Online Shopping Cart

Top 10 Online Shopping Cart Solutions for 2025

The right online shopping cart is essential for businesses selling products or services through e-commerce sites. With the growing demand for e-commerce, having a reliable and efficient cart system can improve customer experience, streamline operations, and increase sales.

In 2025, several platforms will offer advanced features, including customization, payment processing, and integration with other business tools. Below is a list of the top 10 online shopping cart solutions to help businesses find the best fit for their needs.

What Is an Online Shopping Cart?

An online shopping cart is a software tool that allows customers to select, store, and manage items they wish to purchase, mirroring the physical shopping experience. It lets users add products, adjust quantities, and view the running total of their order, including taxes and discounts, providing clarity and control over their selections before proceeding to checkout.

Beyond item management, e-commerce shopping carts integrate with payment processing systems and shipping modules, ensuring a secure and streamlined transaction process. This integration safeguards customer data and facilitates retailers’ inventory management and order tracking, making it an essential component of the online retail ecosystem.

Why Is an Online Shopping Cart Important?

Shopping Cart

An online shopping cart creates a seamless and secure purchasing experience. It serves as the digital interface where customers can add, review, and modify their product selections before finalizing a purchase. It streamlines the checkout process by integrating with payment gateways, inventory systems, and order management tools, ensuring that transactions are processed swiftly and securely.

This boosts customer confidence through enhanced security features—such as PCI compliance and data encryption—and reduces friction in the buying process, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates.

Beyond facilitating transactions, an online shopping cart is a business’s strategic asset, providing valuable insights into customer behavior and purchase patterns. By tracking metrics like abandoned carts and average order values, merchants can refine their marketing strategies, optimize product placements, and tailor promotions to better meet customer needs. These data-driven insights enable businesses to enhance their overall user experience, drive growth, and encourage long-term customer loyalty in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace.

Key Considerations When Choosing Modern E-commerce Shopping Cart Software

With changing times, the needs of businesses and the technology behind e-commerce platforms have changed. Before you commit, consider these factors:

Choosing Modern E-commerce Shopping Cart
  • Free Trial & Flexible Pricing

Modern platforms often offer extended free trials and flexible pricing tiers. This allows you to test advanced features—such as integrated analytics or AI-powered recommendations—without immediately locking into a long-term contract. It’s an ideal way to ensure the platform’s tools align with your business needs.

  • Scalability & Omnichannel Integration

Today’s e-commerce software should grow with your sales volume and support a seamless omnichannel strategy. Look for solutions integrating ERP, CRM, and inventory management systems while enabling sales across the web, mobile, social media, and physical locations. These capabilities ensure your business is ready for rapid expansion and changing customer behaviors.

  • Robust Payment Gateways & Emerging Payment Options

While PCI-compliant payment processing remains essential, newer platforms now also support a range of alternative payment methods, including digital wallets, debit and credit cards, mobile wallets, cryptocurrency transactions, and buy-now-pay-later options. These features not only enhance customer convenience but also help reduce the risk of fraud by limiting on-site data storage.

  • Transparent Transaction Fees & Cost Structures

Understand the full cost implications of the platform you choose. Modern shopping carts often provide more transparent fee structures, detailing transaction fees (ranging from around 0.5% to 3%), processing fees, and any extra costs for premium integrations. This transparency helps you align your budget with your growth plans.

  • Integrated Website Builders & Headless Options

Ease of design remains essential. Many e-commerce solutions now include intuitive, drag-and-drop website builders that require little to no coding knowledge. For businesses looking for a tailored experience, headless commerce options allow you to decouple the front-end presentation from the back-end system, offering complete control over your site’s design and functionality.

  • Advanced Shipping & Fulfillment Capabilities

Shipping integrations have become more sophisticated, offering real-time carrier comparisons, automated label printing, and global logistics management. Whether you work with UPS, FedEx, DHL, or local carriers, having multiple shipping options with transparent rate calculations and tracking is necessary.

  • AI-powered marketing & CRM Integrations

Email marketing and customer relationship management have also evolved. Look for platforms that include native, AI-driven marketing tools or integrate seamlessly with third-party services like Klaviyo, MailChimp, or HubSpot. Enhanced segmentation and personalization capabilities help you deliver targeted campaigns and improve customer engagement.

  • Cloud Hosting, Security, & Performance Enhancements

For SaaS-based platforms, robust cloud hosting offers automatic updates, enhanced cybersecurity measures, and scalable performance. If you’re considering a self-hosted option, ensure it supports the latest security protocols, fast loading times, and regular maintenance updates—vital for protecting sensitive customer data and providing a smooth user experience.

  • Responsive, Mobile-First Design & Progressive Web App (PWA) Support

With mobile commerce on the rise, choose a platform that delivers sleek, mobile-friendly templates and supports modern technologies like progressive web apps. This improves the shopping experience on smartphones and tablets and contributes to higher conversion rates and better SEO performance.

Top 10 Shopping Cart Solutions for E-Commerce Businesses

Now, we will provide an overview of each shopping cart solution. This includes its key features, pros and cons, and more:

1. BigCommerce

Online Shopping Cart - BigCommerce

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Pros

  • Comprehensive suite of built-in e-commerce functionalities
  • User-friendly, customizable templates and website designs
  • Robust multichannel integration capabilities
  • Absence of transaction fees across all pricing plans
  • Strong security measures

Cons

  • Sales limitations within each pricing tier
  • More complex setup process
  • Restricted SEO features.

BigCommerce offers a comprehensive platform tailored for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) aiming to boost sales and solidify their online presence. Its robust features and intuitive interface simplify setting up and managing an online store, freeing entrepreneurs to concentrate on business growth.

BigCommerce is committed to helping its users enhance their sales at every stage of their business development, from fledgling startups to expanding mid-market companies and large corporations. It provides the necessary resources and support for success in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

As a top-tier open-source SaaS platform, BigCommerce equips retailers with the essential tools to initiate, grow, and scale their online businesses. It prides itself on delivering a superior commerce platform that keeps its users at the forefront of the industry, adapting swiftly to market trends.

For SMEs looking for a reliable and scalable e-commerce solution, BigCommerce stands out as the preferred option. With a strong focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, BigCommerce equips businesses with the capabilities they need to thrive in the digital market.

Features of BigCommerce
  • Product Catalog Management: The platform excels in managing product catalogs, offering extensive options and attributes. Users can create products, add variants like different colors and sizes, and include modifiers for customization directly via the control panel or API, enhancing the product setup process.
  • Product Management: BigCommerce provides a robust product management system, allowing easy addition, bulk import, and inventory tracking of products. Users can update stock levels and analyze order trends, streamlining inventory management between online and offline channels without third-party apps.
  • Dropshipping Support: BigCommerce is equipped to support dropshipping, offering 29 third-party integrations for various dropshipping needs, including platforms like AliExpress and print-on-demand services. These integrations help businesses minimize startup costs and navigate competitive challenges.
  • Point of Sale (POS) Integration: BigCommerce supports a seamless transition from online to brick-and-mortar sales with its native BOPIS capabilities and versatile POS integration options like Square and ConnectPOS, facilitating inventory syncing and multiple location management.
  • Multi-Storefront Management: BigCommerce allows users to manage multiple storefronts from one account, a significant advantage for businesses operating across different brands or market segments, with scalable options across its pricing plans.
  • Abandoned Cart Recovery: BigCommerce offers an Abandoned Cart Saver feature that sends automated emails to potential customers, encouraging them to complete their purchases with a direct link back to their cart.
  • Omnichannel and Multichannel Selling: The platform supports selling across multiple channels, including social media, search engines, and various marketplaces. Tools are available in the BigCommerce app store to facilitate multi-channel listing and sales.
  • Advanced Shipping Options: BigCommerce offers diverse shipping methods, such as flat rates, weight-based rates, and in-store pickup. It integrates real-time shipping rates from third-party carriers and supports connections with shipping tools for additional functionalities and discounts.
  • Tax Management: Users can control tax settings and connect with third-party tax services for automated calculations and reporting. BigCommerce also allows for clear tax display options to prevent customer confusion.
  • Customizable Checkout: BigCommerce offers significant flexibility in checkout customization. Users can manage checkout directly through BigCommerce or externally, ensuring a tailored shopping experience that can significantly impact customer satisfaction and conversion rates.
Pricing of BigCommerce

The cost of running your business can differ significantly due to variables such as design, setup, and ongoing maintenance. This variability underscores the importance of pricing as a key consideration when choosing an e-commerce platform. In the initial section of our review of BigCommerce, we will explore its four primary pricing tiers and other associated costs that you should consider.

BigCommerce presents four pricing tiers tailored to meet the needs of businesses of different sizes: Standard, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise. Regardless of the selected plan, your store will benefit from a fully responsive website, streamlined one-page checkout, digital wallets, essential SEO tools, and robust analytics. Additionally, you’ll enjoy the advantage of no transaction fees.

  • Standard: $29 per month with an annual sales threshold of $50,000
  • Plus: $79 per month with an annual sales threshold of $180,000
  • Pro: $299 per month with an annual sales threshold of up to $400,000
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing with custom sales threshold

Each tier includes a sales cap; surpassing this limit necessitates upgrading to a higher plan to ensure your store continues to operate efficiently.

2. Shopify

Shopping Cart Solutions for E-Commerce - Shopify

Pros

  • Supports selling across various channels
  • Has AI tools for efficient product listing and management
  • Offers over 100 payment methods
  • Features advanced yet cost-effective tools to recover potentially lost sales
  • With Shopify, you can access significant discounts on shipping rates.

Cons

  • Supports selling across various channels
  • Has AI tools for efficient product listing and management
  • Offers over 100 payment methods
  • Features advanced yet cost-effective tools to recover potentially lost sales.
  • With Shopify, you can access significant discounts on shipping rates.

Shopify is a robust e-commerce solution that empowers you to craft a distinctive online storefront tailored to your brand. It enables you to sell both products and services. Its flexible platform allows you to design a unique shopping experience that sets your store apart in a competitive market.

Beyond aesthetics, Shopify is engineered for operational efficiency. It provides intuitive tools to manage your inventory, streamline order processing, and maintain customer relationships, ensuring that day-to-day operations are as seamless as your storefront design.

Shopify delivers a secure, PCI Level 1 shopping cart designed for businesses of all sizes. It processes payments directly with SSL encryption and supports over 100 payment gateways. The platform is built for global commerce, offering support for more than 50 languages, tax configurations, and currencies while being optimized for mobile sales. Additionally, Shopify provides versatile shipping options, including fixed, tiered, location-based, and weight-based rates, with advanced plans offering automatic shipping rate integration from major carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

Beyond its robust payment and shipping features, Shopify equips merchants with powerful marketing and conversion tools. Users can automate cart abandonment recovery emails and create customer profiles with saved payment details, while the standout Shop Pay checkout boosts conversion rates significantly. The Shopify Buy Button extends a consistent checkout experience to other web platforms such as blogs and landing pages.

Features of Shopify
  • Shopify AI Features: Shopify offers “Shopify Magic,” an AI tool that enhances your e-commerce experience. This tool allows you to edit image backgrounds automatically, generate product descriptions tailored to specific keywords and tone, personalize customer responses via Shopify Inbox, and optimize your email marketing strategies by recommending the best times for campaign deployment.
  • Shopify Shipping: This feature, which is included with every Shopify store, offers tools like real-time shipping rates and label printing. However, it currently only supports orders from the US and Canada.
  • Marketing Tools: Shopify provides comprehensive marketing tools through its app marketplace. Engage customers on social media, display products using a 3D scanner, create targeted email campaigns with Shopify Email, manage customer interactions with Shopify Inbox, and grow your audience with Shopify Forms.
  • Customizable Checkout: Shopify’s checkout process is highly efficient and has recently been enhanced with faster load speeds and more options, like bundle purchasing. You can customize your checkout experience to include local pickup, express checkout, and tipping options, improving customer satisfaction and conversion rates.
  • Payment Options: Shopify’s native payment processor, Shopify Payments, supports over 100 payment methods, including popular options like Apple Pay and PayPal. Although standard card rates still apply, this integration eliminates third-party transaction fees, lowering overall costs.
  • Multichannel Selling: Expand your sales reach by syncing your Shopify store with various social media platforms and marketplaces like Amazon and eBay using the Shopify Marketplace Connect app. This integration simplifies managing your online presence and sales across multiple channels.
  • Abandoned Cart Recovery: Shopify’s abandoned cart recovery feature is included in most plans, starting from the Basic tier. This function sends automated emails with incentives, such as discount codes, to encourage customers to complete their purchases, a crucial tool for boosting sales and available at a more accessible price point compared to competitors like BigCommerce.
Pricing of Shopify

Shopify offers various pricing options billed annually, from $5 to $299 monthly. New users can take advantage of a three-day free trial, although this period may be brief for thoroughly assessing the platform. The pricing structure includes:

  • Shopify Starter: At $5 per month, this plan is the most economical and suitable for essential selling. However, it does not provide hosting or a domain.
  • Shopify Lite: This is a $9 monthly service for adding simple e-commerce features to blogs or existing websites.
  • Basic Shopify: At $29 per month, this plan targets small businesses aiming to expand.
  • Shopify: For $79 per month, it caters to well-established online stores.
  • Advanced Shopify: At $299 per month, this is designed for large-scale businesses that require advanced reporting and support.

Compared to platforms like Squarespace, Shopify’s plans can appear costly, especially at the higher end.

3. Ecwid

Ecwid

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Pros

  • Offers a completely free subscription option
  • Allows sales across various websites
  • More affordable compared to many competitors
  • Strong capabilities in handling in-store transactions
  • Efficiently calculates taxes automatically.

Cons

  • Limited availability of phone support for troubleshooting
  • Lacks the ability to handle transactions in multiple currencies
  • Offers only fundamental SEO functionalities
  • Limited number of available third-party integrations
  • Mobile point of sale features are supported exclusively on iOS devices.

Ecwid is an ideal choice for small businesses that need a simple online storefront to manage a limited range of products. It offers an entirely free plan to get started. For those who require additional features, a reasonably priced upgrade provides enhancements such as coupon codes, support for digital goods, advanced SEO capabilities, and live chat.

In addition to its storefront features, Ecwid integrates seamlessly with popular marketing and advertising tools—linking up with email platforms like Mailchimp, advertising channels on Google and Facebook, and external marketplaces including Etsy, Amazon, and eBay. Its intuitive dashboard, accessible via a mobile app, makes monitoring sales and managing marketing efforts easy.

Features of Ecwid
  • Embedding Flexibility: Ecwid stands out for its ability to embed online stores almost anywhere. You can easily integrate your Ecwid store into any existing website by copying and pasting the provided code snippet. This means you can keep your current web hosting plan, which is often more affordable than specialized e-commerce hosting.
  • Product Import and Export: Ecwid simplifies managing your product list with straightforward import and export features using CSV files. Its compatibility with standard spreadsheet programs like Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel makes updating your product catalog hassle-free.
  • SEO Capabilities: While Ecwid provides essential SEO tools to help increase your store’s visibility, it lacks advanced options like image alt text and title adjustments, which could be limiting for fully optimizing your site for search engines and accessibility.
  • App and Integration Options: Ecwid’s app market includes a variety of e-commerce-specific integrations, though some popular tools like QuickBooks Online require additional steps, such as using Zapier. Before committing, check for the availability of your preferred integrations or inquire about custom development costs.
  • Payment Processor Variety: Ecwid offers a wide range of payment processors, including prominent names like Stripe, PayPal, and Square, and approximately 30 other options for US stores. This enhances your flexibility in receiving payments without additional transaction fees.
  • Dropshipping Support: Ecwid supports dropshipping with about a dozen integrations available through its app market. These integrations cater to various dropshipping models, from print-on-demand to multi-supplier platforms. Custom integration services are also available for unique requirements.
  • POS Options: Ecwid integrates with various POS systems, providing flexibility for mobile and traditional retail setups. While the free plan limits some functionalities, paid plans offer broader options, including third-party POS integration for enhanced in-store sales management.
  • Extensive Payment Gateways: Ecwid supports 73 different payment gateways, allowing for a broad selection of payment acceptance methods, including PayPal, Square, and Stripe, among others. This extensive range ensures you can cater to a global audience, regardless of geographic restrictions.
  • Comprehensive Shipping Solutions: Ecwid allows you to set up various shipping options and automatically calculates shipping rates through integrations with major carriers like UPS, USPS, FedEx, and others. Real-time carrier quotes are available on all paid plans, giving Ecwid a competitive edge in shipping functionalities.
  • Multi-Currency Selling: Ecwid offers a currency converter app that automatically displays prices in the visitor’s local currency to enhance global sales. This feature is essential for international e-commerce but requires a paid plan for implementation.
  • Advanced Tax Calculation: Ecwid excels in automated tax calculations, identifying visitors’ locations via IP address and applying the correct tax rates. This feature supports physical and digital products and meets complex tax requirements like the EU’s VAT MOSS, catering to a wide range of international tax systems.
Pricing of Ecwid

Ecwid offers a free plan and several paid subscription options. The free version of Ecwid is somewhat unique among e-commerce platforms, as it allows you to sell up to five products without any cost. However, it lacks advanced features such as the ability to sell digital goods, issue discount coupons, and integrate with major social media platforms for selling. It’s also limited in terms of SEO capabilities, which are more robust in the paid plans. For those with minimal selling needs, the free plan can help test the platform.

Ecwid’s paid plans increase in functionality and capacity with the price.

  • Venture Plan: This plan is $25 per month for up to 100 products
  • Business Plan: This plan at $45 per month offers up to 2,500 products
  • Unlimited Plan: Priced at $105 monthly, this plan provides unlimited products.

These plans include additional features such as better support, more integration options, and the ability to issue discount coupons.

4. Magento

Magento

Pros

  • Vast customization possibilities
  • Offers 1,748 product extensions
  • Includes a free, open-source plan

Cons

  • Overly complex for those without coding skills
  • Costly for smaller enterprisesLacks built-in POS support

Magento is a widely popular open-source e-commerce platform that has garnered significant support from developers and business owners. Launched in 2008 by an American company and later acquired by eBay in 2011, it remains a relatively young yet feature-rich solution.  Adobe owns Magento, an e-commerce platform ideal for individuals with technical expertise or the resources to employ a specialized development team. Additionally, Magento has expanded its offerings to include a cloud-based solution called “Magento Commerce.”

Designed for ultimate flexibility, Magento empowers users to manage multiple storefronts from a single administrative panel and even launch a fully functional website within hours. With an extensive array of technological modules and customizable extensions, it adapts seamlessly to the needs of small startups, mid-sized companies, and large enterprises. Magento currently represents an 8% share of the e-commerce market, meaning 8 out of every 100 online stores operate on its platform.

Features of Magento
  • Marketing & SEO Features: Magento offers robust marketing tools, including Catalog Pricing Rules and Cart Pricing Rules, allowing targeted discounts to drive conversions. Catalog rules enable merchants to adjust product prices based on attributes like category or customer group directly within the catalog, facilitating regular sales and loyalty programs. Cart rules offer discounts at checkout based on criteria such as order totals or customer actions, supporting promotions like buy-X-get-Y-free or bulk discounts. These features provide strategic pricing advantages and allow for dynamic promotional campaigns.
  • Product Reviews: Magento facilitates customer interaction through product reviews, allowing users to leave star ratings and comments directly on product pages. These reviews enhance product credibility and improve organic search rankings as they provide valuable customer feedback and act as social proof.
  • Email Marketing: Magento offers extensive control over both transactional and promotional emails. Merchants can customize email templates from the backend, enabling personalized communications tailored to new and existing customers, enhancing the overall customer experience and engagement.
  • Magento SEO: Magento comes equipped with essential SEO tools, such as metadata management, sitemap generation, and URL rewriting, to enhance search visibility. Additional SEO features support better search engine indexing and help improve site navigation and user engagement.
  • Magento CMS for Blogging: Magento’s CMS capabilities are robust, supporting content management for businesses that leverage articles and blogs to engage users and convert leads. With options for extensions, Magento can enhance its blogging features, making it a versatile platform for content-driven strategies.
  • Inventory Management: Magento provides comprehensive inventory management tools, allowing for detailed tracking and management of stock levels across various products and attributes. This system supports complex inventory needs like handling multiple warehouses or integrating with drop shippers, optimizing stock management and fulfillment processes.
  • Global Expansion & Sales Channels: Magento supports global commerce by facilitating multi-currency, multi-language, and multi-tax operations, making it easier for merchants to reach international markets. The platform also allows for creating multiple storefronts from a single backend, simplifying global operations and localizing content for diverse markets.
  • Shipping and Delivery: Magento offers basic to advanced shipping options directly integrated with major carriers for real-time shipping rates and tracking. Merchants can set up various shipping methods and manage logistics seamlessly from the Magento backend, enhancing customer satisfaction with reliable delivery options.
  • Store Analytics and Reports: Magento provides detailed analytics and reporting capabilities, offering insights into sales, customer behavior, and other critical business metrics. These tools help merchants make informed decisions and strategize effectively for business growth.
  • Checkout & Payments: Magento streamlines the checkout process by displaying tax and shipping estimates upfront and supports integration with major payment gateways for secure transaction processing. This setup helps enhance customer trust and conversion rates at the checkout stage.
  • Tax Configuration: Magento simplifies tax management by automatically calculating applicable taxes based on customer location and product type. The platform supports complex tax rules and configurations, essential for businesses operating in multiple regions with varying tax requirements.
  • B2C & B2B Commerce: Magento caters to both B2C and B2B markets, providing tailored features for each. Its flexible architecture supports varied business models with specific features for B2B sales, such as custom pricing and bulk ordering, which can be managed alongside B2C operations within the same platform.
  • POS: While Magento does not offer an in-built POS system, it integrates seamlessly with various third-party POS solutions available through the Magento Commerce Marketplace. This flexibility allows merchants to create a unified retail experience, combining online and in-store sales.
  • Mobile Commerce & PWA Studio: Magento prioritizes mobile commerce by offering a mobile-optimized checkout experience and responsive design themes. Its Progressive Web Apps (PWA) Studio enables the creation of app-like mobile sites that provide an enhanced user experience on mobile devices.
  • Merchandising: Magento’s Visual Merchandiser tool allows merchants to manage product placement within category pages dynamically, applying conditions to automate product displays based on catalog changes. This tool simplifies the visual merchandising process, helping to highlight key products and improve page layouts to boost customer engagement and sales.
Pricing of Magento

Magento Open Source is free to download and use, but users must handle their own hosting, security, and development costs. It includes essential e-commerce features and allows customization to add specific functionalities.

Magento Commerce (Adobe Commerce) operates on a subscription-based pricing model for businesses with higher online sales. The cost varies depending on factors like gross merchandise volume or revenue, typically starting at around $22,000 per year for smaller enterprises. This version offers advanced features, premium support, and additional tools to help manage large-scale operations.

Magento Commerce Cloud is a cloud-hosted version of Magento Commerce that includes hosting and performance management. Its pricing is similar to Magento Commerce, with adjustments to account for cloud hosting benefits. It is suited for businesses looking for a managed service with built-in scalability and security features.

Businesses should contact Adobe for exact pricing and custom quotes, as costs vary based on specific needs and sales volume.

5. OpenCart

OpenCart

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Pros

  • Facilitates the management of multiple store fronts
  • Offers comprehensive reporting tools for practical data analysis
  • User-friendly and straightforward to manage
  • Integrates with over 50 payment gateways
  • Provides dedicated technical support for troubleshooting

Cons

  • The installation process is complex and time-consuming.
  • Experiences slow performance in terms of page loading
  • Importing inventory lists into the system can be challenging.

OpenCart is a free, open-source shopping cart solution built on PHP and MySQL that combines power with user-friendly design. Despite being freeware, it comes loaded with advanced management tools for handling products, customers, and orders and integrated SEO features that eliminate the need for additional plugins. It also provides a variety of customizable templates and thousands of free Google web fonts, automatically generating essential elements like headings, titles, meta tags, and short and long descriptions.

The checkout process in OpenCart is designed with transparency and ease of use. Customers are shown the complete payment amount—including applicable taxes and coupon discounts—right from the start, ensuring they know exactly what to expect. This automatic calculation of fees at checkout minimizes surprises and creates a smooth, user-friendly shopping experience.

Features of OpenCart
  • Analytics with Google Integration: OpenCart integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics, allowing users to monitor transactions and revenue effectively. This integration provides insights into visitor behaviors, conversion rates, and website performance, empowering users to make data-driven decisions for optimization.
  • POS: The OpenCart POS extension simplifies physical store sales by synchronizing them with the online store. This feature facilitates in-store pickup, reducing the steps customers go through from online browsing to physical purchasing, enhancing the customer experience, and streamlining operations.
  • Inventory Management: OpenCart offers robust inventory management tools, enabling real-time tracking and automation of inventory processes. Features include barcode scanning for quick product intake and multi-location management, allowing users to oversee inventory across various warehouses, improving efficiency, and reducing costs.
  • Payment Gateways: OpenCart supports various payment methods, including 51 pre-installed gateways and additional options available through its extension marketplace. This versatility allows customized payment solutions to enhance the checkout experience and accommodate global customer preferences.
  • Marketing Tools: OpenCart’s marketing dashboard is user-friendly, allowing for the easy creation and tracking of marketing campaigns. Merchants can generate promotional codes to track campaign performance, helping to identify and replicate successful marketing strategies.
  • SEO Capabilities: OpenCart allows for basic SEO customizations such as product names and meta tags and supports more advanced features like 301 redirects and canonical tags, albeit with some PHP coding required. Additionally, OpenCart offers an integrated blogging module to enhance content marketing and SEO efforts.
  • Extensions & Plugins: With over 13,000 extensions available, OpenCart provides many functionalities to enhance e-commerce sites. These extensions cover everything from payment and shipping options to marketing and SEO tools, and they are available in both free and paid versions to suit various budgets and business sizes.
  • Support: OpenCart offers multiple support avenues, including a ticket system, extensive help documentation, community forums, and paid dedicated support options. The community forum is particularly active, with discussions spanning installation, configuration, and customization,and is available in multiple languages to accommodate a global user base.
Pricing of OpenCart

Opencart is an open-source platform that is free to download and use. However, operating it incurs costs primarily due to the need for high-quality web hosting. Essential hosting features for running an Opencart store include ample storage and bandwidth, robust performance capabilities tailored for e-commerce, and a complimentary SSL certificate to secure online transactions.

Opencart also offers a cloud version that provides enhanced features and dedicated support. Pricing for the cloud service starts at $59 for the Bronze package, $99 for the Silver package, and $199 for the Gold package. Each option includes a 7-day free trial, hosting through Amazon, and does not incur any transaction fees.

6. PrestaShop

top 10 Online Shopping Cart - prestashop

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Pros

  • Numerous free plugins available
  • Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • Open-source platform

Cons

  • Limited availability of free design templates

PrestaShop is a dynamic open-source e-commerce solution that powers over 100,000 online stores worldwide—particularly popular in Europe—with a thriving community of around 300,000 users. Its user-friendly back office and highly customizable features allow merchants to tailor everything from design themes to specific functionalities, making creating a store that truly reflects their brand easy. The platform is built to support global commerce, offering robust multilingual and multi-currency capabilities that simplify expansion into international markets.

On the transactional side, PrestaShop is equipped to handle a wide array of payment methods and is optimized for secure, efficient checkouts. Merchants can translate their sites into 41 languages and configure unlimited currencies along with country-specific tax rules, ensuring a localized experience for every customer. Its dedicated checkout system, highly endorsed by users, not only boosts security but also enhances the overall shopping experience, fostering customer loyalty and driving rewards for merchants.

Features of PrestaShop
  • Product Offerings: PrestaShop enables the sale of both physical and digital products. Merchants can create product bundles, offer customizable products with customer file uploads, add product variations, and set minimum order quantities.
  • Stock Management: Customizable messages for out-of-stock products are available, along with comprehensive inventory tracking. Users can create and link suppliers and manufacturers to product listings.
  • Checkout and Customer Engagement: PrestaShop offers a streamlined one-page checkout process. Marketing tools include creating special offers with coupons providing free shipping, discounts, and gifts. Cross-selling, product suggestions, gift-wrapping options, and abandoned cart emails enhance user engagement.
  • SEO and Social Media Integration: The platform allows for creating SEO-friendly URLs, custom metadata, and integration with social media accounts to enhance online presence and marketing effectiveness.
  • Back-In-Stock Alerts: Customers can sign up for notifications when out-of-stock items become available again, improving the chances of securing sales.
  • Payment Gateways: Standard payment options include checks and bank transfers, with additional free modules for PrestaShop Checkout (powered by PayPal) like PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, Klarna, SumUp, and Square. Numerous paid payment modules provide broader payment solutions.
  • PrestaShop Shipping Options: Merchants can configure their own shipping rules, including free shipping or variable costs based on order value or weight. Regional shipping customizations and limitations based on package size are also manageable. Integration modules for DHL and ShipStation are available for free.
  • Addon Marketplace: With over 4,000 modules in the marketplace, functionality can be significantly extended. While many modules are paid, with prices initially ranging between $50 and $1,000, about 100 free modules are also available.
  • Theme Selection & Customization: Over 3,000 themes are available in the marketplace, though none are free, with prices starting around $100. Customization capabilities vary, with more advanced options in paid themes often including built-in customizers. Basic theme customization allows for logo changes and theme switching, but advanced customization requiring HTML/CSS knowledge is also supported for more technical users.
  • Support: Due to the platform’s self-hosted nature, support options are limited. While a contact form and basic documentation are provided, more complex support issues may require paid assistance or collaboration with PrestaShop agency partners. The community support forum remains a valuable resource for user-driven assistance and troubleshooting.
Pricing of PrestaShop

PrestaShop is a self-hosted e-commerce platform, meaning that while the core software is free to install and use, hosting must be purchased to launch a live website. Within the PrestaShop ecosystem, there are additional costs for paid modules and themes, although many free modules are also available. However, finding specific functionalities may require searching, especially for those on a tight budget.

PrestaShop offers a plan for those considering the hosted version that costs approximately $32 per month, or about $27 per month when billed annually. This hosted version includes several value-added features:

  • A hosting plan that covers maintenance.
  • Automated VAT calculation to ease tax management.
  • Advanced analytics tools to monitor store performance.

Based on PrestaShop version 8, this hosted version is ideal for merchants seeking convenience as it handles technical setup and ongoing maintenance, allowing them to focus more on business operations.

7. Squarespace

Squarespace

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Pros

  • Excellent blog integration
  • Easy subscription and service sales
  • Strong social media connectivity
  • Enhanced product description control

Cons

  • Steeper learning curveLimited automatic tax features
  • Restricted international selling
  • Costly advanced options

Squarespace is a leading website builder globally and includes an e-commerce shopping cart feature. Renowned for providing one of the best website design experiences, it integrates seamlessly with numerous applications. However, it does not offer detailed administrative capabilities on platforms like Magento and Shopify.

This platform allows you to sell products, subscriptions, or professional services using its sophisticated e-commerce software. Squarespace makes it easy to realize your creative visions with its assortment of ready-to-use templates that support enriched product listings. For example, you can enhance product pages with videos that display products from multiple angles or in use, helping potential buyers visualize their use.

Plus, Squarespace can transform into a self-service booking system with a calendar. This feature enables clients to check your availability and schedule appointments independently, eliminating the need for direct communication about scheduling.

Features of Squarespace
  • E-commerce Tools: Squarespace offers a robust suite of e-commerce tools across its plans, with advanced features on the Advanced Commerce plan. These tools include selling physical, digital, and subscription-based products, custom forms for product personalization, quick views, limited availability labels, product variations, and customer accounts. Exclusive content or products can be offered in a member-only area, and gift cards can be sold to enhance customer loyalty.
  • Marketing and SEO: Squarespace provides integrated marketing and SEO tools to help promote your online store. Features include a built-in blog for content marketing, abandoned cart recovery to re-engage customers, automatic discounts, and Instagram integration for product tagging. Additionally, it supports product reviews, targeted email campaigns, and social media integration to maintain engagement across platforms.
  • Payment Gateways: Squarespace supports a limited selection of payment gateways, including PayPal (and Venmo for PayPal business accounts), Stripe for credit card transactions, Afterpay for installment payments, and Square for in-person sales. This selection might be limiting for businesses looking to minimize transaction fees or expand payment options.
  • Shipping Options: Various shipping methods are available, such as flat rate, weight-based, and carrier-calculated shipping via significant carriers like FedEx, UPS, and USPS. Local pickup is also supported. Squarespace allows for additional shipping functionalities through extensions.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Squarespace’s analytics capabilities are extensive, offering insights into traffic sources, visitor demographics, sales performance, product popularity, and checkout funnel efficiency. These analytics are vital for tracking performance and making informed business decisions.
  • Website Builder: Squarespace is renowned for its user-friendly website builder, which is part of the setup process. The latest version, 7.1, uses a single underlying template that can be customized through various design blocks and settings, simplifying the design process and allowing extensive customization without switching templates.
  • Support: Support is available 24/7 via email and live chat from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST on weekdays. While Squarespace doesn’t provide phone support, users can access assistance through a comprehensive help center.
Pricing of Squarespace

Squarespace provides four distinct pricing plans, catering to businesses of various sizes. The pricing structure is as follows, with monthly costs shown for both annual and month-to-month payment options:

  • Basic: $25 per month ($16 if paid annually) – This starter plan includes all the essentials to begin selling online but comes with a 2% transaction fee.
  • Core: $36 per month ($23 if paid annually) – Ideal for many new online stores, this plan eliminates the transaction fee, making it a popular choice.
  • Plus: $56 per month ($39 if paid annually) – This offers more advanced features for growing businesses.
  • Advanced: $139 per month ($99 if paid annually). It includes comprehensive tools for large-scale operations.

Squarespace’s pricing is competitive compared to competitors, particularly for those just starting in e-commerce. Additionally, Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial without requiring payment details upfront, allowing potential users to explore the platform’s features before committing.

8. X-Cart

x-cart

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Pros

  • Offers both hosted and self-install options
  • Includes a 30-day free trial
  • Provides refunds
  • Available free plan
  • Features are extensive

Cons

  • Setup requires manual coding.
  • It may be overwhelming for small businesses and startups.

X-Cart is a free, open-source shopping cart software based on PHP, designed for e-commerce solutions. It stands out for its seamless integration with existing online transaction processing systems, making it highly compatible with current market standards. Over recent years, X-Cart has evolved significantly, positioning itself as a forward-looking solution for future e-commerce needs.

X-Cart web hosting is committed to improving the online shopping experience. It focuses on making shopping more engaging, enjoyable, and interactive by displaying personalized greetings to make users feel recognized and valued. Every new visitor is welcomed with a custom greeting message.

This platform enables the creation of online stores equipped with built-in content management capabilities and supports recurring billing. It caters to small and large businesses by allowing multiple shopping cart setups. X-Cart also offers comprehensive inventory management and a variety of payment gateway options, giving users the freedom to choose their preferred payment methods.

Features of X-Cart
  • Licensed Open-Source Flexibility: Enjoy complete control over your store with access to source code for custom development, letting you tailor every aspect of your online shop.
  • Payment Gateway Integration: X-Cart supports 122 payment gateways, including PayPal, Authorize.Net, 2Checkout, and Stripe. Setting up is straightforward: create a merchant account and select the gateway in X-Cart, and the platform seamlessly integrates it.
  • Inventory Management Capabilities: X-Cart excels in inventory management, allowing the sale of physical goods, digital products, and subscriptions. The number of products or variants you can offer is unlimited, making it highly scalable to your storage capacity.
  • Marketing Tools: X-Cart has robust marketing features, including SEO tools for clean URLs, rich snippets, XML sitemaps, and meta tag support. Integration with MailChimp facilitates email marketing campaigns, and the platform includes an affiliate program and customer review options. Unique features like hosting auctions enhance marketing capabilities, alongside numerous other tools not detailed here.
  • Customization and Design Control: While it may offer a limited selection of pre-built templates, all themes are responsive and fully customizable via Webmaster mode, ensuring your store reflects your brand’s identity.
  • Multiple Hosting Options: Choose between self-hosting and cloud-based solutions, providing flexibility depending on your technical expertise and business needs.
  • Robust Support and Extensions: X-Cart provides comprehensive customer support through phone, email, live chat, and a website form. Technical support may incur additional costs, and it’s advisable to understand what is covered before proceeding with service tickets.
Pricing of X-Cart

X-Cart is a licensed, open-source e-commerce platform for online stores requiring complete software control. It supports an extensive product inventory and is available through a one-time purchase license. Although X-Cart is open source, acquiring a license provides access to the source code for custom development, which necessitates PHP/MySQL skills. There is also a free version of X-Cart that operates under the traditional free open-source model.

X-Cart caters to various business sizes and objectives with different editions, each with distinct features and licensing costs. In addition to the license fee, businesses will incur other operational costs regardless of the chosen edition.

  • Starter Plan: This plan, priced at $29.95 per month, includes 1GB of RAM, a single-core processor, and 25GB of disk space. It also comes with shared SSL for basic security.
  • Basic Plan: This plan costs $49.95 monthly and offers 2GB of RAM, a single-core processor, and 50GB of disk space. Like the Starter Plan, it includes shared SSL.
  • Enhanced Plan: This plan is available for $199 monthly and provides 4GB of RAM, a dual-core processor, and 80GB of disk space. It includes standard X-Cart support via HelpDesk and a dedicated SSL for enhanced security.
  • Enterprise Plan: This plan is priced at $399 per month and includes 16GB of RAM, an eight-core processor, and 320GB of disk space. It offers faster HelpDesk support response times and phone and chat support. This plan also comes with EV SSL for added security and includes an annual SEO audit with a yearly contract.

9. Shopaccino

Modern E-commerce Shopping Cart - Shopaccino

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Pros

  • Reporting is a breeze, making data analysis straightforward
  • The platform is easy to set up, reducing initial hurdles
  • Customer service is exceptional, ensuring timely and helpful support

Cons

  • It lacks intuitive drag-and-drop design tools for easy customization

Shopaccino is highly adaptable shopping cart software that supports various payment options, including VISA, Mastercard, PayPal, Cash on Delivery (COD), and bank transfers. Its sophisticated interface can automatically calculate taxes on transactions.

The platform includes a dedicated shipping management module, which enables you to define delivery zones and control shipping costs effectively. It also accommodates the option for free shipping setups. Additionally, customers can create a ‘Wishlist’ for items they might consider purchasing later.

The store’s user interface is intuitive and straightforward, facilitating the hassle-free upload of product images and details. Shopaccino also features mobile versions for Android and iOS, allowing for convenient on-the-go product management. Customer support is readily available online to assist with any inquiries or issues.

Features of Shopaccino
  • DIY Website Builder: This tool allows users to customize layouts, showcase products, and engage with customers through a user-friendly interface without requiring technical expertise. ​
  • Mobile App Management: A dedicated mobile app for store management enables users to track orders and stay connected with customers anytime, anywhere. ​
  • Product Management: Facilitates effortless organization and showcasing of products, including bulk uploads, edits, and listing management for a seamless shopping experience. ​
  • Customer Management: Allows efficient categorization of customers and the offering of personalized discounts through customer group management. ​
  • Discount Coupons enable the creation and management of discounts to attract and reward customers, enhancing the shopping experience. ​
  • Order & Return Management: We offer real-time order tracking and seamless return handling to ensure a hassle-free shopping experience. ​
  • Payment Gateway Integration: It supports over 50 integrated payment gateways, including Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, COD, and bank transfers, offering flexibility for seamless transactions. ​
  • Shipping Management: Optimizes shipping with API integration, allowing for the generation of labels, tracking of shipments, and provision of real-time shipping information. ​
  • SEO Optimization: Provides tools to optimize content, meta tags, and URLs, helping businesses rank higher in search results and effectively reach their audience. ​
  • Global Commerce expands its reach by offering automatic currency selection based on users’ IP addresses, enhancing the shopping experience for international customers. ​
  • B2B Order Management: Facilitates seamless B2B transactions, including handling bulk orders, negotiating pricing, and effectively managing customer relationships. ​
  • Mobile App for Your Store: Allows businesses to build a branded mobile app that syncs easily with their website, providing a unified experience in product, customer, and order management. ​
  • Multi-Warehouse Inventory: Enables management of inventory across multiple locations, syncing product inventory and orders directly from warehouse management software. ​
  • Apps for Selling on Google Shopping and Facebook: Expand reach effortlessly with dedicated apps for showcasing products and managing listings on Google Shopping and Facebook, increasing visibility and sales.
Pricing of Shopaccino

Shopaccino offers a range of pricing plans to meet various business needs, starting with a 14-day free trial. After the trial, you can choose from the Starter plan at $20 per month, the Basic plan at $40 per month, the Professional plan at $60 per month, or the Advance plan at $100 per month.

10. ShopWired

shopwired

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Pros

  • Delivers solid performance with a user-friendly interface
  • Offers excellent theme customization and a robust suite of features for effective store management

Cons

  • Certain apps require custom coding for integration
  • The theme selection is limited, and support isn’t available every day

ShopWired provides a selection of complimentary design themes that are readily adaptable to reflect your brand’s identity. You can easily modify images and text and view your changes instantly through the platform’s live preview feature. Their programming team is available for deeper customizations to enhance functionality and tailor the layout and styling to your preferences.

Additionally, ShopWired includes features such as abandoned cart recovery, automated sales tax calculations, and compatibility with over 60 payment gateways. They also offer a “buy now, pay later” option that allows customers to stagger their payments. The checkout process is fully customizable and designed to improve conversion rates effectively.

Features of ShopWired
  • E-commerce Tools & App Selection: ShopWired offers versatile e-commerce features, including multi-buy offers, product extras for upselling, and multi-currency support for international sales. It also integrates with eBay, supports digital downloads, and features DropWired for streamlined AliExpress dropshipping.
  • Marketing & SEO: Boost your online presence with tools like Google Shopping feeds, MailChimp integration, discount codes, and gift vouchers. Built-in SEO tools—custom metadata, SEO-friendly URLs, and an integrated blog—help drive organic traffic and enhance search visibility.
  • Payment Gateways: ShopWired supports over 50 payment providers, including PayPal Express, Stripe, Amazon Pay, and Klarna, ensuring flexible, seamless transactions worldwide. Notably, it charges no transaction fees, keeping costs predictable.
  • Shipping Options: Configure shipping manually by setting delivery zones, pricing based on weight or order value, and offering free shipping or click-and-collect options. Integrations with Royal Mail Click & Drop and ShipStation streamline label generation and order fulfillment.
  • B2B Features: ShopWired stands out with advanced B2B capabilities such as bulk discounts, a quotation system, and trade account management with custom pricing and offline payment options. It also supports credit accounts and tailored VAT displays for business customers.
  • Theme Selection & Customisation: The Version 5 update brings a drag-and-drop site editor with around 20 free, responsive themes. Enjoy extensive customization—from headers and footers to product and category pages—ensuring your storefront truly reflects your brand identity.
  • Support: Customer support is provided via live chat (Mon-Fri, 9am–10pm) and email, and it is responsive. However, note that 24/7 support isn’t available, and weekend support may be limited.
  • Web Hosting & Performance: Powered by Amazon Web Services, ShopWired ensures enterprise-level hosting with unlimited bandwidth, global CDN, PCI Level 1 compliance, and 99.95% uptime. Continuous backups and fast servers deliver a reliable, high-performance shopping experience.
Pricing of ShopWired

ShopWired presents three distinct pricing options tailored for businesses at varying growth stages:

  • Pro Plan: This plan, offered at $29.95 per month, targets startups and small enterprises. It supports up to 750 products, includes a free SSL certificate, and features no transaction fees. Subscribers receive unlimited support and can integrate with accounting platforms such as Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and Kashflow. Additionally, it facilitates sales on major online channels like eBay, Etsy, Facebook, Instagram, and Google Shopping.
  • Advanced Plan: This plan, priced at $59.95 monthly, is ideal for expanding businesses that need more advanced features. It includes everything in the Pro Plan, unlimited product listings, trade accounts, advanced reporting features, and Zapier integration.
  • Premium Plan: At $119.95 per month, the Premium Plan offers the most extensive features for established businesses. It builds on the Advanced Plan by adding 15 admin accounts, priority support, and free access to all available apps.

ShopWired also offers a 14-day free trial for businesses to test the platform’s features without any financial commitment. Additionally, all plans come without transaction fees, ensuring businesses keep a more significant portion of their revenue. Those opting for an annual subscription benefit from a 20% discount on all plans.

Conclusion

Selecting the right online shopping cart solution in 2025 is crucial for businesses looking to enhance their e-commerce operations and stay competitive in the digital marketplace. The detailed overview of the top 10 shopping cart solutions demonstrates a diverse range of platforms catering to different business needs, from scalability and advanced payment options to integrations and customer engagement tools.

When choosing a shopping cart platform, businesses must consider various factors such as pricing, features, scalability, and their operations’ specific needs. By leveraging the right e-commerce solution, businesses can optimize their online sales processes, improve customer experiences, and drive significant growth in the increasingly dynamic online shopping landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How are AI-driven FAQs improving the e-commerce shopping experience in 2025?

    AI-driven FAQs provide real-time, personalized answers to customer inquiries, reducing cart abandonment and boosting conversions. Adapting to individual shopping needs enhances customer satisfaction and streamlines the buying process.

  2. What role does conversational commerce play in online shopping carts in 2025?

    AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants assist with product recommendations, checkout support, and customer queries. This makes online shopping more interactive, improving engagement, increasing loyalty, and reducing cart abandonment.

  3. How will AR and VR be integrated into online shopping carts in 2025?

    AR and VR allow customers to visualize products in their space or try on items virtually before purchasing. This reduces return rates, enhances buyer confidence, and bridges the gap between online and in-store shopping.

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