This is one of the first questions on every new store project, and it usually arrives with an answer already attached — whichever platform the last person the owner spoke to happens to sell. Both are good. Each is good for a different case. Here is the honest version.
What the two things actually are
PrestaShop is a standalone, purpose-built e-commerce platform. WooCommerce is a plugin that adds selling to WordPress. That difference in design is what decides which one suits you; almost everything else follows from it.
When to choose PrestaShop
- A large catalogue with many variants and attributes
- B2B selling: price groups, discounts, special prices per customer
- Several stores or markets (multistore) run from one place
- Selling is the core of the business, not an addition to the content
When to choose WooCommerce
- You already have a WordPress site and want to add some products
- A smaller catalogue, with the emphasis on the blog and the content
- You want the lowest possible barrier to getting started
Speed and maintenance
Both can be optimised, but on WooCommerce speed often drifts downwards as plugins accumulate — ten plugins from eight authors, each loading its own assets on every page. PrestaShop keeps the commerce logic in the core, so it stays more predictable as the catalogue grows. Either way, speed work is not optional if you care about conversions.
Maintenance is a real cost on both. Updates, security checks and backups are a separate line at Limonet, whichever platform you end up on — see maintenance. Anyone who tells you an online store looks after itself has not run one.
Our conclusion
For a serious, growing store with a larger catalogue or B2B elements, we usually recommend PrestaShop. We are PrestaShop specialists, which is exactly why the advice has to be straight: if WooCommerce is the better fit for your case, we will tell you, and we build on it too.
Not sure? Describe the project to us on a call, or look at the store pricing first.