Open source ecommerce platforms worth considering in 2026

Learn about the best open source ecommerce platforms available, and how to utilise them with your hosting.

Running an online store on a SaaS platform like Shopify works well until it doesn’t. With addon features and transaction charges monthly fees climb, eating away margins all while being locked into someone else’s platform. Open source ecommerce platforms change that; By hosting the software yourself, pay nothing for a platform license and gain full control over how your store looks, functions and scales without the worrying about paying through the nose.

There is a trade-off and that’s you are solely responsible for your own site this is where you may be interested in managed hosting which includes: hosting, automatic updates and other powerful features. This is a fair deal for many businesses as the combination of open source software and the right platform helps cover any technical deficit while keeping costs down. This guide covers the open source ecommerce platforms worth your attention in 2026, with an honest look at what each one needs to run well.

Why go open source?

Before getting into the platforms themselves, it helps to understand what you gain and what you give up when choosing open source over a managed SaaS service.

No platform fees ‐ The software itself is free. Your costs are hosting, a domain name and any premium extensions you choose to add. For a small store on shared hosting, that can work out significantly cheaper than a SaaS subscription.

Full ownership of your data ‐ Your store, your database, your customer records. Nothing sits on a third party’s infrastructure unless you choose to put it there, want to move? Move.

Customisation without limits ‐ You have access to the source code. If the software doesn’t do what you need, you (or your developer) can change it.

No transaction fees from the platform ‐ SaaS platforms often charge a percentage on top of your payment gateway fees. Open source platforms do not. You only pay what your payment provider charges.

The flip side is that you are responsible for keeping things running. Software updates, SSL certificates, server performance, backups and security patches all need managing. A good hosting provider takes care of much of this at the server level, but you still need to maintain the application itself.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is not a standalone solution. It is a plugin that adds ecommerce functionality to WordPress, and that distinction matters. If you already run a WordPress site, or you are comfortable with the WordPress ecosystem, WooCommerce lets you add a storefront without rebuilding anything from scratch.

With around 29% market share among the top one million ecommerce sites (according to BuiltWith), WooCommerce is the most widely used ecommerce platform on the web. That popularity means a large library of extensions, themes and community support. For most small to medium UK businesses selling physical or digital products, WooCommerce is the natural starting point.

It runs well on web hosting for smaller catalogues. Larger stores with thousands of products, heavy traffic or complex product configurations will benefit from WordPress hosting or a VPS where you have dedicated resources

Platform summary

Strengths Huge extension library, runs on WordPress (which most people already know), active community, low barrier to entry. Handles digital products, physical goods and subscriptions.

Weaknesses Performance can degrade on shared hosting as your catalogue and traffic grow. Plugin conflicts are a real risk if you stack too many extensions. Not purpose-built for ecommerce, so some features require workarounds.

Best for Small to medium businesses, WordPress users, anyone selling under a few thousand products.

PrestaShop

PrestaShop is a dedicated ecommerce platform built on the Symfony PHP framework. Unlike WooCommerce, it is not bolted onto a CMS. It was designed from the ground up to run an online store, and that focus shows in features like built-in multi-currency support, catalogue management and a modular architecture that lets you add only what you need.

The platform powers over 300,000 stores and has a strong presence in Europe, which makes it a reasonable option for UK businesses selling internationally. Its admin interface is more opinionated than WooCommerce’s, which can be a positive (less fiddling to get a working store) or a negative (less flexibility without modules).

PrestaShop runs on standard PHP hosting, so it works on a cPanel hosting plan. Be aware that many of the more useful modules are paid add-ons, so the “free” platform can become expensive once you start filling in the gaps.

Platform summary

Strengths Purpose-built for ecommerce, strong multi-currency and localisation features, large module marketplace, responsive admin panel.

Weaknesses Many modules carry a price tag. Limited built-in content management compared to WordPress. Customer support requires a paid subscription.

Best for Businesses that want a dedicated ecommerce platform without the overhead of WordPress, particularly those selling across multiple currencies or regions.

OpenCart

OpenCart is a PHP-based ecommerce platform with a clean admin interface and a straightforward approach to running an online store. Its multi-store feature is a standout: you can manage several separate storefronts from a single admin panel, each with its own domain, theme and product catalogue.

The platform has a marketplace of over 13,000 extensions and themes, which gives you plenty of room to extend functionality. It runs on standard PHP/MySQL hosting, making it compatible with most shared hosting plans.

Where OpenCart falls short is in its built-in SEO and content marketing capabilities. If organic search traffic is a major part of your growth plan, you will likely need extensions to fill the gaps. The platform also has no official customer support, which means you are relying on community forums and documentation when things go wrong.

Platform summary

Strengths Multi-store management from one dashboard, large extension marketplace, lightweight and fast, works on modest hosting.

Weaknesses Weak built-in SEO tools. No official support. Extension quality varies significantly across the marketplace.

Best for Businesses running multiple storefronts, or anyone who wants a lighter alternative to WooCommerce without the WordPress dependency.

Magento Open Source (Adobe Commerce)

Magento is the platform you graduate to when your store outgrows everything else. Now part of Adobe’s ecosystem (the paid version is branded Adobe Commerce), the open source edition remains free and is used by over 250,000 stores worldwide, many of them enterprise-scale operations handling thousands of products and heavy daily traffic.

The feature set reflects that audience. Magento handles complex product types, advanced pricing rules, multi-warehouse inventory and B2B selling out of the box. Its API is well documented, making it a strong choice for headless commerce setups where the storefront is decoupled from the backend.

The trade-off is resource demand. Magento is not a platform you run on shared hosting. It needs a VPS at minimum, ideally with dedicated resources, Elasticsearch (or OpenSearch), Redis for caching and a properly configured PHP environment. It also has a steep learning curve. Unless you have development experience or budget for a developer, Magento will be frustrating to set up and maintain.

Platform summary

Strengths Enterprise-grade feature set, strong API, handles complex catalogues and B2B selling, large developer community, well-documented.

Weaknesses Heavy resource requirements. Steep learning curve. Slow without proper caching and optimisation. Not practical for small stores.

Best for Established businesses with large catalogues, B2B sellers, stores with complex product configurations and the development resources to support the platform.

Drupal Commerce

Drupal Commerce is an ecommerce module for the Drupal CMS. If your site already runs on Drupal, or you need a platform where content and commerce are tightly integrated, it is worth considering. Drupal’s content management capabilities are stronger than most dedicated ecommerce platforms, which gives you an edge if content marketing and SEO are central to your strategy.

The platform is popular with larger organisations. Brands like Cartier use it, which speaks to its capability at scale. It connects well to external systems through its RESTful API, and the Drupal community, while smaller than WordPress’s, is technically capable.

The barrier to entry is higher than WooCommerce or PrestaShop. Drupal itself has a steeper learning curve than WordPress, and building a store requires assembling multiple contributed modules rather than installing a single plugin. You will likely need a developer or agency to get a Drupal Commerce store off the ground.

Platform summary

Strengths Excellent content management, strong API, good for content-heavy ecommerce sites, flexible architecture.

Weaknesses Steep learning curve. Requires assembling multiple modules. Smaller community than WordPress. Not ideal for non-technical users.

Best for Content-driven ecommerce businesses, organisations already invested in Drupal, sites where editorial content and product sales are equally important.

How to choose

Much like choosing anything, the right platform depends on your needs and the needs of your business, now and into the future. Practically that means narrowing it down, if you are just starting out you might want the lowest barrier to entry (both financially and technically). Many consider WooCommerce as a default recommendation because you benefit from the entire WordPress ecosystem while using a purpose built, tried and tested tool that many UK businesses already rely on.

If you want a dedicated ecommerce platform without the WordPress layer, PrestaShop gives you a focused toolset with strong multi-currency support, OpenCart suits businesses running multiple storefronts from one admin panel which might suit multiregional stores better. If content marketing drives your business and your store is part of a larger content-heavy site, Drupal Commerce integrates commerce into a CMS built for exactly that purpose.

Then it comes to Magento hosting which is the likely choice when building out an enterprise scale store with complex product catalogues, B2B requirements or thousands of SKUs. At the cost of a technical knowledge and extended resources. and as the depth to handle it, provided you have the technical resources to match.

Key takeaways

Open source ecommerce platforms cost nothing to licence, but you are responsible for hosting, security and updates.
WooCommerce is the most accessible option for UK small businesses, especially if you already use WordPress.
PrestaShop and OpenCart run well on standard PHP hosting and suit businesses that want a dedicated ecommerce tool.
Magento is powerful but resource-hungry. It needs a VPS and development expertise to run properly.
Your hosting environment matters as much as your platform choice. A fast, well-configured server makes every platform perform better.

Getting your store online

Whichever platform you choose, your hosting environment plays a direct role in how well your store performs. Page speed, uptime and server response times all affect conversions, and they all start with the server. WooCommerce, PrestaShop and OpenCart run well on our ecommerce hosting, while larger Magento stores benefit from the dedicated resources of a VPS.

If you have any questions, get in touch and our team will be happy to help.