Magento vs Shopify vs WooCommerce – Which One is Right for Your Business?

If you’re planning to launch or scale your online store, one of the biggest decisions you’ll make is which eCommerce platform to use. The three most popular options are Magento, Shopify, and WooCommerce but which one is best suited to your business needs?

In this post, we’ll break down their strengths, weaknesses, and costs to help you decide.

What is it mainly used for?

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that turns your website into a fully functional online store. It’s built primarily for the B2C space, making it easy to sell both physical and digital products.

That said, WooCommerce’s database structure isn’t designed for complex B2B functionality, so it may not be the best option for larger businesses with advanced requirements.

It can handle unlimited products and categories  but keep in mind, the more products you add, the more hosting resources you’ll need to keep your site running smoothly.

How easy is it to use?

WooCommerce is one of the easiest platforms to get started with. Its intuitive interface and the sheer amount of tutorials online make it accessible, even for beginners.

You can install WooCommerce in less than two minutes and start selling almost immediately. This makes it a great option for small businesses or anyone new to eCommerce.

WooCommerce excels at SEO because it’s built on WordPress. By using plugins like Rank Math SEO or Yoast SEO, you can easily optimise key elements such as:

• Meta titles and descriptions
• Headings (H1, H2, etc.)
• URLs
• Canonical tags
• No-indexing options

In short, WooCommerce doesn’t limit your SEO efforts and gives you full control.

Since WooCommerce runs on WordPress, it’s highly customisable. You can choose from thousands of themes to control the look and feel of your store, while plugins add extra functionality.

However, too many plugins can slow your site down or even cause conflicts. The key is to use only the essentials.

Security

Security in WooCommerce is largely managed through plugins. You can:

• Limit login attempts
• Block suspicious IPs
• Enable two-factor authentication
• Use firewalls
• Back up your site

For payments, you’ll rely on trusted third-party gateways like PayPal or Stripe, which provide their own robust security.

Support

Support is community-driven. There’s a wealth of documentation, forums, and YouTube tutorials available, as well as official WordPress and WooCommerce help centres.

Price

WooCommerce itself is free – you only pay for your domain, hosting, and theme. While free themes exist, we recommend investing in a premium eCommerce theme for better performance and design.

Pros:

• Easy to use and beginner-friendly
• Very low cost of entry
• Great for small B2C businesses
• Strong SEO features
• Huge plugin ecosystem
• Secure

Cons:

• Not ideal for large-scale B2B stores
• Performance depends heavily on hosting and plugins

What is it mainly used for?

Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms worldwide. It’s designed for both B2C and B2B businesses, making it suitable for small to medium companies that want a reliable, hosted solution.

You can sell both physical and digital products with ease.

How easy is it to use?

Shopify’s drag-and-drop builder makes it incredibly user-friendly. Unlike WooCommerce or Magento, it’s a dedicated eCommerce platform – so everything from themes to payment systems is optimised for online selling.

One standout feature is how easily you can add tracking codes (e.g., for Facebook Ads or Google Analytics). Shopify provides a dedicated section, so you don’t need coding skills to set up conversion tracking.

Shopify offers all the standard SEO tools you need:

• Editable meta titles and descriptions
• Canonical tags
• No-indexing options
• Clean URL structures

It’s perfectly capable of supporting strong SEO campaigns.

Customisation, plugins, and extensions

Shopify apps are the equivalent of WordPress plugins. They let you extend your store’s functionality – from marketing automation to advanced inventory management.

Design is controlled through Shopify themes. While free themes exist, paid ones are more customisable and professional.

Security

Shopify is highly secure, with built-in SSL certificates, TLS encryption, and two-factor authentication. Customers can pay using bank cards, PayPal, or other trusted gateways.

As a hosted platform, Shopify regularly rolls out updates and security patches automatically.

Support

Shopify offers 24/7 support via live chat, email, and forums. The community is large and active, so tutorials and troubleshooting guides are easy to find.

Price

Shopify uses a subscription model with three main tiers:

• Basic Shopify – ideal for small businesses
• Shopify – best for growing online and physical stores
• Advanced Shopify – for medium-sized businesses with more complex needs

Each plan includes unlimited products, staff accounts (from 2 to 15 depending on tier), inventory management, and reporting tools.

Keep in mind: Shopify also takes a transaction fee on sales – 2% (Basic), 1% (Shopify), or 0.5% (Advanced).

Pros:

• Tailored specifically for eCommerce
• Easy to set up and manage
• Great for small to medium businesses
• Excellent for multi-channel selling
• Secure and reliable
• Strong SEO tools

Cons:

• Monthly subscription fees
• Transaction fees on every sale
• Customisation is more limited than WooCommerce or Magento

What is it mainly used for?

Magento is a powerful open-source eCommerce platform built for scalability and customisation. It’s best suited for large businesses with complex requirements, both in B2B and B2C.

Magento allows virtually unlimited functionality – if you have the developers to implement it.

At KazeDigital, we often recommend Magento for enterprises that need custom solutions and flexibility.

How easy is it to use?

Magento has a steep learning curve. Unlike WooCommerce or Shopify, you can’t simply “install and go”. Most tasks require developer expertise, especially in the back end.

That said, once set up properly, it’s extremely powerful.

Magento offers advanced SEO features:

• Editable metadata
• Canonical tags
• Customisable URL structures
• H1/H2 control
• No-indexing options

Developers can also ensure SEO tools are built into the front end for easy use by non-technical staff.

Magento is by far the most customisable of the three platforms. Because it’s open source, developers can build virtually anything your business needs.

However, extensions and themes are not plug-and-play – they must be installed and configured by developers.

Security

Magento is used by over 250,000 businesses worldwide and is built with enterprise-level security in mind. Features include:

• Data encryption
• Malware protection
• Security scans
• Regular updates
• Granular user permissions

Support

Unlike Shopify, Magento doesn’t come with official 24/7 support. You’ll rely on forums, documentation, or a professional agency like KazeDigital for technical assistance.

Price

Magento Open Source is free but limited. The enterprise version, Magento Commerce, starts at around £24,000 per year, scaling with your annual revenue.

While expensive, this model often makes more sense for larger companies, as it avoids transaction fees on every sale (unlike Shopify).

Pros:

• Fully customisable – anything is possible with the right developers
• Excellent for large-scale B2B and B2C
• Strong SEO capabilities
• Enterprise-grade security
• No transaction fees

Cons:

• Complex – requires developers to manage
• Higher upfront costs compared to WooCommerce or Shopify
• Limited support unless using an agency

• SEO-friendly solution.
• Shopify – Best for small to medium businesses wanting an easy-to-use, hosted platform with strong support.
• Magento – Best for large enterprises that require advanced customisation, scalability, and B2B features.

At KazeDigital, we help businesses choose and implement the right eCommerce platform for their needs. Whether you’re starting small with WooCommerce, scaling with Shopify, or going enterprise-level with Magento, our expert team can guide you through the process.

Ready to take your eCommerce to the next level? Get in touch with KazeDigital today.