Shopify, WooCommerce or a custom store: which is best for a UAE business?

Shopify, the online store system that millions of businesses use, is the quickest way to open an online store on your own. WooCommerce suits businesses that already run a busy WordPress site and have a developer. A custom store, built from scratch for one business, suits businesses with needs a ready-made platform can't meet, or that want no platform fee on each sale. The right choice depends on how you sell, and on who will build and run the store.

Shopify does work in the UAE. But most small Shopify stores here pay it an extra fee on every sale: 2% on the Basic plan. That is because Shopify's own payment service is only on its bigger plans for now.

A note before we compare: Samay.ae builds custom online stores, so we are not neutral. We have still tried to make this comparison fair, and we say plainly where Shopify and WooCommerce win.

What are Shopify, WooCommerce and a custom store?

Shopify is a hosted online store system. You pay a monthly or yearly fee, and Shopify runs the servers, security and updates. You add products, choose a theme (a design template) and start selling.

WooCommerce is a free plugin (an add-on) for WordPress, the popular website system. You install it on your own hosting (the computers that keep your website online). The plugin is free, but you pay for hosting, a domain, a theme, paid extensions and upkeep: updates, backups and security. So if you are deciding between Shopify and WordPress for an online store, WooCommerce is the WordPress option.

A custom store is designed and built from scratch for one business, with no theme and no platform to sign up to. A developer builds its features around how the business sells. They also connect the payment provider, Tabby, Tamara and the courier, usually through each one's API (a link that lets two systems pass orders and payments to each other). There is no platform plan and no fee per sale, but someone must host the store, update it and look after it.

Put simply, Shopify is like renting a unit in a well-run mall: you pay rent, and the mall handles security and repairs. WooCommerce is like owning your own building: more freedom, but every repair is yours. A custom store is a building designed for your business: it fits how you work, and you agree up front who looks after it.

Does Shopify work in the UAE?

Yes. There is no separate Shopify Dubai or Shopify Abu Dhabi: the same system works in every emirate. Here is the picture at the time of writing (October 2026).

Shopify, WooCommerce and a custom store at a glance

Here is how the three compare for a UAE store, at the time of writing.

Cost: which is cheapest over a year?

WooCommerce is free to install, but not free to run. Shopify has a clear price, but most UAE stores also pay it a fee on each sale. A custom store costs more to build, but has no plan and no fee per sale. Which costs least depends on your sales, and on who does the work.

What you pay with Shopify

Shopify lists its prices in US dollars. Here they are in AED at the fixed rate of 3.6725, from Shopify's pricing page.

Shopify Plus, for large businesses, starts at about $2,300 a month (about AED 8,450), with an extra fee of 0.2%. Paying yearly saves 25%: Basic costs about AED 1,280 a year instead of about AED 1,720. At the time of writing, Shopify also adds 5% UAE VAT to the bills of UAE merchants. Hosting, security and updates are included, but your domain and any paid apps or theme cost extra.

What you pay with WooCommerce

• Hosting: from a few dollars a month for basic shared hosting, to much more for fast managed hosting.
• Also: a domain name, a theme and any paid extensions, some of which renew every year.
• Upkeep: updates, backups and security, done by you or by a paid developer.
• No fee per sale from WooCommerce. Your payment provider still charges its own fees.

What you pay with a custom store

• The build: usually more than a do-it-yourself template store, charged once or yearly.
• Hosting, updates and support: ask whether the price includes them.
• Also: a domain name.
• No platform plan and no fee per sale. Your payment provider still charges its own fees.

A worked example

Say you sell AED 10,000 a month, all by card through a third-party provider. On Shopify Basic, you pay about AED 1,280 a year for the plan. You also pay AED 2,400 a year in Shopify's extra fee (2% of AED 120,000). That is about AED 3,680 a year before VAT, plus your provider's fees.

WooCommerce costs less if your hosting, paid plugins and upkeep come to under that figure. That is quite possible if you or your team can do the technical work. If you pay a developer for every update and fix, add up those bills honestly before you decide.

A custom store has neither cost: no plan and no extra fee. You pay for the build and the upkeep instead, and they do not rise with each sale. Our Website package, for example, is 7,870 AED a year, with the domain name paid separately.

As your sales grow, Shopify's fee grows with them. Here is the plan plus the extra fee for a year, paid yearly, before VAT and your provider's fees.

Grow becomes the cheaper of the two once your card sales pass about AED 18,400 a month. On Advanced, you can use Shopify Payments (in early access), which charges its own fee per payment but no extra Shopify fee. For every cost in AED, see what an online store costs in the UAE.

Ease of use, security and upkeep

To do it all yourself, Shopify is easiest. Everything lives in one dashboard, and there is no software to update.

WooCommerce needs more care. WordPress, your theme and each plugin get regular updates, and updates sometimes clash. So test changes before they go live, and keep backups.

With a custom store, the builder sets everything up. You should still be able to add products and handle orders yourself from a simple dashboard, so ask to see it before you agree.

Security works differently too. Shopify looks after the security of its hosting and checkout, including the card industry's security rules (known as PCI). With WooCommerce or a custom store, your payment provider usually handles card details, but the website itself must be kept safe with updates, strong passwords, a secure host and backups. On WooCommerce, that job is usually yours. On a custom store, it belongs to whoever looks after it.

Payments in the UAE

On Shopify, most UAE stores connect a third-party provider, such as Tap Payments, Checkout.com, Telr or Amazon Payment Services, and pay Shopify's extra fee on each sale. Tabby and Tamara have Shopify apps, and cash on delivery is built in.

On WooCommerce, you add payments through plugins. At the time of writing, UAE options include Tabby, Mamo, Magnati and PayTabs. WooCommerce takes no fee per sale. But each plugin is one more thing to keep updated.

On a custom store, a developer connects your payment provider, Tabby and Tamara, usually through each one's API. You are not limited to providers with an app for one platform: any provider that accepts your business and lets developers connect to it can work. Every store we build takes card, Apple Pay, Tabby, Tamara and cash on delivery.

Whichever you pick, check Apple Pay before you sign with a provider. On Shopify, for example, PayTabs and Ziina do not offer Apple Pay. Our guide to payment gateways in the UAE explains the options, and our guide to Tabby and Tamara for online stores covers buy now, pay later.

Arabic and right-to-left support

All three can run a full Arabic and English store. Arabic reads from right to left, so the whole layout must flip.

On Shopify, the newer Horizon themes support right-to-left languages, including Arabic, and the free Translate & Adapt app lets you add your translations. Check any other theme before you choose it.

WordPress supports Arabic and right-to-left layouts. For a two-language store, you usually add a translation plugin, and check that your theme handles right to left well.

On a custom store, the Arabic and English versions can be designed together from the start, so the layout, checkout and emails work both ways.

On all three, the hard part is the translation itself. Use machine translation only as a first draft, and have a native speaker check it. See how to build an Arabic and English online store.

SEO: which is best for Google?

All three can rank well. SEO (getting found on Google) depends far more on what you do than on the platform.

Shopify creates a sitemap (a list of your pages for Google) and a secure https connection for every store. You can edit page titles, descriptions and image alt text, and redirect old links to new ones. The catch: web addresses use fixed paths, such as /products/ and /collections/.

WooCommerce gives you full control of your web addresses and page structure. WordPress is also strong for blogs and content-heavy sites. You usually add an SEO plugin to manage titles and sitemaps.

A custom store also gives you full control. But nothing is there unless it is built, so check it has the basics: a sitemap, https, editable titles and descriptions, redirects for old links and fast pages on phones.

On all three, what matters most is the same: unique product descriptions, fast pages on phones, clear categories and useful content. Our guide to SEO for online stores in the UAE shows what to do first.

Flexibility: where WooCommerce and custom stores win

Shopify is flexible within its own rules. Themes can be edited, and apps add most features a small store needs. But some parts, such as the checkout, can only be changed in limited ways.

WooCommerce is open source (its code is free for anyone to see and change), so a developer can change almost anything: the checkout, the data, how prices are worked out. But those changes sit on top of WordPress, a theme and plugins, and must keep working each time they update.

A custom store starts from your rules, not a platform's. Special prices for each wholesale buyer, made-to-order options or delivery time slots are built into the store, not added on. The trade-off is that you depend on whoever builds and looks after it, so choose them with care.

For most small stores, Shopify's limits do not matter much. For a business with unusual rules, the freedom of WooCommerce or a custom store can be worth the extra cost.

Which is best for a UAE business?

There is no single best e-commerce platform for every UAE business. It depends on what you sell, what you already have, and who will build and run the store.

When Shopify is the better choice

• You want to set up the store yourself and start quickly.
• You sell standard products, and a theme and a few apps do what you need.
• Your budget is small, and a monthly plan suits you better than paying for a build.
• You want hosting, security and updates handled by the platform.

When WooCommerce is the better choice

• You already run a WordPress site with lots of content that brings visitors from Google.
• You have a developer on your team, or you are one.
• You want no fee per sale, and you can handle upkeep at low cost.

When a custom store is the better choice

• Your business has needs a template or app can't meet, such as trade prices, made-to-order products or delivery time slots.
• You want no platform plan and no platform fee on each sale.
• You want a store designed for your brand, not a theme other stores share.
• You want someone to build and look after it, without a developer on your team.

Our guide to custom online stores in the UAE explains the signs and the costs in more detail. When you are ready, our step-by-step guide to starting an online store in the UAE takes you from license to launch.

Already on Shopify or WooCommerce?

You can move. Products, customers and past orders can come across, though customers usually need to set a new password. Add redirects (rules that send old links to the new pages), so Google and your customers still find you. Our guide to moving your online store covers each step.

When we move a store, we bring over the products, customers and past orders, old links keep working, and the old store stays open until the new one is ready. See how we work.

Frequently asked questions

Does Shopify work in the UAE?

Yes. UAE businesses can open a Shopify store, set prices in dirhams and sell across all seven emirates. Cards usually run through a third-party provider, because Shopify Payments is only on the Advanced and Plus plans for now. Tabby, Tamara and cash on delivery all work.

How much does Shopify cost in the UAE?

At the time of writing, Basic costs $39 a month (about AED 143), or $29 a month (about AED 107) paid yearly, plus 5% VAT. With a third-party payment provider, Shopify also takes 2% of each sale on Basic, 1% on Grow or 0.6% on Advanced, on top of the provider's own fees.

Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?

WooCommerce is free to install, but you pay for hosting, a theme, paid extensions and upkeep. It can cost less than Shopify if you do the technical work yourself, and more if you pay a developer for every update.

Should I use Shopify or build a custom store?

Shopify suits you if you want to set up a simple store yourself. A custom store suits you if your business has needs a template or app can't meet, or you want no platform fee on each sale and full control. It costs more to build, and someone must look after it.

Does Shopify support Arabic?

Yes, with the right theme. Shopify's newer Horizon themes support right-to-left languages such as Arabic, and the free Translate & Adapt app lets you add your translations. WooCommerce and custom stores can be fully in Arabic too.

Can I use Tabby with Shopify, WooCommerce or a custom store?

Yes. Tabby offers an app for Shopify and a plugin for WooCommerce, and a developer can connect it to a custom store. You apply to Tabby as a merchant first, and your fee is agreed in your contract.