Switching from WooCommerce to Shopify
Switching from WooCommerce to Shopify usually means trading self-hosted flexibility for a fully managed platform with built-in scaling, security, and support.
Why teams switch from WooCommerce to Shopify
No hosting or plugin maintenance
Shopify manages hosting, uptime, security patches, and PCI compliance, removing the ongoing technical burden of self-hosted WooCommerce.
Built-in POS and omnichannel selling
Shopify’s native POS and multi-channel selling (social, marketplaces) are more integrated than WooCommerce’s plugin-based equivalents.
More predictable performance at scale
Shopify’s infrastructure is built to handle traffic spikes without the server-tuning and caching work self-hosted WooCommerce often requires.
Switching Cost & Friction Estimator
Estimate the real hidden cost of moving from WooCommerce to Shopify — not just the subscription price.
How to migrate your data
Shopify’s official Store Migration app automates product import from WooCommerce, but it’s still in early access and covers only part of a typical store.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Set up your Shopify store | Create a new Shopify account and choose the plan tier that fits your catalog size and sales volume. |
| 2. Run Shopify’s Store Migration app | Use Shopify’s official (early-access) Store Migration app to import your WooCommerce product catalog with a few clicks. |
| 3. Check product options against Shopify’s 3-option cap | Review any products with more than three variant options, since Shopify only supports three and won’t import extra options automatically. |
| 4. Import customers and orders separately | Bring over customer and order history using Shopify’s CSV import tools or a third-party migration app, since the Store Migration app doesn’t cover these. |
| 5. Rebuild collections and store design | Manually recreate product collections and your storefront design using a Shopify theme, since these aren’t handled by the migration app. |
| 6. Set up 301 redirects and test checkout | Map old WooCommerce product and category URLs to their new Shopify equivalents, then test checkout and shipping rates before launch. |
Pricing during the transition
WooCommerce is free software with separate hosting costs; Shopify bundles hosting and software into one subscription.
| Plan | WooCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | WooCommerce plugin: free, but requires paid WordPress hosting | No permanent free plan — 3-day free trial only |
| Entry paid tier | Basic hosting: around $10-30/month | Basic: around $39/month (billed monthly) |
| Mid tier | Managed WooCommerce hosting: around $30-60/month | Grow: around $105/month (billed monthly) |
WooCommerce itself is free and open-source, so its real cost is hosting, theme, and extensions — Shopify instead bundles everything into a single predictable monthly subscription.
Feature-parity checklist
undefined
| Feature | WooCommerce | Shopify equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction fees on non-native payments | No platform fee, only your payment processor’s standard rate | Extra fee unless using Shopify Payments |
| Hosting and uptime management | Self-managed via your WordPress host | Fully managed by Shopify |
| App/plugin ecosystem | Massive WordPress plugin ecosystem, more variable quality | Large, curated Shopify App Store |
| Built-in POS | Requires a separate WooCommerce POS extension | Native Shopify POS |
| Official migration tooling | Official paid extension imports products, customers, orders, coupons, pages, and blog posts from Shopify | Store Migration app imports from WooCommerce (early access, products only) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shopify’s Store Migration app free?
Yes, it’s a free first-party app, but as of late 2026 it’s still in early access and available only to certain stores on desktop.
Will my product variants transfer correctly?
Only up to Shopify’s 3-option limit — products with more than three variant options (like size, color, and material combined) will lose the extra options and need metafields or a third-party app.
Does the migration app bring over my customer and order history?
No, customers and orders aren’t covered by the Store Migration app — you’ll need separate CSV imports or a third-party migration tool for those.
What about my WooCommerce product reviews?
Reviews don’t migrate natively at all; you’ll need a third-party review-import app to bring them into Shopify.
How do collections get set up in Shopify after migration?
They generally need to be recreated manually, since the Store Migration app’s documentation doesn’t confirm automated collection transfer.
Canonical data for the tools on this page
Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page — with the date each figure was last verified.
