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WordPress.com vs Shopify

Priya Nandakumar Written by Priya Nandakumar · Edited by Sebastiaan Smits · Fact-checked by Connor Blake · Published September 30, 2026 · Updated September 30, 2026

These two start from opposite ends. WordPress.com is a content site that can add a store through WooCommerce on its upper plans. Shopify is a store that can add content pages and a blog. A blogger or service business with a little selling fits WordPress.com; a business whose site exists to sell products fits Shopify.

Side by side

WordPress.comShopify
What it isManaged WordPress hosting with a builder-style editorEcommerce-first platform that also builds a full website
Best forBloggers and small businesses wanting WordPress without self-hostingBusinesses whose site's main job is selling products
HeadquartersUnited StatesCanada
Pricing modelPer site / monthPer store / month
PricingA free plan is available with a WordPress.com subdomain, ads and no plugins; paid plans (Personal, Premium, Business, Commerce) are on a published table, and plugins can be installed on every paid plan.Published monthly plans scale by feature depth and transaction fees; there is no permanent free plan, only 3 days free followed by a reduced price for the first three months.
Free optionFree planFree trial
List price
as listed on September 30, 2026		$9 per month billed monthly, or $4 per month billed annually (Personal plan)€28 per month billed monthly, or €21 per month billed yearly (Basic plan)
Place in our website builder software ranking#8 of 12#11 of 12
Websitewordpress.comshopify.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best Website Builder Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose WordPress.com if

the site is mostly articles, pages and a blog, selling is a side activity, and you want content you can export and move to self-hosted WordPress later.

WordPress.com, #8 in the ranking · Visit WordPress.com →

Choose Shopify if

the site's main job is selling physical or digital products, and you need inventory, shipping and tax rules, multi-channel selling and built-in payments from the first day.

Shopify, #11 in the ranking · Visit Shopify →

Where they differ

Running an actual store

Shopify is built around commerce: full catalog and checkout, inventory, multi-channel selling, tax and shipping rules, its own payment processing and a large app marketplace. WordPress.com offers ecommerce through WooCommerce, with a dedicated Commerce plan at $45 a month billed annually. For a business selling at any real volume, Shopify avoids bolting a cart onto a content platform.

Edge: Shopify

Publishing and content pages

WordPress.com is aimed at bloggers and small businesses, with a block-based editor, themes, plugins on every paid plan, and Jetpack stats and backups. Shopify has basic pages and a built-in blog with comment moderation, but its content tools are lighter than those of general builders, so a content-heavy business with modest sales finds the balance backwards. For publishing, WordPress.com is the better base.

Edge: WordPress.com

The exit route

WordPress.com exports posts, pages, comments, categories and tags as a standard WordPress XML file that any self-hosted WordPress can import, with images linked rather than included; Business and Commerce plans can download a full backup. Shopify exports products as a CSV file without the images, and themes do not travel to another platform. Portability favors WordPress.com.

Edge: WordPress.com

What you pay before anything sells

WordPress.com has a free plan on a subdomain that shows ads; Personal is $4 a month billed annually, and the store-focused Commerce plan is $45, or $70 billed monthly. Shopify gives 3 days free, then €1 a month for 3 months, then Basic at €28 a month, plus 2% on orders through an outside payment provider. Content is cheaper on WordPress.com; stores cost similar money.

Edge: even

Tally: WordPress.com 2, Shopify 1, even 1.

When neither fits

If you want the simplest guided setup, with no WordPress learning curve and no real product catalog to manage, neither is a natural fit. Wix is the most complete low-effort builder, and Jimdo has one of the fastest AI-assisted setup flows plus a genuine free tier.

See Wix and Jimdo among the 12 products in Best Website Builder Software in 2026.

Questions and answers

Is WordPress.com or Shopify better for a small online store?

Shopify, if selling is the point of the site. Inventory, shipping and tax rules, payments and multi-channel selling are built in. WordPress.com can sell through WooCommerce on its upper plans, which suits a content-led site with a modest shop attached.

Can I start free on WordPress.com or Shopify?

WordPress.com has a free plan with no end date: a WordPress.com subdomain, 1 GB of storage, ads shown to visitors and no plugins. Shopify has no free plan; it gives 3 days free and then charges €1 a month for the first 3 months before the regular plan price applies.

Which is easier to leave later, WordPress.com or Shopify?

WordPress.com. Its export is a standard WordPress XML file with posts, pages, comments, categories and tags, and images are fetched from the old site on import. Shopify's product export is a CSV file that leaves out the image files, so keep your own copies of product photos.

What do WordPress.com and Shopify cost per month?

WordPress.com lists Personal at $9, Premium at $18, Business at $40 and Commerce at $70 billed monthly, or $4, $8, $25 and $45 billed annually. Shopify lists Basic at €28, Grow at €78 and Advanced at €384 billed monthly, or €21, €59 and €289 billed yearly.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on September 30, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.