18 Top Open-Source Ecommerce Platforms in 2025 (Hidden Cost Explained)

Not much interested in the lack of control and the monthly billing method of SaaS platforms? Excited to build a free eCommerce store based on an open-source code? This article is for you. We will explore open-source eCommerce platforms in-depth: their benefits and drawbacks, their pricing method a.k.a how your money will be spent, common questions, and the best candidates.

>> See more:

• Best Ecommerce Platforms Fully Compared + Ranked in 2025
• 10 Best eCommerce Subscription platform in 2025
• Top 7 Ecommerce CMS for Online Stores in 2025

What is an open source eCommerce platform?

An open-source eCommerce platform is a type of software allowing businesses to create and manage online stores with access to the source code. Developers can customize and enhance the platform to meet their needs without licensing fees. These platforms are typically free, making them an attractive choice for startups and small businesses aiming to reduce costs and maintain flexibility.

Key Features of Open-Source eCommerce Platforms:

• Customization: Users can modify the code to create unique features and functionalities tailored to their business requirements.
• Cost-Effective: Most open-source platforms do not charge licensing fees, making them more affordable than proprietary solutions.
• Community Support: Many open-source platforms have active communities that provide support, share plugins, and contribute to ongoing development.
• Scalability: These platforms can grow with a business, allowing for the addition of new features or scaling up as needed.

>>> You may concern: What Is an Ecommerce Platform?

18 best open-source eCommerce platforms for a highly-customizable website

1. WooCommerce

Programming language: PHP language used with MySQL database

WooCommerce, a trusted eCommerce plugin for WordPress, powers over 3 million online stores, with nearly 40,000 in BuiltWith’s Top 1M. While the plugin is free, additional extensions and themes (over 4900 in total) can enhance your store’s functionality and design.

Besides, WooCommerce’s connection to WordPress also boosts SEO, leveraging the platform’s reputation for driving strong search engine results, making it easy for users familiar with WordPress to get started quickly.

Pricing: 

While the WooCommerce plugin is free, running an eCommerce store comes with additional costs. These include domain and hosting fees, themes, extensions, and potential development expenses. Though you can start with as little as $100, scaling your store will require further investment.

Typically, a fully-featured WooCommerce site costs $1,200 to $1,500 in the first year and $500-$700 annually thereafter.

WooCommerce pros:

• A variety of themes and extensions to choose from. Lots of them are FREE
• An easy-to-use interface that even starters can build their store in no time
• Great to start small: merchants can build their free site and then upgrade little by little. 
• WordPress as a CMS for SEO blogs
• A helpful community centre for learners-owners with video guide, helpdesk, forums, documentation, bug report, training courses, and more 

WooCommerce cons:

• Additional costs may apply, as free extensions are limited in functionality; premium extensions are needed for a fully functional site
• WooCommerce relies on third-party plugins, which can pose security risks
• Unlike platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce requires technical knowledge (e.g., hosting, SEO, theme installation)
• For complex issues, hiring a developer may be necessary to handle coding problems.

Examples of WooCommerce online store:

• We are little giants
• Sodashi

Compare: Magento vs WooCommerce

2. Magento

Programming language: PHP language with MySQL database

With 250,000+ active users, Magento is ranked 3rd in the Top most widely used eCommerce websites, only after Shopify and WooCommerce. For more information, the platform is famous among high-traffic websites, which is proven by the fact that 8% of top 10,000 websites with high traffic are built with Magento.

Pricing

Magento offers two editions:

• Magento Open Source: Forever free for everybody. However, please note that users of Magento Open Source need to purchase hosting, themes, extensions and custom development (If they are not a developer already).
• Magento Commerce: A cloud-hosted solution for enterprise-level companies with stronger security, B2B functions, page builder, and other advanced features. Its pricing starts from $22,000/year based on the company’s revenue.

Pros

• A wide variety of themes and extensions on Magento Marketplace for store owners to explore. 
• Robust source code for scalability and further customization
• Magento’s source code is optimized for mobile already.
• Magento offers basic SEO features along with lots of extensions and customizability to drive your SEO success. 
• A strong and established community to help coders to fix their issues quickly. Documentations, guides, training and personal blogs are also abundantly available. 
• Plenty of reliable Magento experts for non-tech savvy businesses to hire for custom development

Cons

• You would need to buy some more extensions to maximize site performance
• Magento is not highly-praised for its speed. However, its developer is improving this aspect with recent updates. Also, some code intervention can easily solve the issue
• It may be costly to hire a Magento expert to help build an online store from scratch.

Demo Store: Demo

Customer’s site:

• BotanicalWonders
• SoilOrganics.co.uk

3. CS-cart

Programming language: PHP language used with MySQL database

CS-Cart is a popular open-source platform for multi-vendor marketplaces, offering over 500 eCommerce features, themes, and add-ons. Its user-friendly drag-and-drop editor makes it ideal for beginners, while developers can easily customize it. With a one-time pricing plan, it’s a cost-effective choice for long-term use.

Moreover, with its rich features for multi-vendor marketplaces and B2B businesses, CS-cart is one of the top eCommerce platforms for B2B companies. 

CS-cart pricing: NopCommerce charges a one-time fee for CS-Cart services, with three plans: Standard ($1,450), Plus ($3,500), and Lifetime ($7,500). While upgrades are free for the first year, merchants must pay for updates in subsequent years. This policy should be carefully considered before committing.

Let’s look at their upgrade fee for detailed examples: 

Finally, bear in mind that the fee above is just for buying a license. Aside from that, you also need to invest in good hosting, themes (if you do not fancy free themes), some helpful plugins and even tech support. CS-cart offers two options for IT supports that cost $169/month and $300/month respectively.

CS-Cart Pros:

• Lifetime free bug and security patches
• Rich built-in features which may cost you a handsome amount of money if you use other platforms. For example, with other platforms, you may need to spend on plugins for over 70 payment methods and 8 shipping options, abandoned cart, loyalty programs, comments and reviews, cross-sells, multi-vendor marketplace, etc
• An easy drag-and-drop editor tool for beginners
• Mobile app with source code included (only in higher plans)
• Free support period: You can ask as many questions as you need after your purchase. How long the help service lasts depends on your plan, with the shortest period being 45 days and the longest being 365 days. 
• A good CS-cart community where you can have your questions and worries explained by worldwide tech experts and store owners.

CS-cart cons:

• 30-day money-back guarantee is too short to assess the nearly $1500 plan’s value
• Hidden costs may make it less affordable for both experienced coders and beginners
• Documentation is lacking, making customization harder for some users
• Tech support availability varies based on your plan and service package
• Fewer, more expensive add-ons compared to WooCommerce and Magento.

Examples of CS-cart online stores: 

• Familyleisure.com
• Pillowpets.com

4. nopCommerce

Programming language: C# language with ASP.net framework

NopCommerce is a decent competitor for the best open-source eCommerce platform, which is 100% free, developers-oriented with powerful features. 

NopCommerce offers enterprise-level functionality for free, including multi-store support, multi-vendor marketplace, unlimited products, high security, flexible checkout, and strong SEO and marketing features. It also boasts an active community, providing valuable support for beginners building their first website.

NopCommerce’s pricing:

The platform is 100% free to implement with no hidden cost. However, you need to pay for themes, web hosting, add-ons and extra development costs.

NopCommerce offers premium support services starting from $83.25/mo.

NopCommerce’s Pros:

• Completely free source code
• Rich eCommerce features for which other platforms may require plugins or plan upgradation.
• Great scalability with unlimited products support
• A helpful community for self-learners
• The platform is regularly updated and maintained to assure security and performance
• Mobile-friendly. You will get a free mobile app along with your open-source eCommerce website. 

NopCommerce’s Cons:

• Limited selection of themes and plugins, requiring extra effort for customization
• Reported slow loading speeds; not highly ranked for performance
• Requires technical knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to utilize its features fully
• Fewer NopCommerce developers and partners available, leading to challenges and higher costs for customization

NopCommerce DEMO site: Backend | Frontend

NopCommerce site’s examples: 

• Turkish airline
• Cloudokids.com

5. X-cart

Programming language: PHP language with MySQL database

X-Cart is a lightweight, fast, and reliable open-source eCommerce platform, offering both X-Cart 4 and X-Cart 5 versions. While both are scalable with robust e-commerce features, X-Cart 5 stands out for its enhanced functionality, plugins, and mobile-friendly design. Additionally, X-Cart provides reliable hosting, saving merchants time and effort in managing separate hosting providers.

X-Cart Pricing:

X-cart operates as a SaaS (platform-as-a-services) and a license based platform. This means you need to pay them a subscription fee or a one-time license fee in exchange for its services and support. 

The platform offers its open-source code, development services, themes, hosting, site migration & technical support. Thus, their pricing is also flexible depending on your business needs. You need to contact X-cart for a quote. Referentially, their previous pricing (before they hid it) was from $495 to $5,995 for a lifetime license. Their customer support starts from $250/month.

X-cart pros:

• Reliable hosting options with enhanced security and impressive performance
• Powerful eCommerce features which are not limited to the essential ones. Merchants can access functions for the multi-vendor marketplace, omnichannel, cross border commerce, SEO and Marketing without plugins or API integration. 
• Customized solutions for a variety of business models from retail to multivendor, international to omnichannel to B2B.
• 24/7/365 tech support team to responsively solve your problems 
• Support over 120 payment methods
• Easy to use and implement in overall

X-cart cons:

• The price information is hidden so that merchants need to send a quote request
• There’s a learning curve to get the grip of the platform at first
• Some customizations may be complicated, thus, requiring IT services. This is not a disadvantage for experienced coders though.

X-cart site’s example: 

• Kbauthority
• Wilderness.net.au

6. Zen Cart

Programming language: PHP language with MySQL database

ZenCart was established in 2003 when eCommerce was still something unfamiliar to lots of us. Although people may say ZenCart’s framework is too old-fashioned for 2021, the platform has been tested through time and proven its value. ZenCart is an easy-to-use, lightweight open-source eCommerce platform which is completely free. Novice coders can gain many benefits from this platform. 

Pricing

The platform is free for everyone to download. All of its plugins are free, too. As a user, you just need to pay for hosting and theme to have a fully-functional ZenCart website.  

Pros

• ZenCart has a clear coding structure, which is easy to use
• A wide variety of plugins for lots of purposes. 
• Platforms and plugins are completely free. You only need to spend money on hosting
• The platform has a lightweight codebase, which makes it faster to load
• Good security enhanced by PCI compliance
• An age-old yet still active community

Cons

• The platform is not ready-to-use for those not having coding experiences. You need solid technical knowledge to build a website from scratch.
• There are a limited number of themes. Their UI is pretty much outdated, too
• There is no customer support. You’d need to figure it all out with the help of the community only
• Lacks of integration with new apps in the market

ZenCart’s customer site:

• Fordogtrainers
• Stringsbymail

7. OpenCart 

Programming language: PHP language with MySQL database

OpenCart beats its eCommerce opponents with its lightweight product and beginner-friendliness. What’s better? The source code is 100% free. The platform is perfect for newbie business owners who want to start small and add more functionalities little by little by purchasing more extensions.

Pricing:  

OpenCart is free to download, but you’ll need to invest in themes, hosting, extensions, and development if you lack coding skills. Dedicated support is also available, either as a one-time payment or a monthly subscription starting at $120/month, offering expert assistance for technical issues.

OpenCart Pros:

• It’s free and easy to use. Even ones with little coding knowledge can start a new eCommerce site.
• An active community forum so users can share tips and have their problems solved altogether. 
• A good number of themes and extensions with a great variety for users to improve their site’s functionality further.
• Solid eCommerce features include unlimited products, unlimited categories, reviews & rewards programs, multilingual & multi-currency support, payment & shipment.

OpenCart cons:

• OpenCart has a steep learning curve, with limited documentation and support, requiring some development skills.
• Built-in Marketing and SEO extensions are limited. You also need to buy more extensions to build a fully functional website. Also, some extensions are expensive
• It takes more time and effort than expected to upgrade to a newer version
• Not fully SEO-friendly enough for scaling-up companies

Demo store: Frontend | Backend

Online site’s examples: 

• I-am.bg
• Central-bazaar

8. PrestaShop

Programming language: PHP language with MySQL database & Symfony framework

PrestaShop is an ideal open-source eCommerce platform for both developers and business starters. While its free source code is open to any technicians to explore and customize, the platforms offer different service packages for companies with different needs.

PrestaShop’s pricing:

PrestaShop offers full access to its source code for coders, with options for further extensions and add-ons. Non-tech store owners can purchase the $523.99 starter pack, which includes essential features and 90 days of free support. For ongoing support, a Business Care subscription is available at $244/year. Additional customization services range from $249 to $1,399, and hosting options start at $232/month, with cheaper third-party alternatives.

PrestaShop’s Pros:

• Easy to implement and set up compared to other open-source eCommerce platforms.
• A variety of more than 3,200 beautiful themes. Lots of them are fully customizable for your brand identity.
• A good package of built-in features for inventory management and basic SEO & Marketing tools.
• A big add-on marketplace to shop various modules to increase your site’s performance
• Many pricing options from free source code to paid services, add-on packages, so you can manage the website development cost more flexibly. 
• The platform is dropshipper-friendly. 

PrestaShop’s Cons:

• PrestaShop is not optimized for large enterprises or sites with high scaling-up potential
• There are limited free themes and plugins, not to mention that they are not cheap.
• You will need to buy add-on modules to build a fully functional site.
• Heavy reliance on extensions may slow down your site. 

PrestaShop Demo store: Frontend | Backend

PrestaShop store example: 

Huygens

Bobbies

>> Compare: PrestaShop vs Magento

9. Drupal Commerce

Programming language: PHP language with MySQL database

Drupal is a reputable open-source CMS that allows you to create any type of website. Its eCommerce-focused platform, Drupal Commerce, is more suitable for experienced coders with great customizing skills. The platform is also 100% free to download.

Drupal’s Pricing:  

Drupal’s source code is free for all users. However, you need to pay for hosting, development cost (if you are not a developer), maintenance and payment process. Coders can also take advantage of a good number of free extensions available for Drupal Commerce. 

Moreover, CommerceGuys, who invented Drupal Commerce, offers professional support from platform installation, customized development to hosting. There are no better support than the support from its creator. However, you need to request a quote for their services.  

Drupal Pros:

• Developer-friendly. DrupalCommerce adds lots of comments in its source code so that developers can understand its core inner-workings and APIs. 
• A list of free extensions for notable eCommerce features
• Full built-in features with a complete shopping cart, checkout form, product administration system. Thus, users can rely less on extensions, which improves their stores’ speed.
• Great for international & greatly scalable companies 
• Drupal is updated frequently for security patches and enhanced performance. 
• Community, documentation and helpful video guide to kick start a Drupal website.

Drupal Cons:

• You need to put more effort into maintenance tasks
• Not optimized for mobile application
• Limited themes and plugins to choose
• There’s a steep learning curve even for tech-savvy users.

Drupal Demo Store: Frontend

Drupal site’s examples

• Eurocentres.com
• Artellite.co.uk

10. OroCommerce

Programming language: PHP language & Symfony framework

OroCommerce is a powerful platform dedicated to B2B businesses. Thus, it delivers great B2B essential features that other platforms could not match. It’s also one of the rare B2B eCommerce platforms that publish its source code. Thus, IT teams from B2B companies can craft decent and suitable websites without buying lots of B2B extensions. 

Pricing

OroCommerce has two plans: a Community plan and an Enterprise plan. 

• Community edition: Free with essential features for small businesses
• Enterprise edition: comprehensive B2B features, and powerful scalability & flexibility for mid to large-size businesses. The enterprise plan’s price is based on your Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), which starts from $45,000/year referentially. You need to contact them for a precise quote. 

While the enterprise edition offers cloud-hosting, the community edition does not. 

There are also lots of free and paid extensions for you to rely on to improve your site functionality. 

Pros

• A B2B-centric eCommerce platform that brings rich and robust features for B2B businesses
• An OroCRM is included in all plans for better sales and data management without having to pay extra money. The Oro Incorporation is also famous for its CRM services, so their CRM is 100% reliable.
• Easy integration with other systems such as ERP, PIM, Order Management and more

Cons

• Lacks of developers specialized for OroCommerce to help you build and customize an Oro online store
• There is a big learning curve to build an open-source eCommerce website on its source code. 
• The extensions and themes are limited compared to other open-source eCommerce platforms.

OroCommerce online store’s examples:

• GI-Supply.com (B2B website is under credentials)
• Midwaydental.com

11. Ecwid

Programming language: PHP language

Ecwid is not an entire eCommerce platform but rather a widget that you can integrate with any CMS. You can connect Ecwid with WordPress, Joomla, Wix, etc to turn them into an eCommerce site right away. It is a good eCommerce package for small businesses with little budget and limited tech knowledge. 

Pricing:

Ecwid’s pricing is based on monthly subscriptions with four plans:

• Free: $0
• Venture: $15/month
• Business: $35/month
• Unlimited: $99/month

The monthly cost is slightly cheaper when you pay a bunch yearly.

Also, hosting is included in their services so you do not have to spend extra money. However, you may find yourself paying for some extensions on the Ecwid market.  

Pros

• Ecwide can turn a CMS into an eCommerce store in seconds
• Easy to install even for total beginners. Ecwid is like Shopify with better customizing ability because of its open-source characteristic.
• Seamless integrations with social channels such as Facebook, Google, Instagram as well as POS software to boost omnichannel sales. Optimized features to help with Facebook ads and Google ads. 
• A mobile shopping cart is included in all plans
• A good-to-go list of basic features
• Decently secured hosting solution
• No transactional fees

Ecwid Cons

• Limited features for cheaper plans. To be more specific, cheaper plans only get a limited number of products, do not have POS integrations, dimensions shipping rate, not to mention that the mobile app is ECwid-watermarked. In fact, the free plan only allows 10 product pages, which is too few to build an eCommerce platform. 
• Lacks of advanced eCommerce features
• Lacks customization ability compared to other open-source eCommerce platforms.
• Monthly subscriptions will eat up your budget in the long run

Ecwid’s customer sites:

• Hermanitos
• Justsaiyan.co

12. SpreeCommerce

Programming language: Ruby on Rails with GraphQL+ Rest APIs

PimCore is a robust CMS with specialized eCommerce solutions, including PIM, MDM, and DXP/CMS. Designed for large enterprises, it streamlines data management and enhances customer experiences. Known for its customization and scalability, PimCore supports sustainable growth and continuous innovation.

SpreeCommerce’s pricing:

Spree offers a free source code and a more advanced Spree-as-a-Service plan for businesses seeking easy solutions. This plan includes cloud hosting, a free storefront, enhanced dashboards, security, and third-party integrations. For experienced developers, Spree also provides a range of free extensions to create a powerful website. Pricing for Spree-as-a-Service is available upon request.

Additionally, with headless commerce, the frontend is decoupled from the backend, allowing greater flexibility in choosing themes and platforms.

SpreeCommerce’s Pros:

• Lots of free extensions. (All of them are developers-friendly so non-tech-savvy may get lost in their extension pages)
• Easy to use. If coders are familiar with UNIX/LINUX, SQL, HTML/CSS and Ruby on Rails, they can develop a SpreeCommerce site quickly
• Lightweight, fast speed and mobile-friendly
• Empowered by headless commerce, SpreeCommerce provides greater customizability and flexibility than non-headless platforms
• Easy integrations with many popular third-party solutions

SpreeCommerce’s Cons:

• Require strong technical skills to develop. People without coding expertise need to hire a technician to develop their website. 
• Some people review that Spree’s documentation and guideline could be more helpful for them to craft their website. There’s no support if you use the open-source plan either. 

SpreeCommerce’s Demo store: Frontend

SpreeCommerce site’s example: 

• Nuherbs.com
• Vidyodan 

13. Saleor

Programming language: Python language with Django framework + GraphQL API. 

Saleor is a new name in the market yet it is growing rapidly to be one of the best open-source eCommerce platforms available. The platform is ideal for business owners who want to make the most out of advanced technology to deliver seamless user experiences. 

Saleor’s pricing: 

Saleor offers two plans:

• A free open-source plan which is self-hosted and fully featured
• A cloud-hosted plan of which budget depends on the number of monthly orders. It starts from $695 for 1,500 monthly orders and extends to $34,440/month for no monthly limit.

Saleor’s pros:

• Great speed and add-on functionalities empowered by PWA. 
• Truly powerful eCommerce features supporting multi-storefronts, multi-channels, multi-warehouse, unlimited products, SEO, helpful shipment & payment.
• Total customization of your frontend thanks to headless technology. 
• Clean coding architecture for developers to customize
• Strong maintenance: Saleor takes care of securing, updating and scaling its infrastructure so coders and business owners can focus on more important tasks.

Saleors’ cons:

• Saleor’s paid plan is on the pricey side compared to other open-source eCommerce platforms. The most affordable package for small businesses costs more than $8,000/year.
• There are few documentations and tutorials for open source plan users to learn. Thus, coders might experience a steep learning curve using the platform. 

Saleor’s Demo store: Frontend

Examples of online stores: 

• Butterflynetwork
• PrettyGreen

14. PimCore

Programming language: PHP with Symfony framework and MySQL database

PimCore is a powerful CMS with specialized eCommerce solutions. It includes Product Information Management (PIM), Master Data Management (MDM), and Digital Experience Management (DXP/CMS). These features are ideal for large enterprises seeking top-notch customer experiences and unified data for growth. The platform is praised for its customization and scalability.

Pricing: 

PimCore has a free open-source plan granting full access to its core features. However, you need to pay for their premium plans to get access to all PimCore extensions, long-term support, its customer success program, enhanced security and more. You need to request a quote for these plans, but referentially, it costs no less than $1,850/month. 

Also, to utilize its almighty features, companies may need to hire a PimCore developer. 

PimCore’s pros:

• A full-scale digital distribution and data management system covering a much larger area than an eCommerce platform. You do not only get eCommerce features but also get Product Information Management (PIM), Master Data Management (MDM), Digital Experience Management (DXP/CMS) and more.
• Great flexibility and scalability. 
• Strong API integration with ERP, Order Management System (OMS), POS and more. 
• Pre-integrated with 2,500+ sales channels for enterprise-level product distribution. 
• Easily customized with great features for both B2B and B2C business models.
• More than just an eCommerce platform, PimCore is a CMS. Thus, you can use its CMS features for your eCommerce site to deliver superb content. For example, you can drag-and-drop a landing page for your seasonal sales in minutes. 

PimCore’s cons:

• PimCore is complicated even for coders. Their community is still small so it’s more difficult to find the answer you are looking for than other platforms. Plus, the development’s documentation is reported to lack details. 
• The company aims at leading enterprises, so its pricing is not suitable for SMEs either.

PimCore’s store examples:  

• Burger King
• Ikea

15. Sylius 

Programming language: PHP language with Symfony framework

Sylius is a rare open-source eCommerce platform built on the Symfony framework, offering unlimited flexibility, fast development, and expandability. It’s also a headless eCommerce solution, ideal for coders. With its robust features, the platform is perfect for mid-sized and large companies.

Pricing:

Sylius offers open-source code for anyone to download. New coders can also join their online training course to learn how to build a Sylius website effectively. Businesses can contact Sylius for consulting services, helping your IT team design and develop open-source eCommerce websites that reflect your vision.

For large enterprises, Sylius Plus is an upgraded version with enhanced enterprise features, security, and support. Pricing is not listed on the website, but it’s billed annually based on Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV).

Note that Sylius does not provide hosting solutions, so you’ll need to pay for hosting separately.

Pros:

• The availability of coding experts for Symfony makes it easier to hire a techie to customize a store for you. 
• One of the most flexible and scalable open-source eCommerce platforms. You can personalize every corner and use your own plugins. 
• A good number of free plugins in the Sylius store
• An API-first solution that maximizes the power of integration. You can connect with any PIM, ERP, CRM, CMS, Mailing, Marketing automation software, POS, PWA, Mobile app builder that you prefer. 

Cons:

• There is a steep learning curve even for coders. Available documents still lack details.
• Some features such as loyalty program and multi-source inventory management are limited to Syrius Plus only
• Due to the fact it aims at mid and enterprise-level companies and utilizes the most advanced technology, Sylius pricing seems to fall into the high-end category. 

Sylius Demo Store: 

• Frontend | username: [email protected] – password: sylius
• Backend | username: [email protected] – password: sylius
• API

Sylius Site’s Example: 

• Sport 2000
• Natura Selection

16. Spryker

Programming language: PHP language with Symfony framework

Ever since it was founded in 2014, Spryker has emerged to be a prominent open-source eCommerce platform for mid to large companies. The platform embraces headless technology, an API-first approach with cloud-hosting and services tailor-made for each enterprises’ demands.

Pricing:

Spryker is fully commercial with services tailor-made for each business. However, the company has published their source code on GitHub so that the coding community can explore and use it for their customized eCommerce website.

Unlike many eCommerce platforms, Spryker does not have any plans or editions. Instead, they craft lots of solutions and services that suit a variety of business models, industry and demands. You need to contact them for a customized solution for your business. 

Pros

• Rich built-in features for all business models from B2B to B2C to multi-vendor and enterprise, which are best for large companies operating in multiple business models. 
• It’s fast to deploy even for complex websites
• Top scalability and flexibility with Headless Commerce and the API-first approach
• (for Commerce plan) Users can pick features, software and technologies that are essential for your business from Sprykers’ comprehensive modular list and tech partners. You won’t have to pay for what you do not need. 

Cons

• There’s a steep learning curve that is suitable for experienced tech teams. Their documentation could be improved for better implementation. Moreover, although Spryker has its communities on forum and Slack, they are still small compared to other platforms’ communities.
• It can be burdensome to upgrade and maintain Spryker software
• Spryker’s cost seems to be on the pricey side considering its pricing method and services.

Customer’s sites:  

• Sourceability
• Lumas

17. Bagisto

Programming language: PHP language with Laravel & Vue.js frameworks + MySQL database.

Bagisto is another great free option for developers to roll. Not only give you full control of your store, the platform also offers a wide range of functionalities to manage, promote, and sell your products. 

Based in India, Bagisto has reached 50,1K+ downloads ever since its first launch in 2018. 

Pricing

Bagisto has no plan but a free source code for every coder to download and use. Nevertheless, if coding is a no-no for you, Webkul agency, who stands behind Bagisto, offers development services from scratch. Pricing is only available upon request. 

Pros

• Free extension to develop PWA storefront and dropship from Alidropship. 
• Abundant eCommerce features. There are some out-of-the-box features such as image search and video marketing.
• Impressive performance tested by Google’s Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse 
• Responsive customer support team with 4.9 TrustPilot score (280+ reviews)
• Extension for multi-tenant SaaS, which lets you create your own SaaS-based solution for eCommerce store owners to create and use their digital shops.

Cons

• Bagisto’s documentation and guidelines could be improved.
• The number of extensions is still limited (only 80 + extensions so far)

Demo store: Frontend

Customer’s site:

• Beeboxpp.com
• eco-greenlife.com

18. AbanteCart 

Programming language: PHP language with MySQL database

AbanteCart is a less-famous PHP-based eCommerce platform in the market. However, the platform offers great built-in features, cheap plugins and many optimization options to build a strong eCommerce website. AbanteCart is best suited for SMEs with limited budgets and a decent tech team. 

Pricing

AbanteCart is 100% free without any other paid options. Users may need to purchase themes, extensions and hostings though. 

Pros

• Affordable extensions. Lots of extensions cost less than $30/ plugins
• Discounts if you choose Abante’s partnered hosting providers
• Frequently update for security patches and enhanced performance
• A standardized list of eCommerce features
• Flexible and independent code structures for coders to explore
• An informative and helpful guide to implementing websites as well as installing extensions

Cons

• Limited theme options to choose from. There are only 20 themes in store so far.
• There’s a bit of a learning curve for users to get used to the platform

Demo store: Frontend | Backend (username: demo – password: demo)

Cheaper and faster Magento?

These are the most general pros + cons of Magento. However, did you know that Magento’s disadvantages can be minimized to nearly none? With SimiCart’s PWA solutions, you can embrace the power of Progressive Web Apps for blazing speed and an amazing Google Core Web Vital performance. Moreover, PWA is an excellent alternative to native mobile apps. You can get all of the best features of native mobile apps (and even better) without spending a ton. 

Our customization service is also available for any technically-inexperienced SMEs owner to craft a Magento site without breaking the bank.

FAQs

Which eCommerce platform is free to use?

Here are some eCommerce platforms that are free to use:

What is a headless and API-first open-source eCommerce platform? Should I use it?

We mention headless a lot in this article, and it may be a bit confusing for eCommerce newbies. Generally, a headless open-source eCommerce platform allows you to separate the back and the front end. Thus you can customize the front end as you wish without affecting the back end and vice versa. 

>> Explore more:

• Headless Commerce and its benefits
• Headless CMS vs Traditional CMS

Is Shopify open source platform?

Shopify is not an open-source eCommerce platform. It operates as a closed-source Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, which means that users must purchase a subscription to use the platform.

While Shopify itself is built on layers of open-source software and supports open-source development initiatives, the core platform does not provide access to its source code for modification or customization like traditional open-source platforms do.

Is Odoo free for ecommerce?

Odoo offers a free version for eCommerce through its Community Edition, which is an open-source platform. This version allows users to access various features, including basic eCommerce functionalities, without any licensing fees.

However, it’s important to note that while Odoo Community is free, additional costs may arise from hosting, implementation, and any customizations needed.

Start your unique digital store now!

There are lots of options for open-source eCommerce on the table, and it’s not difficult to choose an ideal one if you consider its pros & cons thoroughly. We hope our article has covered everything you need to craft a one-in-a-million website from scratch.