WooCommerce is the most popular way to turn a WordPress site into an online store, and the plugin itself is free. But "free plugin" does not mean "free store." Every merchant pays for payment processing, web hosting, a domain name, and the actual products they sell. This calculator adds all of those recurring costs together so you can see exactly what your WooCommerce store really costs to run each month — and how much profit you are actually keeping after the bills arrive.
Whether you are launching your first shop or scaling an established one, understanding the true cost stack prevents a nasty surprise at the end of the month. A store that looks profitable on paper can quietly lose money once Stripe or PayPal takes their cut and the hosting invoice lands in your inbox.
How to Use
- Enter your Monthly Revenue — the total gross sales your store brings in each month before any fees are subtracted. If you are just starting out and have not made sales yet, enter a realistic target so you can model the future.
- Set your Monthly Orders. This matters because every payment processor charges a small fixed fee per transaction on top of the percentage cut. A store with 1,000 small orders pays far more in fixed fees than a store with 100 large orders at the same revenue.
- Choose your Payment Gateway % Rate. The default is 2.9%, which matches Stripe's standard US online rate. If you use PayPal, change this to 3.49%. If you use another processor, enter their published rate.
- Set the Payment Gateway Fixed Fee per order. Stripe adds $0.30 per charge; PayPal adds $0.49 per online transaction. Enter whatever your processor charges.
- Enter your Web Hosting cost per month. Budget hosting for a small WooCommerce store usually runs $10–$30, while managed WooCommerce hosting from providers like WP Engine or Nexcess can cost $30–$100 or more.
- Add your Domain Name annual cost. A typical .com domain runs $10–$20 per year. The calculator automatically divides it by 12 to show the monthly impact.
- Set your Cost of Goods Sold as a percentage of revenue. This is what the products cost you to source or manufacture — the wholesale price, materials, or production labor. If you sell digital products with no production cost, set this to 0.
The result card breaks down every cost line and shows your net monthly profit — the number that actually lands in your bank account after everything is paid.
What WooCommerce Actually Costs
A lot of new store owners assume WooCommerce is free because the plugin download costs nothing. In reality, running a WooCommerce site involves four recurring cost layers:
- Payment processing fees. This is the biggest variable cost. Stripe and PayPal each charge a percentage of every sale plus a flat fee per transaction. On a typical store, payment processing eats 2.9%–3.5% of revenue plus $0.30–$0.49 per order.
- Web hosting. Your WooCommerce store needs a WordPress host. Shared hosting works for tiny stores, but WooCommerce is database-heavy and most serious merchants move to managed WordPress or WooCommerce-specific hosting within a few months.
- Domain name. Your store's web address costs about $10–$20 per year. It is a small line item, but it is a real recurring cost.
- Cost of goods sold. Whatever you are selling — physical products, digital downloads, or services — the product itself has a cost. This is usually the largest expense for physical-product stores and the easiest to forget when people talk about "running costs."
The plugin, the core commerce features, inventory management, tax calculation, and shipping labels are all included in the free WooCommerce software. You only pay for the infrastructure and the payment rails.
Stripe vs PayPal: Which Gateway Is Cheaper?
For a typical US online store, Stripe's standard rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, while PayPal's standard online transaction rate is 3.49% + $0.49. On paper, Stripe is cheaper on every single sale. But the gap depends heavily on your average order value:
- On a $20 order: Stripe takes $0.88, PayPal takes $1.19. Stripe wins by $0.31.
- On a $200 order: Stripe takes $6.10, PayPal takes $7.47. Stripe wins by $1.37.
- On a $5 order: Stripe takes $0.45, PayPal takes $0.66. Stripe wins by $0.21.
PayPal sometimes wins for larger-volume merchants who qualify for custom interchange-plus pricing, and it offers built-in buyer protection that some shoppers prefer. But for the vast majority of small and mid-sized WooCommerce stores, Stripe is the lower-cost option. Use the gateway inputs in this calculator to plug in your actual rates and see the difference.
Examples
Example 1 — A typical small store. A boutique shop does $5,000 in monthly revenue across 100 orders. They use Stripe (2.9% + $0.30), pay $30/month for hosting, $15/year for their domain, and their cost of goods runs 40% of revenue. Payment fees come to $175.00, hosting is $30, the domain amortizes to $1.25, and COGS is $2,000. Total monthly costs are $2,206.25, leaving a net monthly profit of $2,793.75. The effective fee rate (payment + hosting + domain as a share of revenue) is about 4.12%.
Example 2 — Switching from PayPal to Stripe. The same store, but with PayPal's 3.49% + $0.49 rate instead. Payment fees jump to $223.50, and net profit drops to $2,745.25. That is $48.50 less per month, or about $582 per year — simply from the gateway choice. Running this comparison before you sign up can save you real money.
Example 3 — A high-volume store. A seller doing $1,000,000 per month across 5,000 orders on Stripe. Payment fees are $30,500, hosting and domain are negligible, and COGS at 40% is $400,000. Net profit comes out to $569,468.75 per month. At this volume, even a 0.5% difference in gateway rates is worth $5,000 per month — which is why large merchants negotiate custom rates directly with processors.
FAQ
Is WooCommerce really free?
The WooCommerce plugin itself is free and open-source software released under the GPL license. You can download it, install it, and use every core feature — product listings, cart, checkout, inventory, tax, and shipping — without paying a cent. The real costs come from web hosting, your domain name, payment processing fees, and the products you sell. Premium extensions and themes are optional extras.
How much does WooCommerce actually cost per month?
For a typical small store, budget roughly $30–$100 per month for hosting, $1–$2 per month amortized for the domain, and payment processing fees of about 2.9% + $0.30 per order. On a $5,000/month store, that adds up to around $205 in fixed and payment costs before product costs. Use the calculator above with your own numbers for an exact figure.
Which payment gateway has lower fees: Stripe or PayPal?
For most US online stores, Stripe is cheaper. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per online transaction, while PayPal charges 3.49% + $0.49. On a $50 order, Stripe takes $1.75 and PayPal takes $2.24. PayPal can be more competitive for very large merchants who negotiate custom pricing, and it offers buyer protection features that some customers value.
Do I need managed WooCommerce hosting?
Not at first. A basic shared host works for a brand-new store with low traffic. But WooCommerce runs on WordPress and makes frequent database queries, so as your store grows you will likely outgrow shared hosting. Managed WooCommerce hosting (which includes caching, SSL, staging, and WooCommerce-specific support) typically costs $30–$100+ per month and is worth it once you have steady traffic.
What counts as cost of goods sold for a WooCommerce store?
Cost of goods sold (COGS) is whatever you paid to acquire or produce the products you sold — wholesale inventory, raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, and fulfillment. If you sell digital products or print-on-demand items, COGS is the production or fulfillment cost per item. Enter it as a percentage of your revenue in the calculator to see your true net margin.
Are there any hidden WooCommerce fees I should know about?
The core WooCommerce plugin is free, but paid extensions add up quickly. Popular paid add-ons include subscription management, advanced coupons, bookings, and multi-channel selling. Many store owners also pay for a premium theme, email marketing tools, and security plugins. These are optional, but they should be included in your monthly budget if you use them.
Disclaimer
This WooCommerce fee calculator is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Payment processing rates, hosting costs, and platform fees are estimates based on publicly published US pricing and may vary by country, business volume, account type, and negotiated terms. Always verify current fees directly with your payment processor and hosting provider, and consult a qualified accountant or business advisor before making financial decisions based on these estimates.