If you’re starting an eCommerce business, then comparing WooCommerce vs Magento vs Shopify is something you probably do in your sleep. It makes sense, after all WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify are three of the most popular e-commerce solutions in the market. When put together, they collectively run more than 2.5M online stores!
There’s a very good reason why those three are the leaders. They’re functional, scalable, offer some nice designs, and, most importantly, make it really easy for people to launch their own e-commerce stores, even if they’ve had no prior website-building experience.
That being said, these platforms are also very different in the way they’re structured, how you can get started with each, and what sort of user and project they’re best suited for.
We created a number of e-commerce resources in the past, but, so far, none of them looked into the specific differences between WooCommerce vs Magento vs Shopify in a visual, easy to grasp way.
And when it comes to “visual” and “easy to grasp,” an infographic is pretty much the best way to kill these two birds with one stone.
Long story short, what we have for you today is a visual, side-by-side comparison of WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify.
This was built based on information from two of our studies over at Themeisle.com (1, 2).
WooCommerce vs Magento vs Shopify
Share this WooCommerce vs Magento vs Shopify infographic on your site
WooCommerce vs Magento vs Shopify in plain text
Which is the best e-commerce platform for you?
WooCommerce
- WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce solution built on top of WordPress. It works as a WordPress plugin and enables you to run a functional online store. It offers all the features you’d expect from an e-commerce platform.
- Used by nearly 2,000,000 sites.
- The software itself is completely free.
- Domain name and hosting not included. Additional investment is required.
- Unlimited products in your store.
- Unlimited orders and sales.
- A lot of extensions available (both free and premium).
- There are dozens of premium and free WooCommerce themes that allow you to tweak your store’s design.
- Includes SSL support (you need to obtain the certificate on your own). Includes basic security features to protect your store.
- The platform is very easy-to-use if you do have a basic understanding of WordPress.
Ease of use: 4/5. - Can be integrated with Google Analytics using another plugin.
- WooCommerce is the perfect solution for people who want to launch an online store on a budget and aren’t afraid of installing a couple of plugins, themes, and working with WordPress overall.
Shopify
- Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that enables you to create an online store, manage your products, and handle orders all within a single dashboard.
- Used by over 270,000 merchants.
- Plans start at $29 per month.
- Comes with a free “myshopify.com” subdomain for all plans, and you can also hook up your own custom domain name. Hosting included.
- Unlimited products in your store.
- Unlimited orders and sales.
- The platform offers its own app shop, both free and paid apps available.
- Dozens of premium Shopify themes are available to customize the look of your store.
- Includes a SSL certificate alongside all its plans.
- The platform is remarkably easy-to-use.
Ease of use: 5/5. - Features its own analytics system, and can also be integrated with Google Analytics.
- Shopify is the way to go for users who don’t want to deal with a complicated setup process and need premium support. The service guarantees a smooth ride at the expense of a monthly subscription.
You may also be interested in:
- 30 Best Ecommerce Tools to Get Your Business Off the Ground
- Beginner’s Guide to Ecommerce Analytics: From Data to Insights
- 5 Best Cheap Ecommerce Platforms for Starting Your Online Store
Magento
- Magento is a corporate-level e-commerce platform tailored to web development professionals and medium to large online stores. It offers one of the most robust feature sets in the field, which makes it ideal for stores with high aspirations.
- Used by around 250,000 sites.
- Free Community version available, as well as several premium options.
- The Community version requires you to get a domain name and hosting on your own. Premium offerings include hosting.
- Unlimited products in your store.
- Unlimited orders and sales.
- Supports extensions and offers a wide variety of them too, both free and paid.
- Offers a theme-based system and a decent variety of options.
- Offers advanced security features, as well as dedicated patches to close any vulnerabilities that arise.
- Recommended for users that have (at least) a basic level of web development knowledge.
Ease of use: 3/5. - Offers stats and analytics for your store out the box.
- Magento feels more geared towards developers than regular users. The steep learning curve might be too challenging if you’re not ready to either hire someone to help you with the platform or have the required experience yourself.
If you want to consider other platforms, please see our in depth comparison: Shopify vs BigCommerce vs WooCommerce vs Wix vs Magento vs Jimdo
Full studies:
- https://themeisle.com/blog/woocommerce-vs-magento/
- https://themeisle.com/blog/shopify-vs-woocommerce/
Based on data from:
- https://trends.builtwith.com/shop/, https://www.shopify.com/, https://woocommerce.com/, https://magento.com/
Don’t forget to join our crash course on speeding up your WordPress site. Learn more below:
* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and then purchase the product, we’ll receive a small fee. No worries though, you’ll still pay the standard amount so there’s no cost on your part.
