eCommerce is where “just add a shop” turns into shipping rules, tax handling, subscriptions, payment gateways, and a client who wants it all to work “just like Amazon.” The platform you pick shapes every one of those conversations.
WooCommerce was the clear default in this thread, but the tone was telling. Most people weren’t cheering for it. They were explaining why they keep using it. Meanwhile, a handful of newer WordPress-native options are getting real attention, and Shopify has its own devoted camp.
This post is a summary of a Tuesday Toolbox discussion inside The Admin Bar community, where agency owners shared the eCommerce solutions they use most and how they compare.
The Most Mentioned eCommerce Solutions
These came up repeatedly in the discussion:
A number of other tools came up as well (we’ll get to those).
Why Agencies Choose These eCommerce Solutions
WooCommerce
The default, for better and worse.
WooCommerce came up more than every other option combined. The reasons were consistent: flexibility, control, and a huge ecosystem. And the caveats were just as consistent: cost, complexity, and constant change.
“Woo is Woo.”
Azur Avdic
Azur’s longer point is worth reading. He likes the newer WordPress eCommerce options, but his clients pay him to find ways to make them more money, and when a newer platform can’t deliver what he wants, “my hands are tied.”
“WooCommerce because there isn’t anything it can’t do with a little customisation.”
Tye Brown
Serdar Özbilen uses both Woo and Shopify, and said Shopify’s limitations are what made him appreciate Woo more:
“The flexibility of WooCommerce is incredible. It has its shortcomings, of course, but at least we have the freedom to fix or work around them, especially now that AI makes this easier than ever.”
Serdar Özbilen
He’s optimistic about Woo’s recent development, and hopes its dependency on jQuery fades over time.
Other strengths mentioned: Shay Rosenfeld pointed to its support for nearly every payment method, which matters for clients in regions Stripe doesn’t cover. Scott Mays noted Woo’s data schema is established and robust enough that other APIs and big tech platforms can consume it, though he called the constant updating and deprecating “a headache.” Yaser Alhosani still uses Woo because other plugins have locked ecosystems that restrict third-party integrations.
The downsides came from Sam Lomeli, who has run Woo, SureCart, and EDD across his sites and clients’ sites. Woo has “the most complicated set up for a beginner,” mostly because of variations and shipping, but also the most control and configurability. He noted add-ons get expensive quickly, citing the subscriptions add-on at $270 per year. Tim Dickinson called it “wonderfully customisable, albeit a bit ugly to use.”
Alex Celeste’s two eCommerce clients both use Woo, and he was honest about it: “May have made different choices if building today, but that’s not the reality I’m in.”
Best fit: agencies who need maximum flexibility, deep integrations, or broad payment gateway support, and who can pass add-on costs on to the client.
Shopify
Great UI and performance, with trade-offs in control and cost.
Despite being a WordPress-focused community, Shopify came up as a second platform for a lot of members rather than the only one. Tim Dickinson, Zaif Hossain, Michelle Sullivan, and Serdar Özbilen all use it alongside Woo. Marcus Ohanesian’s answer was “Shopify, Shopify, and also Shopify.” Rachelle Wise defaults to it: “unless there is something its architecture can’t really handle.”
The limits came up too. Tim noted that Shopify is great, but customizations and apps aren’t cheap, so anything not built into the theme can get pricey. Serdar’s comparison was the sharpest:
“With Shopify, when you run into a limitation, you often have no choice but to wait for Shopify to solve it for you.”
Serdar Özbilen
He gave Merchant Center and Cloudflare as examples of areas where his hands felt tied, while still acknowledging the great UI and excellent performance.
Best fit: agencies with clients who want a hosted, polished solution and whose needs fit within Shopify’s architecture, with budget for apps.
SureCart
The fastest setup, with a pricing model to read carefully.
SureCart has a real following among members who want a modern WordPress-native cart.
“SureCart now. Enjoy all the incorporated features and now they even offer live shipping rates.”
Dieter Hillje
Rob Marlbrough uses it for many clients and brings in Woo or Shopify only when specific functionality or integrations require it. Michelle Sullivan has dabbled in it.
Sam Lomeli gave the most detailed critique. He found it had the quickest setup of the three platforms he uses, but it’s the one he’s most likely to replace. His concerns:
- It manages recurring charges itself instead of the payment processor doing it, which makes fees confusing and affects how expired cards are handled.
- On the free plan, you pay SureCart platform fees in addition to payment processor fees.
- Because it’s a third-party hosted platform that doesn’t live on your WordPress install, custom product templates and listings are complicated.
- The docs are, in his experience, often outdated, with more material for developers than for beginners running a store.
According to Sam, the $199/yr tier removes the platform fees, but you’d need to be selling more than about $6,800 per year for it to actually save money. Pricing changes, so verify current plans before quoting a client.
Oscar Obians asked whether SureCart suits physical products. Solomon Antonell believed it supports simple products and variants, and possibly kitting, but wasn’t certain how deep it goes.
Best fit: agencies who want quick setup for digital products or simpler stores, and who’ve done the fee math for the client’s sales volume.
FluentCart
The newcomer with momentum.
FluentCart didn’t have the volume of Woo or Shopify, but the tone was optimistic.
“Just switched all new builds to FluentCart.”
Alan Gardiner
Alan acknowledged it may not have all of Woo’s extensions yet, but said it’s fast, and a big plus is that subscriptions are built in. He plans to post feature requests in the FluentCart community. Rasel Siddiqe recommended it for anyone whose primary concern is self-hosting. Sam Lomeli hasn’t used it much, but said the updates coming out of Fluent are compelling and that they’re “clearly listening to users.”
Best fit: agencies already invested in the Fluent ecosystem who want built-in subscriptions and a lighter-weight alternative to Woo, and who can live with a younger extension ecosystem.
EDD
Easy Digital Downloads is the option for selling digital products.
EDD came up once, but with a thorough review. Sam Lomeli found it relatively simple to set up and “smooth sailing” since. By his account, a store can start at about $100 per year including subscriptions, though payment processors beyond PayPal, Stripe, and Square require a higher tier, starting around $199 per year. He also called out the extensive documentation as a plus. As with SureCart, verify current pricing before quoting.
Best fit: agencies building stores focused on digital downloads, software, or licenses.
Notable Mentions
These also came up in the thread:
- Medusa (Kieran Donnelly): an open-source headless commerce option, mentioned without detail
- Ecwid (Pete Fairclough): a client requested it for a basic store, and Pete reports it integrates nicely with WordPress
- HubSpot Commerce Hub (Dustin Gray): used with payment links and a Stripe connection for single products or subscriptions, specifically to avoid bloat
- Spiffy (Lucy Kelly): recommended enthusiastically for subscriptions
- Magento / Adobe Commerce (Alison Donnellan): used alongside Woo
- EmDash: Serdar Özbilen spotted Cloudflare’s announcement of an open-source WooCommerce alternative from EmDash and is curious about it. Shay Rosenfeld is building his own solution on EmDash, with Stripe support, using Nuxt. It’s not WordPress, so he still uses Woo for WP projects.
- Freemius and Blesta (Rob Marlbrough): for his own services and plugin subscriptions
- Gravity Forms (Tye Brown): for simpler stuff where a full store would be overkill
- PaymentForm.io (Tanvir Chowdhury): the commenter built it for selling digital or physical products, event tickets, and memberships from a one-page site, with no domain or hosting setup required. This was a self-promotion from its creator, so treat it as a lead, not a community recommendation.
Patterns We Noticed
A few things stood out across the thread:
- Woo is the default, not the favorite. Almost nobody evangelized it. People defended it with phrases like “Woo is Woo” and “that’s not the reality I’m in.” It wins on control and ecosystem, not enthusiasm.
- Control vs. convenience is the core trade-off. Woo gives you control at the cost of complexity and add-on spend. Shopify and SureCart give you convenience at the cost of flexibility. Which wins depends on whether your client’s needs are standard or custom.
- Hidden costs shape the decision. Woo’s add-ons, Shopify’s apps, and SureCart’s platform fees all came up. Sam Lomeli’s cost breakdown is a good reminder to model a client’s real fees, not just the sticker price.
- Newer WordPress-native options are real, but young. SureCart and FluentCart are getting serious use, but the common caveat is a smaller extension ecosystem than Woo. When a client needs something unusual, that gap shows up fast.
- Subscriptions are a deciding factor. FluentCart’s built-in subscriptions, EDD’s subscription pricing, Spiffy, and HubSpot payment links all came up in that context, while Woo’s subscription add-on was cited as a cost.
- Lightweight alternatives are getting used for simple jobs. Dustin Gray’s HubSpot approach and Tye Brown’s Gravity Forms for simpler needs both reflect the idea that not every sale needs a full store.
- Payment methods matter more outside the US. Shay Rosenfeld’s point about regional payment methods in places without Stripe support is easy to overlook, and it keeps Woo in play.
How to Choose the Right eCommerce Solution
These questions can help narrow it down:
- Are you selling physical products, digital products, subscriptions, or a mix?
- How custom are the client’s needs? Will they outgrow a simpler platform?
- Does the client need to stay on WordPress, or is a hosted platform like Shopify fine?
- What payment gateways does the client need, especially in their region?
- What will the real monthly and annual costs be, including add-ons, apps, and platform fees?
- How comfortable are you maintaining it long term? Woo’s update and deprecation cadence is a recurring headache.
- Does your stack already include a plugin ecosystem (like Fluent) that would integrate cleanly?
Frequently Asked Questions About eCommerce for Web Agencies
What is the best eCommerce platform for WordPress agencies? WooCommerce was the most-used option in this community by a wide margin, largely because of its flexibility, ecosystem, and payment gateway coverage. SureCart, FluentCart, and Easy Digital Downloads are the most-mentioned WordPress-native alternatives.
Should I use WooCommerce or Shopify? Many members use both. Woo is preferred when a client needs deep customization or specific integrations. Shopify is preferred when a client wants a polished hosted solution and their needs fit its architecture. Members noted Shopify apps and customizations can get expensive, while Woo add-ons can too.
What are the best WooCommerce alternatives for WordPress? SureCart, FluentCart, and Easy Digital Downloads were the most mentioned. SureCart has the quickest setup, FluentCart has subscriptions built in, and EDD is a good fit for digital products. Each has trade-offs in fees, extension ecosystem, or maturity.
What’s the best eCommerce option for subscriptions? It varies. FluentCart includes subscriptions, EDD includes them in its starting tier, and Spiffy was recommended specifically for subscriptions. HubSpot Commerce Hub with Stripe was used for single products or subscriptions without extra bloat. Woo’s subscription add-on is powerful, but one member cited it at $270 per year.
Is SureCart good for physical products? It came up as a question in the thread, and the answers were uncertain. One member believed it handles simple products and variants, and possibly kitting, but wasn’t sure how deep it goes. Test it against your client’s requirements before committing.
What should I use for a simple store with just a few products? Lighter options came up: Ecwid for basic stores, Gravity Forms for simpler sales, and HubSpot payment links with Stripe for single products or subscriptions. A full eCommerce platform may be more than the project needs.
Kyle Van Deusen
After spending 15 years as a graphic designer and earning a business degree, I launched my agency, OGAL Web Design, in 2017. A year later, after finding the amazing community around WordPress, I co-found The Admin Bar, which has grown to become the #1 community for WordPress professionals. I'm a husband and proud father of three, and a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Use of AI: AI helps me outline, research, catch typos, and find better words & phrases. I take full personal responsibility for all my published content (the good, the bad, and the em dashed).
