WooCommerce: is it worth the effort?
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In short
A free, open-source shop plugin for WordPress. You host and look after it yourself, which gives you control and no platform cut, but also the maintenance. If you do not want to manage updates and backups, pick a hosted builder such as Shopify.
What it costs
- The core plugin is free with no revenue share.
- Real costs are hosting (WooCommerce's page estimates $25 to $350 a month; cheaper UK shared hosting exists but we have not priced it), extensions at roughly $29 to $299 a year each, and payment processing. WooPayments is about 2.5% to 2.9% plus 30 cents. Pound figures not found.
- Source: WooCommerce pricing, checked 31 October 2026.
Suits
People comfortable with WordPress who want control, low fees or a big catalogue.
Does not suit
Non-technical users who want zero maintenance. Security, updates and backups are your job.
What reviewers complain about
Trustpilot shows 2.0 of 5 from only 145 reviews, a small sample, 61% one-star. Trustpilot does not fact-check reviews. Themes, paraphrased:
- Slow support, with tickets closed unresolved, and payment problems such as delays and blocked Stripe connections.
- Plugin updates breaking sites, and a clunky setup for non-technical users.