Lanternbee vs WooCommerce

Looking for a WooCommerce alternative for your books?

A free store plugin for WordPress websites. Here is what it costs, where it does better than Lanternbee, and what moving would take.

What WooCommerce is

WooCommerce turns a WordPress site into a store. The plugin is free; you pay for hosting and for any extensions you add.

Who it suits

Authors who already run a WordPress site, like to tinker or have a developer, and want full control over every part of the store.

What WooCommerce costs

US prices, checked against the sources at the bottom of this page.

Plan	Price	Fee on sales
WooCommerce	Free. Hosting is about $25 to $350 a month; extensions are $29 to $299 a year each	None from WooCommerce; WooPayments card fees about 2.5% to 2.9% + 30¢

WooCommerce and Lanternbee side by side

The jobs a bookstore has to do, and how each one handles them.

WooCommerce and Lanternbee, feature by feature
What you need	WooCommerce	Lanternbee
One book with several editions	PartlyVariable products.	Yes. Ebook, audiobook, paperback and hardcover live on one book page.
Series with a reading order	Not listed	Yes, with the reading order you set.
Bundles and box sets	With an appA paid extension.	Yes. Readers who own book one pay less for the rest.
Ebook and audiobook delivery	YesDownloadable products are built in.	Yes. Download links by email, and a reader library.
Send to Kindle	Not listed	Yes, from the reader library.
Print on demand for books	Not listed	Yes, through BookVault or Lulu.
Your reader list	PartlyCustomer list; newsletters need a plugin or email tool.	Yes. Every buyer lands on your list, with tags.
Your own domain	YesIt lives on your own site.	Yes. yourname.lanternbee.shop or shop.yourname.com.
Monthly cost	WooCommerce: Free. Hosting is about $25 to $350 a month; extensions are $29 to $299 a year each	Free: nothing a month. Author: $45 a month, or $35 paid yearly.
Fee on sales	WooCommerce: None from WooCommerce; WooPayments card fees about 2.5% to 2.9% + 30¢	Free: 5%, only when you sell. Author: none.

US prices. “Not listed” means we could not find it on WooCommerce’s own pages or in the sources below, so check with them. Card fees apply everywhere; on Lanternbee they are Stripe’s, with nothing added.

What WooCommerce does better

No store is right for every author. These are fair reasons to stay.

You own and host everything, and can change any part of it with code.
Thousands of plugins and extensions for WordPress.
No fee from WooCommerce on your sales.

Moving from WooCommerce

There is no importer for WooCommerce. Here is what you would do by hand.

Add your books on Lanternbee: covers, blurbs, files and prices. Group every format onto one book page.
Keep your WordPress site for your blog, and link the book buttons to your Lanternbee store.
Export your WooCommerce customers if you need them and keep them in your email tool. Lanternbee cannot import that list yet.
Add redirects on Lanternbee for old book links if your store moves to the same address.

Questions about WooCommerce and Lanternbee

Is WooCommerce really free?

The plugin is. WooCommerce’s own page puts hosting at about $25 to $350 a month and extensions at $29 to $299 a year each. Updates, backups and security are yours to look after.

Why would an author leave WooCommerce?

Usually for less upkeep. Lanternbee looks after hosting, updates, ebook delivery, Send to Kindle and print on demand, so you spend the time writing instead.

Can I keep my WordPress blog?

Yes. Keep the blog on WordPress and put the store on a shop address such as shop.yourname.com.