Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Shopify VS WP Engine

Compare Shopify VS WP Engine and see what are their differences

Shopify logo Shopify

Shopify is a powerful ecommerce platform that includes everything you need to create an online store and sell online. Try it free for 14 days.

WP Engine logo WP Engine

Hassle-Free WordPress Hosting
  • Shopify Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-09-04
  • WP Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-09-22

Shopify

$ Details
$29.0 / Monthly (Basic)
Release Date
-

WP Engine

$ Details
-
Release Date
2010 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
Texas
City
Austin
Founder(s)
Ben Metcalfe
Employees
250 - 499

Shopify features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Shopify offers a very intuitive and easy-to-use interface, which makes it accessible even for those with minimal tech skills. Store setup and management can be performed with little technical knowledge.
  • Extensive App Ecosystem
    Shopify's App Store features thousands of apps and integrations, allowing users to extend the functionality of their online stores. From marketing tools to inventory management, there's likely an app for almost any need.
  • Customizable Themes
    Shopify offers a wide range of professionally designed themes that are easily customizable. This allows businesses to create unique and visually appealing online stores without needing a designer.
  • Secure and Reliable
    Shopify provides robust security features and ensures your website's uptime. This means you don't have to worry about your store's security or dealing with downtime issues.
  • Comprehensive Customer Support
    Shopify offers 24/7 customer support through various channels, including live chat, email, and phone. This ensures that help is available whenever you need it.
  • Mobile Responsiveness
    All of Shopify's themes are mobile-responsive, ensuring a seamless shopping experience for customers regardless of the device they use.
  • Built-in SEO Features
    Shopify provides built-in SEO features and analytics tools that help with search engine rankings and tracking the performance of your store.

Possible disadvantages of Shopify

  • Transaction Fees
    Although Shopify offers its own payment gateway, Shopify Payments, it charges additional transaction fees if you choose to use an external payment gateway.
  • Customization Limitations
    While Shopify does offer a lot of customization options, it can be restrictive for businesses with very specific needs or those that require deep customization capabilities. Advanced customizations often require knowledge of Shopify's proprietary coding language, Liquid.
  • Cost
    Shopify's monthly subscription fees can add up, especially for advanced plans or when additional paid apps are used. This can be a significant cost for small businesses.
  • Content Management Limitations
    Shopify is primarily an e-commerce platform, and it may lack some of the advanced content management features (like blogging capabilities) found in platforms specifically designed for content management such as WordPress.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic store setup is straightforward, mastering Shopify's more advanced features can take time and may require additional training or hiring a professional.
  • Limited Internationalization
    Shopify's multi-language and multi-currency capabilities are somewhat limited compared to other platforms dedicated to global e-commerce.

WP Engine features and specs

  • Performance
    WP Engine is highly regarded for its excellent performance and fast loading times, thanks to its advanced caching technology and high-powered servers.
  • Security
    WP Engine offers robust security features, including daily backups, malware scanning, and a dedicated security team to ensure your site is secure.
  • Customer Support
    WP Engine provides 24/7 expert support with a team that is highly knowledgeable about WordPress, ensuring that any issues are resolved quickly and effectively.
  • Developer Tools
    WP Engine offers various developer-friendly tools such as staging environments, Git integration, and SSH access for more advanced functionality and customization.
  • Automated Backups
    The platform includes automated daily backups and the ability to create manual backups, offering an additional layer of data protection.
  • Scalability
    WP Engine can handle high traffic volumes and offers scalable solutions, making it suitable for growing businesses and websites with variable traffic.

Possible disadvantages of WP Engine

  • Cost
    WP Engine is more expensive compared to many other hosting providers, which could be a deterrent for small businesses or individuals on a tight budget.
  • Limited Plugins
    WP Engine has a list of disallowed plugins that are either not allowed or restricted due to performance and security reasons, which could limit some functionalities you might want to use.
  • Complex Pricing Plans
    The pricing structure can be confusing due to various add-ons and tiers, making it hard for potential customers to understand the exact cost.
  • No Email Hosting
    WP Engine does not offer email hosting, so you will need to find a separate provider for email services, which can be inconvenient.
  • Resource Limits
    Some of the lower-tier plans come with stringent resource limitations, such as bandwidth and storage caps, which can be restrictive for growing websites.
  • Learning Curve
    Because of its advanced features and tools, there may be a learning curve for users who are not familiar with WordPress or web development.

Analysis of Shopify

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Shopify is a highly regarded and reliable e-commerce platform, especially suited for users who prioritize ease of use and a comprehensive feature set for online storefronts.

Why this product is good

  • Features
    It offers a wide range of features, including various payment gateways, customizable themes, and an app store with numerous plugins to extend functionality.
  • Community
    Shopify has a strong community and a wealth of online resources, including tutorials, forums, and user groups, which can be very helpful for new and experienced users alike.
  • Scalability
    Shopify provides scalability for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, with different pricing plans and advanced features available at higher tiers.
  • User friendly
    Shopify is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for store owners to set up and manage their online stores without needing technical expertise.
  • Customer support
    The platform offers 24/7 customer support, ensuring that users can get help whenever they encounter issues or have questions.

Recommended for

    {"entrepreneurs" => "With its flexibility and expanding app ecosystem, entrepreneurs can tailor their stores to meet unique business needs and test new ideas rapidly.", "growing_brands" => "Businesses experiencing growth can benefit from Shopify's robust infrastructure and scalability options, ensuring that the platform can grow alongside their business.", "small_businesses" => "Shopify is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that need an easy and effective way to start selling online quickly."}

Analysis of WP Engine

Overall verdict

  • Overall, WP Engine is considered a good option for hosting WordPress sites, especially for businesses that require robust performance, scalability, and premium support.

Why this product is good

  • WP Engine is a popular managed WordPress hosting provider that offers a range of features specifically optimized for WordPress websites. Its services include daily backups, automatic updates, a global CDN, and enhanced security measures, making it a reliable choice for businesses looking to optimize performance and maintain the security of their sites. It also provides excellent customer support and a variety of plans that can cater to different sizes of businesses.

Recommended for

    WP Engine is recommended for bloggers, businesses, and enterprises who use WordPress and need a managed hosting solution that prioritizes speed, security, and professional support over cost-saving plans.

Shopify videos

Shopify Review 2020 - Is it still worth it in 2020?

More videos:

  • Review - SHOPIFY REVIEW MID 2019 - Is Shopify Worth It For The Money? Pros & Cons
  • Review - THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE USING SHOPIFY (IN 2019)
  • Review - Shopify Review 2025 - Is It Right For You? Pros And Cons
  • Review - Shopify Review: Is It the Best eCommerce Platform for Your Store?
  • Review - Shopify Review 2025 - Is It Right For You? All Features Explained!

WP Engine videos

IS WP ENGINE Worth IT? Is WP ENGINE any good?! (Honest Review)

More videos:

  • Review - Synthesis for Literature Reviews
  • Review - WP Engine Hosting Review - A Comprehensive & Unbiased Review โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…
  • Review - Synthesis School Review by Student
  • Review - September 10 math review synthesis guide to do synthesis exercises and correcting
  • Review - WP Engine Review and Pricing Guide
  • Review - WP Engine Review 2023 : The Fastest and Best Hosting Company [๐Ÿš€] + WP Engine Discount Coupon Codes ๐Ÿ”ฅ
  • Review - WP Engine Review: WordPress Hosting Worth The Extra Cost?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Shopify and WP Engine)
eCommerce
100 100%
0% 0
Web Hosting
0 0%
100% 100
eCommerce Platform
100 100%
0% 0
Hosting
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Shopify and WP Engine. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Shopify and WP Engine

Shopify Reviews

  1. Shopify - the best no code platform.

    Creating my online store for small dog products on Shopify was a remarkably smooth and rewarding experience. Shopify's user-friendly platform guided me through each step of the setup process, making it easy even for someone without prior experience. Their range of customizable templates gave my store a professional and appealing look, and the analytics tools provided have been invaluable for tracking my store's performance and customer trends. Additionally, Shopify's 24/7 customer support was always ready to assist whenever I encountered any roadblocks. Overall, launching my business on Shopify has been a positive experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to start their own online store.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Tilda, WooCommerce
  2. Lori Appleman
    ยท Founder at Redline Minds ยท
    Strong Option for New DIY Stores Serving Consumers

    Shopify is a powerful marketing machine that has driven incredible growth. It's an excellent choice for the store owner who needs to do it themselves, on a shoestring budget, who does not sell complex products and who does not plan to run a hybrid - a store that serves multiple customer bases such as retail and wholesale.

    Due to its sheer market share, there is a robust marketplace of apps that can be added to shape the store to fit most needs. There is an equally robust selection of themes and developers who can assist with any size project. They have a terrific knowledge base which I strongly recommend store owners use as it teaches the basics for e-commerce in general and online marketing. This learning should be done prior to developing a plan for your site. That will help root your project for success.

    Unfortunately, it's also oversold based on name recognition even when the platform is a poor choice for a specific business. There are both policy and technical limitations that impact suitability.

    Shopify stores require many apps, which adds monthly costs and can greatly slow your store down. While ALL online stores end up with some app use, because this allows you to choose the features you want and need, much of what is native in other carts like their most direct competitor, BigCommerce, is not. So you'll spend more money each month and it can be harder to get a fast site.

    Among the stores that should probably NOT use Shopify: - Sells items that are generally prohibited on the platform which includes weapons, weapon-related items, sex objects, tobacco (for some odd reason Vape is currently on the platform but for how long is anyone's guess), alcohol.
    - Sells items allowed but that don't qualify for Shopify Payments which expands the above list to include supplements, CBD, vape products and other items. - Just as above, any store that can't qualify for Shopify Payments or who has good reasons to use another payment gateway. Why? Because if you don't use their payment gateway which they profit from, they will take 1/2-2% of your gross revenues soley because you are using another gateway. For small merchants, this isn't much, for big ones it's a significant cost. - Stores with multiple price structures or catalogs - such as those who offer VIP tiers or wholesale clients. Why not? Because you can't create true customer groups which on other platforms let you segment the catalog and content for each customer group. Groups are really important for B2B. To accomplish multiple audiences on Shopify requires either a separate app (at an added cost) or multiple storefronts, or ShopifyPlus (which is still creating multiple sites). This can greatly increase your operational costs and work efforts. - Stores with complex products - these are items with many options, also known as configurable or customizable products. While Shopify does offer the ability to offer up to 3 options per product with a maximum of 100 skus per product, this limit is very easy to exceed. There is also no native path to add modifiers such as those one would use for personalized products (like custom embroidery. While these issues can be overcome with apps, that adds both load time and costs.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: BigCommerce, Magento, Miva, WooCommerce, Workflow
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Easy to use|Low price|Flexible|Large developer base|Great documentation|Reliable|Low maintenance
    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Cons:    Limited features|No customer groups for wholesale|Some product types forbidden|Must use their gateway or pay extra fees|Limited api calls|Limited capabilities for products with options

WordPress vs. Proprietary Site Builders: What to Know Before Starting a Website Development Project
Shopify: Shopify does not natively offer a backup option for user data. Although product data, orders, and customer details are stored, full-site backups must be managed manually or with paid third-party apps. Restoration options are limited, requiring users to rely on Shopify support or third-party solutions if data is lost.
Comparing 9 WordPress alternatives & competitors in 2024
Shopify specializes in ecommerce sites, managing customer data, payments, and content without the need for plugins. Store themes allow you to customize pages and create a consistent branded look. Shopify lets brands focus on global, local, and B2B sales right from their website's dashboard, with metrics like total sales and average order value.
Source: webflow.com
19 Best WordPress Alternatives in 2025
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of features for online businesses. From setting up an online store to managing inventory and marketing, Shopify provides a comprehensive solution.
Source: www.pixpa.com
Top 5 Headless Ecommerce Platform For B2B Business (2024 Reviews)
Known for its stability and security, Shopify Plus provides businesses with a robust platform and extensive app store, along with complete control over design and functionality. With enterprise-level features and a flexible app-based system, Shopify Plus allows companies to expand their operations according to their unique needs. It enables API-driven experiences by smoothly...
Top 10 Shopify Alternatives for Ecommerce in 2024
When running an e-commerce business, choosing the right platform can make a significant difference in your success. While Shopify is a popular choice, there are several other e-commerce platforms that might better suit your business needs. Let's explore the top Shopify alternatives that cater to a variety of users, from small startups to large enterprises.
Source: www.attrac.io

WP Engine Reviews

Best Web Hosting Affiliate Programs in 2023
Plus, WP Engine ensures a remarkable 180-day cookie duration, allowing you a generous window to maximize your earnings. Embrace WP Engineโ€™s affiliate program, where the speed of success meets unparalleled rewards.
Source: digiexe.com
8 GoDaddy Alternatives & Why You Need One
Why Use WP Engine over GoDaddy: WP Engine is a great alternative for two groups specifically: those looking for a more feature-rich basic plan, and those looking for a more advanced enterprise solution. Youโ€™ll likely pay more for WP Engine hosting in either case, but youโ€™ll also get more than you would with GoDaddy hosting.
Best Web Hosting for SEO
If you are looking for a good WordPress host, WP Engine is one of the best available in the market. This host is highly optimized for the WordPress website. If you want a highly performing WP website with good storage, and high speed, this is the ideal host available.
Top 10 best web hosting service provider companies in India
WP Engine is one of the best alternatives with regards to hosting a WordPress blog. WordPress is the most loved stage for bloggers as it makes content administration get to be less demanding. Finding a best WordPress hosting supplier can be troublesome particularly when the WordPress blog has begun getting great movement and has turned out to be exceptionally prominent....
Source: mywptips.com
5 Best WP Engine Alternatives & Competitors
WP Engine is a reliable and trustworthy web host that has been around for a long time. However, their prices are quite steep and beyond the budget of several website owners. Thankfully, there are numerous other options to choose from, most of which provide several amazing features at a cheap, affordable, and budget-friendly price.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Shopify should be more popular than WP Engine. It has been mentiond 44 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Shopify mentions (44)

  • Material 3 Expressive: Better, Easier, Emotional UX
    I donโ€™t think is ugly, it is just that it feels like every trendy company webpage copied and pasted the same design: http://shopify.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • 11 real-life PWA examples you can learn from in 2025
    Shopify is one of the easiest platforms for selling products online, and turning your store into a PWA with installation and push notifications takes just a click, thanks to the Shopify app store. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • shopify.com vs store.link, what do you think is better one?
    Shopify.com vs store.link which one is better? Source: about 2 years ago
  • Forget Shopify Why MedusaJS Is the Future of Headless Ecommerce
    With a traditional e-commerce platform like Shopify, you're locked into their ecosystem. You have to use their templates, checkout, and backend. Headless platforms like MedusaJS give you the freedom to build the front end however you want, using any framework or library. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Allow Rules not given priority over block?
    For example, if you want to load firewalla.com, just allowing "firewalla.com" will not work, you will have allow shopify.com and few other stuff ... You can see what sites loaded using chrome dev mode. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

WP Engine mentions (8)

View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Shopify and WP Engine, you can also consider the following products

WooCommerce - A freely available eCommerce plugin that enables shop facilities on your WordPress website. Functionality enabling extensions & beautiful themes available.

Bluehost - One of the largest and most trusted web hosting services powering millions of websites. Join Bluehost now and get a FREE domain name!

BigCommerce - BigCommerce provides ecommerce software solutions and shopping cart software for online businesses. Try it free and start selling your products online today!

A2Hosting - Need Fast, Reliable Web Hosting? A2 Hosting Is The Leader In Optimized Hosting For Any Need! Try Our Hosting Service Today!

Magento - Magento is the eCommerce software and platform trusted by the world's leading brands. Grow your online business with Magento.

Pantheon - The professional website platform for Drupal & WordPress sites.