Key answer: Choose Shopify when a fast start and zero-maintenance infrastructure matter most (subscription from ~$29/month plus fees); WooCommerce when you want full control, data ownership and flexibility with lower fixed costs; a custom platform when your processes are non-standard (B2B, configurators, ERP integrations) and off-the-shelf solutions would need costly bending.
Table of contents
The short answer
There is no "best e-commerce platform" – there is the platform best matched to your processes, team and plans. In brief: Shopify = the fastest road to selling and zero infrastructure worries; WooCommerce = control, ownership and flexibility; custom = for processes the off-the-shelf products can't handle without painful compromises.
Shopify – the store as a service
Shopify delivers everything on subscription: hosting, security, updates, payments. A store can launch in weeks and the infrastructure withstands any traffic.
Strengths: time to launch, reliability, app ecosystem, support. Weaknesses: fixed costs that grow with scale (subscription + transaction fees + paid apps), limited technical control (URL structure, no server access), harder non-standard customisation, your data living "in rented space".
Best for: D2C brands, fast launches, teams without technical staff, international sales from day one.
WooCommerce – control and ownership
WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce layer on WordPress: the code and data are yours, you choose the hosting, and modifications have no ceiling.
Strengths: no platform fees, full flexibility, data ownership, natural integration with content (blog/SEO on the same engine). Weaknesses: hosting, updates and security are your responsibility (read: you need technical care), quality depends heavily on the implementer, large scale requires deliberate architecture.
Best for: companies wanting control and low fixed costs, content- and SEO-driven stores, unusual discounts/price lists, integrations with local systems (accounting, couriers).
Custom – when processes don't fit the box
A tailor-made platform (often headless: your own frontend plus specialised APIs) makes sense when the requirements list starts with "but we do it differently": B2B sales with individual price lists and approvals, product configurators, subscriptions, deep ERP integrations, unusual logistics.
Strengths: zero compromises, performance and UX designed around your process, a competitive edge no plugin can copy. Weaknesses: starting budget (from ~€20,000 upwards), build time, dependence on the developing team.
Best for: B2B, brands with unusual sales models, companies for which e-commerce is the core business, not an extra channel.
Decision table
Criterion: Time to launch · Shopify: weeks · WooCommerce: 1–3 months · Custom: 3–6+ months
Criterion: Upfront cost · Shopify: low–medium · WooCommerce: medium · Custom: high
Criterion: Running costs · Shopify: grow with scale · WooCommerce: low–medium · Custom: medium
Criterion: Flexibility · Shopify: limited · WooCommerce: high · Custom: total
Criterion: Data & code ownership · Shopify: partial · WooCommerce: full · Custom: full
Criterion: Non-standard B2B · Shopify: hard · WooCommerce: possible · Custom: natural
How to decide – 5 questions
- What do you sell, and how unusual is the buying process? (the stranger it is, the further from Shopify)
- Will content and SEO be your main channel? (a point for WooCommerce/custom)
- Who will maintain the store technically? (no staff = a point for Shopify)
- What's the 3-year plan – scale, markets, integrations?
- Calculate 3-year TCO, not the build cost – subscriptions, fees, apps, care, development.
We implement stores on all three paths, so our advice carries no ideology – from process analysis to migrations without SEO loss. Let's talk about your store.