By Yaaseen Ebrahim, founder of Innovation by Design. Updated 18 October 2026.
Shopify and WooCommerce are the two platforms most South African businesses consider for an online store. Most comparisons are written for American or European stores, and they miss the detail that changes the maths here: Shopify’s own payment system does not work in South Africa. This guide compares the two on real 2026 fees, payments, delivery, hosting and day-to-day running, so you can choose with South African numbers in front of you.
The short answer
Shopify is the easier platform to run, but in South Africa it costs more per sale. Shopify Payments is not available here, so you use a local payment provider and Shopify adds its own fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow or 0.6% on Advanced, on top of a monthly plan billed in US dollars. WooCommerce has no per-sale platform fee and can be hosted locally, but you, or someone you pay, must look after updates, backups and security.
- Choose Shopify if you want the simplest possible set-up and you are comfortable paying more per sale for it.
- Choose WooCommerce if you want lower running costs per sale, full control, local hosting, or a store that sits inside a content-rich WordPress site.
- Our prices at Innovation by Design: fairly simple online stores start from R15,000, quoted after a call, on WooCommerce or Shopify, whichever suits your products.
The detail that changes everything: Shopify Payments
In 41 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, Shopify stores can use Shopify Payments, Shopify’s built-in card processing. South Africa is not on Shopify’s list of supported countries. That has three knock-on effects for South African stores.
- You pay an extra Shopify fee on every sale. Stores that use a third-party payment provider pay Shopify 2% of each sale on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, on top of the provider’s own fees (Shopify pricing).
- Selling in several currencies is limited. Shopify’s help pages say that to sell in multiple currencies you need Shopify Payments.
- Shop Pay is limited. Shopify’s accelerated checkout works with third-party providers only for stores in Australia, France or the United States.
None of this makes Shopify a bad choice. It simply means the headline monthly price is not the full cost for a South African store.
What each platform costs to run
| Cost | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Basic US$25 a month (US$19 billed yearly), Grow US$65 (US$49), Advanced US$399 (US$299) | The plugin is free |
| Billing currency | US dollars | Rand for South African hosting; US dollars for some extensions |
| Fee on each sale | 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced), plus your payment provider’s fees | Only your payment provider’s fees |
| Hosting | Included | Paid separately; for example, Domains.co.za’s WordPress hosting starts at R129 a month |
| Themes | Free themes available; paid themes US$100 to US$500 once-off | Free and paid themes |
| Extra features | Apps, often billed monthly in US dollars | Extensions, often billed yearly; for example, WooCommerce Subscriptions is US$279 a year |
| Updates and security | Handled by Shopify | Your job, or your developer’s, often through a monthly care plan |
Because Shopify bills South African stores in US dollars, the rand cost of your plan and apps moves with the exchange rate.
Payment providers and their fees
Payfast, Yoco, Ozow and Peach Payments all have an official Shopify app and a WooCommerce plugin. Here is what each one publishes for online payments.
| Provider | Local cards | Bank payments (EFT) | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payfast | 3.2% plus R2.00 | Instant EFT and Capitec Pay: 2% plus R2.00 (Payfast’s own R500 example comes to R12.00) | None listed |
| Yoco | 2.55% to 2.95% | None listed online | None |
| Ozow | 2.85% (on monthly volume up to R249,999.99) | Pay by Bank: 1.5% (minimum R1.00) | None |
| Peach Payments (Growth plan) | 2.95% plus R1.50 | Pay by Bank: 1.5% plus R1.50 | No account fee; R200 a month if you store customers’ cards |
Most of these providers also offer buy now, pay later options such as Payflex, usually at a higher fee. On Shopify, remember that Shopify’s own 2%, 1% or 0.6% is added on top of every figure in this table.
A worked example: R50,000 a month in card sales
Here is what the fees look like for a store selling R50,000 a month through 100 card orders of R500 each, paid through Payfast. These figures leave out themes, apps, extensions and support, which vary from store to store.
| Each month | Shopify Basic | Shopify Grow | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform plan | US$25 (US$19 billed yearly) | US$65 (US$49 billed yearly) | Free plugin, plus hosting from about R129 |
| Shopify third-party fee | R1,000 (2%) | R500 (1%) | None |
| Payfast card fees | R1,800 | R1,800 | R1,800 |
| Total before extras | R2,800 plus US$25 | R2,300 plus US$65 | R1,800 plus hosting |
The gap grows with your sales. At R200,000 a month in sales, Shopify’s 2% on the Basic plan comes to R4,000 a month before the plan itself. At that level, a higher Shopify plan with a lower fee, or WooCommerce, usually works out cheaper.
Delivery and couriers
South Africa’s main courier and collection-point services work with both platforms, though the details differ.
- The Courier Guy: an official Shopify app and an official WooCommerce plugin. The WooCommerce plugin also offers delivery to lockers.
- Bob Go: official Shopify and WooCommerce integrations that compare rates across several couriers, including The Courier Guy, Pargo and Fastway.
- Pargo: official Shopify and WooCommerce integrations for collection points.
On Shopify, showing live courier rates at checkout needs the Advanced or Plus plan. On Grow you can add it for a monthly fee or by switching to yearly billing. Many smaller Shopify stores use flat delivery rates instead. Whichever platform you choose, check which features each courier’s plugin or app offers before you commit.
Hosting, speed and where your data lives
Shopify hosts your store for you, and keeping the platform fast and secure is Shopify’s job. Shopify is a Canadian company, and its privacy policy says personal information may be transferred outside your country, including to the United States.
A WooCommerce store needs separate hosting, which you can choose. Several South African hosts run servers locally, for example in Teraco’s Johannesburg data centre, which keeps your data in South Africa and can help speed for local shoppers. The trade-off is that a slow or poorly managed host will slow your store down.
Whichever platform you choose, POPIA expects you to tell customers how their information is used and whether it is sent to another country. Our POPIA website checklist covers what your store should say.
Running the store day to day
Shopify is built for people who want to run a shop, not a website. Updates, security and hosting happen in the background, and the admin area is simple to learn.
WooCommerce runs on WordPress, so it is as flexible as WordPress and needs the same care. Plugins and WordPress itself need regular updates, the site needs backups, and someone needs to keep an eye on security. Many store owners pay their developer a monthly care plan for this.
When Shopify is the better choice
- You want to launch quickly and manage the store yourself with as little technical work as possible.
- You do not want to think about hosting, updates or security.
- Your sales are modest, so Shopify’s per-sale fee is a small amount each month.
- You want to use a particular Shopify app or theme that suits your products well.
When WooCommerce is the better choice
- Your sales are growing, and Shopify’s per-sale fee is becoming a real monthly cost.
- You want your running costs mostly in rand, and your data hosted in South Africa.
- Your store sits alongside a content-rich website, blog or guides that you want to grow on WordPress.
- You need custom features, unusual product rules or connections to other systems.
- You want full ownership of the code and the freedom to move to any host or developer.
Questions to ask before you choose
- What will we sell in a normal month, and what will the per-sale fees come to on each platform?
- Which payment provider will we use, and does it support the payment methods our customers prefer, such as Instant EFT, Capitec Pay or buy now, pay later?
- How will we deliver: courier, lockers, collection points or our own drivers?
- Who will update and back up the store each month, and what will that cost?
- Who will own the domain, the store and the customer data?
- Do we need features, such as subscriptions or bookings, that cost extra on either platform?
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify Payments available in South Africa?
No. South Africa is not on Shopify’s list of countries where Shopify Payments is available, so South African Shopify stores use a third-party payment provider such as Payfast, Yoco, Ozow or Peach Payments. Shopify then charges its own extra fee on each sale: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.
Is WooCommerce free?
The WooCommerce plugin itself is free. You still pay for a domain, hosting, any paid extensions you need, your payment provider’s fees, and someone’s time to keep the site updated, backed up and secure.
What does Shopify cost in South Africa?
Shopify bills South African stores in US dollars. In October 2026 the Basic plan is US$25 a month, or US$19 a month billed yearly. Grow is US$65 or US$49, and Advanced is US$399 or US$299. Because Shopify Payments is not available here, you also pay Shopify’s third-party gateway fee on top of your payment provider’s fees.
Which South African payment gateways work with Shopify and WooCommerce?
Payfast, Yoco, Ozow and Peach Payments all have official Shopify apps and WooCommerce plugins. Payfast publishes 3.2% plus R2.00 for card payments and 2% plus R2.00 for Instant EFT. Yoco publishes 2.55% to 2.95% for online payments, and Ozow publishes 2.85% for local cards and 1.5% for bank payments.
Which is cheaper to run, Shopify or WooCommerce?
At the same sales volume, WooCommerce usually costs less each month because there is no platform fee on each sale and no compulsory US dollar plan. On R50,000 a month of card sales through Payfast, Shopify Basic adds about R1,000 in Shopify fees plus the US$25 plan. WooCommerce has no per-sale platform fee, but you pay for hosting and maintenance.
Can I sell in more than one currency on Shopify from South Africa?
Not easily. Shopify’s help pages say you need Shopify Payments to sell in multiple currencies, and Shopify Payments is not available to South African stores.
Which couriers work with Shopify and WooCommerce in South Africa?
The Courier Guy, Bob Go and Pargo all have official apps for Shopify and plugins for WooCommerce. The Courier Guy’s WooCommerce plugin also offers locker delivery. On Shopify, live courier rates at checkout need the Advanced or Plus plan; on Grow you can add them for a monthly fee or by switching to yearly billing.
Where is my store’s data hosted?
Shopify is a Canadian company and its privacy policy says personal information may be transferred outside your country, including to the United States. A WooCommerce store can be hosted on servers in South Africa. Either way, POPIA expects you to tell customers if their information goes to another country.
Can I move from Shopify to WooCommerce later, or the other way round?
Yes. Products and customers can be exported and moved between the two, usually with an import tool or app, though the design, apps and many settings have to be rebuilt. Plan a move for a quiet trading period and set up redirects so you keep your Google rankings.
Where to start
See what we set up in our online store service, read our guide to what a website costs in South Africa, or book a free 30-minute call. Tell us what you sell and how much, and we will tell you honestly which platform makes more sense for you.
Sources
- Shopify pricing for South Africa, Shopify Payments supported countries, Shopify billing currencies, selling in multiple currencies, activating Shop Pay and carrier-calculated shipping (checked 18 October 2026).
- Shopify Theme Store pricing rules and Shopify privacy policy (updated 7 July 2026).
- Payfast fees, Yoco online payments, Ozow pricing and Peach Payments fees (checked 18 October 2026).
- WooCommerce on WordPress.org and WooCommerce Subscriptions.
- Domains.co.za WordPress hosting (price correct as at 8 October 2026).
- The Courier Guy Connect for Shopify, The Courier Guy for WooCommerce, Bob Go for Shopify, Bob Go for WooCommerce, Pargo for Shopify and Pargo for WooCommerce.
