An honest, no-affiliate comparison from a Pvt Ltd that builds on both. With Indian INR costs across 3 store sizes, a clear lock-in analysis, and a single recommendation at the end.
Quick answer: For most first-time Indian D2C brands doing under ₹15L/month in revenue with a small team and limited tech help, Shopify is the right call — faster to launch, less to maintain, plenty of Indian payment + shipping integrations. WooCommerce starts winning when monthly Shopify fees + app fees cross ₹15-25K, when you need deep India-specific customisation that Shopify apps can't quite handle, or when you want full ownership of code and data. Both are good in 2026; the wrong reasons to pick are 'because everyone uses it' and 'because it's cheaper to start'.
| Criterion | Shopify | WooCommerce | Big Helpers take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | ₹15-90K (theme + setup) | ₹40K-2.5L (build + theme) | Shopify is cheaper to start; WooCommerce gives more for a higher one-time spend. |
| Monthly platform fee | ₹2,000-15,000 (Basic to Advanced) | ₹0 (just hosting ₹400-3,500/month) | Shopify's monthly fee compounds; WooCommerce has only hosting. |
| App / plugin marketplace | ~8,000 apps, often ₹400-4,000/month each | ~60,000 plugins, mostly free or one-time | Shopify's apps are polished but recurring; Woo's are scattered but cheaper long-run. |
| Indian payments (UPI, COD) | Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU native; UPI default with config | Razorpay, Cashfree, Instamojo, CCAvenue all good | Both cover Indian payments well. Shopify needs a tweak to surface UPI. |
| COD with OTP verification | Via app (₹600-2,000/mo) | Via plugin (free or ₹3-8K one-time) | Both achievable; cost adds up on Shopify over time. |
| Shiprocket / Delhivery | Native + apps, smooth | Plugin or custom integration | Shopify slightly smoother out of the box; both work. |
| GST invoicing | Via app (Sufio, GST Invoice India) | Plugin (free options + paid ones) | Both work; Woo plugins typically free, Shopify apps recurring. |
| WhatsApp cart recovery | App (₹1,500-5,000/mo) | Plugin or custom (one-time ₹10-30K) | Same outcome; Shopify rents it monthly, Woo owns it. |
| Speed (Core Web Vitals) | Good with right theme; can't deeply tune | Good with right setup; deeply tunable | Shopify's ceiling is high enough for most; Woo lets you push further if you have a developer. |
| Customisation depth | Themes + Liquid + apps; some hard limits | Code-level access to everything | Shopify is fine for 90% of stores; Woo wins for the remaining 10%. |
| Maintenance burden | Shopify handles platform; you maintain apps | You (or us) maintain WordPress + plugins + theme | Shopify is meaningfully easier on a small team. |
| Lock-in | Theme + apps don't port; product/order export OK | You own the code and database fully | Shopify lock-in is real but mild; Woo has none. |
| Multi-channel (Amazon, etc.) | Shopify Markets + apps | Plugins (Unicommerce, Vinculum) | Both achievable; setups are roughly equivalent in cost. |
| DPDP / data residency | Servers global; India residency not guaranteed | Host wherever you want (India OK) | Woo wins if data residency matters to your buyer base. |
| Cost head | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Small store (50 SKUs, ₹3-8L/month) — Year 1 | ₹40K (build) + ₹40K (Basic plan + apps) = ₹80K | ₹50K (build) + ₹15K (hosting) = ₹65K |
| Small store — Years 2-3 (per year) | ₹40-60K (plan + apps + maintenance) | ₹15-30K (hosting + maintenance) |
| Medium store (200 SKUs, ₹15-30L/month) — Year 1 | ₹70K (build) + ₹1.0-1.4L (Shopify + apps) = ₹1.7-2.1L | ₹1.2L (build) + ₹40-60K (hosting + maintenance) = ₹1.6-1.8L |
| Medium store — Years 2-3 (per year) | ₹1.0-1.4L (plan + apps + maintenance) | ₹50-80K (hosting + maintenance) |
| Large store (1,000+ SKUs, ₹50L+/month) — Year 1 | ₹1.5L (build) + ₹2.5-4L (Advanced + apps) = ₹4-5.5L | ₹2.5-3.5L (build) + ₹1.2-2L (hosting + maintenance) = ₹3.7-5.5L |
| Large store — Years 2-3 (per year) | ₹2.5-4L (Advanced + apps + maintenance) | ₹1.2-2L (hosting + maintenance) |
Send your category, current monthly revenue, SKU count, and any deal-breaker features. We send back a 1-page recommendation in 48 hours with INR cost projection across 3 years. Free, no sales call required.
Note: illustrative example — not a specific client engagement.
A 5-person ayurvedic skincare brand in Bengaluru launched on Shopify Basic with 18 SKUs. Year 1 cost: ₹70K build + ₹2,500/month plan + ₹4,500/month apps (cart recovery, COD verification, GST invoicing, reviews, upsell) = ₹1.54L total. By month 14 they were at ₹22L/month revenue and adding apps faster — total monthly Shopify spend hit ₹14,000. They debated migrating to WooCommerce. We ran the math: a Woo rebuild would cost ₹1.3L one-time + ₹35K/year hosting + ₹40K/year maintenance = ₹2.05L year 1, then ₹75K/year. Shopify trajectory was ₹1.7L/year and rising. Payback on Woo migration was ~22 months. They chose to stay on Shopify and revisit at ₹40L/month — partly because operationally they didn't want to manage WordPress with their tiny team. The right call for them, not for everyone.
If you're starting fresh with under ₹15L/month projected revenue, a small team, and no developer, start on Shopify Basic. You'll be live in 3 weeks, the ops are simple, and you can switch later if needed. If you're already at ₹20L+/month with rising app fees, complex requirements, or in-house dev capacity, build on WooCommerce — the math turns in 18-24 months and you keep code ownership. The wrong reasons to pick WooCommerce: 'because Shopify is too expensive' (it usually isn't, at small scale). The wrong reasons to pick Shopify: 'because it's the safe choice' (it isn't always the cheapest at scale, and it isn't always the most flexible).
Yes. Products, customers, and orders migrate cleanly via CSV or paid migration tools. The work is in re-creating apps as plugins, redoing the theme (Liquid → PHP), and setting up payments + shipping again. Typical migration is 3-5 weeks for a small store, 6-8 weeks for a medium one. We've done 12+ Shopify → Woo migrations.
It can, with care. We preserve URLs (or set 301 redirects for any that change), keep content depth, and submit a fresh sitemap. Migrations done badly can drop rankings 30-50% for 60 days. Done with redirects + content parity, most see a small dip recovering within 30 days, and often a longer-term gain because Woo gives more SEO control.
Shopify Plus starts at ~₹2L/month in India. For brands above ₹2-5 crore/year, it can make sense — better checkout customisation, more apps included, dedicated support. Below that revenue, it's overkill. We've helped 3 clients downgrade from Plus to Advanced + apps and save 60% with no functional loss.
Yes — 2% on Basic, 1% on Shopify (mid tier), 0.5% on Advanced, if you don't use Shopify Payments. Since Shopify Payments isn't available in India, Indian stores pay this fee on top of Razorpay/Cashfree's 2% MDR. Effective MDR is ~3.5-4% on Basic vs ~2% on WooCommerce. At ₹20L/month revenue, that's ~₹3.5L/year of difference.
Yes, with proper hosting (RunCloud-managed VPS or Cloudways at ~₹3-6K/month) and a clean theme. We've shipped Woo stores with 4,000+ SKUs running at PageSpeed 88+. The 'Woo is slow' reputation comes from cheap shared hosting + 40 random plugins, not from Woo itself.
For most Indian SMEs, no. Magento Open Source is powerful but the maintenance burden and developer cost are significantly higher than Woo. We only recommend Magento for businesses above ₹10 crore/year with complex B2B flows.
Adequate for tiny stores (under 30 SKUs, ₹2-3L/month). Beyond that, both Shopify and WooCommerce out-feature them by a wide margin. We don't recommend these for any store with growth ambition.
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