Having an online presence is a must in today’s competitive world. If you want to establish an eCommerce store to sell your products or services online, you need to choose the best eCommerce platform. But with over 370 available platforms, making the choice can be a little tough.
Technically, one could select just any eCommerce framework since most of them are either free or inexpensive. However, the open-source model has garnered immense praise from people across the world. Such frameworks are completely free, easy to maintain, and highly customizable.
Here, we will review the most popular open-source eCommerce platforms you can choose from to build your e-store. Using this data, you will get a fair idea of modern eCommerce technologies.
Best Open Source Ecommerce Platforms In 2021
1. OpenCart
OpenCart is a PHP eCommerce platform that is best known for its straightforward interface and ease of use. Most suited to small-scale business enterprises, the solution does not require any technical know-how to start your first online shop. As per the official website, over 342,000 entrepreneurs across the world use OpenCart to run their online business.
The platform supports a huge marketplace to meet all your custom requirements. You can easily extend the e-store functionalities by choosing from over 13000 attractive themes and add-ons to build an intuitive and customer-friendly eCommerce store. Additionally, there are numerous plugins available for added flexibility.
The open-source eCommerce platform supports powerful store management. It also integrates more than 8 shipping methods and over 20 payment gateways to offer a seamless customer shopping experience.
OpenCart provides a cloud-hosted platform to entrepreneurs who do not possess the technical understanding to launch an online store and build a thriving virtual presence.
2. PrestaShop
one of the leading open-source eCommerce platforms, PrestaShop is very popular among online retailers and powers over 250,000 stores. It features an intuitive admin panel and all the necessary functionalities vital for the customers.
Using PrestaShop, one can easily determine the level of technical control required since it offers both self-hosted and fully-hosted options. And, both these options are free.
One of the greatest benefits of using this open-source eCommerce platform is that it is super easy to use. It has hundreds of templates and modules to add to the core functionality. Besides, the platform features an official marketplace for themes where you can download and set up additional themes.
PrestaShop also allows you to sell downloadable products, such as music, digital books, etc. It offers a single-page checkout for all items.
Lastly, the platform comes with an option for cross-selling. It provides complete backend support for managing inventory, customers, shipping, etc. Owing to its incredibly smooth performance, PrestaShop is used in over 160 countries across the globe.
WooCommerce
If you are into WordPress and want to start your online business, WooCommerce can be your best bet. It enables you to leverage the WordPress platform and use the WooCommerce plugin to operate your e-store.
One of the greatest advantages of this platform is its user-friendly admin panel. It works well for both small-scale and large-scale business organizations as it scales beautifully. It is very reliable, easy to use, and supports thousands of integrations and extensions for your online store.
WooCommerce connects all major payment gateways to your website. It also renders PayPal and Stripes the default payment gateways.
Zen Cart
Zen Cart is among the most popular open-source eCommerce platforms that are backed by an excellent product management system. From controlling inventory to creating sales and specials, it allows doing almost everything easily.
The platform offers over 16 categories for users along with 1800+ add-ons to customize your e-store. Using Zen Cart, you can choose any preferred language. The platform is free and can support an unlimited number of products.
Also, the related community is vast with more than 150,000 active members to help you out in case of any issue.
Magento
Magento is one of the most widely known open source eCommerce platforms used by developers around the world. The platform supports different plans, for instance, the Magento Enterprise Edition is best suited to large-scale organizations whereas the Magento Community Edition is ideal for small and medium companies.
A notable feature of Magento is that it supports numerous currencies and languages and helps to manage multiple stores. It comes with a vast range of plugins and add-ons that provide flexibility and infinite scalability to e-store owners.
Magento offers both self-hosted and fully-hosted options. It also lets you customize the admin area and the user interface to make your eCommerce store truly unique.
Drupal Commerce
If you are looking for an open-source eCommerce platform that is both adaptable and SEO-friendly, you must opt for Drupal Commerce. Its clear administration panel and advanced payment modules have made it extremely popular among developers across the world.
It is important to note that Drupal Commerce is exclusive to Drupal. The platform offers only basic eCommerce functionalities. However, you can extend your e-store’s functionalities by purchasing the ‘Commerce Kickstart’ package that comprises an excellent set of add-ons.
For those familiar with the Drupal ecosystem, Drupal Commerce can be the best eCommerce platform choice. Its straightforwardness, as well as a robust security system, ensures optimal performance.
CS-Cart Multi-Vendor
CS-Cart Multi-Vendor is an open-source eCommerce platform that seeks to target large-scale enterprises. The framework is used to build huge marketplaces that feature numerous merchants under a single roof.
The solution is self-hosted and offers over 500 eCommerce functionalities, added integrations, as well as innovative themes. The platform supports its layout editor, SEO and other marketing tools, a user-friendly admin panel, a mobile-friendly structure, and an in-built CMS. It also includes integrations for over 80 payment and shipping services.
The open-source eCommerce platform prioritizes security. It releases multiple updates each year to resolve vulnerabilities and certify up-to-date security. Also, it is sold for a one-off price so there are no monthly subscription hassles.
nopCommerce
nopCommerce is a free open source eCommerce platform that is based on Microsoft’s ASP.NET. The framework is well-suited to support both beginner merchants as well as leading eCommerce experts. It comprises a wide-ranging toolset that includes a flexible shopping cart and a clean and streamlined administration panel.
There are two primary nopCommerce download options. Online vendors who do not possess any programming knowledge can opt for the simplified single-click install version that comes without source code. Pro developers, on the other hand, can go with the source code version for its widespread customization capabilities.
nopCommerce can facilitate multiple eCommerce stores on a single admin interface. This makes it ideal for big organizations that deal in an extensive portfolio of eCommerce stores.
The open-source platform includes thousands of pre-built integrations. Besides, it comes with a host of SEO-friendly features to ease your online marketing strategy.
X-Cart
X-Cart is a famous PHP-based eCommerce platform that has rapidly grown in popularity in the past few years. The open-source self-hosted platform is deemed one of the fastest frameworks available today.
With X-Cart, you can enjoy tons of shipping options. For instance, the platform also supports FedEx. Also, it is fully compatible with almost all payment gateways, including PayPal and Sage.
The platform is backed by a large community of active developers. It is regularly updated to keep it fully up-to-date. You can rest assured knowing that X-Cart is very secure and PCI compliant.
OsCommerce
If you are looking for an eCommerce platform that is relatively simple in maintenance, OsCommerce is the ideal choice. Anyone can use it to set up a completely self-hosted online store. Also, the platform is free to use and fully-secured to sell your products or services leveraging online payments.
OsCommerce offers 8,000+ free extensions to customize your eCommerce store. It easily integrates with all third-party apps and presents your online store website in multiple languages.
Lastly, the platform is backed by an overwhelming community of members and developers. Thus, you can rely on the support network in case of any issue. It also comes with a cloud-hosted option for those who are non-specialized entrepreneurs.
Wrapping Up
So this is our roundup of the best open-source eCommerce platforms in 2021. It is almost impossible to firmly say what the best platform is for you as only your specific business needs will determine the features that can benefit you the most.
However, one thing is certain that using the right open-source eCommerce platform can help your business grow by leaps and bounds. Get in touch with a reputed eCommerce development agency to work on your behalf.