Quick answer
Choose Wix if you want one hosted builder that sells with little setup, and WordPress if you want a content site you can extend, either hosted on WordPress.com or self-hosted with WooCommerce. On a $50 card sale, fees come to $1.75 on Wix Core, $3.75 on WordPress.com Premium with the Payments block and $1.75 on self-hosted WooCommerce with WooPayments. Wix Core costs $29 a month (billed yearly, paid in full upfront), WordPress.com Premium US$8 a month, billed every 12 months, and WooCommerce has a $0 platform fee but you pay for hosting yourself.
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. It is pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, so it is not in the comparison or the fee example. See where Nation fits.
How we compared
Wix is one hosted product. WordPress comes in two forms: WordPress.com, which hosts the site for you, and self-hosted WordPress with the WooCommerce plugin. All three were checked against the same four questions.
- Fixed monthly cost What the plan, or the hosting, costs in a month with no sales, at the cheapest level that can take payments.
- Fees on each sale Platform and card processing fees on one order, read from each platform's own pricing and help pages for a US seller.
- Setup and upkeep Who runs the hosting, security and updates: the platform, or you.
- Selling features Whether the cheapest selling plan covers what a small store needs, and what you add on top.
Wix vs WordPress at a glance
Wix is shown on Core, its cheapest plan that accepts payments, and WordPress.com on Premium, the cheapest of the Premium, Business, and Commerce plans with the Payments block. Both are shown at yearly billing. The source and check date for every number are listed under each platform and at the end of the page.
Fees on one $50 sale on Wix and WordPress
Fees are easier to compare on one order than as percentages. Example: one $50 order, paid online by a standard US card, with free shipping and no sales tax. On Wix Core with Wix Payments the only fee is card processing of 2.9% of the transaction amount + 0.30 USD. On WordPress.com Premium, the Payments block adds a 4% WordPress.com fee to Stripe's 2.9% + US$0.30. On self-hosted WooCommerce, WooPayments charges 2.90% + $0.30 and WooCommerce takes a 0% revenue share.
- Wix baseline $1.75 plus $29 a month (billed yearly, paid in full upfront) Card 2.9% + $0.30 $1.75
- WooCommerce (self-hosted WordPress) $1.75 plus hosting WooPayments 2.9% + $0.30 $1.75
- WordPress.com $3.75 plus US$8 a month, billed every 12 months WordPress.com 4% $2, Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 $1.75
Assumes a $50 order, free shipping, no tax, a standard US card paid online, Wix Payments on Wix, the Payments block with Stripe on WordPress.com Premium and WooPayments on self-hosted WooCommerce, no paid apps or extensions and no currency conversion. International cards add 1.5% of the transaction amount on top of the standard processing fee on Wix and +1.50% on WooPayments. If a WordPress.com plan expires, the Payments block fee rises to 10%.
Wix, WordPress.com and WooCommerce in detail
Each platform gets the same five lines: price, fees per sale, what it is strong at, who it is best for and its main limit.
The baseline. A hosted website builder. The Free plan is $0, cannot accept payments; a paid plan is needed to take payments, so a store needs Core or higher.
- Price
- Core $29 a month (billed yearly, paid in full upfront). Light is $17 a month (billed yearly), and its plan card does not list accepting payments. Business is $39 a month (billed yearly). The first upgrade to a paid plan comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
- Fees per sale
- Wix Payments charges 2.9% of the transaction amount + 0.30 USD on a US card. PayPal through Wix Payments is 3.49% of the transaction amount + 0.49 USD.
- Strong at
- Getting a site and store live without touching hosting, plugins or updates.
- Best for
- Sellers who want one product that handles the site, the store and the hosting.
- Limit
- The cheapest plan that sells costs more a month than WordPress.com Premium, and products allow up to 1,000 variants each.
WordPress.com is a fully hosted platform, with hosting, security, backups and updates all managed for you. It sells through the Payments block on Premium and up, or through WooCommerce, which runs on the Personal, Premium, Business, and Commerce plans.
- Price
- Premium US$8 a month, billed every 12 months, or US$18 a month billed monthly. Business is US$25 a month, billed every 12 months and Commerce US$45 a month, billed every 12 months ($540 a year). The Free plan costs US$0.
- Fees per sale
- With the Payments block, WordPress.com takes 4% on Premium and 2% on Business, and Stripe adds 2.9% + US$0.30. For WooCommerce payments on Business and Commerce, WordPress.com lists 0% transaction fees.
- Strong at
- A blog or content site that also sells, with hosting and updates handled for you.
- Best for
- Writers and creators who sell a few products or services next to their content.
- Limit
- On Premium the Payments block adds 4% to every payment, and a full WooCommerce store with built-in store extensions needs Commerce at US$45 a month, billed every 12 months ($540 a year).
WooCommerce is a free store plugin for WordPress. Self-hosted WordPress is open-source software you download and install on your own hosting server, which you pay for and manage separately.
- Price
- The WooCommerce plugin: Free, with no monthly subscription. Hosting is paid separately; WooCommerce estimates $25 – $350/month for most stores. Paid extensions run $29 – $299/year per extension.
- Fees per sale
- WooPayments charges 2.90% + $0.30 on a US card, with no setup costs and no monthly fees. WooCommerce takes a 0% revenue share, and its fee for using another payment provider is listed as None.
- Strong at
- Full control over hosting and plugins, with no caps: Unlimited products, orders, and APIs.
- Best for
- Sellers who are comfortable running hosting, updates and backups, or who pay someone to.
- Limit
- You run the site: hosting, security and updates are yours to manage, and paid extensions add to the cost.
Which one fits you
You want a store live soon and do not want to manage hosting.
Wix
Wix hosts the site, and Core takes payments at 2.9% of the transaction amount + 0.30 USD for $29 a month (billed yearly, paid in full upfront).
Your site is mainly a blog and selling is a side part of it.
WordPress.com Premium
Premium costs US$8 a month, billed every 12 months against Wix Core's $29 a month (billed yearly, paid in full upfront), and the Payments block takes card payments.
You expect steady orders every month.
Wix Core or WooCommerce
Wix Payments charges 2.9% of the transaction amount + 0.30 USD and WooPayments 2.90% + $0.30 on a US card, while WordPress.com Premium adds 4% to every payment.
You want a WooCommerce store without running your own server.
WordPress.com Business or Commerce
WooCommerce runs on the Personal, Premium, Business, and Commerce plans, and WordPress.com lists 0% transaction fees for WooCommerce payments on Business and Commerce.
You want full control and can manage hosting yourself.
Self-hosted WooCommerce
WooCommerce has a $0 platform fee and no product caps; you pay for hosting, estimated at $25 – $350/month for most stores.
Where Nation fits
Nation
Category: an AI store builder
Nation says one description of what you make builds the store, then agents handle orders, customers and delivery and run ads, content and social posts, with you approving the work. Because pricing is not announced yet, it is not compared on fees here.
Limits today
- Status: pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai.
- Pricing and fees: not announced yet.
- Shopper marketplace: no shopper marketplace has been announced.
- Track record: no independent reviews or public stores yet.
Nation publishes this page. Nation is not ranked here and will not be added to the comparison or the fee example until signup is public and pricing is published.
Describe what you makeDisclosure and method
Nation, an AI store builder, publishes this page. Nation is not ranked here and will not be added to the comparison until signup is public and pricing is published.
The page compares Wix Core with WordPress.com Premium and self-hosted WordPress with WooCommerce for a US seller. No platform paid to be included, and none of the links are affiliate links.
Every fee was read on the platform's own pricing or help page on 2 Oct 2026 or later. Each platform's section names its source, and the full list is below.
Questions about Wix vs WordPress
Is Wix or WordPress better for a small online store?
Wix is better for a small online store when you want one hosted product with little setup: Core takes payments at 2.9% of the transaction amount + 0.30 USD for $29 a month (billed yearly, paid in full upfront). WordPress is better when the site is mainly content, or when you want full control with self-hosted WooCommerce. Self-hosted WooCommerce leaves hosting and updates to you.
Is Wix or WordPress cheaper?
WordPress.com Premium is cheaper than Wix Core on the plan, at US$8 a month, billed every 12 months against $29 a month (billed yearly, paid in full upfront), but it costs more on each sale: $3.75 against $1.75 on a $50 card sale. Self-hosted WooCommerce has a $0 platform fee, and its cost is the hosting, which WooCommerce estimates at $25 – $350/month for most stores.
Does Wix charge transaction fees on store sales?
Wix charges card processing on store sales through Wix Payments: 2.9% of the transaction amount + 0.30 USD for a US card and 3.49% of the transaction amount + 0.49 USD for PayPal. International cards add 1.5% of the transaction amount on top of the standard processing fee. A store needs a paid plan such as Core.
Does WordPress.com charge transaction fees?
WordPress.com charges a fee on Payments block sales, set by plan: 4% on Premium and 2% on Business, and Stripe adds 2.9% + US$0.30. For WooCommerce payments, WordPress.com lists 0% transaction fees on Business and Commerce, plus the payment provider's own processing fee.
Is WordPress.com the same as WordPress with WooCommerce?
WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress with WooCommerce are not the same. WordPress.com is a fully hosted platform, with hosting, security, backups and updates all managed for you. Self-hosted WordPress is open-source software you download and install on your own hosting server, which you pay for and manage separately, and WooCommerce estimates that hosting at $25 – $350/month for most stores. WooCommerce also runs on WordPress.com's Personal, Premium, Business, and Commerce plans.
Is Nation an alternative to Wix and WordPress?
Nation is not an alternative you can compare with Wix and WordPress today. It is an AI store builder, pre-launch, with a waitlist on withnation.ai, and its pricing is not announced yet. Because no shopper marketplace has been announced, it would sit with own-site builders like these. Nation will be added once signup is public and pricing is published.