Both are free, both run on ordinary hosting, both have a CPay module. So the choice isn’t a technical one — it is a practical one.
WooCommerce — when the website isn’t only a store
WooCommerce is a WordPress add-on. That means you get a store plus everything WordPress does well: a blog, pages, SEO tools, a huge choice of themes.
Best for: a company whose website has a presentation, articles and services, with the store as one part of it.
Plus: if you already have a WordPress website, the store is added without changing anything.
Minus: with many products that have many variants it gets awkward. Managing a thousand items isn’t its strength.
PrestaShop — when the store is everything
PrestaShop is built only for selling, and it shows.
Plus: product combinations (size × colour × material) are handled better. Shipping rules by weight and zone are built in. Stock management is more serious.
Minus: if you also want a blog, it is an afterthought. And it needs slightly more powerful hosting.
The practical question
How many variants do your products have?
If you sell furniture or electronics — each product stands on its own, without variants. WooCommerce is perfectly enough.
If you sell clothes or shoes — every model comes in five sizes and three colours. That is fifteen combinations per product, each with its own stock. PrestaShop makes that much more comfortable.
The second question
Who will maintain it?
Far more developers know WordPress. If you need help tomorrow, you will find it more easily for WooCommerce than for PrestaShop.
That isn’t a technical argument, but it is a real one.
What both have in common
- They run on ordinary shared hosting
- They have a CPay module
- They need updates, backups and attention
- Images are the most common cause of slowness
- Cash on delivery is built in
If you are still not sure
Fewer than a hundred products without variants — WooCommerce. Clothes, shoes or a catalogue of thousands of items — PrestaShop.
And if you already have a WordPress website with traffic, don’t abandon it for the sake of a store. Add WooCommerce.
Planning an online store? We set it up completely, with payments and shipping configured.
Online stores →