Comparison of EDD Vs Woocommerce : Struggling to decide between WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads to create an eCommerce store on WordPress?

Despite their names, these two plugins are by far the most widely used choices for WordPress Themes, and you can budget to spend on them to sell both physical and digital goods.

So how can you pick the best platform for your requirements? We're going to assist you in making that decision today.

Typically, people will advise using WooCommerce for physical goods and Easy Digital Downloads for digital ones. Honestly, I don't think that's a bad statement.

Even so, the reality is a little bit more detailed, so read on for a more in-depth analysis of the Advantages and Disadvantages of each platform.

These are a few similarities.

Let's discuss some of the similarities between these two platforms first, and then we'll discuss the differences.

These are both complete eCommerce solutions. They take care of everything:

• Developing and monitoring items
• Cart characteristics
• Payments
• Product satisfaction
• Coupons/discounts
• Reports/Analytics

Also, you can trade physical and digital goods on both platforms, but there are certain restrictions for EDD that we'll cover in a second. The ability to add functionality to each platform is also possible with official and unofficial add-on plugins.

The basic plugin for each platform is also free, but depending on which plugin you select, you'll almost certainly require some commercial extensions.

Last but not least, both plugins are supported by respected, established creators:

• WordPress.com's parent company, Automatic, also manages WooCommerce.
• Sandhills Development and Pippin Williamson, the same team that created AffiliateWP and Restrict Content Pro, administer EDD.

So that's what's the same.Let's discuss some significant distinctions now.

Six major differences exist between WooCommerce and EDD (Easy Digital Download):

1. Excels with Digital Items for Simple Digital Downloads

Easy Digital Downloads is capable of selling both digital and physical goods, as we've said a few times. That is accurate; you just need the Easy Shipping add-on. It is also stated in the EDD documentation.

The sale of actual goods is not the major focus of EDD because it was designed from the bottom up for non-physical items.

So here's an overview:

Don't let your concern about utilising EDD merely because you want to offer a few basic physical items alongside a primarily digital store prevent you from accepting it. EDD will still enable you to do so.

And even though WooCommerce is a better choice if you need to sell nearly exclusively physical goods, Easy Digital Downloads isn't designed for that purpose.

2. WooCommerce is able to sell both digital and physical goods, but its authorization process is slow.

The situation is reversed with WooCommerce. WooCommerce was created with the intention of selling physical goods, but later added the ability to sell digital goods.

Having said that, WooCommerce's support for digital products is more connected than Easy Digital Download's support for physical products. As a result, WooCommerce is used by some digital retailers, particularly for digital files that do not require licensing.

For example, some photographers like WooCommerce even when purchasing digital files.

When compared to WooCommerce, the way Easy Digital Downloads handles licences is preferred by most customers if your products do need them.

Also, even if you only want to use WooCommerce to sell digital goods, all the unique physical products will still be stored on your server, which isn't ideal from a "bloat" viewpoint. When you live alone, it's similar to purchasing a home with 10 bedrooms. Yes, it works; however, there are a lot of unused areas.

3. WooCommerce's Extension Marketplace is larger and includes payment gateways:

Both plugins offer official and third-party marketplaces for plugins, as you are already aware. However, WooCommerce's connection marketplace is much bigger than those other marketplaces in terms of size, so you'll have more options in the way of features and payment gateways.

For example, a short search at CodeCanyon reveals:

• There are 2,829 WooCommerce plugins available.
• 311 plugins for Easy Digital Downloads

The WooCommerce.com marketplace also features 81 payment gateways that are connected to WooCommerce. A lot of the third-party payment gateways on Easy Digital Downloads' long list haven't been updated in a long time.

Having said that, it's essential to think about these changes in light of your actual usage.

For example, your store doesn't require 81 different payment gateways. In actuality, most consumers will be content with only Stripe and PayPal. And there is no difference in support for the well-known gateways.

The same goes with WooCommerce plugins; you won't install 2,831 of them at your shop, so the number itself is meaningless.

As an alternative, consider it this way:

A WooCommerce plugin with that capability is much more likely to be available if you need a special feature. The fact that both platforms have extensions that cover similar functionality means that if all you want is a regular shop, you might not even notice a difference.

4. WooCommerce has a larger community overall, resulting in a lot of support.

Along with plugins, the marketplace is another area where WooCommerce benefits. WooCommerce powers about 21% of all eCommerce stores on the top 1 million websites, so if you need assistance, you can get it from the large WooCommerce user and developer community.

Yet, only 0.21 percent of the top one million websites are powered by EDD. If our calculations are correct, WooCommerce is now roughly 100 times more popular.

In conclusion, you will discover:

• There are many blog posts about how to use WooCommerce (such as how to build an online store).
• Frequently used Facebook groups with lots of WooCommerce users

Such content is still available through Easy Digital Downloads, simply on a much smaller scale. So, WooCommerce is the leader there if you value being able to quickly seek assistance from a community or developer.

5. Easy digital downloads are more effective in terms of loading.

While Easy Digital Downloads is a bit more specialised in its features and purpose, WooCommerce's approach is more "everything but the kitchen sink."

As a result, from a performance standpoint, Easy Digital Downloads are more lightweight.

A new installation of WooCommerce, for instance, loads 8 scripts on the shop page, whereas a new installation of Easy Digital Downloads only loads 2.

Performance may therefore tilt the scales in favor of Easy Digital Downloads if you're selling digital goods and considering WooCommerce vs. EDD.

6. Compared to WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads is more reliable and has fewer update problems.

WooCommerce has automatic support, but recent changes have resulted in a few publicly recognised hiccups.

For example, WooCommerce 3.3 was taken off the market hours after it was introduced in February 2018 because it impacted the way that some third-party themes displayed categories. Also, many users experienced problems with the photo gallery and full-screen functionality with WooCommerce 3.0.

WooCommerce: Is it unstable? No, we are not attempting to imply that. Still, it is something to think about because EDD hasn't had a history of these kinds of problems.

How to Select Between WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads:

Given that both of these plugins are excellent tools, there isn't a universally applicable suggestion here. They simply serve as instruments for various tasks. You can't go wrong with either; your best option should be the one that best suits your demands.

Here are some suggestions to assist in your decision-making:

EDD for digital goods, WooCommerce for physical goods

Even though it is not a strict rule, using WooCommerce for physical goods and Easy Digital Downloads for digital goods is still a good strategy for most users.

But keep in mind that both platforms can sell both kinds of products; therefore, the proper guideline is more along the lines of:

• If you sell mainly physical goods, use WooCommerce.
• If the bulk of your products are digital, use simple digital downloads.

If You Don't Know Anything About Technology, Consider WooCommerce:

WooCommerce has a large ecosystem, making it simple for non-technical customers to expand stores and get support.

For example, WooCommerce's wide ecosystem of plugins increases your chances of finding an off-the-shelf solution as opposed to having anything custom coded. Also, it is simpler to obtain both free community assistance and WooCommerce developers because of the large human ecology of WooCommerce.