WooCommerce
woocommerce.com
What it is
WooCommerce is free, self-hosted software for running an online store with omnichannel sales channels. Its core plan costs nothing, billed free with no monthly subscription. The plan lists unlimited products, unlimited orders, and unlimited APIs, allowing catalog and order volume without those stated caps. WooCommerce supports digital products as well as general online-store sales, includes abandoned-cart recovery, and provides an app marketplace. The listed transaction fee is payment-only. Because the hosting model is self-hosted, the store runs on hosting managed by the user rather than a hosted WooCommerce environment. WooCommerce is made by WooCommerce, founded in 2005 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA. The combination of omnichannel selling, digital-product support, recovery tools, and extensible apps gives store operators a broad core setup without a subscription charge. Hosting management remains part of choosing this model.
Spec sheet
- What it does
- WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform and WordPress plugin for selling physical products, digital goods and services.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Free plan
- YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, USARead 23 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Founded
- 2005Read 23 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Abandoned cart recovery
- YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Analytics
- WooCommerce connects with Google Analytics and provides reporting intended to support data-driven decisions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- API alternatives
- Developer documentation lists a Store API, Settings API, Payment Gateway API, Shipping Method API, Payment Token API and an experimental dual API with GraphQL.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developer.woocommerce.com
- App marketplace
- YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
- B2B
- The platform supports wholesale pricing, advanced inventory management and account-based selling through its B2B capabilities.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Company facts
- Automattic Inc. is WooCommerce's parent company; Automattic was founded in August 2005, is headquartered in San Francisco and reports 1,447 employees.Read 15 Oct 2026 · automattic.com
- Company profile
- Gartner lists WooCommerce as founded in 2005, headquartered in San Francisco, with 201–500 employees and Automattic as parent company.Read 15 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
- Digital products
- YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Documentation depth
- WooCommerce publishes a code reference covering internal classes, API objects and functions, alongside merchant and developer documentation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developer.woocommerce.com
- Global selling
- Official pages describe multilingual content, multiple currencies, local payment methods and global tax compliance.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Hosting model
- self-hostedRead 20 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Install base
- WordPress.org lists more than 7 million active WooCommerce installations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · wordpress.org
- Latest notable release
- WooCommerce 10.9.0, released June 23, 2026, added checkout and dashboard performance work, admin UI polish and transactional email logging.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developer.woocommerce.com
- Licence
- WooCommerce core is released under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Limit: add-on dependence
- Independent reviews repeatedly say advanced functions often require multiple plugins or paid extensions, increasing cost and maintenance complexity.Read 15 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
- Limit: performance and updates
- Reviewers cite resource-heavy stores, plugin conflicts, disruptive updates and occasional glitches or breakage after updates.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
- Limit: setup complexity
- Reviewers commonly report that initial configuration and the large number of settings create a learning curve for less technical users.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
- Limit: support complaints
- Trustpilot reviewers report slow or unresponsive support, unresolved payment problems and long troubleshooting cycles.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
- Marketing
- WooCommerce promotes coupons, email marketing, upsells, cross-sells, Google Shopping, Facebook promotion and Mailchimp integration.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Marketplace
- The WooCommerce Marketplace offers more than 1,000 free and paid extensions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Ownership
- Automattic acquired WooThemes, the company behind WooCommerce, in 2015.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Payments
- The platform supports cards, bank transfers, checks, cash on delivery and gateways including WooPayments, Stripe, PayPal, Square and Amazon Pay.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Praise: affordability
- Reviewers frequently describe WooCommerce as inexpensive to start because core software has no subscription or revenue share.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
- Praise: flexibility
- Independent reviewers repeatedly praise WooCommerce for deep customization, WordPress integration, broad plugin choice and control over the store experience.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
- Rating on Apple App Store
- 4.8 out of 5 from 7.8K ratings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
- Rating on Capterra
- 4.5 out of 5 from 1,054 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
- Rating on G2
- 4.4 out of 5 from 1,283 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
- Rating on Gartner Peer Insights
- 4.1 out of 5 from 16 ratings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
- Rating on GetApp
- 4.5 out of 5 from 1,054 verified reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
- Rating on Google Play
- 4.7 out of 5 from 41.9K reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
- Rating on Software Advice
- 4.5 out of 5 from 1,051 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
- Rating on Trustpilot
- 2.2 out of 5 from 145 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
- Rating on TrustRadius
- 8.5 out of 10 from 279 reviews and ratings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustradius.com
- REST API
- WooCommerce integrates with the WordPress REST API and its current documented integration uses version wc/v3 endpoints.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developer.woocommerce.com
- Sales channels
- omnichannelRead 20 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
- SDKs
- Official REST API libraries are documented for JavaScript, PHP, Python and Ruby.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developer.woocommerce.com
- Security program
- The project directs vulnerability reports to Automattic's HackerOne program and generally supports only the latest WooCommerce version.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Self-hosting
- WooCommerce runs as a self-hosted WordPress plugin, with source code and development tools available in a public GitHub monorepo.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Shipping
- WooCommerce provides automated tax calculations, live carrier rates and label printing, with additional shipping integrations available.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Subscriptions
- Recurring revenue can be added through the WooCommerce Subscriptions product.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- System requirements
- Current server recommendations for WooCommerce 10.8 and later include WordPress 6.9+, PHP 8.3+, MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+, HTTPS and a 256 MB WordPress memory limit.Read 15 Oct 2026 · woocommerce.com
- Transaction fee
- payment_onlyRead 20 Sep 2026 · woocommerce.com
Plans and prices
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Free core plan with no monthly subscription
- Unlimited products and orders
- Unlimited APIs
- Supports digital products and omnichannel sales
- Abandoned-cart recovery and app marketplace
Limits
- Hosting is self-managed
- Payment-only transaction fees still apply
- Self-hosted setup requires hosting responsibility
Who it suits
It suits businesses that want to manage their own hosting while selling physical or digital products across channels. It is also relevant to stores needing unlimited core products, orders, and APIs.
Verdict
WooCommerce provides a no-subscription core with uncapped products, orders, and APIs, plus digital sales and recovery features. Its self-hosted model gives control but leaves hosting management with the store owner.
Where Specifiction places it
- Ecommerce platforms#1 of 2809.5
- Product Configurator Software#9 of 1118.7
- Affiliate Marketing Software#17 of 1188.6
- Dropshipping Software#5 of 348.7
- Wordpress Plugins#5 of 348.7
- Delivery Management Software#14 of 938.6
- Visual Search Software#3 of 198.6
- Website Template Marketplaces#5 of 318.7
- Frictionless Checkout Software#5 of 248.6
- Dunning Management Software#10 of 468.7
- Recommender Systems#6 of 258.6
- Subscription Ecommerce Software#8 of 338.6