Describe one store, not two different ambitions
Specify catalog size, variants, selling countries, delivery rules, staff roles and required connections. Decide whether subscriptions, wholesale pricing or custom checkout behavior are essential at launch. Check the actual implementation route for each requirement before comparing platform costs.
The comparison should use the same product content and migration scope. One quote might include cleaning product data and configuring tax settings while another assumes those inputs are ready. Ask for the difference to be priced or removed from both proposals.
Compare the full operating stack
| Budget area | What to record for each option |
|---|---|
| Build | Theme work, configuration, integrations and testing |
| Platform and hosting | Applicable plan or hosting arrangement |
| Extensions | Every required paid app or plugin |
| Payments | Actual provider terms for the same transaction mix |
| Maintenance | Updates, monitoring, recovery and support owner |
| Content and operations | Product entry, order exceptions and training |
Shopify and WooCommerce publish their own pricing information. Those pages are starting points for verifying services, not quotations for your custom implementation. The final stack and support arrangement determine what you actually pay.
Find where a cheaper fixed cost stops helping
For an illustrative comparison, suppose stack A has $120 fixed monthly costs and stack B has $80. Suppose their effective variable payment-related costs, under your hypothetical agreements, are 3% and 3.5%. Ignore per-order fixed fees only for this simplified calculation.
A's additional $40 fixed cost is offset at $8,000 monthly processed sales because 0.5% of $8,000 is $40. Above that level A is cheaper on these two inputs; below it B is cheaper. These are invented stack assumptions, not Shopify or WooCommerce rates. Add real per-order charges, country and card differences, support and other fees before deciding.
A platform comparison without transaction assumptions can therefore produce the wrong answer for a busy store. An estimate based on hoped-for sales can also be misleading: use a cautious scenario alongside your expected one.
Test operations before choosing
Run through adding a product, changing stock, processing a refund and handling a failed connection. Assign an owner to each exception. A lower subscription is less useful if a routine operational task requires development every week.
Use the ecommerce calculator to capture your build scope. Keep this operating comparison separate and retain the exact plan names and dates used. Revisit it when order volume, markets or required features change.