Every comparison of these two ends the same way: "Shopify if you want easy, WooCommerce if you want control." That is true and useless. Both sentences describe a platform you still have to operate yourself.
So let us do the part those articles skip — add up what a working store actually costs per month in India, including the plugins you will definitely buy and the hours you will definitely spend.
The model store: 60 orders a month, average order value ₹900, one person running it.
The honest monthly arithmetic
Approximate, in rupees, for the model store. Plan prices move — check the current ones before you commit.
| Line item | Shopify | WooCommerce | Done-for-you (e.g. BizRyn) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform plan | ₹2,000–₹2,500 (entry tier) | ₹0 (the software is free) | Usage-based |
| Hosting | Included | ₹400–₹2,000 for something that survives a traffic spike | Included |
| Domain | ₹80/mo amortised | ₹80/mo amortised | ₹80/mo amortised |
| Theme | ₹0–₹1,500/mo amortised | ₹0–₹500/mo amortised | Included |
| Reviews app | ₹400–₹1,200 | ₹0–₹800 | Included |
| Shipping/courier integration | ₹0–₹800 | ₹0–₹700 | Included |
| Email/WhatsApp marketing | ₹700–₹2,000 | ₹500–₹1,500 | Varies |
| Backups and security | Included | ₹300–₹800 | Included |
| Payment gateway | ~2% + GST on cards, 0% on UPI | Same | Same |
| Software subtotal | ₹3,200–₹8,100 | ₹1,300–₹6,400 | Lower on software, higher on service |
| Your time | 8–15 hrs/mo | 12–25 hrs/mo | 2–4 hrs/mo |
The last row is the one that decides things, and it is the only row nobody puts in a comparison table.
What Shopify is genuinely good at
- It does not break. Updates ship without your involvement. You will not lose a Saturday to a PHP version mismatch.
- Checkout is excellent and constantly tuned. This matters more than theme design and is hard to replicate.
- The app ecosystem is deep. Whatever oddity your category needs, someone has built it.
- Support exists. Slow sometimes, but a human eventually replies.
Where it bites in India: you are paying a dollar-denominated plan out of rupee revenue, and apps stack fast. Three apps at $12 each is ₹3,000 a month before you have sold anything. Sellers under ~40 orders a month often find the plan is their largest fixed cost.
What WooCommerce is genuinely good at
- No platform tax. The plugin is free and you own the database.
- Total control of the checkout. Useful in categories with unusual rules — made-to-order, subscriptions with irregular cycles, B2B pricing.
- Cheap at scale. At 500 orders a month the economics are clearly in its favour.
- Content and SEO. WordPress underneath is still the most flexible publishing system there is, which matters if you plan to earn traffic rather than buy it.
Where it bites: it is a website you administer. Updates, backups, a staging copy, an SSL renewal, a caching layer, and the afternoon a payment plugin update quietly breaks the thank-you page. None of that is hard. All of it is yours.
What neither of them does
Both platforms end at the same place: an order lands in a dashboard. After that, every single one of these is still a human job.
At 60 orders a month that is roughly 10–20 hours. At 200 orders it is a part-time job you have to hire for. This is the cost line the platform comparison never shows, and it grows with success rather than shrinking.
Which to choose, by situation
You are testing whether the product sells
Neither yet. Sell through Instagram DMs and a payment link for two weeks. Spending ₹2,500 a month to find out nobody wants the thing is an expensive way to learn it.
You are under 50 orders a month and time-poor
Pick whatever gets you live this week. The platform is not your constraint; the number of people who know you exist is. Optimise for launching, then for the operational load.
You are 50–300 orders a month
This is where the hours hurt and the decision is real. Either buy back the operating time, or accept that evenings are now warehouse admin.
You are past 300 orders a month with a developer
WooCommerce, or Shopify on a higher plan, depending on whether you want to own the stack. At this volume the platform fee is noise and control is worth paying for.
You sell something genuinely unusual
Made-to-measure, bulk pricing tiers, rental. WooCommerce, with someone competent. The others will fight you.
Migration: what actually moves and what does not
If you switch later — and many people do, in both directions — here is what to expect.
| Moves cleanly | Moves with effort | Usually lost |
|---|---|---|
| Products, prices, images | URL structure and redirects | App-specific data (some review apps) |
| Customer records | Discount codes | Historic analytics in the old dashboard |
| Order history (as an export) | Subscription billing states | Page-builder layouts |
| Blog posts | SEO rankings, briefly | Custom code you did not document |
The two things worth insisting on before you commit to any platform: can I export everything, including customers and order history, in one click? And do I control my own domain? If either answer is no, walk away regardless of price.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify worth it in India for a small store?
If you value your time at anything above ₹250 an hour and you are doing more than about 30 orders a month, usually yes — up to the point where app subscriptions start stacking. The trap is not the plan; it is four apps at $10–$15 each.
Is WooCommerce really free?
The plugin is. A store is not. Budget ₹400–₹2,000 a month for hosting that does not fall over, plus a few premium plugins and your own maintenance time. It is genuinely cheaper in cash, not in total cost.
Which is better for SEO?
Both can rank. WordPress gives you more control over content structure and internal linking, which is a real advantage if you plan to publish seriously. Shopify's technical basics are sound and its speed is consistent. In practice, the content you publish outweighs the platform difference by a wide margin.
Can I use UPI and cash on delivery on both?
Yes. Indian gateways integrate with both, and COD is a plugin or app on either. Check that your chosen courier integration supports COD remittance reporting — that is the part that gets messy.
What about Wix, Dukaan, Instamojo and the rest?
They are fine for a first storefront and often cheaper. The questions to ask are the same two: full data export, and your own domain. If both are yes, the risk of starting there is low.