WordPress vs Shopify vs custom
An honest comparison to help you choose the right platform.
Which one fits you?
Selling online is…
Custom features you need
Budget approach
Our recommendation: WordPress.
| WordPress | Shopify | Custom (Next.js) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Content-led business sites and blogs | Product stores that want to launch fast | Unique products, portals and high-scale sites |
| Typical setup with Penta | £1,490–£4,000 | £3,500–£8,000 | £6,000+ |
| Monthly running cost | Low; hosting and plugin care | Shopify plan + apps | Hosting and care; no licence fees |
| Speed | Good with care; plugins can slow it | Good, managed by Shopify | Fastest; built to a performance budget |
| SEO control | Strong | Good; some URL limits | Complete |
| Design freedom | High with a custom theme | Theme-based, high with custom work | Unlimited |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce, flexible | Best-in-class checkout | Anything, built to order |
| Multilingual & RTL | Plugins, good | Built-in markets, good | Native, complete |
| Who edits content | Your team, easy | Your team, easy | Your team via headless CMS |
| Scales to | Medium traffic | Large catalogues | Enterprise traffic and logic |