PrestaShop or WooCommerce: which platform should you choose for your shop?
PrestaShop is a standalone online shop software; WooCommerce is a plugin that turns a WordPress website into a shop. Both are open source and free to download: you pay for hosting, modules and the build. If your website already runs on WordPress, WooCommerce adds to it; otherwise, compare the criteria below.
Which criteria should you compare?
The type of software, its licence, its price, what it requires from your hosting and the range of extensions. Information published by each publisher, checked on 17 October 2026.
| Criterion | PrestaShop | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Complete online shop software, installed on your hosting [1] | WordPress plugin: the shop and the website share the same tool [4] |
| Software price | Source code free to download [1] | Free plugin, with optional paid upgrades and support [5] |
| Licence | Open source: core under OSL-3.0, modules under AFL-3.0 [3] | Open source: GNU GPL version 3 or later [6] |
| Hosting requirements | PrestaShop 9: PHP 8.2 to 8.5 (8.5 recommended), MySQL 5.7 or MariaDB 10.2 minimum, Apache 2.4 or Nginx web server [2] | Recommended: WordPress 6.9 or later, PHP 8.3 or later, MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6 or later, HTTPS, 256 MB of memory [7] |
| Extensions and themes | PrestaShop Marketplace: modules and themes [1] | Hundreds of extensions and themes on its marketplace [4] |
| Stated users | More than 250,000 merchants [1] | More than 7 million active installations of the plugin [5] |
| Modules published by Pikali | Connecteur SumUp, MegaMenu Pro, Abonnéo, Klikage | Tarifs Pro, Abonnéo, Klikage, MaFacturePDP, SnapCrea |
The two user figures do not measure the same thing (merchants on one side, installations on the other): they cannot be compared directly.
What are the strengths of PrestaShop?
It is software designed for online selling: the shop is the core of the tool. Its code is open source and free to download, and its marketplace offers modules and themes. The publisher states more than 250,000 merchants and more than a million community members. [1]
What are the strengths of WooCommerce?
It adds to WordPress: your pages, your blog and your shop are managed in the same place. The plugin is free and open source; the publisher highlights the freedom to choose your payment methods, features and host, with hundreds of extensions and themes. [4] [5]
What costs should you plan for?
The software is free in both cases. The budget covers:
- hosting and the domain name;
- the paid modules or plugins you need (payment, shipping, subscriptions…);
- the theme and the build of the shop;
- maintenance: security updates, backups, payment monitoring.
For reference, at Pikali an online shop starts at €2,900 excl. VAT and the Serenity Store hosting and maintenance plan costs €99 excl. VAT per month, whichever platform you choose. See our prices.
Which platform suits a small business?
There is no single answer. Ask yourself these questions:
- Does your current website already run on WordPress? Adding WooCommerce avoids changing tools.
- Is the shop the core of your website, or an addition to your content?
- Do the modules you need exist, tested on the version you will use?
- Does your hosting meet the requirements in the table above?
We build shops on request and publish modules for both platforms. For a redesign, you can keep your current platform: just tick the box in the free diagnosis form.
Sources (checked on 17 October 2026)
- prestashop.fr — publisher's home page
- devdocs.prestashop-project.org — PrestaShop 9 system requirements
- github.com/PrestaShop — official licence file
- woocommerce.com — publisher's home page
- wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce — official plugin page
- github.com/woocommerce — official licence file
- woocommerce.com/document/server-requirements — server recommendations (WooCommerce 10.8 and later)
PrestaShop and WooCommerce are trademarks of their respective publishers.
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