WooCommerce or Shopify in Egypt: what each really costs

Both platforms can run a serious online store. The difference is how you pay. Shopify bundles the software and hosting into a monthly plan, while WooCommerce is a free plugin for WordPress that you host yourself. This article compares what each one costs so you can plan a budget.

Shopify: a monthly plan plus card fees

Shopify lists three main plans. On annual billing they cost about 29 US dollars a month for Basic, 79 for Grow and 299 for Advanced. Billed monthly, the same plans cost 39, 105 and 399 dollars. Online card payments through Shopify Payments carry a fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents on Basic, 2.7% plus 30 cents on Grow and 2.5% plus 30 cents on Advanced for standard cards.

Source: NerdWallet, Shopify pricing. nerdwallet.com

On the Basic plan, annual billing works out to about 1,044 US dollars over three years (29 dollars times 36 months), before apps, a paid theme and card fees. Plans change, so check the Shopify pricing page before you decide.

WooCommerce: free software, separate bills

WooCommerce itself costs nothing. You pay for the parts around it: a domain, WordPress hosting, an SSL certificate (often included with hosting), and any paid extensions such as shipping, subscriptions or booking. Payment fees depend on the gateway you choose, not on WooCommerce.

That makes the cost easier to control and harder to compare in one number. A small store on a modest hosting plan can stay cheap, while a store with many paid extensions adds up, so list every extension you need before you compare.

How to compare the real cost over three years

• Platform: Shopify plan fees for 36 months, or hosting and domain fees for 36 months with WooCommerce.
• Apps and extensions: the paid add-ons you need for shipping, reviews, discounts and email marketing.
• Payment fees: the percentage and fixed fee your chosen gateway charges on your expected sales.
• Setup and maintenance: design and development, plus updates, backups and security for WooCommerce.
• Your own time: how much of the technical work you want to handle yourself.

Which one should you choose

Choose Shopify if you want the fastest start and are happy to pay a monthly plan for managed hosting. Choose WooCommerce if you want control over hosting, design and payment setup, or if your store sits inside a WordPress website that you already run. Before you decide, confirm that the payment gateway and shipping options you need in Egypt work with the platform.

We build WooCommerce stores, so we are not a neutral party. Use the cost list above to check any quote, ours included.

Hosting for your store? Read how to choose web hosting in Egypt.

Starting a new business? Get a free launch check of your domain, email and website.