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WooCommerce vs Shopify: which is right for your South African business?

Both are excellent platforms, and we build and manage stores on both. The right choice depends on how you sell, how much control you want and how you want to pay. Here is an honest comparison, built around South African realities such as local payment gateways.

See our store packages

We build on both, so you get honest advice

WordPress + WooCommerce

Maximum control and flexibility

WooCommerce is a free, open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress. You own the store and its data, and you can customise almost anything. You pay for hosting, your domain and any premium extensions, and someone needs to keep it updated and secure. That is where we come in.

Best when

  • You want full ownership and control of your store and your data
  • You need custom pricing, B2B or wholesale rules, or unusual workflows
  • You want deep links to POS, inventory, accounting or a CRM
  • You already have a WordPress site and want to add a store
  • You want to avoid a platform fee on every sale

Worth knowing

  • Hosting, security and updates need managing (we include this in our packages)
  • Many features come from extensions, which must be chosen and maintained
  • Speed depends on good hosting and a careful set-up

Shopify

Fast to launch, simple to run

Shopify is a hosted platform. Hosting, security and the checkout come with a monthly subscription (Shopify publishes its plan prices in US dollars). It is designed to be quick to launch and easy to run day to day, with an app store for extra features.

Best when

  • You want to launch quickly with little technical upkeep
  • You prefer one predictable subscription with hosting and security built in
  • Your store is fairly standard: products, collections and checkout
  • You sell across social channels and want built-in tools for it

Worth knowing

  • Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa, so every store uses a third-party gateway such as PayFast or Peach Payments
  • Shopify adds its own transaction fee on top of your gateway’s fees when you use a third-party gateway (2% on the Basic plan at the time of writing, lower on higher plans)
  • Apps add monthly costs, and deep customisation is more limited than on WordPress

Side by side

WooCommerceShopify
How you payA free plugin. You pay for hosting, a domain and any premium extensions.A monthly subscription that includes hosting, security and checkout. Apps cost extra.
Hosting, security and updatesYour responsibility, or ours with a managed NxtLvl package.Handled by Shopify. We manage your store, theme and apps.
Payments in South AfricaWorks with the major local gateways through plugins, with no platform fee on top.Shopify Payments is not available here, so you use a third-party gateway and Shopify’s extra transaction fee applies.
CustomisationAlmost unlimited: custom code, pricing rules and workflows.Strong within the platform and its apps. Deeper changes are more limited.
Speed to launchFast with our packages, with more set-up decisions to make.Usually the quickest route for a standard store.
POS, inventory and CRMFlexible. We connect through APIs and plugins to match how you work.Good through apps and APIs. We connect to the same tools.
B2B and wholesaleFlexible price lists, account pricing and approval flows.Possible through apps and plan features. We check your exact needs first.
Data ownership and exitYou own the site and the database and can move hosts.You can export your data, but the store itself runs on Shopify.
Best whenYou want control, flexibility or deep integration.You want simplicity, speed and built-in hosting.

Quick match

Four questions to see which way you lean. It’s a starting point, and we confirm it against your products, volumes and budget.

1. How do you want to pay for your store?
2. How custom is your store?
3. How important is launching as quickly as possible?
4. Do you need to connect to a POS, inventory or other systems?

How we work with both

Platform advice

We compare the total cost and fit of both for your products, volumes and budget, then recommend one honestly.

Store build and design

A branded, mobile-first store on WooCommerce or Shopify, with your products, collections and checkout set up.

Local payments and couriers

Payment gateways, delivery options and couriers set up for South African customers.

POS, inventory and CRM links

One stock count across your tills and online store, with customers and orders flowing into your CRM.

Migration between platforms

Moving from one platform to another, with products, customers, orders and redirects looked after.

Hosting, maintenance and support

Updates, security, backups, monitoring and help whenever you need it.

Questions we hear often

Straight answers about choosing a platform.

Sources and further reading

Platform plans and fees change. Check each provider’s current pricing before you decide, and we’ll confirm the total cost for your store when we scope it.

Let’s build what’s next.

Custom software, automation, AI solutions, and scalable systems designed around your business.

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