As far as ecommerce is concerned, “open source” and “free” are basically synonymous. There are certainly some paid open source ecommerce platforms and software packages out there, alongside a number of premium plugins and extensions intended to be used with open source software. But the main advantage of open source ecommerce platforms is cost — they’re free to download and operate.
Most open source applications present their source codes in the form of web pages. This makes them appear exactly like closed source applications, except that they lack a price tag. Despite the seemingly positive thing about open source software, one has to wonder if it is really worth the cost saving or not.
Gone are the days of merchant accounts, complex back-end and a lot of trouble to start an ecommerce business. After researching on popular open source ecommerce software, we have reviewed best open source ecommerce software and ecommerce platform, which you should choose for your next online project. Also, we have put together an in-depth analysis of best open source ecommerce player and shopping cart software, which you can compare, success stories and trends that you should follow.
You’ve decided it’s time to get serious about ecommerce. But which free or open source platform should you choose? Open source refers to software that’s not proprietary, but rather available for use or modification by anyone. Not every free or open source ecommerce platform is the proverbial sweet spot between functionality, features, scalability, usability & cost.
What Is an Ecommerce Platform?
An ecommerce platform is a software application which allows online businesses managing their website, marketing, sales and operations. It has a huge impact on the profitability and stability of your business. Ecommerce platforms provide the unification of main business processes, due to which businesses get complete visibility across their company and at the end meet their customers’ expectations. Due to individual ecommerce platform development you will be able to get a custom e-commerce platform with intuitive UI that suits changing business needs.
OmniStar (OSI Affiliate)
OSI Affiliate software is a web based software solution that allows any business to set up and manage their own affiliate or referral programs. The software includes tools that will allow affiliates to promote via email, social media or directly on their own websites. Through the administrative control panel the affiliate manager will be able to effectively track the activity and commissions earned of each affiliate. The commissions can also be easily paid through our direct integration with PayPal.
Antavo
Anything that makes shopping and interacting with your brand fun is going to drive sales. That’s the principle behind the gamification mindset, and you’ll find it echoed in Antavo’s app. Used by top retailers and small brands alike, Antavo will work to manage loyalty for your ecommerce store online and via mobile with more than 40 loyalty schemes. Pricing is quoted individually, based on your ecommerce store’s needs.
Smile.io
An alternative to Antovo, Smile.io offers points and rewards, encourages referrals from your customers, and helps you shower extra goodies on your top customers. The app is the new incarnation of Sweet Tooth, and has more than 15,000 active stores using it. Plans are available for ecommerce shops of all sizes, from single-person, single-product stores to massive ecommerce enterprises. The open API allows developers to integrate the app with any platform, and integrations with BigCommerce and Shopify are included right out of the box. Basic membership is $59/month, Small Business membership is $199/month, and Professional membership is $399/month. Enterprise clients are given custom quotes.
User Testing
Designed to give ecommerce businesses insight into their target market’s reactions to their store and site, User Testing is an invaluable tool. Pooling viewers from across the globe who fit target market segments, the app asks audience members to provide live video reactions to your site. Uncensored and honest, they can be tough to listen to, but they’re worth it. Mobile apps can also be reviewed, and if you don’t like the standard User Testing 20-minute review, you can set up custom questions. Pricing information is provided in custom quotes.
Wish Pond
Capturing and converting leads is the function of this powerful app. Using contests, popups, and landing pages, it helps you to identify and segment your leads. The app also allows you to target email campaigns to these newly captured leads. User-friendly features like a drag-and-drop editor make it easy to customize your campaigns. Relatively new, Wish Pond is still working on some internal bugs, and customer service isn’t as good as it could be, however. A 14-day free trial is available and the app’s pricing options are monthly charges of $49, $99, or $199. The $49 plan does not have access to the app’s API.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is a one-stop digital marketing tool to handle everything from A/B testing to email autoresponders. If you’re a novice in ecommerce and don’t have the budget to hire a full-time digital marketer to help you start drawing traffic, this app is a solid option. You can use Klaviyo’s API to integrate with any app you want, or work with one of their myriad integrations, including CRMs and top ecommerce platforms. The app is free for up to 250 contacts and increases gradually with your number of contacts, reaching $1,700/month for 150,000 contacts and custom quotes for businesses beyond that size.
Buzzstream
A personal touch goes a long way in ecommerce, something Buzzstream exists to facilitate. By targeting influencers directly, building personal relationships, and tracking conversations, you can extend your ecommerce store’s visibility and rack up a little good karma in the process. Teamwork on BuzzStream is easy, as the platform provides one centralized database for your organization’s members to work from. Work on link building, drive buzz, get PR exposure, and promote your store’s blog content from one platform. Pricing ranges from $99-$999/month; free trials and some free tools are also available.
Sumo – The Easiest Way To Turn Your Visitors Into Ecommerce Customers
About Sumo : Sumo is a suite of widget-like apps free to install on any HTML or popular CMS-based website. Designed to grow traffic and maximize content engagement, users can install tools including List Builder, Heat Maps and Share from a single Sumo plugin. Fully customizable and expandable via the integrated ‘Sumo Store’, pricing plans apply to access subsequent apps.
Sumo eCommerce Features : Email Marketing, Promotions Management, Shopping Cart
INSYNC Commerce – A Fully Hosted and Integrated B2B eCommerce Platform
About INSYNC Commerce: INSYNC Commerce is an end-to-end Integrated B2B eCommerce Solution specially made for Distributors, Wholesalers, and Manufacturers for better digital adoption, quick launch, and faster growth. The platform offers in-built integration with the other backend applications of a business such as ERP, POS, and CRM solutions to provide a seamless experience of eCommerce functionalities. With the robust solution, users will not only achieve a B2B-capable eCommerce platform but also streamline all their other business processes to enable an omnichannel commerce experience.
INSYNC Commerce eCommerce Features: Catalog Management, Channel Management, Customer Accounts, Email Marketing, Inventory Management, Loyalty Program, Multi-Store Management, Order Management, Product Configurator, Promotions Management, Returns Management, SEO Management, Shopping Cart
ShippingEasy – Powerful, Yet Simple Shipping Software
About ShippingEasy : One solution, fully supported by experts. Manage your shipping, inventory, and customer marketing, all within the ShippingEasy platform. Save time and money so you can focus on growing your business. Full support for USPS, UPS, FedEx and more. We integrate with leading online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Volusion, and many others, to allow automated order, tracking fulfillment data, and inventory levels to populate in real time.
ShippingEasy eCommerce Features : Email Marketing, Inventory Management, Multi-Store Management, Order Management, Promotions Management, Returns Management
Shopify
Best ecommerce solution for larger businesses
Start selling from $29 a month
Best for large stores selling 10+ products
4.6out of 5TOP CHOICEEase Of Use
3.5 out of 5 starsDesign Flexibility
3.9 out of 5 starsSales Features
4.5 out of 5 starsWebsite Features
4.2 out of 5 starsCustomer Score
4.7 out of 5 starsHelp and Support
3.8 out of 5 starsValue For Money
3 out of 5 starsVisit SiteRead Review
| Shopify Pros | Shopify Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to create a powerful online store – no coding needed! | Poor for international growth |
| Powerful sales features help large stores continue to grow | Transaction fees are applied to sales unless you use Shopify’s inhouse payment gateway, Shopify Payments |
Shopify Gallery
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Shopify is the best hosted ecommerce software for large stores, with strong sales tools and dedicated ecommerce designs and features.
Browse Shopify’s themes to find one that suits your store’s branding – once you’ve chosen your style, you can customize it, too!Shopify’s standout feature is its enormous app store, which holds over 6,000 apps. This lets you fully customize your store’s features.
Shopify has three core price plans, ranging from $29 to $299 per month. Most new stores will find the cheapest plan provides more than enough features to start fueling growth.
Shopify is one of the best ecommerce software in the market today.
It’s suitable for small businesses who are just starting out, but we recommend it most for larger stores that sell a range of products and manage large inventories. Shopify customers include Tesla and Penguin Books Store. This is a solution with the scalability to grow with your store as your business expands.
Here are some key Shopify highlights:
- Over 100 beautiful, professional, mobile-ready themes to help your store look great
- Over 1,400 apps to add to your store and extend the functionality of your business
- 24/7 anytime support (perfect if you find yourself pulling your hair out at 3am)
- Qualified/re-approved experts available to hire if you want to customize your design and functions
Shopify is a one-stop-shop for ecommerce solutions. Its drag-and-drop functionality eliminates the usual challenges of building an online store, with no coding required whatsoever.
In our research testing, Shopify scored an impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars for its range and quality of sales tools. Some of these tools include:
- Multi-channel selling through Facebook, Instagram, Amazon and more
- 100+ payment options
- No limit on number of products you can sell
- Mobile app to manage your store on the go
- Customizable checkout and guest checkout options
- Automatic email notifications for customers
- Abandoned cart recovery
- In-depth analytics and insight reports
- All-round shipping support
To put it simply: Shopify is one of the very best ecommerce solutions. It’s used by brands like Red Bull and Tesla, so it must really be doing something right! It’s perfect for starting and scaling your business.
Shopify has three main price plans: Basic Shopify ($29/month), Shopify ($79/month), and Advanced Shopify ($299/month), unlocking a wider range of brilliant sales tools the more you pay.
How do I design an ecommerce website?
With Shopify, you can select from a number of pre-designed themes and customize the look, or build your own theme if you have web design experience. Check out the top ecommerce website designs to find out the key elements you should consider when designing your online store.
Conclusion
If there is one thing to be said about open source and the role it plays in the eCommerce world, that would be the fact that commercio.com is a perfect example of how a successful eCommerce – even though they have plenty of marketing resources in their disposal – can rely on open-source tools to achieve their goals.
We pointed out the hard-to-find free ecommerce software for your business, so you don’t have to do the digging by yourself. You just need to pick which among these open source ecommerce platforms suits your business better.