Hosted vs. self-hosted - two paths to a webshop
When choosing a platform for your online store, you're faced with a fundamental choice: Do you want a hosted solution where everything is included and maintained for you? Or do you want to take care of hosting, updates, security and technical operations yourself?
Shoporama is a Danish hosted e-commerce platform. This means that hosting, security, updates and support are included in the subscription. You log in, build your store and focus on selling.
WooCommerce is an open source plugin for WordPress. It's basically free to download, but you'll need to take care of hosting, security, updates and the plugins that make your store functional. WooCommerce has a large market share - typically around 60% in Denmark - not least because many people already have a WordPress website and want to add a store on top of it.
Both platforms can be used to run a successful online store. However, they place very different demands on you as a store owner. This guide will walk you through the key differences so you can make an informed choice.
Comparison: Shoporama vs. WooCommerce
| Shoporama PRO | WooCommerce (typical) | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | 1,400 kr/month (ex. VAT) | 0 (plugin free), but hosting + plugins typically 500-2,500 kr/mo |
| Transaction fee | 0 % | 0% (but payment gateway charges a fee) |
| Hosting fee | Included | Self-hosted (typically $50-500/mo) |
| Security updates | Automatically (WordPress + plugins) | Manual (WordPress + plugins) |
| Backup (WordPress + plugins) | Automatic (WordPress + plugins) | Self-hosted or plugin |
| Upload speed | 250 ms load time | Depends on hosting and optimization |
| Uptime | 99,9 % | Depends on hosting |
| Payment methods | MobilePay, Stripe, QuickPay, ePay, PayPal, Klarna, ViaBill | Via plugins |
| Shipping | PostNord, GLS, DAO, Bring, Shipmondo | Via plugins |
| Accounting | e-conomic, Dinero, Billy | Via plugins |
| Newsletters | Purchase (1 kr/100 mails) | Plugin (Mailchimp, Brevo etc.) |
| Cookie consent | Included | Plugin (typically paid for GDPR compliance) |
| POS / Cash register | Included | Plugin (typically paid) |
| AI assistant | Included | Plugin (typically paid) |
| Server-side tracking | Optional (89 kr/md) | Plugin or custom setup |
| Loyalty program | Included | Plugin (typically paid) |
| Page designer | Included | Elementor or similar (typically paid) |
| Support included | Danish support included | Community-based |
| Technical knowledge required | Minimal | Moderate to high |
| Migration | Migration from WooCommerce (we help) | - |
Total cost of ownership - what does it really cost?
WooCommerce is free to download. But "free" can be expensive when you add up all the costs. Let's look at a realistic example for a typical Danish webshop:
Shoporama PRO - fixed monthly price
| Post | Price per month |
|---|---|
| Shoporama PRO subscription | 1.400 kr |
| Hosting, SSL, security, backup | 0 kr (included) |
| POS, cookie consent, AI etc. | 0 kr (included) |
| Newsletter + server-side tracking | ~100 kr/md (additional purchase) |
| All integrations | 0 kr (included) |
| In total | 1.400 kr/md |
WooCommerce - typical monthly cost
| Typical price per month | |
|---|---|
| WooCommerce (plugin) | 0 kr |
| Hosting (managed WordPress) | 150-500 kr |
| Payment plugin (Danish gateway) | 0-100 kr |
| Shipping plugin | 50-200 kr |
| Cookie consent plugin (GDPR) | 50-150 kr |
| Newsletter plugin | 0-500 kr |
| Security plugin | 50-200 kr |
| Backup plugin | 0-100 kr |
| SEO plugin (Yoast Premium) | 80-150 kr |
| Page builder (Elementor Pro) | 50-150 kr |
| Various additional plugins | 100-500 kr |
| In total | 530-2,550 kr/month |
Then there's the time you spend maintaining the system. If you pay a developer to keep your WooCommerce store up and running, it can typically cost an extra $500-2,000 per month.
Bottom line: WooCommerce can cost the same as - or more than - Shoporama when all expenses are counted. The difference is that with Shoporama, you know the exact price from day one.
Technical maintenance - time spent on operations vs. sales
This is the biggest difference between the two platforms and where many WooCommerce users underestimate the effort.
With WooCommerce, you are responsible for:
- WordPress updates - WordPress continually releases updates and they need to be installed quickly, especially security updates.
- Plugin updates - A typical WooCommerce store uses 15-30 plugins. Each plugin needs to be updated and an update may conflict with other plugins or your theme.
- Theme updates - The theme must be kept up-to-date and compatible with the latest version of WordPress and WooCommerce.
- PHP updates - Your hosting runs PHP and new versions may require changes to plugins.
- Debugging - When something goes wrong after an update, you'll need to troubleshoot it yourself.
- Performance optimization - Caching, image compression, database cleanup.
Typically, a WooCommerce store owner spends 2-5 hours a month on technical maintenance. With Shoporama, you spend zero hours. The platform is automatically updated and all features are tested and compatible. The time you save can be spent on marketing, product development and customer service.
Security and GDPR
WordPress is the world's most popular CMS - and also the most attacked. According to several security reports, WordPress sites account for the majority of all hacked websites on the web. This is not because WordPress itself is insecure, but the combination of widespread use, third-party plugins and users not updating in time creates a large attack surface.
With WooCommerce, you are responsible for:
- Security updates - both WordPress core, plugins and themes.
- Firewall and malware scanning - typically via a paid plugin.
- Backup - you need to ensure regular backups yourself.
- GDPR compliance - cookie consent, data processing agreements with all plugin providers, privacy policy, and ensuring that personal data is handled correctly across all plugins.
The GDPR part is particularly challenging with WooCommerce. Every time you install a plugin that processes personal data, you need to make sure it meets GDPR requirements. This typically means a data processing agreement with each plugin provider.
With Shoporama, security and GDPR are part of the platform: hosting with automatic backup and security updates, built-in cookie consent, and all integrations are first-party integrations.
Speed and performance
Page speed affects both the user experience and your ranking in Google. Shoporama delivers an average load time of 250 ms and an uptime of 99.9%. This is possible because the platform is optimized as one unified system with no plugin layers.
WooCommerce speed depends on many factors: hosting provider, number of plugins, theme quality and caching setup. A well-optimized WooCommerce store can be fast, but it requires technical knowledge and constant attention. Typically, you'll see load times of 1-3 seconds for WooCommerce stores that are not actively optimized.
All-in-one vs. plugin jungle
One of WooCommerce's strengths is its flexibility. There are plugins for almost everything. But that flexibility comes with a price: complexity.
A typical WooCommerce setup for a Danish webshop requires plugins for:
- Danish payment gateway (QuickPay, Stripe, ePay)
- Shipping calculation and labels (Shipmondo, PostNord)
- Cookie consent (Cookiebot, Complianz)
- Newsletter (Mailchimp, Brevo)
- SEO (Yoast, Rank Math)
- Security (Wordfence, Sucuri)
- Backup (UpdraftPlus, BlogVault)
- Performance (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache)
- Page builder (Elementor, WPBakery)
- Accounting integration (e-conomic, Dinero)
That's typically 10-15 plugins just for the basic functionality. Each plugin is made by a different developer, with its own update frequency, support channel and pricing. With Shoporama, all these features are built into the platform and work together out of the box.
Who is right for what?
WooCommerce could be the right choice if you
- Already have a WordPress site with a lot of content and want to add a store
- Have technical experience or access to a dedicated developer
- Need highly specialized functionality that requires custom development
- Enjoy building and customizing technical systems
Shoporama is typically the better choice if you
- Want to spend your time selling - not maintaining tech
- Don't have technical experience and don't want to hire a full-time developer
- Want a predictable monthly price with no hidden costs
- Want Danish support from people who know your platform
- Value security and GDPR compliance without managing it yourself
Migrating from WooCommerce to Shoporama
If you already have a WooCommerce store and are considering switching, you can move to Shoporama. We'll help with guidance and offer an onboarding package where we handle the entire migration for you.
Conclusion
WooCommerce and Shoporama are both proven platforms. The choice depends on what your priorities are.
If you're tech savvy and enjoy building your store from scratch, WooCommerce gives you maximum flexibility. But that flexibility costs time and requires ongoing maintenance.
If you'd rather focus on your products, your customers and your marketing, Shoporama is built to do just that. All the technicalities are taken care of, pricing is predictable, and you can spend your time where it creates the most value.
Check out Shoporama's pricing or explore all features. You can also compare Shoporama with Shopify.
Check out our comparison with DanDomain or find a cheap online store. Read the full platform comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is WooCommerce free?
The WooCommerce plugin is free, but a full WooCommerce store typically costs $500-2,500/mo for hosting, plugins, security and maintenance. Shoporama PRO costs $1,400/mo with everything included.
Which is easier - WooCommerce or Shoporama?
Shoporama is significantly easier. You create an account and can sell right away. WooCommerce requires you to install WordPress yourself, set up hosting, configure plugins and continuously update everything.
Is WooCommerce secure enough for an online store?
WooCommerce can be secure, but it requires you to keep WordPress, themes and all plugins updated yourself. WordPress is the most attacked CMS. With Shoporama, security and updates are handled automatically.
Can I move from WooCommerce to Shoporama?
Yes, you can move from WooCommerce to Shoporama. We help with guidance along the way and offer an onboarding package where we handle the entire migration for you.
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