WordPress vs Shopify: Cost and Fees Calculator
Enter your volumes to compare estimated monthly costs and fees for WordPress and Shopify across the selling types both offer, using published US pricing.
Selling online (eCommerce)
Estimates combine processing fees and monthly subscriptions on the plans noted above. One-time hardware, setup, and add-ons are excluded. Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and may have changed.
How the WordPress vs Shopify calculator works, and how the two compare
WordPress is the open-source CMS behind over 40% of the web, which sells online through the WooCommerce plugin. WordPress is free software; a store means WordPress plus WooCommerce on hosting from roughly $10 to $25 per month, with processing via WooPayments or Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30 and no platform transaction fee. Shopify is the leading dedicated eCommerce platform in the US, which also sells in person through Shopify POS. Shopify Basic is $39 per month at 2.9% + $0.30 online with Shopify Payments (Grow $105 at 2.7% + $0.30); in-person processing is 2.6% + $0.10 with POS Lite included in every plan, and POS Pro adds $89 per month per location.
How they are similar: Where they overlap: both WordPress and Shopify cover selling online, which is what this calculator compares. In both cases the bill is driven by a percentage of each sale plus any fixed per-transaction fee, which is why your average transaction size changes the effective rate as much as the headline percentage does.
How they differ: Only Shopify offers in-person card readers and a full POS system, so that side of the business is not part of this comparison. WordPress operates as free open-source software where you pay for hosting and processing rather than the platform itself, while Shopify operates as a subscription platform where you pay a monthly plan plus payment processing. WordPress is a general-purpose CMS first: unbeatable for content and SEO flexibility with total ownership, but eCommerce requires assembling and maintaining WooCommerce, hosting, and plugins yourself. Shopify's strength is depth and ecosystem: the largest app store in commerce and true omnichannel selling, but third-party gateways trigger an extra 0.6% to 2% fee and app costs creep up at scale.
Assumptions used in this calculator
- WordPress is modeled on: WordPress + WooCommerce on hosting around $20 per month, 2.9% + $0.30 processing.
- Shopify is modeled on: Basic $39 per month, 2.9% + $0.30 online with Shopify Payments.
- Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and change often; quote-based providers are modeled at representative rates. Always confirm current pricing with the provider.
- One-time hardware, setup, add-on apps, keyed-in transactions, international cards, and chargeback fees are excluded from the monthly figures.