WooCommerce or Shopify should be chosen around the way you sell, accept payments and run the store after launch. WooCommerce makes sense when you want control over hosting and custom features, with technical maintenance agreed in advance. Shopify is a candidate when its platform fits your sales process and you want hosting included in the subscription. For a company registered in Serbia, start by checking payment options and connections to the systems you already use.
Before comparing proposals, write down what you sell, who buys it and how you process orders today. Our guide to preparing for online store development helps you turn those details into a project brief.
What are you paying for, and who maintains the store?
WooCommerce is an open-source plugin for WordPress. The core software is free; hosting, development and any paid extensions have separate costs. WooCommerce does not add a platform fee for choosing another payment processor. The processor's own charges still apply. The official WooCommerce pricing guide explains this distinction.
Shopify includes hosting in its plans, so choosing and maintaining your own server is taken out of your day-to-day workload. You still need to manage store settings, staff access and the apps you use.
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Question | WooCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Where does the store run? | On hosting you choose and pay for. | On Shopify's infrastructure, included in the plan. |
| How do you add features? | Through extensions and development with access to the code. | Through built-in options, apps and development within the platform's limits. |
| What are the recurring costs? | Hosting, licences, technical support and payment processing fees. | The plan, apps, support and applicable payment fees. |
| What should you check before choosing? | Extension compatibility and responsibility for maintenance. | Supported integrations, the plan and available payment methods. |
For WooCommerce, agree who will make backups, test updates and respond if checkout stops working. Checks should cover extensions, the theme and payment processing, as recommended in the WooCommerce updating guide.
Check payments in Serbia before starting the design
Serbia is not on the list of supported Shopify Payments countries, checked on 24 October 2026. A business registered in Serbia should therefore not assume it can use this service. Check which external payment provider accepts the business, along with its contract and payout terms.
Shopify applies additional fees to transactions processed by third-party providers, depending on the plan and terms. Exceptions include certain PayPal transactions when Shopify Payments is the primary processor. Ask for confirmation of the charges for your chosen payment provider. Orders paid using manual payment methods, such as cash on delivery or bank transfer, do not incur this Shopify fee.
Choosing WooCommerce does not by itself confirm support from your bank. WooPayments is optional, so you can consider other providers. Each must support your business and the way you sell.
Ask your bank, payment provider and developer:
- Do they accept your company, business activity and country of registration?
- Does the integration support your platform, payment currency and payouts to your account?
- What percentage and fixed fees apply, including refund charges?
- Can you test successful and declined payments, cancellations and refunds before launch?
- Who resolves a payment that was collected without the order receiving the correct status?
How should you compare the total cost?
Request estimates for the same period, catalogue and scope of features. Include these items in both proposals:
- Initial development: design, product entry or migration, and training.
- Recurring costs: the platform or hosting, domain and licences.
- Payments: processor fees, any platform fee and other charges under the contract.
- Integrations: initial setup, subscriptions and maintenance of the connection.
- Support: the work covered, response time and the cost of new requests.
- A later move: data export, migration and URL redirects.
Calculate the costs at your current sales volume and for one clearly labelled growth projection. This will help you see whether higher costs would come from transactions, apps or further development. Check subscription and licence prices in the current offer, including how taxes apply.
Inventory, delivery and selling to business customers
For each inventory connection, request an exact list of the data transferred, the direction of transfer and the procedure if synchronisation is delayed. Both systems need to identify the same product. Our guide to connecting an online store to inventory covers these details.
Check courier and fiscal-system integrations separately. A platform name does not confirm that a particular extension covers your contract and working process.
For wholesale sales, use current information. Shopify B2B features are now available on Basic, Grow and Advanced plans. With the new Shopify Markets, those plans support a total of up to three active catalogues across all B2B markets; assigning catalogues directly to individual companies remains a Plus feature. Check the B2B features available on each plan against your pricing and ordering rules before deciding.
An example for a retailer with a physical shop
Imagine a clothing retailer with one shop and a separate inventory system. This is a hypothetical example. If a tested Shopify integration transfers the required variants, stock levels and orders, and the payment options meet the company's requirements, Shopify belongs on the shortlist.
If the existing system has a maintained WooCommerce integration, while the alternative needs development and additional support, WooCommerce may be more practical. Assess that choice through a test order, accurate stock levels and the total cost of maintaining the connection.
Our portfolio includes the Up&Down Supplements Shopify store. Its products and content are arranged around the purchase journey. It is an example of how a range can be presented; choosing a platform for another business requires a fresh assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Does free WooCommerce mean there are no monthly costs?
No. The core software is free. Hosting, support and licences can be billed monthly or annually, and the payment processor charges its own fees.
Can we switch platforms later?
You can plan a migration, but a product export is not a complete copy of the store. Shopify has data-transfer limitations; for example, its admin has no built-in order import. A complete WooCommerce backup includes files and the database. When planning a move, list customers, orders, custom fields, design and existing URLs separately.
Does a large product catalogue automatically favour Shopify?
Product count alone is not enough to decide. Check variants, filters, how frequently stock changes and the actual checkout steps. Request a test with a representative part of the catalogue and the agreed traffic load.
What should we send to get a platform recommendation?
Send a sample catalogue, your target market, payment methods and the names of the systems you already use. We establish that scope before developing an online store. You can send us these details for an estimate and receive a proposal that identifies the required integrations and recurring costs.