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OpenCart

The lightweight PHP cart that keeps small stores online cheaply.

  • Starting priceFree software
  • ModelOpen source
  • Sold toStarter to small business
  • Last checkedOctober 2026
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At a glance

Commercial model
Open sourceLicence: GPL-3.0
Architecture
IntegratedBack end and storefront ship as one product. APIs may exist, but the bundled storefront is the main way to sell.
Deployment
Self-hostedSelf-hosted
Headless
Headless limitedAPIs exist, but there is no official headless storefront support. Limited
Founded
2009 (first stable release; code dates to 1999)
Headquarters
Hong Kong

Who it suits

Very small merchants needing a lightweight PHP cart with low hosting requirements.

Approximate fit by business scaleGuidance from vendor positioning and documented merchants, not a guarantee. Complexity matters as much as revenue.

  • Under $50K GMVStrong fit
  • $50K to $500KPossible fit
  • $500K to $10MLess typical
  • $10M to $100MLess typical
  • $100M+Less typical

Strong fit up to $50K GMV.

Strengths

Free, lightweight, low resource requirements, simple admin.

Limitations

Limited advanced features, smaller developer community, fewer modern integrations.

Pricing

Free software

Published starting price for the software or plan only. It does not include hosting, apps, implementation, development or running costs.

Plans
Free software. OpenCart Cloud, run by partner ScalaHosting, from $14.95/mo ($39.95/mo on renewal).
Transaction fees
None
Billing
Software free. Partner-run OpenCart Cloud (ScalaHosting) from $14.95/mo, $39.95/mo on renewal.
Hosting included
No, you arrange hosting
Quote only
No

Capabilities

Recorded as built in, in a paid tier or first-party module, through third-party apps only, or not documented.

  • B2B / wholesale

    Built in

    Built in. Documented: Customer-specific pricing. Group-level pricing and registration approval only; no company accounts, quotes or net terms documented in core.

  • Multi-currency

    Built in

    Built in.

  • Multi-language

    Built in

    Built in.

  • Multi-store

    Built in

    Built in.

  • Point of sale

    Via partners

    Partner integrations. Third-party extensions only (also Purpletree OpenCart POS, extension_id=44256); no OpenCart-made POS.

  • Subscriptions

    Built in

    Built in. Depends on a payment extension that supports recurring charges.

  • Multi-vendor marketplace

    Via apps

    Third-party apps only.

    Examples: Purpletree Multivendor MultiSeller

Market position and merchants

1.9% of ecommerce sites tracked by W3Techs (Sept 2026); 13,000+ modules and themes in its marketplace.

Documented merchants

  • Anglo Agriparts
  • KMD Tuning
  • Fundraise Factory
  • AV Kabels

From vendor case studies or platform signals on the merchant's live site. Examples, not endorsements.

Platforms to compare

Sold to the same segment, ordered by how many of the same capabilities the vendor provides.