Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I built Shop2Woo after watching client after client get trapped in Shopify’s expensive ecosystem.
They’d come to me frustrated, showing me monthly bills that kept growing while their profit margins kept shrinking. That’s the reality of e-commerce in 2025 – platform choice matters more than ever.
I’ve spent years in the WordPress development trenches, and I’ve seen both sides of this WordPress to Shopify vs Shopify to WordPress journey.
Let me walk you through what I’ve learned the hard way.
The Shopify Reality Nobody Talks About
When I first started building e-commerce sites back in 2018, Shopify seemed like the perfect solution for most of my clients. “It’s all-in-one!” I’d tell them. “Just pay the monthly fee and you’re set!”
Boy, was I wrong.
I didn’t fully appreciate them then, but have painfully discovered how these ecosystems operate in the real world.
The Shopify Experience: Convenient, But at What Cost?
I’ll give credit where it’s due. Shopify nails the beginner experience:
- You can launch a store in a weekend
- Their templates look slick out of the box
- Payment processing just works
- You don’t need to understand servers or security
But here’s where things get messy. A client of mine (let’s call her Sarah) started a skincare brand on Shopify in 2024. Her initial costs seemed reasonable: $29/month on the Basic plan.
Then reality hit. She needed a review app ($20/month), better inventory management ($30/month), email marketing integration ($25/month), and an upsell tool ($19/month).
Suddenly, her “affordable” Shopify store was costing nearly $125 monthly – before she’d made a single sale!
And that’s the trap I’ve seen repeated hundreds of times. What starts as $29/month inevitably balloons to $100-$300+ monthly as your business needs grow.
The WooCommerce Truth: Freedom Requires Responsibility
On the flip side, I’ve helped dozens of clients build WooCommerce stores that remain incredibly cost-effective years later.
My client Tom runs a $2M/year fishing gear business on WooCommerce, and his total platform costs hover around $200/month – a fraction of what he’d pay on Shopify.
But I won’t lie to you: WooCommerce isn’t for everyone. You’ll need to:
- Handle your own updates and maintenance (or hire someone)
- Make more technical decisions
- Learn a bit more about how your store actually works
The question isn’t which platform is better in some abstract sense. It’s about which direction makes sense for YOUR business in 2025.
Why I’m Seeing a Mass Departure from Shopify
Over the past 18 months, I’ve noticed something striking. The migration traffic has shifted dramatically, it’s now overwhelmingly flowing FROM Shopify TO WordPress/WooCommerce.
Why? Three painful realisations are hitting Shopify store owners simultaneously:
1. The Financial Wake-Up Call
Let me share what happened with another client, Marcus, who sells custom gaming accessories. When we analysed his Shopify expenses, both of us were shocked:
- Shopify Advanced Plan: $299/month
- Essential apps (8 total): $178/month
- Theme customisations: ~$200/month average
- Transaction fees: ~$150/month
That’s over $800 EVERY MONTH just to keep his store running! When we migrated him to WooCommerce, his new technology costs totalled about $160/month, an 80% reduction.
The math simply doesn’t work in Shopify’s favour as businesses grow. Every dollar saved on platform fees goes straight to your bottom line.
2. The Control Frustration.
Then there’s the control issue, which honestly drives me crazy as a developer.
I had a client who wanted to modify her checkout process on Shopify. Simple request, right? Wrong. It required upgrading to the $2,000/month Shopify Plus plan just to get access to the checkout.liquid file.
With WooCommerce, we could make those exact changes in an afternoon at zero additional cost.
This pattern repeats endlessly: want to modify your product page structure? Add custom fields? Create unique discount rules?
On Shopify, each customisation becomes either an app subscription or a developer expense.
On WooCommerce, most of these are either built-in or available through free or one-time purchase plugins.
3. The Data Ownership
Perhaps most concerning is what happens to your business data. When you build on Shopify, you’re essentially renting your store. Stop paying, and your entire business infrastructure disappears.
With WooCommerce, you truly own everything – your product data, customer records, content, and design. You can back it up, move it, or modify it however you need.
I’ve seen too many store owners realise this difference too late. They built their entire business on rented digital land, and now they’re scrambling to gain true ownership.
Why I Built Shop2Woo (And Why It’s Different)
After helping dozens of clients migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce, I noticed something frustrating: the existing migration tools were terrible.
Some charged outrageous prices ($150+ for a one-time migration). Others required direct Shopify API access, which is problematic if you’ve already closed your Shopify account or are migrating someone else’s store data.
So I built Shop2Woo out of pure frustration. I wanted something that:
- Wouldn’t cost more than a month of Shopify Basic.
- Worked with simple JSON exports (no API access needed).
- Preserved all product data, including variations, images, and descriptions.
- Any shop owner could use it without a developer
The result is a $19.99 plugin that’s already helped hundreds of store owners escape the Shopify expense trap.
I’ve poured thousands of hours of development experience into creating something that simplifies what should be a straightforward process.
Real Talk: WordPress to Shopify Migration without the Headaches
Here’s what makes Shop2Woo different in practice.
Most migration tools force you to maintain an active Shopify subscription during the entire migration process.
That means paying Shopify while you’re trying to leave them! It’s like paying rent at your old apartment while you’re already moving into your new one.
Shop2Woo eliminates that requirement. You can export your Shopify product data as a JSON file, cancel your Shopify subscription, and then complete your migration at your own pace.
I specifically built it this way because I watched clients stress about migration timing, rushing to complete everything before their next Shopify billing cycle.
A Real Case Study Of Alex’s Home Goods Store
Let me tell you about Alex, who runs a home decor store. He started on Shopify in 2022 and built up to about $25,000 in monthly sales – a solid small business.
But by early 2025, Alex was getting increasingly frustrated with his Shopify costs:
- Shopify plan: $79/month
- Apps: $165/month
- Transaction fees: ~$125/month
That’s $369 monthly – nearly $4,500 per year – just to keep his store operational.
When Alex approached me, he was sceptical about migrating. “Won’t I lose all my products? What about my SEO rankings? Is it really worth the hassle?“
These are valid concerns. Migration is never zero-risk. But here’s what happened:
- We used Shop2Woo to move his 230 products (including all variations and images) in a single afternoon
- We set up proper 301 redirects to preserve his SEO equity
- We deployed his new WooCommerce store on a weekend to minimise disruption
The result? Alex’s monthly technology costs dropped to around $80 (Hostinger hosting and a few premium plugins). He saved over $3,400 in his first year after migration.
But the financial savings were just the beginning. What Alex didn’t expect was how much more he could do with his new WooCommerce store:
“I can finally implement all the custom features I’ve wanted for years,” he told me. “And knowing I’m not watching a subscription meter running feels incredible.”
If you’re weighing a platform migration in 2025, here’s my honest advice based on helping hundreds of store owners through this process:
If You’re Currently on WordPress, Considering Shopify:
Ask yourself:
- Am I willing to commit to never-ending monthly fees that will increase as I grow?
- Am I okay with limited customisation control?
- Do I prefer convenience over ownership and cost-effectiveness?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, Shopify might make sense for you. But be honest about the long-term costs, not just the initial $29/month.
If You’re on Shopify, Considering WordPress:
Calculate your true Shopify costs:
- Monthly plan fee
- App subscriptions
- Transaction fees
- Theme and customization expenses
Then compare that to a WooCommerce setup:
- Hosting ($10-$100/month, depending on size)
- One-time plugin purchases (amortised)
- Payment processing fees
For most stores doing over $5,000/month in sales, the math overwhelmingly favours WooCommerce.
Shop2Woo: The Bridge I Wish I’d Had Years Ago
I built Shop2Woo because I was tired of seeing store owners struggle with migration. The process should be straightforward, affordable, and stress-free.
For $19.99, less than a dinner out, you get:
- A tool that imports all your Shopify products via simple JSON files
- Support for variations, attributes, images, and descriptions
- No requirement for ongoing Shopify access
- Usage on up to 3 different stores
I’ve purposely kept the price low because I remember the frustration of being quoted hundreds of dollars for migration tools when I was helping clients move platforms.
The Bottom Line: Freedom to Choose
Here’s what it comes down to: in 2025, your e-commerce platform should enable your business, not constrain it with ever-increasing costs.
I’ve seen too many store owners treat their initial platform choice as permanent, suffering through rising costs and limitations because migration seems daunting.
Shop2Woo exists to eliminate that barrier. Whether you’re looking to escape Shopify’s growing expense trap or simply want true ownership of your e-commerce presence, the path is now simpler than ever.
I built this tool for store owners like you – people who deserve the freedom to run their business on their terms, not a platform’s.
Ready to take control of your e-commerce future? Shop2Woo makes the journey from Shopify to WordPress straightforward, affordable, and surprisingly quick. Your path to e-commerce independence is just $19.99 away.
Get Started with Shop2Woo Today →
