Compare ecommerce platforms
Narrow the market by business model, scale, architecture, deployment, pricing and capabilities.
- 28 platforms
- 18 publish a price
- Data checked October 2026
- How we compare
What are you building?
12 of 28 platforms
Big Cartel
From $15/moThe creator's storefront, still serving artists loyally.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit up to $50K GMV · Point of sale built inDocumented merchantsBlack Label Skateboards · Steve's Coffee · The Card ChopEcwid by Lightspeed
From $5/moThe embeddable cart that plugs into any site.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit up to $50K GMV · Multi-store built inDocumented merchantsMeyer Hatchery · Wayback BurgersGoDaddy Online Store
From $24.99/moThe online store inside GoDaddy's AI website builder.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit up to $50K GMV · Point of sale built inDocumented merchantsRound Rock Donuts · Desserto (Cactus Leather)OpenCart
Free softwareThe lightweight PHP cart that keeps small stores online cheaply.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit up to $50K GMV · B2B / wholesale built in · Multi-currency built inDocumented merchantsAnglo Agriparts · KMD Tuning · Fundraise Factory +1PrestaShop
From €24/moThe European open-source favourite with a polished admin.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit at $50K to $500K GMV · B2B / wholesale built in · Multi-currency built inDocumented merchantsLe Chocolat Alain Ducasse · Obut · Aguatec PiscinasShopify
From $29/moThe mainstream SaaS standard, still dominant among DTC.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit at $50K to $500K GMV · B2B / wholesale built in · Multi-currency built inDocumented merchantsAllbirds · Gymshark · Kylie Cosmetics +2Square Online
From $49/moThe online storefront for Square POS merchants.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit up to $50K GMV · Multi-store built in · Point of sale built inDocumented merchantsThe Marathon Clothing · La Panaderia · Mt. Baldy ResortSquarespace Commerce
From $19/moThe design-led all-in-one for creators and services.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit up to $50K GMV · Multi-currency built in · Point of sale built inDocumented merchantsDesigners, creators, small boutique brandsTiendanube (Nuvemshop)
From R$69/moThe SaaS store builder for Brazil, Argentina and Latin America.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit up to $50K GMV · Multi-currency built in · Multi-language built inDocumented merchantsYenny El Ateneo · Café Martínez · Doctor MouseWebflow eCommerce
From $29/moDesign-led SaaS with a visual code editor.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit at $50K to $500K GMVDocumented merchantsThe Concept Wardrobe · Bar KumikoWix eCommerce
From $29/moDrag-and-drop with AI site building for solo creators.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit up to $50K GMV · Multi-currency built in · Multi-language built inDocumented merchantsIndependent creators and small brands across hundreds of thousands of storesWooCommerce
Free softwareThe world's most-used ecommerce platform, open source by default.
FitMeets all 1 requirement · Strong fit at $50K to $500K GMV · Point of sale built inDocumented merchantsPorter & York · Landyachtz · No Pong +1
Approximate fit by business scale
Where each platform is commonly used, by annual GMV, from vendor positioning and documented merchants. It is guidance, not a guarantee, and scale is one factor: a complex $5M B2B operation can need more than a simple $50M store. Use the requirements above for B2B, international and architecture needs.
| Platform | TinyUnder $50K GMV | Small$50K to $500K | Mid$500K to $10M | Large simple$10M to $100M | Large complex$100M+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Commerce | Less typical | Less typical | Possible fit | Strong fit | Strong fit |
| Big Cartel | Strong fit | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical |
| BigCommerce | Possible fit | Strong fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical |
| commercetools | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical | Strong fit | Strong fit |
| Ecwid by Lightspeed | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical |
| Elastic Path | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical | Strong fit | Strong fit |
| GoDaddy Online Store | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical |
| Magento Open Source | Less typical | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical |
| Medusa | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Possible fit | Less typical |
| OpenCart | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical |
| OroCommerce | Less typical | Less typical | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit |
| PrestaShop | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical |
| Saleor | Less typical | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical |
| Salesforce Agentforce Commerce | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical | Strong fit | Strong fit |
| SAP Commerce Cloud | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical | Possible fit | Strong fit |
| Shopify | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical |
| Shopify Plus | Less typical | Less typical | Strong fit | Strong fit | Possible fit |
| Shopware | Less typical | Possible fit | Strong fit | Strong fit | Possible fit |
| Spryker | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical | Strong fit | Strong fit |
| Square Online | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical |
| Squarespace Commerce | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical |
| Swell | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical |
| Tiendanube (Nuvemshop) | Strong fit | Possible fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical |
| Vendure | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical |
| VTEX | Less typical | Less typical | Possible fit | Strong fit | Strong fit |
| Webflow eCommerce | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical |
| Wix eCommerce | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical | Less typical |
| WooCommerce | Possible fit | Strong fit | Possible fit | Less typical | Less typical |
The platform landscape
Counts from the 28 platforms in this index, as recorded October 2026. Each links to the matching view.
How platforms differ
Four separate questions, recorded separately: how the software is licensed, how it is built, who runs it and how far it goes headless. A platform can be SaaS and modular, or open source and API-first.
Commercial model
- SaaS subscription 16
- A subscription to software the vendor runs. Hosting is included; code access is not.
- Open source 2
- Free, openly licensed software you or a host run. Hosting, build and upkeep are your costs.
- Open source + commercial edition 7
- An open-source core plus a paid edition or cloud from the same company.
- Commercial licence 3
- Proprietary software sold under a commercial licence, usually quote only.
Architecture
- Integrated 14
- Back end and storefront ship as one product. APIs may exist, but the bundled storefront is the main way to sell. For example Big Cartel, BigCommerce, Ecwid by Lightspeed.
- Modular 8
- One codebase with an extension system and broad API coverage. The bundled storefront is optional. For example Adobe Commerce, Magento Open Source, OroCommerce.
- API-first 4
- A headless back end. Storefronts are built separately, usually from a starter kit. For example Medusa, Saleor, Swell.
- Composable 2
- Commerce functions sold and deployed as separate services that are assembled per project. For example commercetools, Elastic Path.
Headless supportHeadless means the storefront is built separately and talks to the platform over APIs.
- Headless native 6
- Built API-first. There is no bundled storefront to work around.
- Headless supported 13
- Official headless APIs plus an official storefront framework or documented headless programme.
- Headless limited 9
- APIs exist, but there is no official headless storefront support.
- No headless 0
- No documented headless option.
How ecommerceguide compares platforms
- 01
Where the data comes from
Each field is checked against the vendor's own pricing page, documentation, developer docs or licence file, with a third-party source only where the vendor publishes nothing.
- 02
What a match means
A platform matches when it meets every requirement you select. Each requirement is one recorded field, named on the chip. There is no score, weighting or overall winner, and close matches show which single requirement they miss.
- 03
Built in, higher tier or apps
Capabilities are recorded as built in, in a paid tier or first-party module, through third-party apps only, or not documented. Requirements count the first two. Where we found no documentation, the field says so rather than guessing.
- 04
How scale guidance works
Scale fit is approximate guidance from vendor positioning and documented merchants, recorded as strong fit, possible fit or less typical. It is one input: complexity, B2B and architecture needs matter as much as revenue.
- 05
How pricing is recorded
We record the published entry price, its currency and billing period, and whether the top tier is quote only. Published prices exclude hosting, apps, implementation and running costs, and we do not estimate total cost of ownership.
- 06
Merchant examples
Merchants are listed only where a vendor case study names them or their live site shows the platform. They are examples, not endorsements. Merchants found to have moved platform were removed at the last check.
- 07
Ordering and payment
Results are ordered only by your requirements and the sort you choose. Vendors can pay to have a new platform reviewed for inclusion; that does not affect ordering or the recorded data.
- 08
Freshness
The whole dataset was last checked October 2026. Each profile shows its own check date.