WooCommerce says it's free — and the plugin is. But you still need to pay for WordPress hosting, a domain, and someone to keep everything running. E2C is fully managed: no setup, no hosting bills, no maintenance. Sign up and start selling in minutes.
WooCommerce gives you maximum control. E2C gives you maximum simplicity. Here's what that trade-off looks like in practice.
WooCommerce requires purchasing hosting, registering a domain, installing WordPress, configuring the plugin, and setting up payments — a process that can take hours or days. E2C requires none of that. Create an account, add your products, and your store is live.
WooCommerce is free to install, but hosting typically costs $5–$25/month, domain names cost ~$15/year, and premium themes or plugins add more. E2C has no hosting fees or domain costs — your store is fully hosted and managed for $0, with a 1.99% fee only when you make a sale.
Running WooCommerce means keeping WordPress, WooCommerce, and all plugins updated — and dealing with security vulnerabilities when they arise. E2C handles all infrastructure, updates, and security for you. Your only job is running your store.
A side-by-side look at setup, costs, and what's included out of the box.
| Feature |
E2C Store
$0/month
|
WooCommerce
Free plugin + hosting costs
|
|---|---|---|
| Upfront setup cost | $0 | Hosting + domain required |
| Ongoing monthly cost | $0 | $5–$25/month (hosting) |
| Platform transaction fee | 1.99% | None |
| Technical setup required | None | WordPress + WooCommerce install |
| Ongoing maintenance | Fully managed | Plugin & security updates required |
| Credit card required to start | Not required | Required for hosting purchase |
| Unlimited products | ||
| Product variants (size, color, etc.) | ||
| Built-in analytics | Basic; advanced via plugins | |
| Customer reviews (built-in, free) | Via plugins (free and paid options) | |
| Email marketing tools (built-in, free) | Via plugins (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, etc.) | |
| Customer message inbox (built-in) | Via plugins | |
| QR code for store sharing | Via plugins | |
| Multi-currency support | 15+ currencies | Via plugins |
| Plugin / extension ecosystem | — | Thousands of free and paid plugins |
| Full WordPress CMS (blog, pages) | — | |
| Start Free | woocommerce.com |
WooCommerce charges no platform transaction fee. Hosting costs vary widely by provider and plan. Paid plugins can add significant monthly costs depending on your requirements. Pricing as of 2025.
The WooCommerce plugin is free to download and install, but it requires a WordPress site to run on, which means you need hosting ($5–$25/month), a domain (~$15/year), and optionally paid themes or extensions. The real cost of running a WooCommerce store typically starts at $10–$30/month before making a single sale. E2C has zero upfront or ongoing costs — you pay 1.99% only when you sell.
No. E2C requires zero technical knowledge. You set up your store through a visual dashboard — customize your branding, add products with variants, and manage orders, all without touching code. WooCommerce requires comfort with WordPress at minimum, and getting the most out of it typically requires familiarity with PHP, plugins, and server management.
With WooCommerce, your store's uptime is your responsibility — or your hosting provider's. If your server goes down or a plugin update breaks something, you're managing the fix. With E2C, uptime and infrastructure are handled entirely by the E2C team. Your store stays online without any intervention on your part.
Yes. You can export your product catalog from WooCommerce and re-add your listings on E2C. Our support team is available to help. Since E2C is free to start, you can set up your E2C store in parallel with your existing WooCommerce store before making the switch.
WooCommerce itself charges no platform transaction fee. E2C charges 1.99% per sale. However, WooCommerce's real cost includes hosting, domain, and often paid plugins. At typical small-business sales volumes, E2C's 1.99% fee is often lower than WooCommerce's combined monthly infrastructure cost. The right comparison is total monthly spend, not just the transaction fee in isolation.
Choose WooCommerce if you're a developer or technically confident seller who needs deep customization, already runs WordPress, or needs capabilities that WooCommerce's plugin ecosystem uniquely provides. Choose E2C if you want to focus entirely on selling — not on managing servers, updates, or plugin compatibility. E2C is the simpler, lower-overhead choice for most individual sellers and small businesses.