We get asked this every week, and the honest answer is: it depends. After eleven years building stores on both, here's how we think about it.
Shopify wins on speed-to-launch, hosted reliability, and the App Store ecosystem. If you want to be selling in a few weeks with minimal ops overhead, Shopify is almost always the right call.
WooCommerce wins on flexibility and ownership. If you have a complex catalogue, custom B2B pricing, or deep ERP integration needs, the WordPress-and-Woo combo gives you control Shopify won't.
The third option — headless on Shopify or Woo via Next.js — wins on performance and editorial control, but adds engineering complexity. Worth it for content-heavy brands, overkill for everyone else.