E-Commerce Comparison Table

Overview

E-commerce engine and template are two main things you need to create your online store.

E-commerce engine is a platform for your online store , it contains all necessary features to run your business online like: shopping cart, payment and shipping modules, product categories, capability of managing the catalog via the user-friendly admin panel without any programming etc.

E-commerce template is a theme for your store. It allows you to change the entire look of your site with a few clicks. No need to hire a designer and pay him hundreds of dollars. The template will make the process of changing your store look fast and easy.

Here we have selected some of the most popular open source, free to download and use e-commerce engines: osCommerce, Shopify, Magento, PrestaShop, VirtueMart, Woocommerce, ZenCart and OpenCart. You can choose any of them for your website, depending on your particular needs or organizational requirements.

	osCommerce	Shopify	Magento (Community)	Prestashop	VirtueMart	ZenCart	OpenCart	Woocommerce
License *License type under which the product is offered.	GPL	SaaS	OSL 3.0	OSL 3.0	GPL	GPL	GPL	GPL
Cost *How much the e-commerce engine costs.	Free	From $14/mo Free 14-days trial.	Free (only community edition)	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free
Language *What programming language is used.	PHP	Ruby	PHP	PHP	PHP	PHP	PHP	PHP
Data storage *What type of the database can be used.	MySQL	MySQL	MySQL	MySQL	MySQL	MySQL	MySQL	MySQL
Open source code *Specifies if you have access to the engine source files and if you are able to edit them.	yes	no	yes	yes (except Cloud)	yes	yes	yes	yes
Package *See what is included into the template package you order.	Engine with design, PHP, PSD, CSS, images, sample database	Shopify theme, Liquid, CSS, assests, snippets, screenshots	Engine with design, Magento theme, PHTML, XML, PHP, CSS, JS, PSD, images, sample content	Prestashop theme, PHP, TPL, JS, CSS, PSD, images, modules, sample database	Engine with design, Joomla theme, VirtueMart theme, CSS, PSD, images, sample database	ZenCart theme, PHP, CSS, PSD, images, sample database	Engine with design, OpenCart theme separately, PSD, PHP, TPL, JS, images, sample database	Woocommerce theme, PSD, PHP, JS, images, sample database
Skins system availability *The capability of changing the store theme through the admin panel.	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes

Modules and Boxes

Each e-commerce engine has modules that allow you to expand your store functionality. Such modules as login form, polls, list of latest or new products can make your store more interactive and user-friendly.

	osCommerce	Shopify	Magento (Community)	Prestashop	VirtueMart	ZenCart	OpenCart	Woocommerce
Affiliates *Information box for the affiliates.	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Banners *Module that displays banners on the store pages.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Bestsellers *Displays list of the most popular products.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Categories *Displays list of the product categories.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Contact us *The contact form and the store owner contact details.	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Cross-Sell products *Displays the list of the Cross-Sell products.	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes
Currencies *Box that allows you to switch the currencies.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no
Custom HTML modules *Box that allows you display any custom content from text and image to the complex HTML code.	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes
Featured Products *Displays the list of products selected by administrator as featured.	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Languages *Displays the box for the localization switching.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Links to content pages *Displays the box for the localization switching	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Manufacturers *List of the products manufacturers	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no
Newsletter sign-up *Form to sign up for a newsletter	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes
Notifications *Box, in which a client can subscribe to getting information about the products	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	3rd party Module (price varies)	no
Order History *List of the client’s orders	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no
Quick Find/Search *Quick search of products by keywords	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Related Products *List of products related to the selected one	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Reviews *List of customer’s products reviews	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Shopping cart *Displays the list of the products added to the cart.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Specials *List of the products marked as special.	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Tell a friend *Box of informing of somebody about the store vie e-mail.	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no
Up-Sells products *List of Up-Sells products related to the selected one.	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	yes
User info *Displays the info about the logged in user.	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no
What’s New/ Latest Products/ New products *List of recently added products.	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Wishlist *List of the products and links marked by the used as favorite ones.	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no
Who is online *Displays number of the logged in users.	yes	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	no

Engine Features

The following table displays the main features of the e-commerce engines:

	osCommerce	Shopify	Magento (Community)	Prestashop	VirtueMart	ZenCart	OpenCart	Woocommerce
Customer Management *Tools for tracking customer, checking order history, details etc.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no
Multiple Languages *Capability of running a store in multiple languages.	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no
Multiple Currencies *Capability of using multiple currencies.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no
Currency Conversion *The prices are changed according to the currency exchange rates.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no
Flexible Tax Calculation *Capability of changing the store taxes per country, city, state or other custom conditions.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Flexible Shipping Calc *Capability of setting the store shipping rates per country, city, state or other custom conditions.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Customer Notifications *Tools to send the customer notifications about the order status, registration etc.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no
Polls *The polls system lets your customers vote for some goods, offers etc.	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no
Products Import/Export *Tool for bulk products import/export. Allows you to move your products database to different store or backup it.	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	3rd party Module (price varies)	no
Statistics *Representation of the store statistics (visitors, orders, income).	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
WYSIWYG editor *The visual editor for making the product customization more easy and user friendly.	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Multiple Stores *System for running multiple stores on a single installation. Like car parts shop, clothes shop and cosmetics store on a single engine.	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no
Category unique theme *Capability of changing the store design per products category.	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no
Product unique theme *Capability of changing the store design for each product info page.	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no
Modules/Boxes Management *Managing modules and boxes through the store administration panel.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Custom Pages *Capability of adding customer content pages.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Newsletter *Tools for sending newsletters to your customers.	yes	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no
Product Attributes *Custom product options like size, color, weight etc.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Downloadable Products *Capability of selling the downloadable products like website templates, sound tracks, videos etc.	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Multiple Product Images *Capability of adding multiple images to a single products.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Subcategory Dropdown In Top Menu *Drop-down menus for multi-level product categories.	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Stock Level Control *Capability of controlling the number of products in stock.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Product Ratings *Capability of setting rates to the products by your customers.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Product Reviews *Capability of leaving reviews for the products in your store.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Banners Management *Capability of managing banners through the store administration panel.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Products Expected *Tools to display the expected products listing.	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Category Images *Capability of adding the category images.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
One page checkout *Fast loading single page checkout procedure.	no	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes

Customer Rewards

Can you imagine a successful store that doesn’t treat customers well? Discounts, bonus offers and special prices will for sure attract your customers.

	osCommerce	Shopify	Magento (Community)	Prestashop	VirtueMart	ZenCart	OpenCart	Woocommerce
Coupons *Capability of setting the discounts and reduce products prices per various conditions.	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Gift Certificates *Capability of creating gift certificates for your customers.	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no
Special offers *Capability of creating special offers.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes

Search Engine Optimization

Will you be able to attract hundreds of visitors to your e-commerce website if it won’t be visible by the search engines? Search engine optimization is not an easy thing. But some e-commerce engine have the built-in features to make the process easier.

	osCommerce	Shopify	Magento (Community)	Prestashop	VirtueMart	ZenCart	OpenCart	Woocommerce
Meta Tagging *Capability of setting meta tags and keywords for your products, categories and store itself.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no
RSS Feeds *Capability of creating newsfeeds containing most recent store products.	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes
SEO URLs *Search friendly URL’s make your pages more visible to the search engines.	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Sitemap *Sitemap is a single page that displays all your store links to categories, products, content pages. Makes your website more visible to the search engines.	no	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no

Payment Modules

It’s a good idea to let your customers pay for your goods using the payment gateway they like. Each e-commerce engine has several default built-in payment systems.

	osCommerce	Shopify	Magento (Community)	Prestashop	VirtueMart	ZenCart	OpenCart	Woocommerce
2Checkout	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes	no
Authorize.net	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no
Bank Wire	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Bluepay	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no
Cash on Delivery	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Check/Money Order	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
ChronoPay	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Credit Card	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no
Dibs	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no
First data	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no
Free checkout	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Hipay	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no
Inpay	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
iPayment	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Klarna	no	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no
Liqpay	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Moneybookers	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no
NoChex	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
PayBox	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no
PayMate	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
PayPal	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
PayPalExpressCheckout	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no
PayPoint.net SECPay	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
PSiGate	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Realex	no	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no
Sage Pay	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Simplify Commerce	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no
Sofort	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no
World pay	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no
YourPay API	no	no	no	no	no	no	no

Shipping Modules

	osCommerce	Shopify	Magento (Community)	Prestashop	VirtueMart	ZenCart	OpenCart	Woocommerce
Citylink	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Flat Rate	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
Free Shipping	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
Per Item	yes	no	no	yes	no	yes	yes	no
Parcelforce	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no
Pickup From Store	no	yes	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
Royal Mail	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
UPS	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no
United States Postal Service	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no
Weight Based Shipping	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no
Table Rate	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no
Zone Rates	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no
FedEx	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no
DHL	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no
Australia Post	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no

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