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Shopify or WooCommerce: which online shop for a small business in Switzerland?

The answer

If nobody handles the technical side for you, Shopify is the safer choice: everything is hosted, Shopify Payments works in Switzerland with TWINT, and the Basic plan costs CHF 29/month1 billed monthly, plus per-transaction fees. WooCommerce is free2, but hosting, extensions, updates and security are yours to handle: it mostly suits businesses that already run a WordPress site and have someone to maintain it. With a few orders a month, you need neither yet.

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Facts checked on · Updated · Market Switzerland

This analysis is available in French and English.

In brief

The trade-off
Shopify rents you peace of mind: less technical work, more dependence and a fee on every sale. WooCommerce gives you control: more freedom and portability, more work and more risk to manage.
Who it is for
Retailers, makers and small brands in Switzerland who want to sell online.
The options
No shop yet · Shopify · WooCommerce (WordPress)
Facts checked on
23 Oct 2026

You want to sell online and are torn between Shopify, a hosted subscription platform, and WooCommerce, a free WordPress plugin you host yourself.

The comparison

The comparison

Ratings from 0 to 4, from the point of view of someone in your situation — higher is better. The reasoning behind each rating is in the analysis.

The comparison
CriterionNot yetShopifyWooCommerce
Up-front costWhat you invest — money and time — before the first sale.excellent (4/4)good (3/4)adequate (2/4)
Monthly costSubscriptions, hosting, extensions: what recurs every month.excellent (4/4)adequate (2/4)adequate (2/4)
Fees per saleWhat goes on every order: payment and platform fees.good (3/4)adequate (2/4)2.95% + CHF 0.30 per card payment with Shopify Payments; 2% more with another provider.good (3/4)
UpkeepUpdates, security, backups: who handles them and for how long.good (3/4)excellent (4/4)limited (1/4)Hosting, updates and security are yours.
Selling toolsPayments, TWINT, cart, catalogue: what helps close a sale.limited (1/4)Every sale is done by hand.excellent (4/4)good (3/4)
Control and customisationWhat you can change in behaviour, design and data.adequate (2/4)adequate (2/4)excellent (4/4)
IndependenceWhat leaving costs: export, migration, platform dependence.excellent (4/4)adequate (2/4)excellent (4/4)Open source: you can change host and keep your data.
ScalingCoping with more products, more orders, more traffic.limited (1/4)excellent (4/4)good (3/4)

The options

No shop yet

Sell through your current channels — messages, payment links, your store, social media — while orders stay rare.

For

  • No subscription or site to maintain
  • You check that demand exists before investing
  • Nothing to migrate later if you change your mind

Against

  • Every order is handled by hand
  • No browsable catalogue or self-service payment
  • Poorly suited once orders become regular
Best for
A few sales a month, a small catalogue, demand still to be confirmed.
Cost
Your payment method’s fees and your time.

Shopify

A hosted platform: shop, payments, hosting and updates included in the subscription.

For

  • Nothing to host, secure or update yourself
  • Shopify Payments available in Switzerland, TWINT included
  • Copes as the catalogue and orders grow

Against

  • A subscription for life: CHF 29/month1 on Basic, plus VAT
  • Fees on every payment, and 2% more if you do not use Shopify Payments
  • Your shop depends on the platform and its paid apps
Best for
A business that wants to sell without handling the technical side.
Cost
CHF 29/month1 (CHF 21 a month billed yearly) + 2.95% + CHF 0.30 per card payment.

WooCommerce (WordPress)

WordPress’s free e-commerce plugin, on hosting you choose and pay for.

For

  • The plugin is free2 and open source
  • Full control of the site, data and hosting
  • Adds onto an existing WordPress site

Against

  • Hosting, updates, backups and security are yours
  • Advanced features come through paid extensions
  • An outage or a vulnerability is yours (or your provider’s) to fix
Best for
A business already on WordPress, with someone technical to maintain it.
Cost
Hosting + extensions + your payment provider’s fees + upkeep time.

The analysis

Shopify: what the subscription really buys

Shopify Basic costs CHF 29/month1 billed monthly, CHF 21 a month if you pay for the year. For a store based in Switzerland, Shopify adds VAT to its fees. The subscription covers hosting, security, updates and payments: there is no server to watch.

Shopify Payments is available in Switzerland. On the Basic plan, an online card payment costs 2.95% + CHF 0.30 and a TWINT payment 1.75% + CHF 0.30. If you prefer another payment provider, Shopify adds a 2% transaction fee on Basic: on CHF 3,000 of monthly sales, that is CHF 60 more every month.

The flip side: you rent your shop. Missing features come as apps, often paid, and leaving Shopify means a migration.

WooCommerce: free to download, not to run

The WooCommerce plugin is free2, with no subscription. WooCommerce itself puts hosting at USD 25–350 a month for most stores and each extension at USD 29–299 a year: these are its own estimates, in dollars, not verified Swiss prices.

What you save on subscription you pay in time or in a provider: WordPress and plugin updates, backups, security, performance. A neglected WordPress shop is a classic target. Payments go through the provider of your choice, with its own fees.

WooCommerce makes the most sense if you already have a well-kept WordPress site and someone to maintain it, or specific needs (B2B pricing, configurators, order logic) you want to control.

When it is better not to open a shop yet

An online shop has a fixed cost — subscription or hosting, plus set-up time — that only pays off with regular orders. With a few sales a month, payment links, messages and your store are often enough, and they teach you what your customers actually buy.

Open a shop when handling orders by hand costs you more time than the subscription costs money, or when customers ask to order on their own. The calculation below puts a number on that point.

Changing your mind later

The choice is not final, but undoing it is not free. Leaving Shopify means exporting products, customers and orders and rebuilding the design; leaving WooCommerce is simpler on the data side, since everything is yours, but still a migration.

If you hesitate, start with whatever needs the least work today and keep your data clean: a well-kept catalogue moves far more easily.

Your recommendation

Your business, your recommendation

Five questions are enough for a first answer. Every rule applied is shown under the result.

0 of 5 key questions

Your catalogueKey question
Expected online ordersKey question
Technical skills in-houseKey question
Your current websiteKey question
Your budgetKey question

To refine

Your selling needs

What matters to you

How much the monthly cost matters
How much controlling the behaviour matters
How much not depending on a platform matters

Recommendation

Answer 4 more key questions: without them, a recommendation would be a guess.

Missing

  • Your catalogue
  • Expected online orders
  • Technical skills in-house
  • Your current website
  • Your budget

Decision rules v1.0.0

The costs

What each option costs over 12, 24 and 36 months

Verified Shopify prices are pre-filled with their date; the rest is an assumption to replace with your figures. The same revenue is applied to all three options.

Your sales and your time
CHF/month

Assumption — Assumption — enter your estimate.

orders

Assumption

CHF/h

Assumption

Shopify
CHF/month

Verified price · 23 Oct 2026 — Basic: CHF 29 monthly, CHF 21 billed yearly, excluding VAT.

%

Verified price · 23 Oct 2026

CHF

Verified price · 23 Oct 2026

h

Assumption

h/month

Assumption

WooCommerce
CHF/month

Assumption — Assumption — WooCommerce estimates USD 25–350 a month.

CHF/year

Assumption — Assumption — WooCommerce estimates USD 29–299 a year per extension.

%

Assumption — Assumption — use your provider’s rate.

CHF

Assumption

h

Assumption

h/month

Assumption — Updates, backups, security.

No shop yet
%
CHF
h/month

Assumption

  • Not yetCHF 8’964
    One-off costs CHF 0 · Recurring costs CHF 8’964
  • ShopifyCHF 7’212
    One-off costs CHF 750 · Recurring costs CHF 6’462
  • WooCommerceCHF 10’164
    One-off costs CHF 1’500 · Recurring costs CHF 8’664

Cheapest over 36 months Shopify

  • Shopify becomes cheaper than Not yet in month 11.
Breakdown

Not yet

Payment link fees Assumption
CHF 3’564
Orders handled by hand
CHF 5’400
Total
CHF 8’964

Shopify

Shopify plan Verified price
CHF 1’044
Shopify payment fees Verified price
CHF 3’618
Your set-up time Assumption
CHF 750
Your upkeep time
CHF 1’800
Total
CHF 7’212

WooCommerce

Hosting Assumption
CHF 900
Extensions Assumption
CHF 600
Payment fees Assumption
CHF 3’564
Your set-up time Assumption
CHF 1’500
Your upkeep time
CHF 3’600
Total
CHF 10’164

What this calculation shows

  • What each option costs in money and time for the same sales volume.
  • At what volume a shop costs less than orders handled by hand.

What it does not prove

  • That you will sell more with a shop: the calculation keeps the same revenue everywhere.
  • A guaranteed saving: rates change, and paid apps or extensions are not counted.
  • Your shop’s quality: the same platform can produce a very good or a very poor site.

Typical cases

  • Maker

    About ten pieces, two or three orders a month, no website, no time for technical work.

    No shop yet. Payment links and your social channels are enough; come back when orders become regular.

    Why →

  • Neighbourhood shop

    A small catalogue, orders every week, a showcase site elsewhere, nobody technical.

    Shopify. You sell without handling hosting, with TWINT and cards, for a predictable subscription.

    Why →

  • Brand on WordPress

    An existing WordPress site, someone technical, specific ordering needs.

    WooCommerce. It adds onto your site and lets you control the ordering logic — provided you maintain it seriously.

    Why →

  • Growing store

    A large catalogue, orders every day, a comfortable budget.

    Shopify. At this volume, a platform that copes without a server to watch is worth its subscription and fees.

    Why →

Limits of this page

  • We did not set up a test shop: this page compares what Shopify and WooCommerce publish, checked on their pages on 23 October 2026.
  • WooCommerce’s hosting and extension ranges are its own estimates in dollars; a payment provider’s fees for WooCommerce are an assumption to replace with its offer.
  • Shopify prices are those shown in Switzerland, excluding VAT; paid apps are not counted.
  • Set-up and upkeep hours are assumptions: they vary a lot with your comfort level.

What we do not know

The most uncertain part: how much time you will really spend maintaining each option. That, more than the subscription, often makes the difference; the calculation lets you put your own hours in.

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Shopify accept TWINT in Switzerland?

    Yes: Shopify Payments is available in Switzerland and Shopify lists a TWINT rate of 1.75% + CHF 0.30 per payment on the Basic plan.

  • Is WooCommerce really free?

    The plugin is. Hosting, paid extensions, payments and upkeep are not: WooCommerce itself puts hosting at USD 25–350 a month for most stores.

  • How much does Shopify cost per month in Switzerland?

    The Basic plan costs CHF 29/month1 billed monthly or CHF 21 a month billed yearly, excluding VAT, plus fees on each payment.

  • Do I need an online shop to start selling?

    Not necessarily. With a few orders a month, payment links and your usual channels are enough; a shop pays off once orders are regular.

Sources and method

Every fact on this page points to a source read on the date shown. Prices and availability are re-checked at least every 90 and 120 days.

  1. Shopify Basic costs CHF 29 per month billed monthly (CHF 21 per month billed yearly); VAT is added to Shopify fees for a Swiss store.

    verified · read on

    Text read on the source
    Pay monthly | CHF29/mo … Pay yearly | CHF21/mo — If your store is located in Switzerland, then you’re charged […] VAT on your relevant Shopify fees.

  2. The WooCommerce plugin is free; WooCommerce puts hosting at USD 25–350 per month for most stores and extensions at USD 29–299 per year each.

    verified · read on

    Text read on the source
    Core platform: WooCommerce | Free, with no monthly subscription. … Hosting: Choose your provider | $25 – $350/month for most stores … Extensions: Add à la carte | $29 – $299/year per extension

  3. Shopify Payments is available to businesses located in Switzerland.

    verified · read on

    Text read on the source
    You can use Shopify Payments in Switzerland to accept a variety of payment methods at checkout on your Shopify store.

  4. With Shopify Payments (Basic plan), an online card payment costs 2.95% + CHF 0.30 and a TWINT payment 1.75% + CHF 0.30.

    verified · read on

    Text read on the source
    Online standard card rates | 2.95% + CHF0.30 … TWINT rates | 1.75% + CHF0.30

  5. Without Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a 2% transaction fee on the Basic plan (1% on Grow).

    verified · read on

    Text read on the source
    Third-party transaction fees | 2% | 1% | 0.6% | 0.2%

How this page is made

Research and writing
Danilson Ramos
Review
no external review
Decision rules
v1.0.0
What this page adds
A comparison that includes “no shop yet”, with Shopify’s prices as shown in Switzerland and its verified TWINT and card fees, WooCommerce’s own published estimates, and a 36-month calculation that also counts your time.
An error?
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No vendor mentioned pays to appear here, and no link on this page is an affiliate link. What Bynilson sells is labelled as such and plays no part in the recommendation rules.

Research and writing assisted by AI tools; every fact was read on its source on the date shown, and the decision rules are written and tested by hand.

Read the method →

What next?

Useful steps whatever you decide.

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