Shopify vs WordPress (2026): I Ran Both. Here's The Truth.

TL;DR: I ran a WordPress store for 20 months and a Shopify store for 17. WordPress cost me 9-12 months of setup time and generated 7K from 5,000 products. Shopify generated 7 figures with 2 products. Here's what nobody tells you about the real cost of WordPress for ecommerce.

The Facebook Trap

When I was starting out, I went to Facebook entrepreneur groups looking for advice on which platform to build my ecommerce store on.

What I got back was overwhelmingly: "Use WordPress. It's cheaper, more flexible, more freedom."

What I didn't realize at the time was that most of the people giving that advice were developers. And developers love WordPress - because WordPress needs developers.

They weren't lying. WordPress is flexible. WordPress does give you freedom. But that advice had nothing to do with what I actually needed - which was to sell products and make money.

My WordPress Experience

I started my WordPress store in late December 2022. I hosted it on Simply.com initially, then moved to Contabo when my website kept going down.

Here's what nobody told me:

I spent somewhere between 9 to 12 months just trying to get the website to look the way I wanted it.

That wasn't the plan. The plan was to run an ecommerce business. Instead I was fighting with plugins, chasing developers, writing to Plesk, contacting Simply.com and Contabo trying to figure out why my website was breaking down several times a week.

Nobody had an answer.

The only solution I found was to keep upgrading my hosting - throwing money at a problem I couldn't identify. And even then, one small edit could take the entire website down.

I want to be clear - I'm not exaggerating. One little edit. Website down.

And the worst part? You won't be able to fix most of it without either:

• Hiring a developer
• Being really technically sharp on WordPress - and I mean really sharp

After 20 months of running a dropshipping store with around 5,000 products I had generated roughly 7K in revenue.

That number tells you everything you need to know about where my energy was going. It was going into keeping the website alive - not into selling.

Why I Switched From WordPress to Shopify

After 20 months on WordPress I attended a free webinar that kept appearing as a Meta ad on Facebook.

It was specifically about branded ecommerce - a completely different approach to what I had been doing on WordPress.

The concept was simple but it hit hard:

• Stop dropshipping thousands of generic products
• Build a brand around a focused product selection
• Find products with proven demand globally but low availability in your local market
• Use a platform built specifically for ecommerce

That last point led me to Shopify - this was what was suggested in the webinar. And the branded ecommerce concept led me to rethink everything about how I was approaching my business.

Shopify vs WordPress: My Real Results

I opened my Shopify store in late 2024.

I have not had a single downtime since.

I edit my theme without touching a line of code. I upload products, edit images, make quick changes - all without a developer. Things that took me weeks on WordPress take me minutes on Shopify.

But here's what really tells the story:

With 2 products on Shopify I generated 7 figures in revenue.

Compare that to 7K from 5,000 products on WordPress over 20 months.

Now I want to be honest here - Shopify alone didn't do that. Three things came together:

1. The right platform - Shopify, built specifically for ecommerce
2. The branded ecommerce concept - focus, identity and trust
3. The right products - high demand globally, low availability in Denmark

But would any of this have been possible on WordPress? No. I would still be fighting with plugins and calling developers at 1am trying to figure out why my website went down again.

Is WordPress Really Cheaper Than Shopify?

This is the argument you'll hear most from WordPress advocates. And technically it's not a lie.

But let's be honest about what that argument is missing:

When you factor in the hours you'll spend setting things up, the money you'll pay developers, the hosting upgrades to keep your site running and the sales you'll lose to a suboptimal checkout - WordPress is not cheaper.

And that checkout matters more than people realize. Shopify's checkout is one of the best in the world. That alone can justify the subscription cost.

The Denmark Angle

One thing I haven't seen discussed much in the Shopify vs WordPress conversation is the importance of market specific thinking.

I'm based in Denmark. I know the Danish market - the competition, the consumers, the marketing landscape.

The strategy that worked for me was identifying products with proven sales records in other markets that simply weren't readily available in Denmark yet.

That's a competitive advantage that has nothing to do with which platform you use. But Shopify gave me the infrastructure to actually execute on it - quickly, cleanly and without technical interference.

WordPress would have slowed me down at every step.

The Bottom Line

WordPress gives you freedom. But freedom is not what you need when you're trying to run an ecommerce business.

You need a platform that lets you focus on selling.

I spent 20 months on WordPress learning that lesson the hard way. Between 9 and 12 of those months were spent just trying to get the website functional. After all that I had 7K to show for it.

I switched to Shopify, applied the branded ecommerce concept, focused on the right products for the right market - and generated 7 figures with 2 products. 7 figures means somewhere between 1,000,000 and 9,999,999 in revenue.

If you're serious about ecommerce - and I mean serious - you need to be on Shopify. Not because someone told you so. Because the platform was built for exactly one purpose: to help you sell.

You can try WordPress yourself. But you'll see very quickly how hard it is to edit your theme, publish products, manage your store - without either breaking something or calling a developer.

Don't make the mistake I made. Start on Shopify.

Do you consider building your own store?

You get 3 days completely free and afterwards a total of 3 months for a symbolic 1$.

You'll get familiar with the Shopify theme builder within the first 2 hours, so you have plenty of time think about when to upgrade and start selling.

Try it out for free

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shopify better than WordPress for ecommerce?
Yes - if ecommerce is your primary goal. WordPress offers more general flexibility but requires significantly more technical knowledge, developer assistance and maintenance. Shopify is built specifically for selling online.

Is WordPress really cheaper than Shopify?
On the surface yes. But when you factor in hosting costs, developer fees, plugin costs and the hours spent on maintenance - Shopify is almost always the more cost effective choice for serious ecommerce.

Can I switch from WordPress to Shopify?
Yes. Shopify has migration tools and there are apps specifically designed to help you move your products, customers and orders from WordPress/WooCommerce to Shopify.

Do I need a developer to use Shopify?
No. That's one of Shopify's biggest advantages over WordPress. You can edit your theme, manage products and run your store entirely without technical knowledge.

Is Shopify good for the Danish market?
Yes. Shopify supports Danish language, Danish payment methods and local shipping integrations. It's fully equipped to run a Danish ecommerce store.

Have you run both platforms? Or are you considering switching from WordPress to Shopify? Feel free to reach out - I'm happy to talk through it.