Short answer: choose Shopify if you want a store running this week and never want to think about hosting or updates. Choose WordPress with WooCommerce if you plan to sell a fair amount every month, want your content to rank on Google, or need the store to do something unusual. In India the deciding factor is usually money: Shopify Payments is not available here, so Shopify adds its own fee on every online payment made through a gateway like Razorpay. WooCommerce does not charge one.
Below are the real numbers, checked on 13 October 2026, and the way we decide for the stores we build at Logical Dottech.
WordPress vs Shopify at a glance
| Shopify | WordPress + WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest monthly cost | ₹1,499 (Basic, yearly billing) | ₹69 to ₹449 for hosting; the software is free |
| Extra fee on online payments in India | 2% on Basic, down to 0.2% on Plus | None |
| Cash on delivery orders | No extra fee | No extra fee |
| Who owns the site | You rent it from Shopify | You own the files and data |
| Updates and security | Shopify handles them | You or your developer |
| Blog and guide pages | Basic blog built in | Full publishing system |
| Best for | Fast launch, small or seasonal sales | Steady sales, content-led growth |
What is the difference between WordPress and Shopify?
WordPress + WooCommerce
WordPress is free, open-source website software. Add the free WooCommerce plugin and it becomes a full online store. You pay for hosting and a domain, and you (or your developer) look after updates. You own the whole thing.
Shopify
Shopify is a hosted store builder. You pay a monthly plan, Shopify runs the servers, security and updates, and you build the store from its themes and app store. You rent the platform.
WooCommerce is not a niche option. Its listing on WordPress.org shows more than 7 million active installations, and it was updated four days before we checked.
How much does Shopify cost in India in 2026?
These are Shopify’s own prices for India, from shopify.com/in/pricing:
| Plan | Yearly billing | Monthly billing | Extra fee with a third-party gateway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | ₹1,499/month | ₹1,994/month | 2% of each sale |
| Grow | ₹5,599/month | ₹7,447/month | 1% of each sale |
| Advanced | ₹22,680/month | ₹30,164/month | 0.6% of each sale |
| Plus | from ₹1,75,000/month | from ₹1,75,000/month | 0.2% of each sale |
That last column is the one people miss. In countries where Shopify Payments works, stores can avoid it. India is not one of them: it is missing from Shopify’s list of Shopify Payments countries, so an Indian store takes online payments through a gateway such as Razorpay, and Shopify adds its percentage on top of what the gateway already charges.
There is one exception that matters in India. Shopify’s help centre says the extra fee is not charged on manual payments, and cash on delivery is a manual payment. So the fee only applies to the orders your customers pay online. Apps from the Shopify app store are extra again, and many of the useful ones are paid monthly.
How much does WordPress with WooCommerce cost in India?
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| WordPress and WooCommerce | Free |
| Hosting | Hostinger WordPress plans from ₹69/month on a 48-month term, renewing at ₹289 to ₹449/month (Single and Premium). WooCommerce included. |
| Domain | Usually free for the first year on these plans, then a few hundred rupees a year |
| Payment gateway | Razorpay standard fee 2% per transaction (a 0% offer for the first 90 days was running when we checked) |
| Theme and paid plugins | Optional. Many stores need none; some need a premium theme or one or two paid extensions |
| Maintenance | Updates, backups and security: your time or a developer’s |
Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
Plan prices look small next to each other. The difference shows up once orders come in. Take a store selling ₹2,00,000 a month, all paid online through Razorpay at 2%. Figures are before GST.
| Shopify Basic | WordPress + WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform / hosting | ₹1,499 | ₹449 (Hostinger Premium renewal price) |
| Shopify’s third-party fee (2%) | ₹4,000 | ₹0 |
| Razorpay fee (2%) | ₹4,000 | ₹4,000 |
| Monthly total | ₹9,499 | ₹4,449 |
That is roughly ₹5,000 a month, or ₹60,000 a year, at this level of sales, and the gap widens as sales grow. If some of those orders are cash on delivery, the gap is smaller, because Shopify’s fee only applies to the online payments.
When does WooCommerce become the cheaper option?
WooCommerce needs someone to keep it updated, so the fair test is Shopify’s extra cost against what that maintenance costs you. On the plans above, Shopify Basic costs ₹1,050 a month more than Hostinger Premium, plus 2% of your online sales. WooCommerce comes out cheaper once that is more than your monthly maintenance cost:
| What maintenance costs you each month | WooCommerce is cheaper once online sales pass |
|---|---|
| ₹2,000 | ₹47,500 a month |
| ₹3,000 | ₹97,500 a month |
| ₹5,000 | ₹1,97,500 a month |
The working: (maintenance cost minus ₹1,050) divided by 2%. For ₹3,000 a month of maintenance, that is ₹1,950 ÷ 0.02 = ₹97,500 of online sales. Paid Shopify apps would push these numbers lower; paid WordPress plugins would push them higher. Count only the orders paid online, not cash on delivery.
Shopify vs WooCommerce: which one should you pick?
Shopify is the better choice when
- You want to start this week with no technical help.
- Your sales are small or seasonal, so the percentage fee stays small.
- You do not want to be responsible for updates or security.
- You sell across many countries in many currencies and want those tools built in.
WooCommerce is the better choice when
- Your sales are steady and growing: no platform cut on each order.
- You want to rank on Google with guides, category pages and a blog.
- You want to own the site, the data and the code, on any host.
- You need something unusual: custom pricing, B2B ordering, a catalogue that is half content.
- You use Indian tools: Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, Shiprocket and GST invoice plugins.
What did we choose for our own clients?
Two of the stores we have built recently are WooCommerce stores, and both are live.
DANMO
An Indian activewear brand for men and women. WordPress with WooCommerce and a custom theme, with product schema and SEO set up so the collections can be found on Google.
GS Nagi Art
Hand-illustrated artwork sold as framed prints. The story behind each piece, the exhibitions and the artist’s background sit on the same site as the products, which is what WordPress is good at.
That does not mean we never recommend Shopify. If a client wants to test a product idea quickly, or will never have anyone to keep a site updated, Shopify is the safer start, and moving to WooCommerce later is possible.
Which is better for SEO and AI search, WordPress or Shopify?
Both can rank. Google does not prefer one platform over the other. What decides rankings is the work done on the store: fast pages, clear product and category pages, proper structured data, and content that answers what buyers search for.
Where WordPress has the edge is in that last part. Publishing guides, comparisons and buying advice is easier, and those are the pages that both Google and AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity tend to quote. If organic search is a big part of your plan, that tips the balance. (More on that in our guide to getting your business mentioned in AI answers.)
How do you decide in two minutes?
- Will you sell more than ₹50,000 a month online within a year? If yes, the percentage fee adds up. Lean WooCommerce.
- Will content be part of how people find you? Guides, a blog, stories. If yes, lean WordPress.
- Do you have no one to look after updates? In-house or outside. If so, lean Shopify.
- Do you need it live in days, not weeks? Lean Shopify.
If your answers point both ways, talk it through with someone who has built on both before you commit. Moving later is possible but it is work, and redirecting old product URLs properly matters for keeping your rankings.
Common questions
Shopify or WooCommerce: which is better for an Indian store?
For a store with steady online sales, WooCommerce usually costs less to run, because Shopify adds a fee on every online payment made through a gateway like Razorpay and WooCommerce does not. Shopify is better when you need to launch quickly and have no one to look after updates.
Is WooCommerce really free?
The plugin is free. You still pay for hosting, a domain and your payment gateway’s fee, and optionally for a premium theme or paid extensions.
Does Shopify charge a fee on every sale in India?
On online payments through a third-party gateway such as Razorpay, yes: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, according to Shopify’s India pricing page on 13 October 2026. This is on top of the gateway’s own fee.
Is Shopify Payments available in India?
No. India is not on Shopify’s list of Shopify Payments countries (checked 13 October 2026), so Indian stores take online payments through a third-party gateway such as Razorpay, and Shopify’s extra fee applies to those payments.
Does Shopify charge its fee on cash on delivery orders?
No. Shopify’s help centre says you are not charged third-party transaction fees for manual payments, and cash on delivery is a manual payment method. The fee applies to orders paid online.
Which is better for SEO, WordPress or Shopify?
Both can rank well. WordPress makes content publishing easier and gives more control over URLs and structured data, which helps stores that rely on guides and blog traffic.
Can I move from Shopify to WooCommerce later?
Yes. Products, customers and orders can be migrated. The important part is redirecting every old URL to its new address so you keep your Google rankings.
Which one do you recommend for a small business in Fatehabad or Haryana?
For most local businesses that want enquiries and some online sales, WordPress with WooCommerce, because the running cost stays low and the same site can carry the content that brings people in from Google. If you want help choosing, our website team in Fatehabad can look at what you sell and tell you honestly.
Prices and rules checked on 13 October 2026 from Shopify India pricing, Shopify Payments countries, Shopify manual payments, Hostinger India and Razorpay pricing. Prices change, so check them again before you decide.
Planning an online store? See how we build them on our ecommerce development page, look at stores and sites we have built, or book a free 30-minute call.