External Store for Shopify vs Simple Catalog for WooCommerce (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
External Store for Shopify
3.0K+ active installs
Free
Simple Catalog for WooCommerce
1.0K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Simple Catalog for WooCommerce has a higher user rating (5/5 from 8 reviews) while External Store for Shopify leads in active installations (3.0K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. External Store for Shopify has accumulated 97K+ total downloads while Simple Catalog for WooCommerce has 28K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | External Store for Shopify | Simple Catalog for WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 3.4/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 5 | ► | 8 |
| Active Installs | 3.0K+ | ◄ | 1.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 97K+ | ◄ | 28K+ |
| Support Resolution | 100% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 1 month ago | ◄ | 11 months ago |
| First Released | 2018 | 2016 | |
| Age | 8 years | 10 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.3+ | 4.6+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | 5.6+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.6.0 | 1.5.0 |
Rating Breakdown
External Store for Shopify
Simple Catalog for WooCommerce
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, External Store for Shopify averaged approximately 32 daily downloads while Simple Catalog for WooCommerce averaged 6.
Recent Reviews
External Store for Shopify Reviews
Great plugin and support
Fahad has been incredibly helpful in getting the plugin setup and working best for our website. So appreciative!!
Not well documented
The documentation for this plugin is below all standards. The default reocmmendation when you click on the only help symbol in the plugin is a 1.5 min video where the author basically explains nothing
Working with the help of support
Had some issues to begin with but Fahad came to the rescue and resolved my issue very quickly. Would be nice to have some warnings to indicate that there is a connection issue, but other than that, I
Simple Catalog for WooCommerce Reviews
very good, however i detected an error
i want give it 5 stars but there is a problem… variation i mages no longer change after hide the “add to cart” button, it does change if you dont add gallery pictures, but if you add gallery images… a
perfect
just perfect … 1000 thxs to develloper This topic was modified 7 years ago by ZnetGuru.
Perfecto!
Funciona de maravilla y totalmente compatible con las últimas versiones de Woocommerce y WordPress (May/2018). Many Thanks!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.