is rarely cheaper.
Speed and Core Web Vitals
Shopify's edge network and Liquid templating consistently outperform stock WooCommerce. The average Shopify store we audit scores 60–80 on Lighthouse mobile. The average WooCommerce store scores 25–45. Speed is now a direct Google ranking factor and a major conversion lever — this gap matters.
SEO
Both can rank. Shopify's SEO has improved dramatically — clean URL structures, automatic sitemap, fast CDN, and easy schema. WooCommerce wins on URL flexibility (no /products/ prefix) but loses on speed and reliability. For local SEO in places like Dacula, Lawrenceville, or Atlanta, both work — the determining factor is your content and backlinks, not the platform.
When WooCommerce is the right call
- You're selling something Shopify forbids (some regulated categories).
- You need custom checkout logic that Shopify Plus can't deliver and you have devs.
- Your business is content-first and ecommerce is a small bolt-on.
Migration is easier than you think
We migrate WooCommerce stores to Shopify regularly — products, customers, orders, reviews, and 301 redirects all move cleanly. Most clients see speed double and rankings hold or improve within 30 days. If you're stuck on Woo and tired of patching plugins, the migration is rarely as painful as you fear.