PrestaShop vs WooCommerce vs Shopify in 2026: which to choose, with real data
Almost every comparison of PrestaShop, WooCommerce and Shopify is written by someone selling one of them, a migration or hosting. And almost all compare feature lists that all three already have.
Here we compare what really changes: what you pay each month and on each sale, what share of real stores on each platform is fast according to open data, which payments and obligations it handles in Spain and Colombia, how much control you have over your store and what happens if you want to switch one day.
1. The short answer
Which one suits you?
- Quick to start and fast without effort
- Monthly fee and, outside Shopify Payments, a surcharge per sale
- Less control over checkout, except on Plus
- In Spain, Shopify Payments works. In Colombia, it does not
- Free and no fee per sale
- Full control and thousands of extensions
- Speed depends on the hosting you choose
- WordPress, theme and plugins must be kept up to date
- Free in its Classic version and no fee
- Very widespread in Spain
- More technical than the other two
- Major updates can break modules and themes
No platform is best for everything. What changes the outcome most is not the platform but how it is set up: hosting, theme, the apps you add and the care you put in afterwards.
2. Who is behind each one in 2026
| PrestaShop | WooCommerce | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Open source, installed on your server | Open-source plugin for WordPress | Hosted service: you pay a subscription |
| Company | According to the buyer, cyber_Folks completed its acquisition in 2026 | Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com | Shopify, publicly listed |
| Current version | PrestaShop 9, since June 2025. 8.2 only gets security patches | A new version roughly every five weeks | Updates itself |
| Requirements | PHP 8.1 to 8.5 | PHP 8.3 or higher and WordPress 6.9 or higher | None: Shopify manages it |
Official documentation of each platform and cyber_Folks investor release, checked on 9 November 2026.
3. What each one costs
| PrestaShop | WooCommerce | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | Classic free. Hosted, €24 + VAT a month billed yearly or €29 with no commitment | Free | Basic $19, Grow $49 and Advanced $299 a month billed yearly |
| Hosting | Separate in Classic. Included in Hosted | Separate | Included |
| Platform fee | None | None | 2%, 1% or 0.6% per sale if you do not use Shopify Payments |
| European card payment | Whatever your gateway charges | WooPayments, 1.5% + €0.25 | Whatever Shopify Payments or your gateway charges |
| Extensions | Paid modules on PrestaShop Addons | Paid extensions, such as Subscriptions at $279 a year | Paid apps with monthly fees |
Prices published by each maker. Shopify's are from its Colombian page, in US dollars. Details of gateways, shipping and yearly costs are in our guide on how much an online store costs.
The maths changes over time. Shopify is usually cheaper at the start, because there is nothing to set up. WooCommerce and PrestaShop usually work out better when the store sells a lot, because they take no share of each sale. But then you must add hosting and maintenance, which are included in Shopify. We run the numbers in how much an online store costs.
4. Speed: what data from real stores says
This is the comparison almost nobody makes. HTTP Archive publishes each month, as open data, what share of websites on each technology passes Core Web Vitals, the speed metrics Google uses. They are measured with real visits from Chrome users, not lab tests.
| Shopify | PrestaShop | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 76.2% | 61.4% | 39.3% |
| Spain | 67.0% | 61.7% | 37.6% |
| Colombia | 52.8% | 21.3% | 20.9% |
HTTP Archive Tech Report, September 2026 data. «Spain» and «Colombia» mean websites with real traffic from that country, not .es or .co domains.
It looks like a clear Shopify win, but look at why. Almost all the difference is in server response time and in how long the main content takes to show, which depend mostly on hosting:
| Metric | Shopify | PrestaShop | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good server response (TTFB) | 83.8% | 25.8% | 12.1% |
| Good main content load (LCP) | 87.7% | 73.6% | 43.5% |
| Good interaction response (INP) | 86.7% | 90.4% | 91.4% |
| Good visual stability (CLS) | 92.4% | 85.8% | 88.7% |
HTTP Archive Tech Report. These are typical installations, not the platform under ideal conditions.
Does it matter? Google recommends good values on these metrics, and in stores it shows in sales: Rakuten 24 got 33.13% more conversions by improving them in an A/B test published on web.dev. We explain it in our SEO for ecommerce guide.
5. How many stores use each one
| WooCommerce | Shopify | PrestaShop | |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 553,677 | 452,270 | 49,565 |
| Change in a year | −14% | +12% | −19% |
| Spain | 31,226 | 17,143 | 10,242 |
| Colombia | 10,249 | 8,585 | 806 |
HTTP Archive Tech Report. Part of the drops may be due to changes in the sample or detection, not only stores closing.
Two things stand out. Among the three, PrestaShop weighs far more in Spain than worldwide: 17% of these stores against 5%. And Shopify is the only one growing, including in Spain, where it rose 24% in a year. In Colombia, PrestaShop is almost marginal.
Being more used does not make a platform better for you, but it matters for something practical: it is easier to find modules, integrations with local providers and professionals who know it.
6. In Spain: payments, shipping and VeriFactu
| PrestaShop | WooCommerce | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank POS (Redsys) and Bizum | Third-party modules on PrestaShop Addons | Third-party extension on WooCommerce.com, with Bizum | We found no Redsys app in its app store |
| Platform gateway | None | WooPayments | Shopify Payments, available in Spain |
| Correos (Spanish post) | Free official module | Free official module | Free official module |
| VeriFactu | Third-party modules | Third-party plugins, still with very few installs | Third-party apps |
Official module and app stores of each platform, checked on 9 November 2026. Correos modules require a contract with Correos or Correos Express.
On Bizum in Shopify: we found no official way to take payments through the bank POS. If Bizum matters to your customers, confirm it before choosing.
7. In Colombia: PSE, gateways and e-invoicing
Here there is a difference that changes the maths: Shopify Payments is not available in Colombia. You must use a local gateway, which charges its fee, and Shopify also charges its surcharge for not using its gateway: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.
| Gateway | PrestaShop | WooCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wompi | Module for PrestaShop 1.7 | We could not verify it | Yes, with PSE and cards inside Shopify checkout |
| ePayco | Yes, from 1.6.1.6 | Yes | Yes, from the app store |
| PayU | Its documented plugin is not compatible with 1.7 or later | Outdated documentation | Not in its documentation |
Official documentation of each gateway, checked on 9 November 2026. Confirm the version compatible with your store before signing up. Fees for each are in our guide on how much an online store costs.
For DIAN e-invoicing, Shopify has apps connecting to software such as Siigo or Alegra. It can be done in WooCommerce and PrestaShop too, but we could not verify in their official stores which connectors exist. The usual approach is to connect the store to your invoicing software.
With 63.9% of online payments made through PSE, according to the Colombian E-commerce Chamber, the gateway you choose weighs as much as the platform.
8. Control, data and lock-in
Shopify
Hosted- You do not maintain servers, updates or security
- Customising checkout steps is only possible on Plus
- You export products, customers and orders as CSV, but orders cannot be imported back
- The /products/ and /collections/ paths are fixed
- If you stop paying, the store closes
WooCommerce and PrestaShop
Open source- The store, code and database are yours
- You can change hosting whenever you want
- You can change any part, checkout included
- Updates and security are your responsibility
- An outdated plugin or module is an open door
Security is not theoretical. In March 2026, WooCommerce published a patch for a vulnerability in its Store API affecting versions 5.4 to 10.5.2, fixed in 10.5.3. Stores updated in time had no problem; stores nobody maintains did. So if you choose WooCommerce or PrestaShop, count maintenance as part of the cost.
9. Large catalogues and B2B
- Variants. Since October 2025, Shopify allows up to 2,048 variants per product on all plans. It used to be 100, one of its most cited limits.
- B2B. In Shopify it is no longer exclusive to Plus: it is available on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus. In WooCommerce it comes with paid extensions, about $99 to $149 a year.
- Several countries. Shopify Markets lets you adapt currency, language, domain, taxes and catalogue by market. In WooCommerce and PrestaShop it is solved with extensions and configuration.
10. How to migrate without losing Google
Changing platform is where most traffic is lost, because almost every address changes. What to know about each:
- To Shopify. Product pages move to
/products/and categories to/collections/, and those paths cannot be changed or used as a redirect source. Each old address must be redirected to the new one. Shopify allows up to 100,000 redirects, which can be imported by CSV. Its migration app has guides for about ten platforms, WooCommerce among them, but does not mention PrestaShop. - To WooCommerce. The built-in importer only covers products. Customers and orders need other tools. And changing the permalink structure without redirects gives 404 errors.
- From any of them. Google asks for permanent server redirects (301 or 308), one per address, no chains, kept for at least a year. It warns rankings will fluctuate for a while.
11. What we would choose by case
| Your case | What we usually recommend | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Starting out, small catalogue, no tech team | Shopify | Quick to build, quick to load and no maintenance |
| You already have a content-heavy WordPress site | WooCommerce | Everything in one place and no fee per sale |
| Large catalogue, many combinations, Spain | PrestaShop or WooCommerce | No fee and full control, with good hosting |
| You sell in Colombia with PSE | WooCommerce or Shopify | Local gateways with plugins, but Shopify adds a surcharge |
| You need ERP or invoicing integration | Whichever connects best to your system | Integration matters more than the platform |
| You have an old PrestaShop | Consider upgrading or migrating | 1.7 is no longer maintained |
General guidance. The decision depends on your catalogue, payments, systems and who will maintain the store.
If you sell in Colombia, a bespoke online store with us starts from COP 6,490,000, as an indicative price.
Sources
- HTTP Archive — Tech Report (Shopify, WooCommerce and PrestaShop)
- HTTP Archive — Web Almanac 2025, ecommerce chapter
- PrestaShop — Offers (Classic and Hosted)
- PrestaShop — PrestaShop 9.0 available
- PrestaShop — Version 9 system requirements
- PrestaShop — PHP security updates (October 2026)
- cyber_Folks — Investor release on PrestaShop
- WooCommerce — Server requirements
- WooCommerce — Release calendar
- WooCommerce — Store API vulnerability patched (March 2026)
- WooCommerce — Product CSV importer and exporter
- WooCommerce — WooPayments fees
- WooCommerce — Redsys gateway
- Shopify — Pricing in Colombia
- Shopify — Shopify Payments supported countries
- Shopify — B2B
- Shopify — Markets
- Shopify — 2,048 variant limit
- Shopify — Checkout upgrade
- Shopify — URL redirects
- Shopify — Store migration app
- Shopify — CSV files
- Wompi — Shopify plugin
- Wompi — PrestaShop module
- ePayco — Developers
- PayU — Shopping cart plugins
- Google — Site moves with URL changes
- web.dev — Rakuten 24 case study
Questions about PrestaShop vs WooCommerce vs Shopify in 2026: which to choose, with real data
It depends on your case. WooCommerce fits better if you already use WordPress or content matters. PrestaShop is built only for selling and is very widespread in Spain. In real data, 61.4% of PrestaShop stores pass Core Web Vitals on mobile against 39.3% of WooCommerce, but the gap is mostly explained by hosting.
Shopify if you do not want to deal with servers or updates, in exchange for a monthly fee and less control. WooCommerce if you want full control and no fee per sale, in exchange for maintaining it yourself and choosing hosting well.
According to HTTP Archive, in September 2026 all three Core Web Vitals on mobile were passed by 76.2% of Shopify stores, 61.4% of PrestaShop and 39.3% of WooCommerce. The difference comes mostly from server response time, meaning hosting.
Yes, but Shopify Payments is not available there. You need a local gateway, such as Wompi or ePayco, which have plugins with PSE, and Shopify also charges a surcharge per sale of 2%, 1% or 0.6% depending on the plan.
None of the three solves it out of the box. All rely on third-party modules or apps. If the store issues invoices, it is usually safer to have your invoicing software or ERP generate them, connected to the store.
With a 301 redirect from each old address to the new one, because in Shopify product pages move to /products/ and categories to /collections/. Shopify allows up to 100,000 redirects by CSV, and Google asks to keep them for at least a year. Rankings will fluctuate for a while.
Yes. Its B2B features are no longer exclusive to Plus: they are available on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus.
Something has to be done: 1.7 is no longer maintained and PHP 8.2 loses support at the end of 2026. Version 9 changes the technical base of themes and modules, so check which modules are still compatible before deciding between upgrading and migrating.
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