Shopify Payments vs WooPayments
Last updated: September 5, 2026
Shopify Payments
A-
Shopify Payments is Shopify’s own branded payments service — processed by Stripe, per Shopify’s published processor list — giving merchants one-click access to accepting cards and wallets inside Shopify, simplifying setup and eliminating third-party gateway fees for supported merchants.
WooPayments (Automattic)
B
WooPayments is the official, Stripe-powered payment solution built exclusively for WooCommerce stores, offering no monthly fees and deep dashboard integration, but plagued by account suspension issues and inconsistent customer support that undermine trust for serious merchants.
VS
Overview
Neither of these is a processor you choose on its own — each one only runs on its own platform, so the real decision is Shopify or WooCommerce, and the payments follow. At the entry level both charge exactly 2.9% + 30¢ online. From there they diverge: Shopify buys down the rate on its more expensive plans and charges a penalty if you use anyone else, while WooPayments charges a flat rate forever, costs nothing per month, and lets you swap in any gateway you like at no cost.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Shopify Payments wins on card rates above the entry plan — 2.7% or 2.5% + 30¢ online against WooPayments' flat 2.9% + 30¢ at any volume.
- ✓WooPayments wins on cost of entry, with no subscription at all against $39 a month for Shopify's cheapest plan billed monthly.
- ✓WooPayments wins on freedom of choice: no penalty for using another gateway, where Shopify charges 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus.
- ✓Shopify Payments wins on cross-border selling, at a 1.5% conversion fee against WooPayments' +1.50% international card fee stacked on +1.00% conversion.
- ✓WooPayments wins on total cost for smaller stores, because Shopify's cheaper rates only arrive on the $105 Grow or $399 Advanced plan.
Shopify Payments
Shopify Payments is for merchants who want a hosted store with nothing to maintain, and who sell enough — or sell internationally enough — that the lower rates on a Grow or Advanced plan pay for the plan.
WooPayments (Automattic)
WooPayments is for WordPress businesses that want to own their stack: no monthly platform fee, no penalty for changing processors later, and full control of the store in exchange for running the hosting yourself.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
The tables lean towards Shopify Payments on the things a processor is normally judged on — lower rates above the entry plan, cheaper in-person pricing, a single 1.5% conversion fee instead of two stacked ones, and real-time support that WooPayments has no phone equivalent for. But every one of those rate advantages is bought with a subscription. Shopify's 2.7% online arrives on a $105-a-month plan and 2.5% on a $399 one, so a store doing $20,000 a month saves less on cards than it spends on the plan. WooPayments charges the same 2.9% + 30¢ forever, costs nothing per month, and — the sharpest difference in this comparison — never penalises you for using a different gateway, where Shopify takes 2% of every order on Basic for doing exactly that. Realistically the platform decision comes first: if you are on Shopify, Shopify Payments is the obvious default and the 2% penalty makes it close to compulsory; if you are on WooCommerce, WooPayments is the best-integrated option and costs nothing to try. Where a genuine choice exists, it turns on volume and on how much you value being able to leave.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Card rates
| Feature | Shopify Payments | WooPayments (Automattic) |
|---|---|---|
| Online rate, entry level | 2.9% + 30¢ on the Basic plan | 2.9% + 30¢, no plan required |
| Identical headline rate. The difference at this level is the Shopify subscription behind it. | ||
| Online rate at higher tiers | 2.7% + 30¢ on Grow, 2.5% + 30¢ on Advanced Winner | 2.9% + 30¢ at every volume |
| Shopify's discount is bought, not earned: Grow is $105 a month billed monthly and Advanced is $399. The rate saving only exceeds the plan cost at high volume. | ||
| In-person rate | 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic, down to 2.4% + 10¢ on Advanced Winner | 2.7% + 10¢ |
| WooPayments also bills $5 per active card reader per month — a reader with three or more monthly transactions counts as active. Tap to Pay on a phone does not trigger that fee. | ||
| Selling in other currencies | 1.5% currency conversion fee for US stores; no separate cross-border card fee to the merchant Winner | +1.50% on international cards, plus +1.00% currency conversion for US accounts |
| Shopify passes its conversion fee to the customer inside the displayed checkout price. WooPayments' two fees stack, so a converted international sale can carry 2.5 points on top of the 2.9% base. | ||
Online rate, entry level
Shopify Payments
2.9% + 30¢ on the Basic plan
WooPayments (Automattic)
2.9% + 30¢, no plan required
Identical headline rate. The difference at this level is the Shopify subscription behind it.
Online rate at higher tiers
Shopify Payments
2.7% + 30¢ on Grow, 2.5% + 30¢ on Advanced
Winner
WooPayments (Automattic)
2.9% + 30¢ at every volume
Shopify's discount is bought, not earned: Grow is $105 a month billed monthly and Advanced is $399. The rate saving only exceeds the plan cost at high volume.
In-person rate
Shopify Payments
2.6% + 10¢ on Basic, down to 2.4% + 10¢ on Advanced
Winner
WooPayments (Automattic)
2.7% + 10¢
WooPayments also bills $5 per active card reader per month — a reader with three or more monthly transactions counts as active. Tap to Pay on a phone does not trigger that fee.
Selling in other currencies
Shopify Payments
1.5% currency conversion fee for US stores; no separate cross-border card fee to the merchant
Winner
WooPayments (Automattic)
+1.50% on international cards, plus +1.00% currency conversion for US accounts
Shopify passes its conversion fee to the customer inside the displayed checkout price. WooPayments' two fees stack, so a converted international sale can carry 2.5 points on top of the 2.9% base.
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Merchants who want a hosted store with no server to maintain
Recommended
Shopify Payments
Shopify runs the hosting, security and updates, and Shopify Payments is wired in with nothing to configure. WooCommerce requires you to own that stack.
WordPress businesses that want to own and customise the whole stack
Recommended
WooPayments (Automattic)
WooPayments is free to install, adds no monthly cost, and leaves the store, the data and the choice of processor entirely in your hands.
Stores selling internationally in several currencies
Recommended
Shopify Payments
One 1.5% conversion fee, absorbed into the price the customer sees, against WooPayments' +1.50% international card fee and +1.00% conversion fee stacked on the base rate.
Small or seasonal stores under a few thousand dollars a month
Recommended
WooPayments (Automattic)
At that volume the rates are identical, so Shopify's $39 monthly plan is pure additional cost. WooPayments charges nothing beyond your hosting.
Merchants who want to keep a specific third-party gateway
Recommended
WooPayments (Automattic)
WooCommerce charges nothing for using PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net or anything else. Shopify adds 2% of every order on Basic, falling to 0.2% only on Plus.
Shopify Payments: Best for 2 use cases
WooPayments (Automattic): Best for 3 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
For most stores, yes on total cost, no on the card rate. Both charge 2.9% + 30¢ online at entry level, but WooPayments has no monthly fee while Shopify's cheapest plan is $39 a month billed monthly. Shopify only undercuts WooPayments on rate once you pay $105 a month for Grow (2.7% + 30¢) or $399 for Advanced (2.5% + 30¢), and the 0.2 to 0.4 point saving does not cover those plans until volume is high. WooCommerce shifts the cost elsewhere, though — you pay for your own hosting.
Yes. Shopify adds a third-party transaction fee on top of whatever the other processor charges: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. WooCommerce charges nothing for using another gateway, which is the main reason a WooCommerce store can change processors without renegotiating its whole setup.
No. WooPayments is built by Woo exclusively for WooCommerce on WordPress and is not available as a standalone gateway. It is built in partnership with Stripe and creates a Stripe Express account behind the scenes, but that account is tied to the WooPayments integration rather than being a general Stripe account you can point elsewhere.
WooPayments, marginally. US WooPayments accounts have a 2-business-day pending period before funds become available; Shopify Payments settles US charges 3 business days after the charge, plus 1–3 days for the bank to post them. The exception is a brand-new WooPayments account, which waits 7 days after its first successful payment before the first payout.
Shopify offers 24/7 chat and email to every merchant, with phone support reserved for Shopify Plus, the Retail plan and POS Pro — and it does not make outbound calls on any plan. WooPayments is supported through WooCommerce.com by ticket and live chat, with no phone channel and no published support hours. If having someone reachable at 2 a.m. matters, Shopify is the stronger of the two.
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