WooCommerce, Shopify & OrderCtrl
We’ve spent decades building on WooCommerce and Shopify, and we love them both. OrderCtrl gives WooCommerce stores the polished, unified post-purchase experience Shopify merchants take for granted, without giving up what makes WooCommerce yours.
Why we love WooCommerce
Open source, your hosting, your data, and the freedom to build anything. More than four million stores run on it for good reason.
Why we love Shopify
A fast admin, passwordless customer accounts, built-in self-serve returns and free automation with Flow. It sets the bar for how running a store should feel.
The gap we’re closing
Big WooCommerce stores often run a separate extension for tracking, returns, protection, subscriptions tools and emails. Each one works. Together, they’re costly, slower to manage and feel like five different brands to customers.
Different pages and logins for tracking, returns and subscriptions.
One branded portal with code sign-in.
Several plugin screens in wp-admin to piece together one order.
One order view, inside your helpdesk too, with suggested replies.
A growing stack of annual licenses, updates and compatibility testing.
One platform, priced by shipments tracked.
A short, fair look at what each one gives you once the order is placed.
| WooCommerce | WooCommerce + OrderCtrl | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Open source. Your code, hosting and data. | Everything WooCommerce gives you, kept as is. | Hosted and managed for you. |
| Admin for post-purchase work | wp-admin, plus each extension’s screens. | A modern app for orders, shipments, labels, claims and subscriptions, synced with WooCommerce. | A fast, modern admin. |
| Customer sign-in | Password-based My Account. | Email code sign-in on your own portal domain. | One-time 6-digit codes with customer accounts. |
| Saved addresses | One billing and one shipping address; more needs a plugin. | An address book with multiple billing and shipping addresses. | Multiple saved addresses in customer accounts. |
| Tracking | Via extensions. | Add tracking or buy labels on the order, synced to WooCommerce. Every box on one timeline, 50+ carriers, proactive delay emails. | Order status page, plus apps for more. |
| Returns and claims | Via extensions. | Claims with photos, rules, exchanges, store credit and labels. | Self-serve returns and cancellations built in. |
| Subscriptions | WooCommerce Subscriptions ($279/yr). | Skip, pause, reschedule, swap and change frequency for WooCommerce Subscriptions. | Shopify Subscriptions app with skip and pause. |
| Automation | AutomateWoo ($159/yr) or others. | Post-purchase automations and issue detection included. | Shopify Flow, free on Basic and up. |
| Package protection | Via extensions. | Your own program; you keep 100% of the fee. | Shipping insurance listed on plans (requires Shopify Payments). |
| Cost to start | Free core, plus hosting and extensions. | Free for 100 tracked shipments a month. | From $39/mo monthly or $29/mo yearly; 2% fee for third-party payment providers on Basic. |
Shopify details from shopify.com/pricing and the Shopify Help Center, and WooCommerce Marketplace prices, as listed on September 30, 2026.
What OrderCtrl changes
Keep WooCommerce for your catalog, checkout and store. Your team handles the day-to-day in OrderCtrl: orders, shipments and labels, refunds, returns, subscriptions and customers in one fast app, with every change synced back to WooCommerce.
