WooCommerce alternatives for Dutch webshops

• Lightspeed eCom fits when a physical shop and a webshop need to share stock.

• BigCommerce is built for large catalogs, and staying on WooCommerce makes sense when your store runs well and you have a developer you trust.

If your store runs on WooCommerce and it has started to feel heavy, with plugins, updates and hosting taking up your week, it helps to know what else is out there before you decide anything. So I'll go through the options I'd look at for a Dutch fashion or beauty brand, including the option of staying where you are. Design by Karina is a strategy-first boutique Shopify agency in Rotterdam for premium fashion and beauty brands. We design and build Shopify stores for brands across the Netherlands and Belgium, and we turn what makes your brand different into a reason to choose you. We build every store on Shopify, so you know where we stand. If you only want those two platforms side by side, read Shopify vs WooCommerce.

Why do Dutch brands look past WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is flexible, and for many stores that's a good thing. The other side of that flexibility is that everything stays with you: the hosting, the security updates, the plugins that stop working together after an update. If you'd rather spend your time on your size charts, your ingredients and how the store feels on a phone, a platform that handles the technical side gives you that time back.

That doesn't mean you have to move. A platform move makes sense when the platform is in the way, not because another one is popular. So I'd start with what's in your way, and then look at which platform takes that away.

Shopify as a WooCommerce alternative

Shopify is an all-in-one platform, so hosting, security, updates, checkout and payments all sit in one admin. That makes product pages easier to keep consistent, with size charts, fit notes, routines and reviews in the same place on every product. iDEAL | Wero and Bancontact work through Shopify Payments, and you can use another payment provider for an extra fee per order, from 2% on the Basic plan down to 0.6% on Advanced.

What you give up is some of WooCommerce's freedom, because you work inside Shopify's system and don't own every part of it. If you want to spend less time on the store itself, that's a good trade, and it's the reason we build on it.

Lightspeed eCom for Benelux retail

Lightspeed started in the Netherlands and is best known for its POS, the system behind the till in a physical shop. So it's at its strongest when your shop and your webshop need to share stock. If you already use Lightspeed in your shop, keeping everything with one company can be simpler than connecting two systems, although Shopify has its own POS too, so it's worth comparing.

If you only sell online, look at the limits first. The Essential plan, from about €68 a month, comes with 250 variants, one user and one language. In fashion you get there quickly: as an example, 30 styles in 6 sizes and 3 colors is already 540 variants, which puts you on the Advanced plan, from about €120 a month.

BigCommerce for larger catalogs

BigCommerce is an American platform built for larger catalogs and more complex selling, like B2B. It lists its prices in dollars, starting at $29 a month billed yearly, and each plan has a limit on your yearly online sales, $30,000 on Core and $100,000 on Growth. When you pass that limit, you move up a plan.

Because it isn't a Dutch platform, ask a few things before you commit: how iDEAL and Bancontact work, and whether your shipping and accounting tools connect. If those answers are good and your catalog is complex, it's worth a look.

When staying on WooCommerce still makes sense

Stay if your store runs well, you have a developer you trust and it already sells well on a phone. A move costs time and money on any platform, so it needs a good reason. If the only problem is speed or clutter, try better hosting, fewer plugins and a better product page first, because that may be all you need.

The alternatives side by side

Sources: pricing pages of Shopify, Lightspeed, BigCommerce and WooCommerce, checked 5 November 2026. Prices change, so check them before you decide.

Good to know in the Netherlands

Shopify and Lightspeed both support iDEAL, and WooCommerce does too through its payment plugins. On any of them, the prices your customers see have to include BTW, and shipping tools like Sendcloud connect to all three. The rules don't change with the platform either: your store must show your KVK and BTW numbers, explain the 14-day cooling-off period and, since June 2026, have a withdrawal button. So when you compare platforms, check that the legal pages and that button come along with you.

How do you choose?

• Write down the three things WooCommerce is costing you right now, like speed, plugins, checkout or mobile.

• Cross off any platform that doesn't solve those three.

• Price the move as design, data and redirects together, because the cost of an app is only a fraction of it. See What does a migration to Shopify cost?

• Pick one route, because building two stores at the same time wears everyone out.