Starting an Online Store in Australia: Platform Comparison 2026

Starting an online store in Australia has never been easier — or more confusing. There are dozens of platforms, each claiming to be the best. Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, BigCommerce, Wix, and more. And then there is the option of building something completely custom.

Having built e-commerce sites for businesses across Canberra and Australia, we have seen what works and what does not. This guide gives you a straightforward comparison of the main options, with honest assessments of who each platform is best for.

The Quick Comparison

| Platform | Best For | Monthly Cost | Transaction Fees | Flexibility | |----------|----------|-------------|-----------------|-------------| | Shopify | Simple product stores | $39–$399 | 0.5–2% + payment fees | Medium | | WooCommerce | WordPress users | $10–$50 (hosting) | Payment fees only | High | | Squarespace | Beautiful simple stores | $27–$65 | 0–3% + payment fees | Low | | Custom-built | Complex or unique needs | Hosting only ($10–$50) | Payment fees only | Maximum |

Now let us break each one down properly.

Shopify: The Market Leader

Shopify is the most popular e-commerce platform in Australia, and for good reason. It handles the technical complexity of running an online store so you can focus on selling.

What Shopify does well:

• Ease of use. You can set up a basic store in a day. The admin interface is intuitive and well-designed. Product management, order tracking, and customer communications all work out of the box.
• Payments. Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe) is built in. No need to set up a separate payment gateway. It supports Afterpay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and most methods Australian customers expect.
• App ecosystem. There are thousands of apps for everything from email marketing to inventory management to shipping label printing. Need a feature? There is probably an app for it.
• Reliability. Shopify handles hosting, security, PCI compliance, and uptime. You do not need to worry about server maintenance or security patches.

Where Shopify falls short:

• Costs add up quickly. The base plan is $39/month, but most businesses end up on the $105/month plan. Add a few paid apps ($10–$50 each per month) and a premium theme ($250–$400 one-time), and you are easily spending $200+/month.
• Transaction fees. If you do not use Shopify Payments, you pay an additional 0.5–2% on every transaction on top of your payment gateway fees. Even with Shopify Payments, credit card rates are 1.75–2.9% + 30 cents.
• Limited customisation. Shopify uses its own templating language (Liquid). Want to do something the theme does not support? You need a Shopify developer or a workaround app. Truly custom checkout experiences require Shopify Plus ($2,000+/month).
• You do not own your store. Shopify is a subscription. If you stop paying, your store goes offline. Your data is on their servers. You are renting, not owning.
• SEO limitations. Shopify's URL structure is rigid (everything goes under /products/, /collections/, etc.). Blog functionality exists but is basic. Performance is generally good but you have limited control over optimisation.

Best for: Businesses selling straightforward physical products who want something up and running quickly without technical complexity. If you are selling T-shirts, candles, or homewares and do not need custom ordering flows, Shopify is hard to beat.

Not ideal for: Businesses with custom product configurations, complex pricing rules, unique ordering flows, or anyone who wants complete control over their customer experience.

WooCommerce: The WordPress Option

WooCommerce is a free plugin that turns any WordPress site into an online store. It powers a significant share of online stores worldwide.

What WooCommerce does well:

• No platform fees. WooCommerce itself is free. You only pay for hosting ($10–$50/month) and payment processing. No monthly subscription, no transaction fees beyond what your payment gateway charges.
• Full control. You own your code, your data, and your server. You can customise everything — themes, checkout flows, product pages, emails. Nothing is locked down.
• Plugin ecosystem. Like WordPress itself, WooCommerce has thousands of plugins. Subscriptions, bookings, memberships, product bundles, tiered pricing — if you can think of it, there is probably a plugin.
• SEO. WordPress with a good SEO plugin (Yoast, Rank Math) gives you excellent control over on-page SEO. URL structure is fully customisable. Blog integration is seamless since you are already on WordPress.

Where WooCommerce falls short:

• Technical overhead. You are responsible for hosting, security, updates, backups, and performance. WordPress requires ongoing maintenance. Plugin conflicts are common and can break your site.
• Performance. WooCommerce on shared hosting with 20+ plugins is slow. Getting good performance requires careful hosting selection, caching, image optimisation, and regular cleanup. Budget for managed WordPress hosting ($30–$50/month minimum) to avoid headaches.
• Security. WordPress is the most targeted CMS for hackers, precisely because it is so popular. You need security plugins, regular updates, strong passwords, and ideally a web application firewall. Neglect any of these and you risk a breach.
• Plugin costs. While WooCommerce is free, many essential extensions are not. A subscriptions plugin might cost $200/year. A bookings plugin, $250/year. A good page builder, $50–$100/year. These add up.
• Scalability. WooCommerce handles hundreds of products fine. Thousands of products with complex variations, multiple warehouses, and high traffic? You will need dedicated hosting and careful optimisation.

Best for: Businesses that already have a WordPress site and want to add e-commerce without starting from scratch. Also good for businesses that need extensive customisation on a moderate budget.

Not ideal for: Non-technical business owners who do not want to deal with hosting, security, and maintenance. If "update your plugins" sounds like homework, WooCommerce may not be for you.

Squarespace: The Beautiful Option

Squarespace is known for design. Their templates are genuinely beautiful, and the editing experience is polished. For small stores attached to a content-heavy site, it can work well.

What Squarespace does well:

• Design quality. Squarespace templates are the best-looking out of the box. If visual presentation is critical to your brand (photography, fashion, food, art), Squarespace delivers.
• Simplicity. The editing experience is clean and intuitive. Adding products, adjusting layouts, and updating content is straightforward.
• All-in-one pricing. Hosting, SSL, domain, and basic analytics are included. The Commerce plans ($27–$65/month) include everything you need to start selling.

Where Squarespace falls short:

• Limited e-commerce features. Compared to Shopify and WooCommerce, Squarespace's e-commerce is basic. Complex product variations, advanced shipping rules, and multi-currency support are limited or missing.
• Transaction fees. The Business plan charges a 3% transaction fee on top of payment processing fees. The Commerce plans drop this, but they start at $27/month.
• Customisation ceiling. You can adjust colours, fonts, and layouts within the template. But if you need something the template does not support, your options are limited to custom CSS/JavaScript injection — no plugin ecosystem to fall back on.
• Payment options. Squarespace supports Stripe, PayPal, and Afterpay in Australia. But it lacks the breadth of payment options available on Shopify or WooCommerce.
• SEO. Squarespace's SEO tools have improved but still lack the granular control available on WordPress or custom platforms. URL structure is somewhat rigid.

Best for: Small stores with a curated product range where design and brand presentation are the top priority. Photographers selling prints, boutique brands with 20–50 products, or service businesses selling a few digital products.

Not ideal for: Businesses planning to scale beyond 100+ products, those needing complex e-commerce features, or anyone who wants full control over their store.

Custom-Built: The Full Control Option

A custom e-commerce site is built from scratch using modern frameworks like Next.js or React, with a payment processor like Stripe or Square integrated directly. There are no platform fees, no transaction fees beyond payment processing, and no limitations on what you can build.

What custom does well:

• No platform fees or commissions. You pay for hosting ($10–$50/month) and payment processing (typically 1.75% + 30 cents with Stripe). That is it. No monthly subscription that scales with your revenue.
• Complete flexibility. Want a Build Your Box ordering flow? A custom pricing calculator? A wholesale portal with tiered pricing? Location-based delivery scheduling? None of these require workarounds or third-party apps — they are built into your site exactly the way you need them.
• Performance. Custom sites built with modern frameworks are fast. Really fast. Sub-second page loads are standard because there is no platform bloat, no unnecessary plugins, and no generic code running in the background.
• Ownership. You own the code, the data, and the infrastructure. No vendor lock-in. No platform policy changes that affect your business overnight.
• SEO advantage. Full control over URL structure, metadata, structured data, page speed, and content. No compromises forced by platform limitations.

Where custom falls short:

• Higher upfront cost. A custom e-commerce site typically starts from $8,000 and can go well above $30,000 for complex platforms. The ongoing savings in platform fees offset this over time, but the initial investment is significant.
• Requires a developer. You need a developer to build it, and ideally an ongoing relationship for maintenance and updates. You cannot just log in and drag things around like you can with Shopify.
• Build time. A custom e-commerce site takes 4–12 weeks to build, compared to days or weeks for a platform-based store.

Best for: Businesses with unique ordering flows, complex product configurations, custom pricing, or specific integration requirements that platform-based tools cannot handle without extensive workarounds.

We built a custom e-commerce site for a Canberra cookie business that needed a Build Your Box ordering flow with configurable sizes, flavours, and dietary options — plus real-time stock management, Square payments, and an admin dashboard for managing orders and pickup timeslots. Try doing that with a Shopify template.

Not ideal for: Businesses selling straightforward products who do not need custom functionality. If Shopify does everything you need, there is no reason to build custom.

Australian-Specific Considerations

Whichever platform you choose, there are a few things specific to selling online in Australia:

Payment processing: Make sure your platform supports Australian payment methods. Afterpay/Zip Pay are increasingly expected by consumers. All major platforms support these in Australia, but check before committing.

GST: If your business earns over $75,000/year, you need to charge and remit GST. Your e-commerce platform should handle GST calculations and display prices as GST-inclusive (the standard in Australian retail). Most platforms handle this, but double-check the configuration.

Shipping: Australia Post and Sendle are the main shipping providers. Shopify and WooCommerce have direct integrations. For custom sites, the Australia Post API and Sendle API are well-documented and straightforward to integrate.

Privacy: The Australian Privacy Act applies if you are collecting customer data. Make sure your platform's privacy controls and data handling meet your obligations. This matters more for custom and WooCommerce sites where you control the server.

Making the Decision

Here is a simple decision framework:

Choose Shopify if: You are selling physical products with straightforward options, want to be up and running quickly, and are comfortable with ongoing monthly costs.

Choose WooCommerce if: You already have a WordPress site, want maximum flexibility on a moderate budget, and are comfortable managing (or hiring someone to manage) the technical side.

Choose Squarespace if: You have a small, curated product range, design quality is your top priority, and you do not need complex e-commerce features.

Choose custom if: Your business has unique requirements that platforms cannot handle without workarounds, you want complete control and ownership, and the upfront investment makes sense for your growth plans.

Not Sure Which Is Right for You?

We have helped businesses across Canberra launch online stores on various platforms. Sometimes we recommend Shopify. Sometimes WooCommerce. Sometimes custom is clearly the right choice. We do not have a platform allegiance — we recommend whatever genuinely fits your business.

Book a free consultation and we will walk through your requirements, recommend the right approach, and give you a realistic budget range — no obligation.