Best WooCommerce Alternatives For Your Ecommerce Business In (2023)

Although WooCommerce is a great option for adding ecommerce functionality to a WordPress website, it relies heavily on premium extensions. In return, store owners begin looking for WooCommerce alternatives. 

About 40% of websites use WordPress. However, standard WordPress websites lack built-in ecommerce functionality out of the box. Most business owners need the ability to list products, accept payments, track inventory, and accept orders, which a standard WordPress installation can’t do. 

And, that’s where WooCommerce, a WordPress plugin by Automaticc, comes into play.

The Problems With WooCommerce

WooCommerce is great for online stores with a smaller inventory count. On the flip side, the plugin lacks seamless integrations to help you manage and grow your business. 

Here are the potential problems you can run into with WooCommerce:

• Relies heavily on premium extensions, which can have a one-time fee or recurring subscription. 
• The platform is WordPress specific, and doesn’t integrate with other platforms. 
• WooCommerce utilizes a lot of resources, and requires a good web host. 
• Vulnerable to hackers.
• Plugins or extensions can be outdated. 

The problems above are going to be issues with most other WordPress specific platforms. 

Best WooCommerce Alternatives

These are the best WooCommerce alternatives for building an online store or transferring an existing one. Shopify is the clear choice here. 

#1 – Shopify (Best WooCommerce Alternative)

Not only is Shopify the best WooCommerce alternative, it’s the best ecommerce platform in general. That’s why more than 18% of ecommerce websites use Shopify (see detailed Shopify review). 

Shopify is a hosted platform so they take care of web hosting, security, updates, and support. 

Shopify Dashboard 🖱

Shopify Pricing 💰

The price varies by location. I am going to share the U.S. based pricing below, but if you’re reading this from another part of the world, you can visit their pricing page for accurate plan costs. 

• Starter: $5 monthly (or $60 annually)
• Basic: $39 monthly (or $348 annually)
• Shopify: $105 monthly (or $948 annually)
• Advanced: $399 monthly (or $3,588)
• Shopify Plus: $2,000 monthly

Why Choose Shopify Over WooCommerce? 🤔

Unless you specifically need a WordPress solution, Shopify beats WooCommerce in these key areas:

1. It’s Hosted: Shopify is a hosted solution, which means that the hosting, security, compliance, and updates are taken care of. 
2. Built-in Features: Although Shopify has an app store, most of the key features are already built into the platform. Unless an additional, more specific feature is missing, there’s no need to pay for extra apps. 
3. Easier Setup & Launch: Shopify is easier to use and has less of a learning curve. All tools are in one dashboard. WooCommerce would require you to learn both WordPress and the WooCommerce platform. 
4. Support: Since you pay a monthly fee to use Shopify, they have a dedicated support team to help you. As for WooCommerce, you’re stuck to forums and tutorials. 

Try Shopify for free 👍

#2 – MemberPress (Best WooCommerce Alternative For Memberships)

Much like WooCommerce, MemberPress is a WordPress plugin. However, the two differ in many ways. For one, MemberPress works for membership sites, online courses, and digital downloads. The platform has processed over $1B in revenue. 

MemberPress Dashboard 🖱

MemberPress Pricing 💰

Although the prices are a bit high, the platform is a must for creator’s looking to sell memberships, online courses or digital downloads. 

• Basic: $179.50 annually 
• Plus: $299.50 annually 
• Pro: $399.50 annually

There isn’t a limit on the number of members or courses you have. The plans have differences in the number of websites, payment integration, and selling of corporate accounts and gifted memberships. 

Why Choose MemberPress Over WooCommerce? 🤔

Although WooCommerce is a very good ecommerce solution, MemberPress outperforms them in the following areas:

1. Cheaper: The price of MemberPress is $179.50 per year. On the other hand, the WooCommerce Memberships add-on is $199 per year and you would have to pay an additional fee for subscriptions. 
2. Ease Of Use: MemberPress is by far easier to use and manage. The overall navigation is simple and more appealing to new users. 
3. Support: As MemberPress charges an annual fee for their platform, they are able to offer premium support for their product. This means that you will be able to speak with someone that knows their product well, instead of flustering through tutorials and forum boards. 
4. Memberships: Although MemberPress doesn’t have the option to sell regular products, it has advanced features for selling memberships, online courses, and digital products. With WooCommerce, you would have to install additional premium add-ons to accomplish the same. 

Try MemberPress for free 👍

#3 – Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

Easy Digital Downloads (or EDD) turns any WordPress website into a digital ecommerce business. 

With many integrations for automating workflow, increasing efficiency, and driving business growth, Easy Digital Downloads has the right tools to take your digital ecommerce business to new heights. 

Easy Digital Downloads Dashboard 🖱

Easy Digital Downloads Pricing 💰

• Personal: $99.50 annually
• Extended: $179.55 annually
• Professional: $269.55 annually
• All Access Pass: $399.60 annually

There’s a basic free version of plugin available, but very limited. The more expensive plans have the option to sell subscriptions, and access to more marketing tools and payment gateways.

With the most expensive plans, you can run a marketplace business and sell licensed software.  

Why Choose Easy Digital Downloads Over WooCommerce? 🤔

Here are the key areas where Easy Digital Downloads is better than WooCommerce:

1. Price: Easy Digital Downloads is cheaper for selling digital downloads. You would have to pay for additional WooCommerce add-ons to be able to sell digital downloads. 
2. Features: As far as features for the digital downloads, Easy Digital Downloads outperforms WooCommerce. This is especially true if you look at their more expensive plans where you can run a marketplace business and sell licensed software. 
3. Support: You are paying for a premium plugin, so you get fast, knowledgeable product support. 
4. Lightweight & Stable: A fresh install of Easy Digital Downloads will loads 2 scripts whereas a fresh install of WooCommerce will load 8 scripts. In addition, Easy Digital Downloads is more stable as WooCommerce has frequent update issues. 

Try Easy Digital Downloads for free 👍

Conclusion: Which WooCommerce Alternative Is Best For You?

Shopify is very hard to look past. It’s easy to use, offers a quick store launch, and the platform is flexible enough to sell all sorts of products. 

The difference between Shopify and the other platforms listed is the fact that Shopify is an all-in-one ecommerce solution. 

But, there’s no one-size-fits-all recommendation here because the platforms here do different jobs. It depends on what you plan on selling. 

Here’s a quick recap:

• Use Shopify if you need a hosted, all-in-one ecommerce solution. 
• Use MemberPress for selling memberships and online courses. 
• Use Easy Digital Downloads if the majority of your products are digital. 

FAQs About WooCommerce Alternatives

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about WooCommerce alternatives we’ve heard from our users.