WooCommerce
£10/mo est.
- Entry plan
- £0 (open source)
- Tx fee
- 0%
- Free themes
- Thousands
- Apps
- Thousands
- Support
- Community + paid
- Est. monthly cost
- £10/mo
WooCommerce
Free open-source WordPress plugin for full control; the software is free and you arrange your own hosting.
- Entry plan
- £0 (open source)
- Tx fee
- 0%
- Free themes
- Thousands
- Apps
- Thousands
Best for
Developers and businesses on WordPress wanting full control. Free plugin, you pay only for hosting and extensions.
Pricing breakdown
All prices in GBPLast verified 16 June 2026Every fee we track, grouped by where it applies.
Strengths and trade-offs
Pros
- Free, open-source plugin
- Maximum flexibility and control
- Thousands of themes and plugins
- No platform transaction fees
Cons
- Requires your own UK hosting and maintenance
- Needs developer support for complex builds
- No single vendor for support
- You manage updates and security
About WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free, open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress and the most-used platform globally by install count. The plugin itself is free, so your real monthly cost is your own hosting plus any premium extensions you choose. It is the dominant self-hosted option in the UK and offers near-unlimited flexibility through thousands of themes and plugins, with no platform transaction fee.
The trade-off is that you run it yourself. You arrange and maintain WordPress hosting, manage updates and security, and there is no single vendor to call for support. It rewards businesses with developer resources and frustrates those who expect a hands-off, fully hosted experience.
WooCommerce was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco, USA.
How WooCommerce compares
Side-by-side with the closest alternatives by estimated cost.
Subscription plus hosting estimate for self-hosted platforms. Payment processing not included.
PrestaShop
£8/mo est.
- Entry plan
- £0 (open source)
- Tx fee
- 0%
- Free themes
- Hundreds
- Apps
- 5,000+
- Support
- Community + paid
- Est. monthly cost
- £8/mo
GoDaddy Online Store
£15/mo est.
- Entry plan
- £14.99/mo
- Tx fee
- 0%
- Free themes
- ~50
- Apps
- Limited
- Support
- 24/7 phone, chat
- Est. monthly cost
- £15/mo
Squarespace
£16/mo est.
- Entry plan
- £16/mo (Basic)
- Tx fee
- 3% (Basic), 0% (Core+)
- Free themes
- 100+
- Apps
- 40+ extensions
- Support
- 24/7 email; live chat (business hrs)
- Est. monthly cost
- £16/mo
Common questions about WooCommerce
The same questions UK merchants ask before signing up.
The WooCommerce plugin itself is free and open source, so there is no platform licence fee. Your real monthly cost is your own WordPress hosting, typically ~£10/mo (managed), plus a domain and any premium extensions or themes you choose. There is no software subscription to pay.
You do. WooCommerce is self-hosted, so you choose and pay a UK or international hosting provider, keep WordPress and plugins updated, and handle backups and SSL yourself. This gives maximum control but means ongoing technical responsibility, with no single vendor to call for support.
No. WooCommerce charges no platform transaction fees. You pay only the rate of whatever gateway you connect, such as Stripe, PayPal, or WooPayments. The software adds nothing on top of the processor's own fee.
There is no product limit built into WooCommerce. The practical ceiling is set by your hosting plan and server resources rather than the software, so a larger catalogue mainly means choosing a more capable host.
Not natively in the core plugin. AI comes via the wider WordPress and WooCommerce plugin ecosystem, where you can add AI tools for product descriptions, content, and support. There is also a developer-preview MCP connection, which is the standard that lets AI assistants and agents work with a WooCommerce store; expect to assemble AI capability from plugins rather than getting it out of the box.
WooCommerce has no software licence and no transaction fees, making it cost-effective for stores with developer resources. Shopify is hosted and includes support, security, and infrastructure, but charges a monthly fee and a gateway surcharge if you do not use Shopify Payments. WooCommerce rewards control; Shopify rewards convenience.
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