WooCommerce is free. Next.js is free. Stripe takes roughly 2.9% + €0.25 per transaction. So why would anyone choose Next.js + Stripe over WooCommerce?
Because "free" doesn't mean "cheap." Let's look at the real costs.
The hidden costs of WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free plugin. But to run a serious online store you need:
- Powerful WordPress hosting: a basic plan can't handle real store traffic. A dedicated VPS plan: €30-80/month. - Premium plugins: for payments, shipping, invoicing, email marketing, inventory management. Realistic budget: €200-500/year. - Premium theme: €50-200 once, plus updates. - Maintenance: weekly WordPress, WooCommerce and plugin updates. Incompatibilities, conflicts, sites that break after an update. - Security: SSL certificate, security plugins, backups. An unprotected WooCommerce store is a target.
Real first-year cost: €800-2.000+ Cost in following years: €500-1.500/year
The cost of Shopify
Shopify is more upfront about its costs:
- Basic plan: $39/month - Shopify plan: $105/month - Advanced plan: $399/month - Transaction fee: 0.5-2% per sale (if not using Shopify Payments) - Apps: most advanced functionality requires paid apps
Real first-year cost (Basic plan): ~€600 + fees At €50,000 in annual sales: €600 fixed + €500-1.000 in fees = €1.100-1.600
The cost of Next.js + Stripe
- Development: one-time €1.990-2.990 (depending on complexity) - Vercel hosting: the free plan is enough for most stores - Stripe: 1.5% + €0.25 per transaction (European transactions) - Domain: €10-20/year - Optional maintenance: €99-199/month if you want ongoing support
Real first-year cost: €2.000-3.200 (development + Stripe fees on €50,000 sales ≈ €750) Following years: €750-3.000 in Stripe fees + €0-2.400 optional maintenance
The 3-year comparison
| WooCommerce | Shopify Basic | Next.js + Stripe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | €2.500 | €1.600 | €3.000 |
| Year 2 | €1.200 | €1.100 | €800 |
| Year 3 | €1.200 | €1.100 | €800 |
| **3-year total** | **€4.900** | **€3.800** | **€4.600** |
*Based on €50,000 in annual sales. Costs vary.*
The numbers are similar over 3 years. The real difference lies elsewhere.
The real difference isn't the cost
Performance: a Next.js store loads in 0.8-1.2 seconds. Average WooCommerce store: 3-5 seconds. Every second shaved off increases conversions by about 7%.
Security: Next.js + Stripe has essentially no attack surface. No exposed database, no vulnerable plugin, no accessible WordPress dashboard.
Control: you own the source code. If Vercel disappeared tomorrow, you'd deploy to Netlify within an hour. With Shopify you're locked in.
Maintenance: zero plugin updates, zero incompatibilities, zero sites breaking on a Sunday.
When to choose what
Choose WooCommerce if: - You already have a WordPress site and don't want to start over - You need very specific functionality (marketplace, complex bookings) - Your team already knows WooCommerce
Choose Shopify if: - You want to launch quickly without developers - You run a simple store with a standard catalog
Choose Next.js + Stripe if: - Performance matters (you have traffic, you run ads) - You want zero recurring platform costs - You want full ownership of the code - You're building something serious for the long term
Ready to build your Next.js + Stripe shop? Check out our Shop service.