So many dropshippers might automatically head for Shopify when looking to set up a new eCommerce store. If you want to get a slice of the awesome 111.28 billion dollars worth of dropshipping revenue, estimated to grow by a whopping 29%  between 2020 and 2025, then you might be wondering where is the best place to start your journey!

 

There are many types of stores, which are based on open source platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce, but have you heard about WooCommerce?

 

If you have, you might be wondering what WooCommerce dropshipping is, whether it compares to Shopify and how it can help build your new online retail empire! Let’s start first of all by looking at the neat, simple answer before we look into more detail at exactly what WooCommerce dropshipping is.

 

What is WooCommerce dropshipping? WooCommerce Dropshipping is more flexible for dropshippers with development capacity. WooCommerce can enjoy the benefits of HyperSKU, which can help dropshippers fulfill orders in a more efficient and automated manner, with quality products from Chinese factories.

 

What is WooCommerce?

First and foremost, WooCommerce is a plug-in for an open-source platform you might have heard of, WordPress.

 

It doesn’t operate using windows and instead uses a Linux-type operating system.

 

Since its inception back in September 2011, it was originally conceived to help small to medium-sized dropshipping businesses that use WordPress. Wiki’s guesstimate is that from January 2020 WooCommerce is used by around 3.9 million websites worldwide for many kinds of sellers including WooCommerce dropshipping.

 

It’s not surprising to learn that as far back as 2015, stats show that up to 30% of all WordPress stores were using WooCommerce’s plugin.

 

Ok so now we’ve taken a look at exactly what WooCommerce is, let’s see how it compares to one of the most popular dropshipping platforms that are currently being used by a colossal 1 million users.

 

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce platform that makes it easy for you to create an online store, accept payments, and manage your inventory all from a single platform without ever worrying about the technical aspects of managing a website such as web hosting, security, caching, etc.

Shopify versus WooCommerce

Pricing

Shopify

You can sign-up for a free 14-day trial of Shopify to test it out for yourself.

 

During your trial, you can build your own online store, test out free Shopify apps,

 

• Shopify Basic costs $29 monthly with an extra 30¢ per transaction
• The Shopify plan is $79 monthly 30¢ per transaction
• Advanced Shopify is $299 monthly 30¢ per transaction

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is super value for money as it’s totally free to install, plus any extensions you want are pretty much reasonably priced.

 

This will help you add extra functionality to your store at a very low cost.

 

However, there is a little more to add cash wisely in terms of sourcing your own web hosting and security, which isn’t difficult to do but will cost you more.

 

For instance, you can get hosting as low as $6.95 per month from companies such as Bluehost who will provide features such as:

 

• WooCommerce auto-install
• Free domain name
• Free SSL certificate
• Pre-installed storefront themes
• 24/7 support from WordPress experts

Result:

WooCommerce is less costly in the long term and if you are looking at running multiple stores, it represents much better value.

 

“WooCommerce is super value for money as it’s totally free to install, plus any

extensions you want are pretty much reasonably priced.”

 

 

So how do WooCommerce and Shopify compare with regards to quickly opening your storefront and dropshipping to your first customers! Let’s find out below.

Set up Time

Shopify

With Shopify, you can get up and running pretty much straight away with a standard store taking only minutes to get going.

 

Shopify takes the complications and technical aspects out of running an online business and replaces them with easy-to-use tools.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce isn’t quite as user-friendly as Shopify and can take some time setting up your hosting, security, maintenance, and backups, however with many of WooCommerce other benefits, this might be a small price to pay.

Result:

The ease at setting up Shopify is one of its prime selling points which means that in the race for the quickest start-up, Shopify has the edge.

Customer Support

Shopify does appear to be the clear winner here, as they have a dedicated 24/7 online customer support program.

 

However, there are tons of unofficial support groups from users and coders, etc., for WooCommerce where you could end up getting a more specific answer without the usual ‘ customer service-speak’.

Themes and features

Let’s discover a few of these two heavyweights features so you can compare and find the one that’s best for you.

Shopify

• Unlimited products
• Unlimited file storage
• Automatic fraud analysis
• Embedded Oberlo integration
• Adjustable shipping rates and taxes
• Customer profiles
• Dropshipping capabilities
• SEO-ready site structure
• Individual product reviews
• Facebook selling module
• Social media integration
• Inventory management

WooCommerce

• Swiftly imports inventory.
• In your dropshipping store, you can sell physical products and also digital products such as software and apps, plus WooCommerce works well when coupled with affiliate marketing
• Payments via PayPal and Stripe are built-in with the option of other gateways available for an extra fee
• Adjustable shipping rates and taxes
• Unlimited number of products and product categories
• Stock levels control
• Mobile-friendly structure
• You have complete control over your data
• Works with your current WordPress theme
• Literally hundreds of plugins/extensions available
• A free Facebook ad and Facebook stores extension

 

And finally…

So to sum up, both of these dropshipping giants have their features and benefits.

 

WooCommerce is less costly in the long term and also will cost less if you are looking to expand your business and scale up to other stores, with some added awesome features.

 

Shopify is great if you are just dipping your toe in the world of dropshipping don’t have any big expansion plans.

 

But with either platform, Shopify dropshipping or WooCommerce dropshipping, sellers need to work with reliable dropshipping suppliers. HyperSKU is integrated with both platforms and sync order status and tracking status in real-time. Unlike AliExpress, HyperSKU source directly from factories in China and ship orders with 10-day express shipping, which ensures great shopping experience for end-customers.