In this article8 sections
Key takeaways
- For most small and mid-sized European stores without a developer on staff, Shopify costs less over three years. Our example Dutch store (300 orders a month at €75) comes to €21,199 on Shopify Basic and €25,177 on WooCommerce.
- WooCommerce is free software, but hosting, plugin licences and above all upkeep add up. It comes out cheaper when upkeep is cheap: with one developer hour a month instead of four, the same store costs €17,077 on WooCommerce.
- Payment fees are the line that grows with you: about 8% of the 3-year total at 50 orders a month, about 79% at 1,500. How your customers pay matters as much as the platform: iDEAL | Wero in the Netherlands costs a fixed amount per order, while PayPal and invoice payments in Germany cost a percentage.
- On Shopify, use Shopify Payments. A third-party provider such as Mollie adds Shopify’s own fee of 2% (Basic) to 0.2% (Plus) to every order.
The calculator above puts Shopify and WooCommerce side by side for three years, month by month: the plan or hosting, payment fees, apps or plugins, the theme, upkeep and the build. Change any number and both totals update. It works in euros for stores in the Netherlands and Belgium and in Germany and Austria, with the payment methods customers there actually use, in pounds for the United Kingdom and in dollars for the United States. The calculator is also available in Dutch and in German.
We build on both platforms: Shopify stores for Rehall, Ovabalance and Kampeerwinkel Roermond, and a WooCommerce store for Products for Home. Every third-party price below was checked on the vendor’s own page in October 2026.
Shopify or WooCommerce: which should you choose?
Short answer: choose Shopify if you have no developer in house and want hosting, security and the checkout taken care of. Choose WooCommerce if you already run WordPress, have someone who updates and tests the site every month, or need deep control over the checkout and product logic. On cost, the calculator’s starting values put Shopify about €3,978 ahead over three years for a growing Dutch store, and nearly all of that gap is upkeep.
| Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| 3-year cost | Usually lower without a developer on staff | Lower when upkeep costs little |
| Upkeep | Shopify updates the platform itself | You or your agency update WordPress, WooCommerce and plugins |
| Local payments | iDEAL | Wero and Klarna built into Shopify Payments; PayPal alongside | Any provider: Mollie, WooPayments, Stripe, PayPal |
| Customisation | Within the limits of themes and apps | Full freedom in code, checkout and product logic |
| Hosting and data | Run by Shopify; data can be processed outside the EU | You pick the host, for example fully inside the EU |
| Ownership | You rent the platform | You own the software and the site |
How to use the calculator
- Pick your region. Netherlands & Belgium uses Shopify’s Belgian euro rate card and Germany & Austria its Austrian one, each with the payment providers WooCommerce stores there use; United Kingdom and United States use Shopify’s own rate cards in pounds and dollars.
- Describe your store. Enter orders a month, your average order value and the growth you expect. Last year’s numbers from your current shop are the best start.
- Set how customers pay. The sliders split orders between the region’s payment methods (iDEAL | Wero, Klarna and cards in the Netherlands; PayPal, Klarna, direct debit and cards in Germany), because each method has its own fee.
- Fill in both platforms. Choose a Shopify plan and payment provider, then the monthly apps, theme, upkeep hours and build cost on each side.
- Read the result. Check the totals, the running total chart and the notes under it, then copy the link to share your numbers with a colleague or with us.
How the calculator works
The calculator runs your store month by month for 36 months. Orders grow once a year by the rate you set. One-off costs (the build and a Shopify theme) fall in month 1; yearly bills (a Shopify plan on yearly billing, WooCommerce plugin and theme licences) in months 1, 13 and 25; everything else every month. All prices exclude VAT. Costs that are the same on both platforms, such as email marketing, shipping labels, product photos and your domain, are left out, so the totals show the difference the platform makes.
| Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan or hosting | Monthly plan, hosting included | Hosting; the software is free |
| Payment fees | Shopify Payments, or a provider plus Shopify’s third-party fee | Mollie or WooPayments (Stripe in the UK) |
| Apps or plugins | Paid apps, billed monthly in US dollars | Paid plugins and extensions, renewed yearly |
| Theme | One-off purchase | Yearly licence |
| Upkeep | Developer hours for theme and app changes | Developer hours for updates, testing, backups and security |
| Design and build | One-off | One-off |
These are the rates the calculator uses. Shopify sets its prices per country, and its euro prices differ between EU countries. Its Dutch pricing page can’t be checked from outside the Netherlands, so the euro numbers come from Shopify’s Belgian rate card, the closest published one. Your Shopify admin shows the exact rates for your store.
| Rate used | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify plans (euros) | Basic €24, Grow €69, Advanced €289 a month on yearly billing (€32, €92, €384 monthly); Plus from €2,100 on a 3-year term | Shopify Belgium pricing |
| Shopify Payments (euros) | Cards 2% + €0.25 on Basic to 1.4% + €0.25 on Plus; iDEAL | Wero €0.29 (Plus €0.15); Klarna 2.99% + €0.35 | Shopify Belgium pricing |
| Shopify third-party fee | 2% Basic, 1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced, 0.2% Plus | Shopify Belgium pricing |
| Shopify (euros, Germany & Austria) | Austrian rate card: the same plan prices; cards 2% + €0.25 on Basic, 1.9% Grow, 1.7% Advanced, 1.5% Plus; Klarna 2.99% + €0.35. No direct debit or PayPal in Shopify Payments | Shopify Austria pricing, Shopify Help Center |
| PayPal (Germany) | 2.99% + €0.39; no Shopify third-party fee on PayPal orders when Shopify Payments is the main provider | PayPal Germany fees, Shopify Help Center |
| Shopify (pounds) | £19, £49, £259 on yearly billing (£25, £65, £344 monthly), Plus from £1,800; cards 2% + 25p to 1.3% + 25p; Klarna 4.99% + 30p | Shopify UK pricing |
| Shopify (dollars) | $29, $89, $359 on yearly billing ($39, $105, $399 monthly), Plus from $2,300; cards 2.9% + 30¢ to 2.25% + 30¢. These are the prices Shopify shows in the US | Shopify US pricing |
| Apps and themes on Shopify | Priced in US dollars, converted with a 1.5% fee for euro and pound billing | Shopify Help Center |
| Mollie | EEA consumer cards 1.80% + €0.25; iDEAL | Wero €0.32; Klarna 2.99% + €0.45 for Dutch and Belgian buyers, €0.35 for German and Austrian; SEPA direct debit €0.35; PayPal at PayPal’s fee + €0.10 | Mollie pricing |
| WooPayments | Netherlands: cards 1.50% + €0.25, iDEAL | Wero €0.29, Klarna 2.99% + €0.35. UK: cards 1.50% + £0.25, Klarna 4.99% + £0.35. US: cards 2.90% + $0.30 | WooPayments fees |
| Stripe | Netherlands: standard EEA cards 1.5% + €0.25, iDEAL | Wero €0.29, Klarna from 2.99% + €0.35. UK: standard UK cards 1.5% + 20p, Klarna from 4.99% + 35p. US: cards 2.9% + 30¢ | Stripe Netherlands, UK and US pricing |
| Germanized Pro (German stores on WooCommerce) | €85 the first year, then €65 a year including VAT; included in the German region’s plugin budget | vendidero |
| WooCommerce | Free; hosting $25–$350 a month for most stores; extensions $29–$299 a year each | WooCommerce pricing |
The other starting values are assumptions, not prices: €75 average order value, €75 an hour for a developer, €80 a month in Shopify apps, a €350 Shopify theme, €40 a month for WooCommerce hosting, €400 a year in plugins and a €70 theme licence, two upkeep hours a month on Shopify and four on WooCommerce. Replace them with your own numbers; the totals are only as good as what you put in.
The costs, line by line
Plan or hosting
Shopify charges one monthly plan with hosting, security and the checkout included: €24, €69 or €289 a month for Basic, Grow or Advanced on yearly billing, and from €2,100 for Plus on a 3-year term. WooCommerce is a free plugin with no platform fee or revenue share, but you pay for hosting. WooCommerce itself puts that at $25 to $350 a month for most stores; the calculator starts at €40 for managed WordPress hosting.
Payment fees
Payment fees are charged on every order, so they overtake every other line as a store grows. In the Netherlands the method matters as much as the provider: iDEAL | Wero costs a fixed amount per payment, while cards and Klarna cost a percentage of the order plus a fixed fee.
72%
Share of Dutch online purchases paid with iDEAL in the first quarter of 2026, against 8% by card, 5% by direct debit and 4% with Klarna.
Source: Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor Q1 2026, Dutch Payments Association
That is why the calculator starts Dutch stores with 72% iDEAL | Wero, 4% Klarna and 24% cards; the cards also stand in for the other methods, which errs on the dear side. Here is what one €75 order costs in fees with each option:
| iDEAL | Wero | Card | Klarna | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments, Basic | €0.29 | €1.75 | €2.59 |
| Mollie on Shopify Basic | €1.82 | €3.10 | €4.19 |
| Mollie on WooCommerce | €0.32 | €1.60 | €2.69 |
| WooPayments on WooCommerce | €0.29 | €1.38 | €2.59 |
Mollie on Shopify costs more than it looks
Mollie’s own rates are close to Shopify Payments, but Shopify adds its third-party fee on top of every order. For the example store that is €18,752 over three years on Basic. Unless you need Mollie for a specific reason, Shopify Payments is the cheaper route.
iDEAL is becoming Wero
Since January 2026 iDEAL appears in checkouts as iDEAL | Wero, and iDEAL itself closes at the end of 2027. Merchant prices stay at iDEAL’s level until the end of 2028 (Emerce). Wero is expected to add one new thing: buyers will be able to dispute a payment, as with a card, which may become a new cost later. The calculator uses today’s rates.
Germany and Austria: PayPal, invoice and direct debit
German shoppers pay differently. In 2025 PayPal took 28.7% of German online revenue, buying on invoice 26.1%, direct debit 14.4%, cards 13.7% and instalments 4.7% (EHI Retail Institute, Online-Payment 2026). The Germany & Austria region starts with 29% PayPal, 31% Klarna (invoice and instalments), 14% direct debit and 26% cards. Here is one €75 order:
| PayPal | Klarna | Direct debit | Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments, Basic | €2.63 | €2.59 | €2.59* | €1.75 |
| Mollie on WooCommerce | €2.73 | €2.59 | €0.35 | €1.60 |
| WooPayments + PayPal on WooCommerce | €2.63 | €2.59 | €0.35 | €1.38 |
In Germany, WooCommerce wins as you grow
PayPal and Klarna cost about the same on both platforms, and with Shopify Payments as your main provider Shopify adds no fee to PayPal orders. Direct debit is the difference: €0.35 a payment on WooCommerce through Mollie, Stripe or WooPayments, but not available in Shopify Payments, so those buyers pay through Klarna or PayPal at around 3%. With the calculator’s starting values, a German store selling €75 orders is cheaper on WooCommerce from about 320 orders a month (€288,000 in first-year sales), and from about 255 with WooPayments. In the Netherlands, where iDEAL | Wero costs a fixed amount on both platforms, the tipping point is much higher: with Mollie on WooCommerce Shopify stays cheaper even at 3,000 orders a month, and with WooPayments or Stripe WooCommerce pulls ahead from about 1,110 orders a month.
Apps and plugins
Most Shopify stores pay monthly for a handful of apps, for reviews, subscriptions, upsells or filters. They are priced in US dollars, and euro and pound stores pay a 1.5% conversion fee on top. WooCommerce extensions cost $29 to $299 a year each, and many common features have a free plugin, so this line is usually lower on WooCommerce. If you grow your average order value with WooCommerce plugins, add those licences here.
Theme
Shopify’s free themes are a solid start, and paid themes in the Shopify Theme Store cost $100 to $500 once, about $320 in the middle of the range. Themes in the WooCommerce Marketplace cost $39 to $129 a year, most of them around $69. With a custom-designed store, set the theme to zero and put the design work in the build.
Upkeep
Upkeep is the line that most often decides the result. Shopify updates the platform itself, so the hours go to theme and app changes. On WooCommerce someone has to update WordPress, WooCommerce and every plugin, test the checkout after each update, and look after backups and security. The calculator starts at two hours a month for Shopify and four for WooCommerce. If you have a developer in house, lower it; if your store runs many plugins, raise it. Our support and maintenance plans cover this work.
Design and build
The build is a one-off cost, and it is often the same on both platforms for the same scope. Our webshops on Shopify or WooCommerce start from €2,500, with a fixed scope and a fixed price, weekly demos, and live in 6 to 8 weeks; you own the code. The calculator starts both builds at €2,500. Raise the WooCommerce build if you need a custom checkout or many integrations, and see our pricing page for what each package includes.
Three example stores
We ran three Dutch stores through the calculator, keeping every other starting value. Each one uses the Shopify plan the calculator finds cheapest at its volume.
| Starter | Growing | Scaling | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orders a month | 50 | 300 | 1,500 |
| Average order value | €45 | €75 | €90 |
| Growth per year | 10% | 15% | 20% |
| Sales over 3 years | €89,370 | €937,575 | €5,896,800 |
| Shopify, 3 years | €13,140 (Basic) | €21,199 (Basic) | €64,718 (Grow) |
| WooCommerce, 3 years | €17,255 | €25,177 | €68,883 |
| Payment fees, share of the Shopify total | 8% | 43% | 79% |
With these starting values Shopify is cheaper in all three, by roughly the same amount: two extra upkeep hours a month on WooCommerce outweigh its lower plugin and theme costs. Payment fees are almost equal on both, so as the store grows they matter more to the total but barely change the gap.
Two changes show how sensitive the answer is. With one upkeep hour a month on WooCommerce instead of four, the growing store costs €17,077 on WooCommerce against €21,199 on Shopify. With Mollie instead of Shopify Payments on Shopify Basic, its Shopify total rises to €39,821.
When each platform comes out cheaper
Shopify is usually cheaper when
- Nobody on your team updates and tests a WordPress site every month.
- You can use Shopify Payments, so no third-party fee applies.
- You need only a few paid apps.
- You want one invoice for hosting, security and the checkout.
WooCommerce is usually cheaper when
- You already run WordPress and have a developer who looks after it.
- Most of your orders are paid by card: WooPayments’ 1.50% + €0.25 is below Shopify Payments’ 2% + €0.25 on Basic.
- The features you need are free plugins on WordPress but paid apps on Shopify.
- Your hosting is simple and your traffic is modest.
- You sell in Germany with a few hundred orders a month or more, and many customers pay by direct debit.
Already on WooCommerce and leaning towards Shopify? Our WooCommerce to Shopify migration moves products, customers and URLs with the rankings kept. Staying on WooCommerce? See our WooCommerce development service, or our Shopify development work if you are starting fresh.
Costs the calculator leaves out
- VAT on subscriptions, apps and services.
- International and business cards, which cost more than consumer cards on every provider.
- Disputes and chargebacks, which carry a fixed fee per case.
- Tools that cost the same on both platforms: email marketing, shipping labels, accounting links and your domain.
- Speed work as the catalogue grows. Our Shopify speed optimisation service covers it on Shopify.
- A future move between platforms, which is a project of its own.
For a full price list of a Shopify build, from the plan and iDEAL fees to apps and the build, read how much a Shopify store costs in the Netherlands.
Want a second opinion on your numbers?
Copy the link to your calculation and bring it to a free 30-minute video call. We’ll check it against your catalogue, payment methods and team, and tell you which platform we would pick and why.
Frequently asked questions
Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
Not by default. WooCommerce has no platform fee, but hosting, plugin licences and upkeep add up. With our starting values, a Dutch store with 300 orders a month costs €21,199 on Shopify and €25,177 on WooCommerce over three years. WooCommerce comes out cheaper when upkeep costs little, for example with a developer in house.
How much does Shopify cost a month in the Netherlands?
Shopify’s prices depend on the country. On its Belgian euro rate card, the closest published to the Netherlands, plans cost €24, €69 or €289 a month on yearly billing (€32, €92 or €384 billed monthly), and Plus starts at €2,100 on a 3-year term. Your Shopify admin shows the price for your store. Payment fees, apps and a theme come on top.
What are Shopify’s transaction fees?
With Shopify Payments you pay only the payment rate, for example €0.29 per iDEAL | Wero payment or 2% + €0.25 per card payment on Basic. With another provider, Shopify adds a fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced or 0.2% on Plus, on top of that provider’s own rates.
How much does WooCommerce hosting cost?
WooCommerce estimates $25 to $350 a month for most stores, depending on traffic and performance needs. The calculator starts at €40 a month; enter your own host’s price.
Is Shopify or WooCommerce cheaper in Germany?
It depends on size. With the calculator’s starting values, a small German store (50 orders a month at €45) costs €15,151 on Shopify and €19,106 on WooCommerce over three years, but from about 320 orders a month at €75 WooCommerce costs less, because direct debit is cheap on WooCommerce and missing from Shopify Payments.
Does Shopify charge a fee on PayPal payments?
Not if Shopify Payments is your main payment provider: Shopify’s Help Center says PayPal transactions are then exempt from the third-party fee, so you pay only PayPal’s own rate (2.99% + €0.39 in Germany). Without Shopify Payments, Shopify adds 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% depending on the plan.
Is WooCommerce really free?
The software is: WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin with no revenue share. Running a store is not: hosting, plugins and a theme on yearly licences, payment fees and above all upkeep. That last line is the one most people forget, and it is usually what makes WooCommerce the dearer option for a small store.
Does the calculator include VAT?
No. The calculator adds no VAT to any price, so compare its totals with your costs before VAT.
Can I use it for a store outside the Netherlands?
Yes. Belgium uses the Dutch euro rates, Germany and Austria have their own region with PayPal, invoice and direct debit, and the United Kingdom and the United States have rate cards in pounds and dollars. For other countries the structure still holds, but check your own plan prices and payment rates, because Shopify prices vary by country.
