Shoper or WooCommerce: which platform to build your online store on in 2026

You are choosing a platform for a new store and you hear three different pieces of advice: “Shoper is simple”, “WooCommerce is the most popular”, “PrestaShop is flexible”. Each is partly true. The problem is that you are comparing monthly prices, while the real cost only shows after a few years.

In this guide I show how to compare these three solutions using your own numbers, which integrations to check before buying and when to pick which. At the end you will find a checklist to print out. A warning: I build stores myself on WooCommerce, Shopify and a custom engine, so I am not entirely neutral. That is why I give rules you can check without my help.

The short answer: when to pick which

If you don’t have time for technical matters and you sell ordinary products, Shoper is often enough. If you want a store on your own hosting, with a blog and more freedom, choose WooCommerce. PrestaShop makes sense when you already have someone who knows it and will maintain it.

This is a shortcut that doesn’t replace the calculation. Below I describe what exactly differs.

How the three solutions differ

The most important difference is who is responsible for the server and updates. With a subscription, the provider does it. With the other two solutions, someone has to do it every month, and that costs time or money.

The cost over 3 years instead of the monthly price

A subscription price looks innocent, and a free plugin looks even better. So calculate the total over 36 months. The rule is simple:

• Shoper: subscription × 36 + paid add-ons + domain + implementation (if someone has to configure the store).
• WooCommerce / PrestaShop: implementation + hosting × 3 + paid plugins or modules + technical maintenance × 36.

Prices from my price list (net): domain and hosting from PLN 390 per year, technical maintenance from PLN 149 per month. For three years this gives: 3 × PLN 390 = PLN 1,170 and 36 × PLN 149 = PLN 5,364. In total PLN 6,534, or about PLN 181 per month for running a store on your own hosting, before implementation and paid plugins.

This number is your comparison threshold. Take the Shoper plan that matches your number of products, add paid add-ons and divide by 36. According to Shoper’s price list as of 15 October 2026, the Standard plan (up to 50,000 products) costs PLN 339 net in a promotion for the first year when paid upfront, and then PLN 299 net per month or PLN 3,249 net per year. Premium starts at PLN 729 net per month. With annual payment, Standard costs about PLN 6,837 net over 3 years, that is about PLN 190 per month, before add-ons. Promotions change, so check the current price list before deciding. If your figure comes out clearly below about PLN 181 per month, the subscription is cheaper, provided you look after the store yourself. If it comes out higher, a solution on your own hosting may pay off, but only if someone is actually taking care of maintenance.

Note: maintenance is not mandatory. You can update WordPress and plugins yourself. Then count your own time, because an update without a backup risks an outage in the middle of the season. I write more about running costs in the guide on the annual cost of maintaining a business website.

An example from a small business

Imagine a store with tools and accessories: 300 products, a dozen or so orders a day in season, shipping via InPost and couriers, and sales on Allegro as well. This is a model scenario, not a specific client.

The owner has no technical person, and the store is supposed to run without their involvement. Here a subscription has the advantage: they don’t take care of the server, and they report an outage to the provider. If, however, they need an unusual price calculator, a connection to their own warehouse program or extensive filters, they will quickly hit the platform’s limits and start paying extra for add-ons.

In that case WooCommerce with technical maintenance is sometimes the better choice, because the store can be tailored, and the code and data stay with the owner. It is not a rule, though: with a simple offer, a subscription often wins on convenience.

Integrations you must check before choosing

Choose the platform by what has to connect to it. Ask the provider or developer about each point separately.

• InPost: whether parcel lockers (Paczkomaty) are standard or you need to buy a module, and whether you print labels from the store panel. In Shoper the InPost integration is in all plans (price list of 15 October 2026).
• Allegro: whether stock levels and prices synchronize automatically, and how much such an integration costs. Shoper has a two-way integration with Allegro via the free Apilo Lite app. With me, an Allegro integration is from PLN 1,490 net.
• Payments: PayU, Przelewy24 and BLIK should work without any workarounds. Check whether the payment module is paid. In my offer, online payments on a CMS start from PLN 490 net, and in a store from my package they are already included in the price.
• Invoices and KSeF (Krajowy System e-Faktur, Poland’s national e-invoicing system): the point is not whether the store “has KSeF”, but whether the invoicing program it connects to is ready. Since 1 April 2026, most businesses issue invoices to other businesses in KSeF, so ask the provider about a ready-made integration, and check the rules at ksef.podatki.gov.pl.
• Google Merchant: whether products can go to Google Shopping automatically, for example through a feed refreshed every hour.

If one of the integrations is critical for your sales and the platform doesn’t have it, that is a reason to reject the platform, even when the price is attractive.

A checklist before you decide

Print it out and answer every point. If you answer “yes” to most of them in one platform’s column, that is your candidate.

1. How many products will the store have in a year? Check whether the Shoper plan allows for that.
2. Who will do updates and backups? If “nobody”, choose a subscription or buy maintenance.
3. Do you need features beyond the standard (a calculator, a configurator, custom integrations)? If so, choose a solution on your own hosting.
4. Are the key integrations (InPost, Allegro, payments, invoices) standard? How much do the add-ons cost?
5. Do the code and data remain your property, and can you export them?
6. What is the total cost over 36 months for each option? Put it in one table.
7. Does the platform let you move old URLs with redirects if you change stores?
8. Who is responsible when the cart stops working on a Friday evening?

Point 8 is the one most often skipped, and it is the one that decides your peace of mind during the season.

What to avoid

• Comparing a subscription price alone with a free plugin. These are two different calculations.
• Buying dozens of plugins “just in case”. Each one increases the risk of errors and slows the store down.
• Choosing a platform based on what an acquaintance has. Their store may be on a completely different scale and have a different way of shipping.
• Putting off maintenance until the first outage. Then it costs more and happens at a bad moment.

Summary

Shoper wins on convenience and on the provider taking care of the server. WooCommerce and PrestaShop give more freedom, but someone has to maintain them. The decision comes down to the 3-year cost and the integrations, not the first price you see.

If you want to check what your store would cost, use the cost calculator or write to me. Describe what you sell and how you ship, and within 24 hours I will prepare a quote for an online store together with technical maintenance. The first conversation and the quote are free.