On paper, all three do the same job: a storefront, a cart, a payment. The differences show up after the order, when you pay the platform, print the label and pick a carrier. Shopify is the fastest to launch, but it charges a transaction fee outside Shopify Payments and its own labels go through its account; WooCommerce is free and the most open, as long as you handle hosting and extensions; Wix suits a small catalogue, with more limited shipping tools. The right choice depends on your volume, your technical comfort and the carrier contracts you have, or plan to negotiate.
How many stores run on each platform
Active online stores in mid-October 2026, according to Store Leads:
| Platform | Active stores |
|---|---|
| WooCommerce | about 4.2 million |
| Shopify | about 3.2 million |
| Wix | about 965,000 |
These figures count stores, regardless of their size or revenue. All three platforms are well established, each with a wide choice of apps and agencies.
The comparison at a glance
| Shopify | WooCommerce | Wix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price to sell online | From €19/month billed annually, €27 monthly (eurozone) | Free, plus hosting and extensions | From €25/month on the Core plan (eurozone) |
| Platform transaction fee | 0.6 to 2% depending on the plan, if you don't use Shopify Payments | None | Not stated on its pricing page |
| Built-in shipping labels in Europe | Shopify Shipping in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland | Flat rate, free shipping, local pickup | Wix Shipping in the UK, Germany, France and Spain |
| Live carrier rates at checkout | From the Advanced plan, or as an add-on on Grow | Via an extension | USPS only, for US stores |
| Your own carrier contracts | Natively, UPS and FedEx only, for checkout rates. With ParcelRush, all your contracts: DHL, UPS, FedEx, DPD, CTT, Colissimo | Via extensions, often one per carrier, or all in one place with ParcelRush | Not documented by Wix. With ParcelRush, your contracts on orders imported by CSV |
| ParcelRush connection | Yes, every plan | Yes, negotiated rates at checkout as an option | No direct integration, CSV import |
Shopify: the fastest to launch, on its own terms
Shopify hosts your store for you: servers, security and updates are included. You pay a subscription: in the eurozone, €19 a month on the Basic plan billed annually, €27 billed monthly, then €56 for Grow and €289 for Advanced, billed annually.
Transaction fees. With Shopify Payments, you pay card fees: 1.8% + €0.30 per online payment on Basic. If you use another payment provider, Shopify adds its own transaction fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced. On €10,000 of monthly sales, 2% comes to €200 a month, on top of your provider's fees.
Shipping. Shopify Shipping sells discounted labels straight from the order, with no contract to open, but only in some countries. In Europe, that means the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland, with carriers such as Royal Mail and Evri in the UK, DHL in Germany or Colissimo in France. In the UK, France, Italy and Spain, Shopify also shows pickup points at checkout without Shopify Plus. These labels are bought on Shopify's account: you ship at its rate, and a claim for a lost parcel goes through its support. Shopify Shipping isn't available to merchants based in Portugal, Belgium or Ireland.
Live carrier rates at checkout. Showing customers the real price calculated by a carrier requires the Advanced plan, or a paid add-on on Grow (or switching to annual billing). In Europe, the only carrier accounts Shopify lets you connect are UPS and FedEx, to show their rates at checkout: buying labels on your own account is limited to the United States, and your DHL, DPD or Colissimo contract is not on the list.
Who it suits. Merchants who want to sell fast, without technical skills, and who are happy to pay a subscription not to deal with hosting.
WooCommerce: free and open, everything is up to you
WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin. The platform takes no commission on your sales: you only pay your payment provider's fees. Everything else is on you. WooCommerce itself estimates hosting at $25 to $350 a month for most stores, and each paid extension at $29 to $299 a year.
Shipping. Out of the box, WooCommerce offers three shipping methods: flat rate, free shipping and local pickup. It doesn't calculate carrier rates: to show a DHL or DPD price at checkout, you need an extension or connected software. WooCommerce Shipping, its discounted label service, is for parcels shipped from the United States.
The price of freedom. Every carrier extension is one more module to keep updated. A PHP, WooCommerce or carrier API update can break checkout overnight. Our 6 common shipping bugs on Shopify and WooCommerce covers the causes and fixes.
Who it suits. Merchants whose site already runs on WordPress, who want to customise everything, or who have a developer to support them.
Wix: a simple store for a small catalogue
Wix starts from a website builder, with an e-commerce layer on top. To accept online payments, you need at least the Core plan, at €25 a month in the eurozone, then Business at €34 and Business Elite at €149. The Light plan, at €14, doesn't include online payments. Prices and currency vary outside the eurozone.
Shipping. Wix Shipping sells labels in the UK, Germany, France and Spain (as well as the US and Canada), with carriers such as Royal Mail, Evri and DPD in the UK, Deutsche Post and DPD in Germany, or Correos in Spain. Real-time shipping rates only exist with USPS, for US stores. Wix doesn't document using your own carrier contract in Wix Shipping.
Who it suits. Makers and small brands selling a short range alongside a showcase website, who value a simple visual editor.
Shipping with your own carrier contracts, whatever the platform
Shopify Shipping and Wix Shipping sell you labels at a rate they set. With a contract in your own name, the rate depends on your volume and on what the carrier agrees to: you can ask for a discount, with no guarantee of getting one, then compare that rate with the platform's. Opening an account requires no minimum volume, as our guide to opening a carrier business account explains.
ParcelRush links those contracts to your store. It connects to Shopify, on every plan, to WooCommerce and to Squarespace: your orders come in automatically, you connect your DHL, UPS, FedEx, DPD, CTT or Colissimo accounts, and their rates show side by side on every order, for carriers that share them. The tracking number goes back to the store. On Shopify, the UPS and FedEx limit disappears. On WooCommerce, an option shows your negotiated rates directly at checkout, without installing one extension per carrier. Wix has no direct integration: orders are imported by CSV file, then ship on your contracts like the others.
ParcelRush adds no margin to your carrier rates. You pay as you go, per label, from €0.29 to €0.08 excl. VAT depending on volume, with no subscription.
Which platform for which profile
| Your situation | The logical choice |
|---|---|
| Launching solo, no technical skills | Shopify |
| Site already on WordPress | WooCommerce |
| Short range alongside a showcase website | Wix |
| Heavy customisation, with a developer | WooCommerce |
| Your own contracts, several carriers | Shopify or WooCommerce, with ParcelRush |
Whatever the platform, look at what happens after the customer clicks "Buy": the label price, the delivery time and the tracking weigh as much as the store design in whether customers come back.
Sources
- Shopify pricing, Shopify: plan prices, Shopify Payments card rates and third-party transaction fees, checked on 23 October 2026.
- Third-party carrier-calculated shipping, Shopify Help Center: Advanced and Plus plans, add-on on Grow.
- Carrier accounts, Shopify Help Center: accounts you can connect.
- Shopify supported shipping carriers and Shipping with DHL, Shopify Help Center: countries where Shopify Shipping labels are available.
- Pickup points, Shopify Help Center.
- WooCommerce Pricing, WooCommerce: free platform, hosting and extension estimates, no commission.
- Setting up shipping zones, WooCommerce documentation: built-in shipping methods.
- WooCommerce Shipping, WooCommerce: labels for parcels shipped from the United States.
- Wix Premium plans, Wix: plan prices and plans that accept online payments, checked on 23 October 2026.
- Printing shipping labels with Wix Shipping and live rates with USPS, Wix Help Center.
- Store Leads: active stores per platform, as of 16 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which e-commerce platform is the cheapest?
WooCommerce is free, but hosting and extensions are on you: WooCommerce estimates hosting at $25 to $350 a month for most stores, and $29 to $299 a year for each paid extension. In the eurozone, Shopify starts at €19 a month billed annually (€27 billed monthly). On Wix, plans that accept online payments start with Core, at €25 a month in the eurozone.
Does Shopify take a commission on sales?
Yes, if you don't use Shopify Payments: a 2% transaction fee on the Basic plan, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. With Shopify Payments, you pay card fees instead, for example 1.8% + €0.30 per online payment on Basic in the eurozone.
Can I use my own DHL or DPD contract on Shopify?
Not natively. In Europe, Shopify only lets you connect UPS and FedEx accounts, and only to show their rates at checkout: buying labels on your own account is limited to the United States. Labels bought through Shopify Shipping are billed on Shopify's account. To ship on your own DHL, DPD or Colissimo contract, you need shipping software such as ParcelRush, which pulls your Shopify orders and prints the label on your carrier account.
Does WooCommerce calculate carrier shipping rates?
Not out of the box. WooCommerce comes with three shipping methods: flat rate, free shipping and local pickup. To show a carrier's real rate at checkout, you need an extension or connected shipping software.
Does ParcelRush work with Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix?
ParcelRush connects directly to Shopify, on every plan, to WooCommerce and to Squarespace. Orders come in automatically and tracking goes back to the store. There is no direct Wix integration: orders are imported by CSV file or entered by hand.
Maëlle Lemarchand CEO of ParcelRush. 15 years in web, UI/UX and e-commerce. Writes about shipping, logistics, e-commerce and marketing. LinkedIn
