WooCommerce or Shopify for dropshipping in 2025? See real costs, build speed, app stacks vs all-in-one, and when a prebuilt store wins. Start fast today.
Choosing between WooCommerce and Shopify can feel like a coin toss when you are eager to launch a dropshipping business. In 2025 the choice is clearer if you look at total cost, setup speed, app dependencies, and your own timeline to first revenue. This guide distills the numbers and tradeoffs, then shows where WooDropship’s plugin and prebuilt store options fit for a faster, lower-cost start.
Shopify’s plans are simple to understand and include hosting, SSL, and the core commerce stack. According to the official Shopify pricing, the yearly rates work out to 29 dollars for Basic, 79 dollars for Grow, and 299 dollars for Advanced when paid annually. Shopify Payments card rates start at 2.9 percent plus 0.30 dollars for Basic, 2.7 percent plus 0.30 dollars for Grow, and 2.5 percent plus 0.30 dollars for Advanced. If you do not use Shopify Payments, the same page states third party transaction fees of 2 percent on Basic, 1 percent on Grow, and 0.6 percent on Advanced. That built-in stack also covers unlimited web hosting and a free SSL certificate as shown in the plan comparison table on the same page.
Theme costs can be a one-time expense. The Shopify Theme Store shows premium themes commonly priced from about 180 to around 350 dollars depending on features. You might add paid apps for reviews, bundles, upsells, or shipping rules. Shopify’s own App Store explains there are “over 8,000 apps” available, which the Shopify App Store home highlights as “an epic variety of apps.” Those subscriptions can stack up, so it helps to choose consolidated apps that handle several conversion features.
WooCommerce has a different cost curve that starts lower and scales based on what you choose to add. The WooCommerce plugin itself is free, but you will pay for hosting, your domain, optional premium themes, and any commercial extensions you need. The official WooCommerce blog’s 2025 pricing guide says “quality hosting plans start at around 250 dollars per year” and shows realistic ranges for store operations like shipping tools and marketing extensions. You can see the detailed breakdown in WooCommerce’s pricing article, which also notes payment gateway costs typically around 2.9 percent plus 0.30 dollars per transaction for U.S. cards through providers like WooPayments and Stripe. Stripe’s own pricing page confirms the standard 2.9 percent plus 0.30 dollars rate in the U.S. For merchants who prefer PayPal, PayPal’s merchant fee schedule lists PayPal Checkout at 3.49 percent plus a 0.49 dollars fixed fee for domestic online sales.
Domains are small-ticket items in either case. Shopify’s guide to domain pricing says typical domains cost under 20 dollars per year, which aligns with the Shopify domain price overview. WooCommerce’s own article pegs domain registration at around 15 dollars and up. Premium WooCommerce themes vary from free to roughly 100 dollars per year in the WooCommerce Themes catalog.
If you want the lowest recurring cost for AliExpress dropshipping on WooCommerce, WooDropship offers a one-time purchase model. The WooDropship plugin is a lifetime membership for 89 dollars, with a free trial and no recurring charges. It imports AliExpress products in one click, bulk edits titles and pricing, uses AI to optimize descriptions, and fulfills orders via a Chrome extension. For entrepreneurs who value predictable cost, that makes the WooCommerce route with WooDropship very budget friendly.
Shopify is an all-in-one platform. You sign up, pick a theme, add products, and you are live. The platform includes SSL, hosting, and a fast checkout out of the box. In fact, Shopify has repeatedly emphasized conversion at checkout. The company explains that its checkout converts up to 36 percent better than competitors on average, and that Shop Pay can lift conversion by as much as 50 percent compared to guest checkout as described in Shopify’s checkout analysis. That conversion advantage can offset subscription costs for many stores, especially if you plan to run paid traffic early.
WooCommerce gives you full control and ownership since it runs on WordPress. The tradeoff is a little more setup. You will pick a host, point your domain, install WordPress and WooCommerce, and then configure your theme and extensions. That flexibility is why many SEO-focused merchants and content-driven brands choose it. If you are new to WordPress, our wiki entries on WordPress, WooCommerce, and WordPress plugins can help you get up to speed quickly.
Where WooDropship helps WooCommerce win on speed is the product pipeline and fulfillment. With our Chrome extension and one-click import, you can fill your catalog from AliExpress and handle automated order processing and order fulfillment without wrestling multiple tools. If you already know WordPress, you can be launch-ready in days rather than weeks.
Some founders love a composable stack. Others want a single vendor that bundles the essentials. Shopify sits closer to the all-in-one side, but still relies on apps for edge cases and advanced tactics. The breadth of options is a strength. As the Shopify App Store puts it, you have thousands of apps available, and Shopify’s review process means they are vetted and reliable.
WooCommerce is fully modular. You can connect best-of-breed services for email, SMS, analytics, accounting, shipping, and more. The official marketplace lists hundreds of premium extensions, and the broader WordPress plugin directory contains tens of thousands of free plugins for SEO, caching, forms, and performance. That ecosystem enables deep customization. It also means you should be intentional to avoid plugin bloat. Our wikis on conversion optimization, conversion rate, and search engine optimization explain how to choose only the tools that move the needle.
A practical tip for beginners. Whether you use Shopify or WooCommerce, prefer a tight stack at launch. Pick a premium theme, your payment gateway, a reviews app, an email tool, and a single conversion lift app for bundles or urgency. You can add A/B testing later. If you are curious, our wiki on A/B testing outlines a simple framework.
If you choose WooCommerce, the fastest way to import and fulfill products is the WooDropship dropshipping plugin. You can:
Because it is a one-time 89 dollar lifetime license, your margins do not erode the way monthly app stacks can. If you are newer to AliExpress, our primer on dropshipping and the blog post AliExpress Dropshipping 101 will help you avoid common mistakes.
If you want the speed of a done-for-you Shopify setup, our prebuilt Shopify dropshipping stores are delivered in 7 days for a one-time 49 dollars. You get 30 vetted products, a premium theme, essential legal pages, PayPal and Stripe setup, and conversion features like bundles, popups, countdowns, bought together, and quick view. It is a simple way to start testing ads or influencer traffic this week. For payments, you can consult our wikis on Stripe, PayPal, and payment gateways to understand fees and setup.
There are moments where a prebuilt store is the smartest decision.
If this sounds like you, you can order your store on our dropshipping stores page. Already placed an order and need help? Our team is available via the contact page.
Fees are not just line items. They shape your pricing and profit. Here is how to think about them in practice.
Finally, conversion beats cost when you buy ads. Shopify’s one-page checkout and Shop Pay lift can be decisive if you plan to live in paid social. WooCommerce can close that gap with smart UX and performance tuning, but it will take a bit more work. Either way, you can test and measure using our wiki on key performance indicators and sales analytics.
If you have questions about niches, pricing, or fulfillment lead times, our team is standing by at WooDropship support. You can also review customer service metrics like resolution times in our knowledge base, for example the wiki on customer complaint resolution time.
Happy WooDropshipping!
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