The honest 5-minute decision tree. AU shipping, GST, payment fees and exit-cost reality — not the affiliate-blog nonsense.
The TL;DR
- Shopify if you want to launch in 2 weeks, pay $80–$200/month forever, and never touch hosting.
- WooCommerce if you have an existing WordPress site, want full ownership, and have someone willing to maintain it.
True monthly cost (AUD, < 500 SKUs)
- Shopify Basic + AU apps: $59 plan + $30 apps + 1.7% + 30c per transaction = ~$120–$220/month at $20k/m revenue.
- WooCommerce on Hostinger Premium: $4 hosting + $0 platform + Stripe 1.75% + 30c = $50–$80/month at the same volume.
Where Shopify wins
- Speed of launch. A clean Dawn theme, AU shipping zones, Shopify Payments — live in days.
- Apps ecosystem. Klaviyo, Recharge, Loop, Judge.me — plug and play.
- Mobile checkout. Shop Pay one-tap conversion is unmatched.
- Hosting and security. Zero ongoing maintenance.
Where WooCommerce wins
- Total ownership. Full database access, full code access, no platform lock-in.
- Custom rules. AU GST edge cases, complex shipping matrices, B2B pricing tiers — easier in code than in apps.
- SEO control. Yoast/Rank Math give you finer control than Shopify's headers.
- Cost ceiling. Your monthly cost stays flat as you grow.
The exit cost nobody tells you
Migrating off Shopify is genuinely painful: theme code is locked to Liquid, app data is in third-party silos, and customer accounts don't transfer cleanly. WooCommerce → anywhere is a SQL export. Factor this in before signing a 3-year Shopify Plus deal.
Our recommendation flow
- Less than $10k/month revenue, less than 100 SKUs → Shopify Basic.
- $10k–$50k/month, 100–500 SKUs, want to keep monthly costs flat → WooCommerce if you have a dev partner.
- $50k+/month, custom B2B pricing, audit trail needs → Headless commerce (Shopify Plus or Saleor).