Building an eCommerce store but don’t want to spend on a paid platform?. Today, we’re talking about the best opensource eCommerce platforms out there in 2021.
Why Choose an OpenSource eCommerce Platform?
Because you can. Though opensource eCommerce platforms will be a tad bit difficult to set up than the likes of Shopify or Wix, they’re very easy. In fact, I’ve personally tried a few of these platforms on our websites and they work flawlessly!
So why would anyone choose a paid eCommerce platform instead of an opensource variant?
It’s just easier to set up the paid ones. And most people believe that opensource software is always difficult to work with or not built well (NOT TRUE!).
You’ll see some of the best opensource eCommerce platforms listed are way better in features and functionality as compared to the paid options.
Best Opensource eCommerce Platforms of 2021
So let’s get right into the list!
- WooCommerce – Most well-known opensource eCommerce platform, developed by Automattic, the company behind WordPress
- Magento – Built by a behemoth, Adobe, Magento is an opensource eCommerce platform tailored for perfect shop building experiences
- PrestaShop – This is a beautifully designed eCommerce shop builder coded in PHP with a lot of templates and themes available
- X-Cart – Built to be fast with a smooth shopping experience, X-Cart is a new eCommerce shop builder with a beautiful look to it
- Drupal Commerce – Drupal is a huge opensource CMS software and Drupal Commerce is a comprehensive eCommerce platform built by them
- CubeCart – An opensource eCommerce platform built to be the easiest and the most effective way to sell online
- Reaction Commerce – A relatively new opensource eCommerce platform built for scalability and lightning-fast loading times
- Zen Cart – Zen Cart is one of the best opensource eCommerce platforms out there with a huge user-base
- OpenCart – The best opensource eCommerce platform built for shop owners who want flexibility and control with a clean and fast loading website
- SpreeCommerce – The Best eCommerce Platforms with a modern UX
- Sylius – An eCommerce Platform Built with Symfony
1. WooCommerce – Best Overall opensource eCommerce platform
The WordPress eCommerce platform, WooCommerce is a customizable, open-source eCommerce solution built by Automattic. It’s the best extension out there to convert a WordPress blog into an eCommerce store without changing a lot on your website.
The best part of this eCommerce platform is how easy it is for a beginner to get started after installing the plugin on your WordPress site.
Pair that with a large community for all your support questions, this eCommerce platform is a nobrainer if you’re using WordPress
Website: https://woocommerce.com/
2. Magento – eCommerce platform tailored for perfect shop building experience
This platform features B2B approval workflows, enhanced inventory management, faster PWA development, and much more which makes it a great eCommerce platform choice for those looking for a sturdy online shop solution.
The one issue stopping Magento from being a widely adopted eCommerce platform is the steep learning curve that comes along with it.
It’s hard for beginners to catch up with this platform but with an experienced developer, Magento can become the perfect eCommerce partner and support even larger shops with ease.
Website: https://magento.com/
3. PrestaShop – A beautifully designed eCommerce shop builder
More than 300,000 e-commerce stores run on PrestaShop technology. With such a wide reach, this is one of the most successful opensource eCommerce platforms out there.
It’s ease of use makes it widely accessible even to the most beginner users.
So if you’re looking for a solid solution for your online shop creation needs, this platform is what you need.
Website: https://www.prestashop.com/en
4. X-Cart – A fast and smooth eCommerce shopping experience platform
X-Cart is an eCommerce platform that is flexible, scalable, and affordable and it grows as your digital footprint expands.
This is one of the best opensource eCommerce platforms out there which is built on modern technologies and allows you to create high-performing, beautiful, and convenient online stores.
If you are looking for something that’s lightweight and easy to use, X-Cart is something you can try.
Website: https://www.x-cart.com/download.html
5. Drupal Commerce – A comprehensive eCommerce platform built by Drupal
With Drupal Commerce, online retailers with a simple yet powerful platform and the flexibility to integrate a rich commerce experience anywhere within their environment.
It provides the structure you need to handle eCommerce without any default assumptions.
This eCommerce platform is highly exten
sible and can adapt to meet the changing needs of websites of all sizes.
Website: https://drupalcommerce.org/
6. CubeCart – Best eCommerce platform built to be the easiest way to sell online
Whether you are a retailer looking for an online store or a webmaster seeking an eCommerce solution for a client.
CubeCart is a better and more functional shopping cart technology. It started as a paid platform and hence has a lot more functionality compared with many other shopping cart platforms.
That’s yet another reason, hundreds of thousands of users across the globe love CubeCart.
Website: https://www.cubecart.com/
7. Reaction Commerce – Opensource eCommerce platform built for scale and speed
ReactionCommerce, built with an API-first approach, boasts a modular commerce stack. It’s best for brands and retailers looking for complete control over their eCommerce stores. Their service-based architecture improves flexibility and scalability.
This is one of the best eCommerce platforms that focuses on speed and performance in complex and high-volume deployments.
Reaction Commerce is built with Node.js, React, and GraphQL.
Website: https://reactioncommerce.com/
8. Zen Cart – One of the best opensource eCommerce platforms with a huge user-base
Zen Cart is built by a group of like-minded shop owners, programmers, designers, and consultants that think eCommerce web design could be and should be, done differently.
So many robust eCommerce platform solutions require a good bit of programming to get set up. However, Zen Cart is designed with the shop owner in mind who simply wants to get their shop online.
Website: https://www.zen-cart.com/
9. OpenCart – The best opensource eCommerce platform built for flexibility and control
Open Cart powers over 342,000 eCommerce stores all over the world! It features a beautiful administrator dashboard, multi-user and multi-store management, product attributes, support for unlimited products and categories, downloadable products and much more.
OpenCart is a perfect solution for businesses that have experience with websites and know their way around basic development and website setup tasks.
However, the learning curve for this ecommerce platform is very low and you should be able to easily take up this software and build a shop on it after getting used to the functionality.
Website: https://www.opencart.com/
10. SpreeCommerce – The Best OpenSource eCommerce Platforms with a modern UX
Spree Commerce is built with rails 6 and boasts a modern user experience for 2020. Deploying spreecommerce might require some knowledge of Ruby though the complete deployment steps are outlined on their documentation.
SpreeCommerce is perfect for anyone who is looking for a fast and SEO friendly eCommerce platform built from scratch with a mobile-first approach.
They also offers an optional Progressive Web App (PWA) frontend that allows you to convert your website into an app that gets saved on the user’s android phone.
Website: https://spreecommerce.org/
11. Sylius – An Opensource eCommerce Platform Built with Symfony
This is one of the best eCommerce platforms out there which is built less than 3 years ago and is regularly updated. The most recent update to their github repo was a few minutes ago (while I write this!).
Sylius carries a cloud-first approach to eCommerce and supports easy scalability with support for CDNs and deep-level order checkout customization.
The platform is created with high quality code-base making their eCommerce platform extremely fast for front-end use.
Website: https://sylius.com/
That’s All Folks!
I’ve tried my best to avoid the outdated ecommerce platforms that have been stopped getting updates now! We cover some of the most well-known ones but also added some hidden gems (probably?) from Github searches.
If you’ve never tried it, have a look through some of the Github projects on ecommerce and you’ll find some really amazing platforms that aren’t out yet.
And that brings us to this list of the best opensource eCommerce platforms of . It’s your turn now.
Which one is your favorite? Which one do you love or hate the most!
Tell us in the comments below.