Shopify is a hosted store that just works. WordPress with WooCommerce is free software you run and control. Here is how to choose.
Sign up free: 3 template sites on a we.inc address. AI building from $20/mo.
Pick Shopify if selling is the main job of your site and you want the store handled for you: plans start at $19 a month billed annually. Pick WordPress (with WooCommerce) if content matters as much as the shop, or you want full control and are willing to manage hosting, updates and plugins yourself.
Where We.Inc fits: the free plan publishes up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI and no custom domain, and needs no credit card. AI building, where you describe the site and it is written for you, starts at $20 a month (Starter, 250 credits); Pro is $50 and Max is $99.
| Shopify | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Basic $19, Grow $49, Advanced $299 a month billed annually ($25, $65, $399 month to month); Plus from $2,300 a month | WordPress.org software is free; you pay for hosting, a domain, and any premium themes or plugins. Hosted WordPress.com: Free plan; Personal $4, Premium $8, Business $25, Commerce $45 a month billed annually ($9, $18, $40, $70 month to month) |
| Store | Built in | Via the free WooCommerce plugin, or WordPress.com Commerce |
| Hosting and security | Handled by Shopify | Your host, or WordPress.com |
| Blogging and content | Basic blog | Best in class |
| Effort to run | Low | Medium to high on self-hosted |
Prices checked September 2026 (September 25) on each vendor's own pricing page, in US dollars. Vendors change prices often, so confirm on their page before you buy.
Best for: Product businesses that want a reliable, hosted store
Price: Basic $19, Grow $49, Advanced $299 a month billed annually ($25, $65, $399 month to month); Plus from $2,300 a month
Pros: Checkout, inventory and payments work out of the box; Huge app ecosystem; No servers or updates to manage
Cons: Monthly apps add up; Extra fee if you avoid Shopify Payments; Content pages are less flexible
Best for: Content-led businesses and anyone who wants full control
Price: WordPress.org software is free; you pay for hosting, a domain, and any premium themes or plugins
Pros: Free, open-source software you own; Best blogging and content tools; Thousands of themes and plugins
Cons: You manage hosting, updates and security on self-hosted; Plugins can conflict; Store setup takes more work
Best for: People who want to describe a site or web app in plain English and have AI build it
Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $50/mo, Max $99/mo.
Pros: Describe what you want in chat and AI builds a full, editable site or app; Edit by clicking on the page, by asking in chat, or in a real code editor; Export the React and TypeScript code to GitHub, so you are never locked in; Unlimited sites on paid plans, custom domains from Starter
Cons: The free plan is templates only; AI building needs a paid plan; Newer platform with a smaller app marketplace than the big names; Store features are simpler than a dedicated ecommerce platform
A product business that wants a store that just works, with no servers or updates: Shopify. A content-led business that publishes a lot, or wants full control and is willing to run hosting: WordPress with WooCommerce. A service business that only needs a quote form: you may need neither.
Plan fees only, at the prices checked September 2026 and assuming no change: Shopify Basic is $228 a year and $684 over three years on annual billing; Grow is $588 and $1,764. WordPress.com Commerce, the hosted plan built for selling, is $540 a year and $1,620 over three years on annual billing. Self-hosted WordPress with the free WooCommerce plugin costs whatever your host, domain and paid plugins cost, plus your time.
Card processing is extra on every option. We.Inc, for comparison: the free plan costs nothing but has no AI and no custom domain. Starter, which adds AI building and custom domains, is $20 a month: $240 for the first year and $720 over three years at today's price.
Prices only tell you half the story. The fairest way to judge Shopify and WordPress is to give it the same small job you would give any builder: a five-page website for a local service business (home, services, about, reviews and contact).
1. Build the service list with a price or short description for each service. 2. Add a quote request form and send yourself a test entry to check it arrives. 3. Connect a custom domain and confirm the site loads on it with a padlock. 4. Change one piece of content, such as a new service or opening hours, and time how long it takes. 5. Check the result on a phone.
Note which plan each step needed. That tells you the plan you will really pay for, which is often not the cheapest one advertised. When the site is live, run it through our free website grader to check search basics and speed.
Shopify hosts the store; products and customers export as CSV, but the theme and apps stay behind. Self-hosted WordPress is open-source software you can back up and move to any host, and WooCommerce data moves with it. The price of that ownership is looking after updates and security yourself.
Shopify wins on a reliable store with little technical work. WordPress wins on content, flexibility and ownership. We.Inc is an option if you would rather describe the business and have AI write the first version: free for 3 template sites on a we.inc address without AI, and AI building with custom domains from $20 a month.
We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so read this with that in mind. Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown, with a link to it. We say where the other option is the better choice, and we do not publish scores for tests we have not run.
For a store that you want to run with little technical work, usually yes. For content-heavy sites or full control, WordPress is better.
The WordPress.org software is free. You still pay for hosting and a domain. WordPress.com has a free plan and paid plans from $4 a month billed annually.
Yes. Shopify offers ways to add products to other sites, so some businesses keep a WordPress site and sell through Shopify.
Basic is $19 a month billed annually or $25 monthly, as listed on September 25, 2026.
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How we research, test and update this page: our editorial policy. We.Inc is our own product.
We.Inc is an AI-powered website builder you can resell under your own brand. Launch a branded client dashboard, bill on Stripe Connect, and deliver AI-generated websites in minutes. White-label plans start at $99 a month for 25 client sites, with a 7-day free trial and no per-site fees.