A D2C brand hesitates: Shopify Plus at €2,000/month or WooCommerce on a €80 VPS. The founder wants to "control our data". The operations lead reminds them custom checkout and bidirectional ERP are not two clicks on Shopify. Nobody is lying — they are not comparing the same thing.
Shopify sells a turnkey platform. Self-hosted sells assembly freedom. Control is earned through operations load and incident responsibility.
What you gain — and lose — with Shopify
| Dimension | Shopify | Self-hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Go-live | Fast, themes | Longer, stack to choose |
| Core maintenance | Included | You + host |
| Checkout | Optimised standard | Custom possible |
| Apps / extensions | Paid store | Plugins + dev |
| Commissions | Transaction % by plan | Gateway only |
| Peak scale | Platform absorbs | You size |
| Export / lock-in | Partial proprietary formats | Files + DB in hand |
Shopify is renting a perfectly furnished shop. Self-hosted is buying land and drawing walls.
What "control" means in practice
Data and jurisdiction. Self-hosted EU: you choose documented host and region. Shopify: Shopify DPA, location by offer — verify for GDPR and sensitive markets.
Checkout and journey. Complex cart rules, B2B, multiple payments: self-hosted or costly Shopify Plus development.
Integrations. ERP, PIM, deep CRM: APIs on both sides, depth often freer self-hosted.
Variable cost. Shopify taxes growth via subscription + apps + percentage. Self-hosted: infrastructure + development and operations time.
Incidents. Shopify: rare global platform outage but out of your hands. Self-hosted: you or the host — see Managed or self-administered.
Honest TCO over 24 months
Include Shopify subscription + recurring apps, payment commissions, theme and custom app dev — versus VPS/cloud + plugins + maintenance hours + on-call + transactional email + PCI scope if you touch cards.
A shop at €500k GMV may see Shopify percentages exceed part-time operations — or the reverse at small scale.
The peak: control starts when the platform stops
Decide and move forward without blind spots
List must-have integrations and verify feasibility on Shopify. Calculate total cost over twenty-four months with projected GMV. Assess internal or vendor operations capability. Read Shopify DPA versus chosen EU host. Plan exit (export) in both scenarios.
Compare EU e-commerce hosts via the directory and by use case.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify more expensive than self-hosted WooCommerce?
Subscriptions, apps and percentages add up on Shopify. Self-hosted infra looks cheaper but operations (maintenance, security, updates) is often underestimated. Compare total cost over twenty-four months, not first month.
Can you migrate easily from Shopify to self-hosted?
Product and customer export is possible, but theme, apps and checkout workflows do not transfer. Plan partial rebuild and careful SEO redirects.
Who controls customer data on Shopify?
Shopify hosts the platform; you remain controller for business processing. Read DPA and location for your market.
When does self-hosted become mandatory?
Highly custom checkout, deep ERP, strict sovereignty, or margin killed by Shopify commissions.
Controlling your shop is not picking the freest stack — it is owning who answers when checkout breaks on Saturday night.