Ecommerce has been proven to be one of the fastest growing businesses in the world. With more and more people getting connected to the internet on a day-to-day basis, running your own ecommerce business is slowly becoming more popular. As an ecommerce business owner, you need to ensure that you are using the right tools to help make your life easier.
If you are looking for an ecommerce platform for your business, you may want to look into free and open-source solutions. Open-source ecommerce platforms can be a great way for business owners to save money and get a free platform on which to run their operations. An open-source ecommerce website might not be ideal for every type of business, however. Before making the switch, it is important to learn about some of the options available, including open source solutions and the top benefits of each.
Ecommerce is one of the fastest growing segments on the Internet. Are you interested in building a marketplace around your own platform? In this article, we will guide you about some of the best free and open source ecommerce platform software available for creating your own ecommerce website.
If you’re in the e-commerce industry, then you probably are very well aware of the fierce competition you’re facing. Your competition is out there, they’re doing everything they can to steal your customers and claim their share from your market—and it’s working.
SaaS vs Open-Source
SaaS
Software as a Service is a software licensing and delivery model in which third-party providers host key functionality such as eCommerce systems, CRM, or Content Management and make them available to website owners for an ongoing fee. Figuratively speaking, it is like renting a house; merchants pay a fee for as long as they want to use the platform.
SaaS platform providers are securing, maintaining, and hosting the platform on their own service. This means that users are limited in their ability to edit or change the software’s code.
SaaS has its own promise and appeal, and let’s face it – in our everyday lives, we prefer those types of products and services, right? And suppose you’re running an eCommerce business. In that case, you have quite a lot on your plate, even without having to endure the blame game between the developers and a hosting company or worrying about how and when to apply the latest security update (will it break something or not?).
This promise of simplicity and focusing on growing your business above all else makes SaaS solutions very interesting to many folks. One of the most popular SaaS eCommerce solutions is Shopify.
Open-Source
Open-source means that software allows its users to view, change, and distribute its source code for its own purpose. This means that the website owner is responsible for installing the system on their own server, configuring the hosting, ongoing management of all the technology, security, updates, and general running of the site.
The main advantage of an open-source eCommerce platform is that online retailers have full access to the software’s source code. If there’s functionality that you’re missing, you or your agency can build it specifically for your needs. There are also large development communities built around the platform that you can leverage. Open-source software is known for its customizability and flexibility.
Open-source platforms are powerful and customizable but also very complex, and certified developers best handle changes. Open-source software is often developed collaboratively, and there are often communities built around development related to individual platforms.
Open source solutions sound like something that solves the challenges and restrictions of SaaS, right? Well, yes and no. You can certainly accomplish a lot more with an open-source platform; however, sometimes, it can be hit and miss when selecting a good platform and, more importantly, good partners to work with.
1. WooCommerce
(Image Source: Woo Commerce)
According to the stats from Builtwith, WooCommerce has been downloaded over 61,899,365 times and is powering over 28% of all online stores. By simply installing the WooCommerce plugin on a WordPress site, a store merchant can convert it into an eCommerce store. Here’s how you can install:
- Log into the WordPress site
- Go to: Plugins > Add New
- Search for ‘WooCommerce’
- Select Install Now
- Select ‘Activate Now,’ and it is ready to use
Launch Year: 2008
Services: Free eCommerce software features
Some of the top features include:
- Seamless integration with WordPress
- Comes bundled with PayPal, BACS, and COD for accepting worldwide payments
- Offers tax calculation option on customers’ orders
- Allows tracking of stock levels
- Unmatched community support
- Scalable and Mobile friendly
- Compatible with a large number of plugins and themes
Some downsides of using WooCommerce:
- Compatible with WordPress only. Those who are planning to use WooCommerce with another platform may feel entirely out of luck.
- Though it may label itself as free, however, for running an eCommerce store on WooCommerce, it is required to buy a domain, a good hosting plan and a responsive theme, which can cost dearly to those who are just venturing out the eCommerce space.
- To make the most of it, merchants may need to buy some paid third-party extensions.
- To customize the eCommerce store as per the users’ need, store merchants should possess sound technical knowledge and development skills. Otherwise, they may hire WooCommerce experts who charge on an hourly basis, which can turn out to be a costly affair.
Few users of WooCommerce
Bookriot | Sock Box | Clickbank | The Darkroom | Air Stream
2. OpenCart
(Image Source: OpenCart)
OpenCart is powering over 393,000 live eCommerce sites, and out of them, over 4,000 sites are in the top 1 million sites. This open source platform is quite popular among SMEs because it is easier to use, and is less complicated as compared to other open source eCommerce CMS like Magento.
Launch Year: 2009
Services: Free eCommerce software features
Some of the top features include:
- Allows merchants to manage multiple stores from a single admin panel
- Sell unlimited products from 1 to 1,000,000
- Allows customers to select any of the 36 payment option methods that come integrated with OpenCart
- Facility to create an unlimited number of categories and even subcategories
- Doesn’t require much technical know-how
- Several plugins available for added flexibility
- Easy on the server, means it will run quickly
- Loaded with lots of themes, allowing retailers to customize their eCommerce store
- Simple to download, install and run this platform
Some downsides of using OpenCart:
- Unless the merchants download and install third-party plugins and extensions, they won’t get a high-performance. In a nutshell, OpenCart relies heavily on plugins.
- It creates canonization issues for SEO, which is a huge drawback.
- The checkout process is slower as compared to other open source eCommerce platforms.
- Retailers may be required to seek assistance from a developer to utilize some of the features.
- In OpenCart, the customization options are also fewer as compared to other open source platforms.
Few users of OpenCart
Samsungcenter.ir | Svapostore | Choco Concept | Wooden Poster
3. Magento Community Edition
(Image Source: Magento)
The Magento Community Edition has become a popular choice for eCommerce store development. The software is currently run by over 200,000 users. The best part of choosing the community edition is that it offers a lot of features similar to the Enterprise Edition at no cost.
Launch Year: 2008
Services: Free eCommerce software features
Some of the top features include:
- Ready for GDPR and commerce security
- Makes PCI compliance easier for merchants by offering integrated payment gateways
- Loaded with several options for tracking, analyzing and reporting
- Fully customizable eCommerce platform
- Extensive catalogue management features available
- Supports multiple languages
- Ability to manage multiple stores (built-in upsell and cross-sell)
- Scalability and flexibility
- Compatible with a host of third-party plugins and extensions
- SEO-friendly and mobile friendly
If you are not familiar with Magento and are not aware of the facilities that the Magento eCommerce development can offer, you can seek assistance from a certified expert or an agency to develop an online store.
Some downsides of using Magento Community Edition:
- Magento doesn’t provide any technical assistance for the community edition, which merely means that retailers have to fix the problems on their own or with the help of developers.
- Magento is loaded with features, which make it clunky and resource-hungry. Store merchants should take out some time for optimization, failing which there are chances that their eCommerce store can slow down.
- To leverage this robust platform, retailers should have excellent technical skills.
- Ideally, users can install Magento stores on dedicated servers. Running a Magento store on the shared or normal hosting can render a slow and annoying experience to visitors.
Few users of Magento
Fox Connect | Coca Cola | Ford | Olympus I Nike
4. Prestashop
(Image Source: PrestaShop)
This popular and robust platform is powering over 273,000 live eCommerce stores across the world. This open source eCommerce software is easy to download and install and allows the merchants to set up their online store live in a short period. With the help of the built-in features of this platform, users can create, customize, manage and launch a functional eCommerce store without paying any licensing fee. Furthermore, it also supports multiple payment gateways like PayPal, Google Checkout and more.
Launch Year: 2007
Services: Free eCommerce software features
Some of the top features include:
- Supports one-page-checkout
- Allows merchants to add a product search box in all 404 error pages
- Shows your physical store locations on the Google map
- Ensures the checkout process conform with the European (German) laws
- Allows merchants to configure taxes on products automatically depending on the locations
- Reduces shopping cart abandonment rate by sending reminders
- Allows cross-selling
- Loaded with thousands of templates and modules to augment the core functionality
- Intuitive back-end interface
Some downsides of using Prestashop:
- PrestaShop is ideal for only small and mid-sized business enterprises.
- It is not fully customizable. Those who want to customize every single feature of their eCommerce store may have to look at any other platform.
- The default theme, which comes with Prestashop is not as appealing as one can find on other open source eCommerce platforms.
- For any customization in a PrestaShop store, store merchants have to either purchase add-ons or hire a developer.
Few users of Prestashop
Decathlon.in| Bein Manger| Hatshowroom | Tracia | Champagne De Lozey
5. Zen Cart
(Image Source: Zen Cart)
This open source eCommerce platform has been around for years and Zen Cart powers today over 285,000 live websites. The best part of choosing the Zen Cart software is that it is ideal for product management. Using this platform, retailers can do almost everything from managing inventory to creating sales and special discounts. Furthermore, this open source platform has strong community support of over 150,000 members. However, this eCommerce software solution does tend to slow when someone adds hundreds of new products. In other words, this eCommerce platform may not be ideal for businesses that sell millions of products online.
Launch Year: 2003
Services: Free eCommerce software features
Some of the top features include:
- Allows merchants to modify the source code
- Freedom to choose any hosting service provider
- Ready to run quickly
- Built-in popular payment gateways to accept payment quickly across the world
- Supports a significant number of add-ons
- Easy to update
- Secured and scalable
Some downsides of using ZenCart:
- Users should be familiar with PHP.
- It doesn’t provide any official support. The only way to get technical support is by hiring experienced developers.
- Average templates and no good layout, which means, store retailers have to customize it.
- Fewer additional modules.
- On adding hundreds of products, a ZenCart powered store will be slowed down.
- Though it comes with an SEO tool, it is limited to certain features. For advanced SEO features like custom creation of Meta tags, URL, and sitemap, store merchants have to shell out some extra money.
- Complex and stressful upgrade. In the past, many store merchants have complained that they’ve lost some of the custom features on upgrade.
Few users of ZenCart
Cosmic-gestiox | Bread and Butter (Co.Nz)
6. Drupal Commerce
(Image Source: Drupal Commerce)
Those who are familiar with Drupal admin panel, Drupal Commerce might seem an ideal choice for them. This open source eCommerce platform is relatively easy to use, highly flexible and offers multilingual and multi-currency support. It is SEO friendly and easily integrates with several third-party applications. Furthermore, there is an active community of experts behind Drupal that helps store merchants in troubleshooting any issue.
Just as WooCommerce can be used with WordPress only, Drupal Commerce is exclusive to Drupal. It comes with some basic features for running an eCommerce store. However, one can extend the functionality of the store by availing a “Commerce Kickstart” package.
Launch Year: 2004
Services: Free eCommerce software features
Some of the top features include:
- Safe and secure eCommerce platform
- Adapts with your business and scales up as it grows
- Developed to support the global currency, tax, and language needs
- Mobile ready
- Supports multiple languages and currencies
- License-free
- PCI Compliant
- Easy to use for those who are familiar with the Drupal ecosystem
- Seamlessly integrates with several third-party extensions
Some downsides of using Drupal Commerce:
- Just like WooCommerce, Drupal Commerce is compatible with Drupal only. The store merchants who wish to use Drupal Commerce with other platforms may feel completely out of luck.
- It is not easy to learn. For a newbie, it would be challenging to manage a Drupal-powered eCommerce store, since the queries answered in the community or forums are by more experienced developers.
- With Drupal Commerce, there is no chance of paying a nominal amount for hosting as it requires a dedicated or VPS server.
- Even the experienced developers find the interface of Drupal Commerce complicated.
Few users of Drupal Commerce
Royal Mail | Chais d’oeuvre | Carteir
7. VirtueMart (Joomla)
(Image Source: VirtueMart)
This eCommerce extension allows the retailers to set up and run an eCommerce store quickly. This open source platform is ideal for those merchants who want to sell overseas since it supports multi-language capabilities. There are currently over 68,000 websites using VirtueMart, of which 795 websites are in the top 1 million sites. Furthermore, VirtueMart is SEO friendly, which means it can help the store merchants drive more organic traffic to their eCommerce store when leveraged rightly.
Launch Year: 2005
Services: Free eCommerce software features
Some of the top features include:
- Allows merchants to greet customers in their native language
- Guest checkout option available
- Enables store merchants to add unlimited products and categories
- Multi-language and multi-currency support
- Supports dynamical calculator for discounts and taxes
- Easy for online buyers to create accounts, make purchases, track orders, and access the order history
- Shop statistics option to help store merchants analyze sales information by month, by day, by products, etc.
Some downsides of using VirtueMart:
- It works with Joomla only. Those who are not familiar with Joomla may face difficulty in running an eCommerce store on VirtueMart.
- It doesn’t offer plenty of features like other open source eCommerce platforms.
- It has a complicated payment process. Also, there are not many options on payment gateways too.
Few users of VirtueMart
Stand Up Paddle Sports| Straight Razor Designs
8. Spree Commerce
(Image Source: SpreeCommerce)
Based on Ruby on Rails(ROR), this open source eCommerce platform allows store merchants to customize their store and stand out from the competition. It looks quite modern, appealing and different from other platforms, which have a large community of developers.
Launch Year: 2007
Services: Free eCommerce software features
Some of the top features include:
- Blazing fast search when combined with Elasticsearch
- Multiple payment gateways – all major credit and debit cards are accepted
- Supports a powerful taxation engine for not only products but also for all the jurisdictions (EU, US, CA) and zones, where your multiple storefronts operate in
- Allows merchants to capture emails to drive upsell and cross-sell, user retention, hand out rewards, stimulate loyalty, etc.
- Modular architecture, which makes it easy to learn, configure and upgrade
You’ll need to manually code and use HTML to get the most out of this ecommerce option, but there’s ample room to customize if you’ve got the time or staff.
They do have great design and development support along with hosting to make things easier for the less technical. Their enterprise edition is also worth a look. Theres also no transaction fees.
Who’s Using X Cart?
- OrthoticShop
- O-cha.com
- La Mer Collections
- Goat Milk Stuff
9. nopCommerce
nopCommerce is an open-source eCommerce platform, developed on ASP.NET technology and powering more than 60,000 live stores. The platform has been downloaded more than 3,000,000 times. Due to its flexible architecture it is easy to develop custom functionality and follow any business requirements. For those who don’t have much technical knowledge, there exists a pre-installed version.
nopCommerce offers powerful sales and marketing tools for both B2B and B2C such as multi-store or multi-vendor out-of-the-box. The platform is absolutely free, hence there is a $250 white-label fee to remove the “Powered by nopCommerce” link from the footer of the site.
Who’s Using nopCommerce?
- Volvo Cars Collection
- Harman / Kardon
- Turkish airlines
osCommerce
The frontend of this open source ecommerce platform’s demo feels a bit like a dated version of Amazon. After 16 years in business, osCommerce should be performing stronger in the market than it is – especially considering the availability of more than 7,000 add-ons and two spinoff projects that have claimed a strong place in the ecommerce platform field.
Maybe os stands for old-school?
Unfortunately for osCommerce, only 13,300 stores currently use this platform, despite an active community with more than 285,720 members and more than 1.6 million posts. In major need of an update, osCommerce has a loyal open source developer following but little ability to compete in the modern ecommerce field without some major changes.
Who’s Using osCommerce?
- Ubuntu Shop
- Melbourne Kitchen Renovations (Australia)
- SoundControl4Less
- Parsiaco (Iran)
CubeCart
This British open source ecommerce solution is popular on both sides of the pond – in fact, they’ve got a decent following in many parts of the globe. CubeCart uses a 100% template-driven responsive skin to look good across devices. Great customer support, social media plugins, unlimited products, administrators, customers, orders…you name it. This cart is setting itself apart as a member of the new generation of ecommerce open source platforms. That said, it’s no Shopify or BigCommerce and you won’t be able to get phone support, although you’ll find live help on the site.
CubeCart scales decently but is not equipped for large enterprises. It integrates with several common applications, such as MailChimp, but can’t compete with OpenCart for the number of third-party integrations available.
Who’s Using CubeCart?
- Harris Organic Wines
- Kula Cards
- Orchid Jacky
Is Open Source Ecommerce Really Free?
Open source ecommerce solutions offer a wide range of features and complexity. Before choosing one, you need to be honest with yourself about your web developer skills and your budget to pay for support and help. Regardless of price point, however, an open source platform with an active developer community offers the benefit of a global community of people working to improve the software.
At the same time, it’s usually the freemium plans that have a dedicated team of full-time developers and support. If you need help and you aren’t using a freemium open source platform with the option of paid technical help, you might find yourself in trouble if you come across a new bug in the code.
Now that you’ve seen a sample of the web’s top open source ecommerce platforms, take a moment to think about them. Did one wow you? Go check it out. Already using an open source ecommerce solution? Tell us about your experience in the comments. If you have some dev skills, you should give X-Cart a try. And if you aren’t sold on open commerce, check out the list of top ecommerce platforms we mentioned at the start of this article.
No matter what your budget is, you’ll find the perfect solution for your e-commerce site. Just remember to keep looking until you find the right mix of front and backend UX, features, loading speed, and scalability.
CONCLUSION
ECommerce software solutions come with a lot of features and functionalities that easily addresses small to large retail segments. Many businesses are opting for free and open source eCommerce software solutions as it gives them the flexibility to limit their budget.
Ecommerce open source software is fast becoming a favorite for small businesses, entrepreneurs and even big corporations due to the many benefits it has to offer. One of the best benefits of using an ecommerce platform is the fact that it offers you total control over your business model online without much of a hassle.