PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce can all run a serious online store, but they suit very different businesses. The real choice is between renting a ready-made store (Shopify, BigCommerce) and running open-source software on your own hosting (WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento). This guide compares all five on cost, effort, flexibility and fit for Indian merchants, so you can choose with your eyes open.
Choose WooCommerce if you want a flexible, low-cost store and are comfortable with WordPress. Choose PrestaShop for a store-first open-source platform with strong catalogue features. Choose Magento Open Source only with a developer and a VPS, for large catalogues and complex rules. Choose Shopify or BigCommerce if you want the least technical work and accept a monthly subscription and app fees. For a small shop that takes orders on WhatsApp and UPI, a website builder may be enough.
1. Hosted or self-hosted: the decision that matters most
| Question | Hosted (Shopify, BigCommerce) | Self-hosted (WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento) |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs the servers? | The platform | You, on your hosting |
| Software cost | Monthly subscription | Free, open source |
| Updates and security patches | Done for you | Your job |
| Design and code freedom | Within the platform's rules | Full access to the code |
| Moving away later | Export data, rebuild the design | You own the files and the database |
| Typical extra costs | Paid apps, themes, possible transaction fees | Hosting, premium themes, paid extensions, developer time |
Neither model is cheaper in every case. A hosted plan costs more each month but saves maintenance time. Self-hosting costs less in fees but needs someone to update plugins, watch security and keep backups.
2. The five platforms at a glance
| Platform | Type | Skill needed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | Free plugin for WordPress | Low to moderate | Small and growing stores, content-led brands |
| PrestaShop | Free, open-source store software | Moderate | Store-first businesses with larger catalogues |
| Magento Open Source | Free, open-source (Adobe Commerce is the paid edition) | High, developer needed | Large catalogues, B2B, complex pricing |
| Shopify | Hosted subscription | Low | Beginners who want to launch fast |
| BigCommerce | Hosted subscription | Low to moderate | Growing stores that want more built-in features |
3. WooCommerce
WooCommerce turns a WordPress site into a store. It powers a very large share of online shops worldwide because it is free, flexible and backed by thousands of themes and extensions.
- Free core software; runs on ordinary shared hosting
- Blog, pages and store in one WordPress site, which helps with SEO
- Indian payment gateways, GST invoice and shipping plugins are widely available
- Every extra feature is a plugin, and too many plugins slow the site
- You are responsible for WordPress, plugin and theme updates
- Busy stores outgrow a small shared plan and need more resources
Best fit: a small or medium business that already uses WordPress, or wants content and commerce together.
4. PrestaShop
PrestaShop is open-source software built only for e-commerce. Product variants, stock, carriers, taxes and multiple languages and currencies are in the core, and modules add the rest.
- Strong catalogue and order management without a CMS underneath
- Multi-language and multi-currency built in
- Free core; a marketplace of paid modules and themes
- Steeper learning curve than WooCommerce
- Many useful modules are paid, and quality varies
- Upgrades between major versions need care and a backup
Best fit: a store-first business with a sizeable catalogue and someone comfortable with a technical admin panel.
5. Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce
Magento, now owned by Adobe, is the most powerful and the most demanding of the five. Magento Open Source is free; Adobe Commerce is the paid enterprise edition with Adobe's support and extra B2B features.
- Handles very large catalogues, multiple stores and complex pricing rules
- Strong B2B features and deep customisation
- Large extension marketplace and developer community
- Needs a developer to install, customise and upgrade
- Needs its own server resources: a search service (OpenSearch), Composer and plenty of memory
- The most expensive platform to build and maintain
Best fit: a larger business with a development budget and a clear need for Magento's features.
Magento 2.4 needs a search service such as OpenSearch, Composer for installs and upgrades, background cron jobs and several gigabytes of memory. Shared hosting provides none of that: on our shared servers Composer cannot run, because the PHP functions it depends on are disabled. Run Magento on a VPS, or choose another platform.
6. Shopify
Shopify is a hosted store: you sign up, choose a theme, add products and start selling. Hosting, security, updates and SSL are part of the subscription.
- The fastest way from zero to a working store
- No servers, updates or security patches to manage
- Large app store and theme marketplace
- Monthly fees plus paid apps add up as you grow
- Deeper customisation is limited to what the platform allows
- Moving away means rebuilding your design elsewhere
Best fit: a new or small business that values speed and simplicity over control.
7. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is also hosted, with more features built in rather than added through apps, which appeals to growing stores that want fewer moving parts.
- Many features built in, so fewer paid apps
- Hosted: no servers or patches to manage
- Headless options for developers who want a custom front end
- Subscription plans are tied to your sales volume
- Smaller theme and app ecosystem than Shopify
- Check local availability, payment options and pricing for India before you commit
Best fit: a growing store that wants a hosted platform with more features built in.
8. What to check before you choose (India)
Platform prices, plans and fees change often, so check each platform's own pricing page on the day you decide. Then work through this list:
- Payments: confirm the platform supports the gateway you want, such as Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree or PhonePe, with UPI, cards and net banking. On hosted platforms, ask whether an extra transaction fee applies when you use an outside gateway.
- GST invoices: check that you can issue GST-compliant invoices, with your GSTIN and the right tax split.
- Cash on delivery and shipping: check COD support and integration with your courier or shipping aggregator.
- Total cost for year one and year two: software, hosting, theme, extensions or apps, payment fees and developer time.
- Who maintains it: someone must update software and plugins every month on a self-hosted store.
- Your domain: use your own domain, such as a .in, on any platform, so you keep your address if you switch.
9. Where Domain India fits
- WooCommerce or PrestaShop on shared hosting. Our cPanel and DirectAdmin plans include Softaculous, whose script library on those servers includes PrestaShop, and cPanel also has WP Toolkit for WordPress. Install WordPress, then add the WooCommerce plugin; or install PrestaShop directly. If you don't see an app in your panel, ask support. Accounts are protected by Imunify360, and JetBackup takes weekly backups you can restore yourself. New shared hosting purchases have a full refund within 30 days.
- Magento on a VPS. A VPS gives you root access and the resources Magento needs. It is self-managed, and cPanel is not offered on VPS; you set up the server stack yourself or choose a lighter panel at checkout.
- A small shop without a platform. The AI Website Builder's Pro and Business plans include an online cart: visitors add products and order on WhatsApp or pay by UPI, with no payment-gateway setup.
- 25 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- 50 GB Monthly Bandwidth
- 1 Website
- 10 Email Accounts
- 2 vCPU
- 4 GB DDR4 RAM
- 128 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- 3 TB Monthly Bandwidth
- 5 websites
- Connect your own domain + free SSL
- Everything in Starter
- More AI generations
Prices on the cards are Domain India list prices and exclude 18% GST. For a hands-on WooCommerce setup, see Setting up your online store with WooCommerce.
Which e-commerce platform is best for a small business in India?
For most small businesses, WooCommerce on WordPress or a hosted platform like Shopify. WooCommerce costs less in fees but needs you to maintain it; Shopify costs more each month but needs almost no technical work.
Is WooCommerce free?
The WooCommerce plugin is free. You pay for hosting and a domain, and optionally for premium themes and extensions such as advanced shipping or subscriptions.
What is the difference between PrestaShop and WooCommerce?
WooCommerce adds a store to a WordPress website. PrestaShop is dedicated store software with catalogue, stock and multi-language features built in, and a steeper learning curve.
Can I run Magento on shared hosting?
Not reliably. Magento 2.4 needs a search service such as OpenSearch, Composer, cron jobs and several gigabytes of memory. On Domain India shared hosting Composer cannot run, so use a VPS for Magento.
Are Shopify and BigCommerce cheaper than WooCommerce?
Usually not in total. They include hosting and maintenance, but subscription, app and possible transaction fees add up. Compare the full year-one and year-two cost for your store size.
Can I move my store to another platform later?
Yes, but it takes work. Products, customers and orders can usually be exported and imported with migration tools; the design and extensions must be rebuilt. Using your own domain from the start makes the move easier.
Which Domain India product should I use for a WooCommerce store?
A cPanel or DirectAdmin shared hosting plan suits most small and medium WooCommerce stores. Install WordPress from the control panel, then add the WooCommerce plugin.
Ready to open your store? Compare cPanel hosting for WooCommerce or PrestaShop, see VPS plans for Magento, or try the AI Website Builder for a simple WhatsApp and UPI shop.
Install WooCommerce or PrestaShop from your control panel, with free SSL and weekly backups included.
See hosting plans