WooCommerce is the best OpenCart alternative for most store owners who already use WordPress, because the core plugin costs $0 and the store stays under your control. Shopify is the best hosted pick for most new stores, with Basic at $29 per month when billed annually and no server work to manage. Five of the eight options here start at $0 or $5 per month, so the platform fee is not the main cost; hosting, apps, and card processing decide the real bill.
OpenCart is free open source software for running an online store, and it has no hosted plan of its own. You install it on your own hosting, add extensions from its marketplace, and manage updates yourself. The eight options below split into two groups: free open source software like OpenCart itself, and hosted platforms that charge a monthly fee and handle the servers for you.
On this page
Opencart alternatives: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OpenCart | Sellers who want free open source software | $0 | Yes | Visit |
| 2 | WooCommerce | WordPress sites that want a free store plugin | $0 | Yes | Visit |
| 3 | Shopify | New stores that want hosted selling | $29 per month | Free trial (3 days) | Visit |
| 4 | BigCommerce | Growing stores that want built-in features | $29 per month | Free trial (15 days) | Visit |
| 5 | PrestaShop | Sellers who want free open source software | $0 | Yes | Visit |
| 6 | Squarespace | Design-led stores with small catalogues | $28 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 7 | Wix | Small stores that want a simple builder | $29 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 8 | Ecwid | Adding a shop to a site you already run | $5 per month | No | Visit |
The 8 best opencart alternatives, in detail
OpenCart
Best for: Sellers who want free open source software
OpenCart costs $0 for the software itself, and there is no monthly platform fee to pay to OpenCart. You download it, install it on hosting you arrange, and add extensions for payment gateways, shipping, and extra features. The extension marketplace covers most common needs, and the admin area handles products, orders, customers, and discounts.
- One limit is that $0 does not mean $0 to run a store.
- Hosting, a domain, an SSL certificate, and any extensions you buy are separate costs, and you are the person who applies updates and fixes problems.
- Choose OpenCart if you want full control, you are comfortable with hosting, and you want no monthly platform fee.
- Choose a hosted option if you would rather pay a monthly fee and let the vendor run the servers.
Pros
- Free open source software with no monthly platform fee
- large extension marketplace
Cons
- You arrange and manage your own hosting
- support comes from the community and docs, not a hosted help desk
WooCommerce
Best for: WordPress sites that want a free store plugin
WooCommerce is a free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store, and the core plugin costs $0. You keep full control of the store, the data, and the design, and you can pick any WordPress theme and host. The extension library covers subscriptions, bookings, and memberships, and the core handles products, orders, coupons, tax, and shipping.
- For a site that already runs on WordPress, it is the most direct OpenCart alternative.
- The trade-off is the same as OpenCart: the plugin is free, but running it is not.
- Hosting, a domain, security, backups, and updates are your job, and many extensions charge a yearly fee of their own.
- A store with several extensions can cost more each year than a hosted plan, even though the core plugin costs $0.
Pros
- Free core plugin for WordPress with full store control
- huge theme and extension library
Cons
- Hosting, security, and updates sit with you
- many useful extensions carry their own yearly cost
Shopify
Best for: New stores that want hosted selling
Shopify Basic costs $29 per month when billed annually, or $39 per month when billed month to month. Grow costs $79 per month when billed annually, and Advanced costs $299 per month when billed annually. Every plan includes hosting, an SSL certificate, and a custom domain connection, with no setup fee.
- Basic supports 10 inventory locations and charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per online card sale through Shopify Payments.
- New stores get a 3-day free trial.
- The cost to watch is the fee stack.
- If you use a payment provider outside Shopify Payments, Basic adds a 2% fee on each sale on top of that provider’s own charges.
Pros
- Hosted platform with no server work
- large app store and 10 inventory locations on Basic
Cons
- Basic adds a 2% fee when you use a payment provider outside Shopify Payments
- many features need apps that charge extra
BigCommerce
Best for: Growing stores that want built-in features
BigCommerce Standard, now shown as Core in 2026 listings, costs $29 per month when billed annually, or $39 per month when billed month to month. Plus costs $79 per month when billed annually, and Pro costs $299 per month when billed annually. The Standard plan includes unlimited products, real-time shipping quotes, and professional reporting.
- It charges no added transaction fee on any payment gateway, which is a clear edge over Shopify Basic when you use an outside provider.
- The limit to plan around is the sales cap.
- Standard covers up to $50,000 in annual online sales, Plus covers up to $180,000, and Pro covers up to $400,000.
- Once your trailing 12-month sales pass the cap, BigCommerce moves you to the next plan on its own, so a strong year raises your bill even if nothing e
Pros
- Hosted platform with many features built in
- no added transaction fee on any payment gateway
Cons
- Standard caps annual online sales at $50,000 and moves you to a higher plan when you pass it
- no phone support on Standard
PrestaShop
Best for: Sellers who want free open source software
PrestaShop is free open source software, and the core download costs $0 with no monthly platform fee. It is a full store system with products, orders, customers, and discounts, plus multi-language and multi-currency support, which is why it is strong with sellers in European markets. You install it on hosting you arrange, pick a theme, and add modules from the Addons marketplace for payment and shipping.
- For a technical seller who wants a free core and full control, it is the closest free rival to OpenCart.
- The trade-off matches OpenCart and WooCommerce.
- Hosting, security, backups, and updates sit with you, and many modules charge their own fee, so a store with several modules can cost a real amount ea
- Choose PrestaShop if you want free open source software with strong multi-language support and you can manage hosting.
Pros
- Free open source software with no monthly platform fee
- strong in European markets with multi-language support
Cons
- You arrange and manage your own hosting
- many modules in the Addons marketplace carry their own cost
Squarespace
Best for: Design-led stores with small catalogues
Squarespace Commerce Basic costs $28 per month when billed annually. It removes the 3% transaction fee that the Business plan charges on sales, and it adds customer accounts, checkout on your own domain, point-of-sale, and merchandising tools. Commerce Advanced costs $52 per month when billed annually and adds abandoned cart recovery, advanced shipping, subscriptions, and API access.
- Every plan includes SEO tools and unlimited product listings, plus a 14-day free trial.
- The design is the draw.
- Squarespace templates look polished with little work, which suits makers, artists, and small brands that sell a tight catalogue.
- The ecommerce depth is thinner than Shopify or BigCommerce, and abandoned cart recovery sits on the higher Commerce Advanced plan.
Pros
- Commerce Basic removes the 3% transaction fee and adds customer accounts and point-of-sale
- strong design templates
Cons
- Commerce Basic costs $28 per month when billed annually and abandoned cart recovery needs Commerce Advanced
- fewer ecommerce apps than Shopify
Wix
Best for: Small stores that want a simple builder
Wix Core costs $29 per month when billed annually, or $36 per month when billed month to month. It is the first Wix plan that accepts payments, and it includes basic ecommerce, scheduling and services, 50 GB of storage, 5 collaborators, a basic marketing suite, and a free domain for one year. Light costs $17 per month when billed annually for personal sites, Business costs $39 per month when billed annually, and Business Elite costs $159 per month when billed annually.
- The builder is the draw: drag-and-drop editing, many templates, and a single place for the site, the store, bookings, and email.
- The limit is depth.
- Core offers basic ecommerce only, so a store that needs advanced shipping or subscriptions will need Business or higher, or apps that charge extra.
- Storage is 50 GB on Core, which is fine for a small catalogue and tight for a large one with many images.
Pros
- Free plan for a basic site, with Core adding payments and basic ecommerce
- simple drag-and-drop builder
Cons
- Core gives only basic ecommerce and 50 GB of storage
- monthly billing costs $36 per month instead of $29
Ecwid
Best for: Adding a shop to a site you already run
Ecwid is a shop you add to a site you already run, on WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or any other platform, and it also offers its own Instant Site builder. Starter costs $5 per month for up to 10 products, with 70 or more site templates and a default company.site domain. Venture costs $35 per month, or $29 per month when billed annually, for up to 100 products plus digital goods, selling on Instagram and Facebook, live chat support, discount coupons, and automated tax calculations.
- Business costs $65 per month, or $49 per month when billed annually, for up to 2,500 products, and Unlimited costs $149 per month, or $119 per month w
- The pricing shape is a product-count ladder: 10 products on Starter, 100 on Venture, 2,500 on Business, and unlimited on Unlimited.
- That makes the jump from 10 to 11 products a real cost step, from $5 to $29 per month when billed annually.
- The offset is fees: Ecwid charges 0% platform transaction fees on every plan, so you pay only your payment provider’s rate.
Pros
- Starter costs $5 per month for up to 10 products
- 0% platform transaction fees on every plan
Cons
- No free plan is listed for new accounts
- Venture is needed for a custom domain and discount coupons
How we chose
We picked store platforms that are still maintained, that a real seller can start on today, and that cover a distinct need: free open source software, a free WordPress plugin, hosted selling, design-led selling, a simple builder, and a shop that embeds in a site you already run. Prices and plan limits come from official vendor pricing pages opened on 2026-11-12, including the Ecwid, Wix, and Shopify pricing pages. We did not test any tool hands-on. Where a vendor hid the price, we would have written quote only, but every price here comes from a vendor page cited in Sources.
Which store platform fits your budget and sales
| Situation | Pick | First-year cost at the entry rate |
|---|---|---|
| Free core, full control, WordPress site | WooCommerce | $0 for the plugin, plus hosting |
| Free core, full control, no WordPress | OpenCart or PrestaShop | $0 for the software, plus hosting |
| New hosted store | Shopify Basic | $348 when billed annually |
| Built-in features, no gateway fee | BigCommerce Standard | $348 when billed annually |
| Design-led small store | Squarespace Commerce Basic | $336 when billed annually |
| Add a shop to a site you already run | Ecwid Starter | $60 a year |
Frequently asked questions
Which OpenCart alternative is best for most people?
WooCommerce is best for most people who already run WordPress, because the core plugin costs $0 and the store stays under your control. Shopify is best for most new stores that do not run WordPress, because Basic at $29 per month when billed annually includes hosting.
Is there a free OpenCart alternative?
OpenCart itself costs $0, and WooCommerce and PrestaShop also cost $0 for the core software. Wix has a free plan for a basic site, though selling needs Core at $29 per month when billed annually. Ecwid lists no free plan for new accounts, and its Starter plan costs $5 per month.
Which OpenCart alternative is cheapest for a small store?
Ecwid Starter at $5 per month is the cheapest hosted entry here, for up to 10 products. WooCommerce, OpenCart, and PrestaShop cost $0 for the software, but hosting, a domain, and extensions are separate costs, so the total can pass $5 per month once hosting is added.
Which platform is best for a store that will grow fast?
BigCommerce is a strong pick for fast growth because many features are built in and it adds no transaction fee on any gateway, but its Standard plan caps annual online sales at $50,000 and moves you to a higher plan when you pass it. Shopify has no sales cap on the plan itself, so it suits a store that expects a sharp rise in sales.
Can I move my store from OpenCart to Shopify?
Shopify offers migration tools and apps that import products, customers, and orders from OpenCart. Check that product options and order history carry over, because passwords often need a reset and some custom fields may not map across.
What is the unique cost trap in BigCommerce pricing?
BigCommerce ties each plan to a trailing 12-month sales cap, with $50,000 on Standard, $180,000 on Plus, and $400,000 on Pro. Once your trailing 12-month sales pass the cap, BigCommerce moves you to the next plan on its own, so a good sales year raises your monthly bill even if your product count and traffic stay the same.
Sources
- https://www.opencart.com/
- https://woocommerce.com/
- https://www.shopify.com/
- https://www.shopify.com/pricing
- https://www.bigcommerce.com/
- https://www.bigcommerce.com/pricing/
- https://prestashop.com/
- https://www.squarespace.com/
- https://www.squarespace.com/pricing
- https://www.wix.com/
- https://www.wix.com/plans
- https://www.ecwid.com/
- https://www.ecwid.com/pricing
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.