27 Best Ecommerce Platforms For Your Online Business

Ecommerce sales are predicted to grow to $6.5 trillion by 2023.

The expansion means one thing—an influx of online sellers in the ecommerce space leading to fierce competition.

You need the best ecommerce platforms to build an impressive online store that stands out.

But here is the problem.

It’s hard to identify the best ecommerce platforms when all vendors claim to provide the best features.

We’ve made things easier for you by rounding up the top ecommerce platforms in the market.

How We Choose the Best Ecommerce Platforms

• Features: First, we check if the ecommerce platforms have the most crucial features that every business needs and try to include the ones that offer all that and more. This includes customizable themes, inventory management, and SEO tools. We also make sure to include tools with a variety of features for different business needs.

• Price: We understand that different business owners have different budgets. As such we included the best ecommerce platforms to fit every budget, from the free tools to those offering enterprise-level packages. This way, you can find something that fits your budget.

• User-friendliness: Ecommerce software solutions with intuitive dashboards are preferable for both experienced and non-experienced users. Users should find it easy to build pages, customize themes, and track orders. As such we tried to include intuitive platforms for store owners with technical knowledge and those without it.

• Scalability: For most businesses, it’s important to have one tool that can handle increased traffic without compromising user experience. For this reason, we made sure to include only the best ecommerce platforms that can grow with your business.

• Integration With Other Software: To make ecommerce platforms more powerful and streamline sales processes, businesses need to integrate with third-party software. So we made sure that the tools we chose provide the ability to easily integrate with other software to fulfill these functions.

The 27 Best Ecommerce Platforms to Choose From

Whether you want to open a new online store or revamp an existing website, there’s an ecommerce platform for you.

We’ve broken down the main features, pros, cons, and prices of these best ecommerce platforms.

Take a look.

1. Adobe Commerce (Formerly Magento)

Image via Adobe Commerce

If you’re looking for something powerful and truly customizable, Adobe Commerce is the best ecommerce platform for you. This ecommerce platform is non-hosted and is trusted by brands like Cisco and Nike.

You’ll need advanced coding skills or an experienced developer to create a feature-rich online store that’s completely tailored to your needs.

If you want this high level of flexibility in an ecommerce solution but lack the manpower needed, no worries, Adobe Commerce has a large community of skilled developers.

Key Features

• The ecommerce platform has advanced search engine optimization features for your online business.
• The user interface and shopping carts are highly responsive to mobile devices.
• It offers flexible integration with third-party modules and apps.
• The platform also has the ability to customize security permissions for a higher level of site security.
• It is an open-source ecommerce software where you can share custom extensions with other Adobe Commerce users.

Pros

• Advanced customization options
• Good SEO features
• Allows one-click buying

Cons

• It requires a lot of space to perform optimally

Pricing

• Adobe Commerce basic plan is free. There’s an enterprise version that’s suitable for large ecommerce stores. You’ll need to book a meeting or make a call to get a custom price for your business.

Tool Level

• Intermediate

Usability

• Moderately easy to use

2. TemplateMonster

Image Source TemplateMonster

TemplateMonster is one of the best ecommerce platforms for templates and themes.

Having served over 5 million online stores, TemplateMonster provides practical website templates suitable for all forms of ecommerce businesses.

You can use these templates to create a high-converting and visually appealing online store in no time.

Key Features

• Numerous digital products with a variety of modern designs for all niches.
• Easy search functionality. You can filter products by CMS, style, color, etc.
• Live chat support with the option to submit a ticket for more complex issues.
• Flexibility to customize the theme.
• Supplementary add-ons to boost the performance of your website. These come at an extra cost.

Pros

• Super-friendly and reliable customer support.
• Hundreds of templates and themes to choose from.
• Integrations with most ecommerce platforms.
• Top-quality and mobile-responsive designs.
• Plenty of seller information is available for themes published by third-party vendors.

Cons

• The ecommerce platform lacks the option to filter the themes by price.

Pricing

• All templates and themes come at a different price but there are plenty of deals in the form of coupons, discount codes, and promo codes.

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

3. BigCommerce

Image Source: BigCommerce

One of the world’s best ecommerce platforms that are cloud-based, BigCommerce is a solid choice for both B2B and B2C online stores.

This ecommerce website builder is rich in features and comes with comprehensive tools that integrate seamlessly with other ecommerce solutions.

In-depth guiding articles and videos, as well as a resourceful support team, make it easy to learn about this ecommerce platform.

You’ll also get access to a community of designers, developers, and other ecommerce experts. They can provide guidance on how to market and sell online.

There are customizable templates and themes as well.

For the more tech-savvy lot, BigCommerce is one of the best ecommerce platforms that provide adjustable HTML and CSS. You can adjust it to create a unique ecommerce solution that meets your needs.

Key Features

• Cloud-hosted and one of the best ecommerce platform has inbuilt marketing tools and analytics.
• It has a fully functional CMS that allows you to run an entire website and not just an online store.
• Over 40 pre-integrated payment processors that allow you to accept online payments in multiple currencies.
• The ecommerce platform supports multiple channels for selling on third-party marketplaces and social channels.
• It offers automated order processing and flexible product management

Pros

• Robust ecommerce SEO tools
• Supports international selling
• Flexible and scalable
• Buyer-centric theme designs

Cons

• The entry-level plan does not support abandoned cart recovery

Pricing

It offers a 15-day free trial period, post which you can select from one of these plans:

• Standard: $29.95 per month
• Plus: $79.95 per month or $71.95 per month if billed annually
• Pro: $299.95 per month or 269.96 per month if billed annually

You can also go with the BigCommerce Enterprise plan with customized pricing according to your specific requirements.

Image via BigCommerce

Tool Level

• Intermediate

Usability

• Moderately easy to use

4. WooCommerce

Image Source: WooCommerce

If you have an existing website to which you’d like to add ecommerce functionality, WooCommerce is one of the best ecommerce platforms for the task.

You can use it to run an affiliate site and an online store under one roof. Unlike other best ecommerce platforms, WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin.

You’ll need to use the readily available extensions to add necessary selling features like 1-click selling, shipping, and gateways for online payments.

This ecommerce platform is ideal for small businesses with a WordPress website.

Key Features

• Integrations with Etsy, Google Shopping, eBay, etc.
• Integrated point of sale system
• Open-source ecommerce platform
• Regular updates to keep up with cybersecurity
• A huge number of plugins to add helpful tools and features to a store

Pros

• Highly customizable and flexible WordPress plugin
• Supports 1-click selling
• A large and interactive community of users, developers, and contributors

Cons

• Limited scalability

Pricing

• The WooCommerce software solution is free. You only need to pay for the extensions and themes you use. It’s an affordable way to build an ecommerce store.

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

5. Squarespace

Image Source Squarespace

You’ve got to admit, Squarespace’s homepage is good to look at. And you can expect the same for your store if you choose to use this ecommerce platform.

Famous for its sleek templates and award-winning designs, Squarespace is one of the best ecommerce platforms for designing a beautiful online store.

Squarespace does not provide an overwhelming number of features for your ecommerce site, but enough to run a versatile online store.

Key Features

• Inventory tracking tools
• Flexibility to sell gift cards and subscription-based products
• Point-of-sale functionality
• Supports physical goods, digital goods, and services
• Mobile store management functionality
• Drag-and-drop website builder

Pros

• Easy to set up your ecommerce store using the drag-and-drop builder
• Doesn’t require any coding skills to sell online
• Expressive and stunning designs
• The templates rely on photography, which makes customization easy
• Integrates with ShipStation

Cons

• The ecommerce platform lacks advanced marketing tools.

Pricing

There is a 14-day free trial period. Here are the paid plans that it offers:

• Personal: $25 per month
• Business: $36 per month
• Basic Commerce: $40 per month
• Advanced Commerce: $72 per month

Image via Squarespace

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

6. Yo!Kart

Image Source: Yo!Kart

Yo!Kart is one of the best ecommerce platforms for a multi-vendor store. It’s a powerful self-hosted platform for creating an online marketplace like Amazon and Etsy.

Yo!Kart simplifies fulfillment tasks and ensures complete data security. For instance, orders from multiple vendors on one shopping cart are split and consolidated for payment.

Yo!Kart is available as an Android mobile app. It means you can send push notifications and encourage social sharing.

The ecommerce platform facilitates cross-selling of related products, sellers can post adverts, buyers get smart product recommendations, and a lot more.

Key Features

• Real-time tracking of customer orders, sales, and inventory
• Ecommerce analytics and reporting capabilities
• Geolocation functionality
• Separate user panels for stakeholders (buyers, sellers, and affiliates)
• Comprehensive SEO tools that are mostly automated

Pros

• Easy integration with payment management systems
• Real-time shipping cost calculator
• Mobile app makes it possible to do things on-the-go
• Options to accept payments in multiple currencies and support multiple languages

Cons

• Limited templates

Pricing

The ecommerce platform offers 4 payment packages with a lifetime license and no recurring charges.

• GoQuick: $1249 (suitable for small-scale start-ups)
• GoQuick Boost: $2499 (best for startups & existing businesses)
• GoCustom: for $6249 (designed for established business)
• GoCustom Prime: Customized pricing

Image via Yo!Kart

Tool Level

• Intermediate/Expert

Usability

• Moderately easy to use

7. Volusion

Image Source Volusion

Volusion is among the best ecommerce platforms for store owners looking for hosted solutions that are easy to use.

This ecommerce platform provides unlimited bandwidth. You get everything you need to design your store, add your products, and run it.

Professional services are available to guide you on how the platform works, how to use the sales channels, and more.

It does not provide a product search feature. Therefore, it is best suited for small businesses or online stores with a finite number of products.

Its well-structured dashboard makes it super-easy to manage your inventory.

Key Features

• An easy user interface with enough options for large-scale ecommerce operations
• Strong built-in SEO and other marketing tools
• Integrated in-house payment gateways
• Report feature that provides insights about the store, such as abandoned carts
• Supports phone orders

Pros

• Excellent onboarding and customer support
• The online store is hosted on their servers which provides a high loading speed
• Free themes
• Drag and drop capabilities that make it easy to use the website builder

Cons

• The ecommerce platform does not support upselling or cross-selling

Pricing

Volusion provides 4 payment plans:

• Personal: $29 per month or $26.10 per month if you pay annually
• Professional: $79 per month or $71.10 per month if you pay annually
• Business: $299 per month or $269.10 per month if you pay annually

You could also get a custom solution based on your gross merchandise volume.

Image via Volusion

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

8. Wix

Image Source Wix

Wix is one of the best all-purpose drag-and-drop ecommerce website builders.

It provides web hosting and domain name registration, and is one of the best ecommerce platforms for small online stores.

Wix is also a beginner-friendly ecommerce solution. You don’t have to worry about maneuvering complex features that your ecommerce site doesn’t need.

But you’ll get vital functionalities like abandoned cart recovery and inventory management.

You don’t need any coding skills.

This ecommerce website builder has 500 plus customizable templates to create exactly the kind of ecommerce site you want. They also have a friendly customer support team to guide you.

Key Features

• Supports dropship and print-on-demand ecommerce functionalities
• The ecommerce platform has multi-channel selling
• It provides access to a wide range of online providers, including popular credit card companies
• The Wix editor lets you see how your edits are affecting the appearance of your store
• Provides a tool to calculate real-time shipping and has other advanced shipping solutions

Pros

• Plenty of great templates, with a generous number of free themes
• Remarkable on-page customer support
• Highly user-friendly with drag-and-drop functionality
• The website builder supports both digital and physical products

Cons

• This ecommerce solution lacks stock management alerts

Pricing

Building a basic website using Wix is free, but to access the ecommerce features, you need a paid plan.

• Enterprise: Contact the team
• Business Elite: $159 per month
• Business: $32 per month
• Core: $27 per month
• Light: $16 per month

Image via Wix

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

9. OpenCart

Image via OpenCart

Another one of the best ecommerce platforms for small businesses looking to scale is OpenCart. It's a free open-source self-hosted ecommerce platform with an intuitive dashboard and great overall design.

Though not drag-and-drop, its module-based customization system makes it just as easy for beginners to create their preferred online store outlook.

There are lots of built-in features that OpenCart provides, including a marketing analytics tool, product filtering, and multi-store admin. This saves you the trouble of adding multiple extensions to expand your store’s functionality.

The store still provides a marketplace with a wide range of advanced extensions. These include shipping add-ons, payment processors, and more.

Natively, you'll find over 36 payment methods on the platform including bank transfers and popular payment gateways such as PayPal.

Key Features

• Unlimited products uploads
• Comprehensive reporting and analytics
• 13,000+ extensions
• Payment processing
• Inventory management
• Shipping options
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Email marketing

Pros

• The platform offers multiple languages and currencies by default
• Users can shop without creating an account with your store
• It offers a wide range of advanced features so you won't need to add numerous extensions for basic functionality.
• A wide list of mostly inexpensive extensions

Cons

• There’s a slight learning curve involved before you can comfortably use the platform
• No drag-and-drop editing feature
• Limited SEO tools

Pricing

• It’s a free ecommerce platform. However, you'll need to pay for a domain name and hosting services.

Tool Level

• Intermediate

Usability

• A slight learning curve involved

10. PrestaShop

Image via Prestashop

PrestaShop is another open-source self-hosted ecommerce platform serving over 300k e-commerce stores. Like OpenCart, PrestaShop uses modules to help users add customization to their stores.

Alternatively, if you have coding knowledge, you can customize the program to get your preferred look and feel. You can choose from over 3k available modules that cover all types of functionality.

PrestaShop’s dashboard is easy to navigate with a clear sidebar menu and well-organized menu items. The platform allows you to manage your inventory, track your orders, and monitor essential analytics with ease.

This makes it one of the best ecommerce platforms in the market.

While it's a free tool, you'd need a combination of extensions and modules to get advanced functionality on PrestaShop. The downside to this is that most of these extensions are costly and the prices could really add up and end up making the tool expensive.

Otherwise, it's an overall good ecommerce platform to get you started building your online store and getting it up and running.

Key Features

• Inventory tracking
• Custom out-of-stock message
• Create product bundles
• Coupon-based special offers
• Abandoned cart emails
• Product recommendations for customers
• Numerous payment processing options
• Shipping features

Pros

• Provides an in-depth setup guide which is suitable for beginners
• It's free to install and use

Cons

• PrestaShop lacks free professionally designed themes.
• Limited customer support
• Customization throughout the platform can be tedious

Pricing

• Classic – Free
• Hosted – From €24 excl. VAT/month
• Custom – Contact the team

Image via Prestashop

Tool Level

• Intermediate

Usability

• A slight learning curve involved

11. Shift4Shop

Image via Shift4Shop

Formerly 3dcart, Shift4Shop is another one of the best ecommerce platforms for businesses. It's an ecommerce solution for US-based online store owners looking for a comprehensive yet affordable tool.

The platform has an intuitive interface with a user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder. It offers a free plan with an extensive list of advanced features you’d normally need to pay for on other platforms.

These include unlimited products, ecommerce SEO marketing tools, no revenue cap, over 100 premium themes, and more.

But there's a catch: to access the free plan, you'd need to process a minimum of $500 per month. It's also only available to US-based users.

Shift4Shop is automatically integrated with Shift4, a payment processing system that supports credit cards and digital wallets.

Another interesting feature is that you can host your site on the Shift4Shop platform or use it on an existing website. The platform offers free site building, domain name search, and website themes.

It also has a unique checkout customization feature that includes one-page, three-page checkout, or guest checkout that allows users to buy items without needing to create an account like most ecommerce platforms.

Shift4Shop supports the sale of digital products as well as event tickets. Here are a few key features.

Key Features

• Built-in CRM tool
• Website migration assistance
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Inventory management
• Product reviews
• Integrated blog
• No revenue cap

Pros

• Provides hundreds of free themes
• Numerous advanced built-in features
• You can sell digital products like software and ebooks
• Free domain name and SSL certificate

Cons

• Fewer extensions to expand your functionality
• It’s limited to US users

Pricing

• Free

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

12. Ecwid by Lightspeed

Image via Ecwid

Ecwid is a cloud-based ecommerce platform for small businesses looking for a simple ecommerce solution.

You can use Ecwid to create your online store and connect it to your website, digital marketplace, or social media page. It's also possible to connect the platform to a point-of-sale device so you can make in-person sales.

The software lets you add the ecommerce platform to different websites and manage them from a single location. This makes it one of the best ecommerce platforms for digital marketers.

Ecwid makes it easy to design your site as it provides 50+ themes that are professionally designed. Besides an online shopping widget, Ecwid provides an Instant Site feature that includes a one-page site with ecommerce tools.

All you need to do is connect your site to this page and start selling. This feature is useful for seasonal sales. However, the downside is that you can't create a standalone storefront using Ecwid.

Another neat feature of Ecwid is its mobile application that allows users to manage their stores on the go. Ecwid provides a wide range of customer support options including phone support, email, and live chat.

Key Features

• Automated tax calculations
• Multiple languages
• Mobile app
• Product upload
• Order management
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Reports and analytics
• Marketing and SEO

Pros

• Ecwid provides the best ecommerce platforms with multichannel selling capabilities that let you add your e-store to different sites.
• It's affordable and great for businesses on a budget
• Aesthetically pleasing and responsive designs

Cons

• You can't build a standalone store with Ecwid unlike platforms like BigCommerce
• The SEO functionalities are limited
• Limited customization capabilities

Pricing

• Free: $0
• Venture: $19/month
• Business: $39/month
• Unlimited: $99/month

Image via Ecwid

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

13. Big Cartel

Image via Big Cartel

Looking for the best ecommerce platforms for artists, creatives, and startups? Big Cartel is one worth considering.

It's a cloud-based ecommerce platform for online selling. The platform has an easy drag-and-drop functionality that makes it seamless for users to customize their store.

If you're tech-savvy, you can always customize the code for more advanced changes. It's also easy to change the theme, upload products, and add product prices.

Big Cartel also avails a Point of Sale tool that comes with a Stripe integration. This is especially helpful for in-person sales during events, festivals, exhibits, etc.

The options to scale can be limited, but Big Cartel is extremely easy to use and suitable for small business owners with no coding experience.

For payment purposes, the platform keeps it simple: it only integrates with PayPal and Stripe. This can be limiting or just enough, depending on your business needs. Here are a few of its key features.

Key Features

• Digital goods through Pulley
• Customizable theme templates
• Online checkout
• POS capabilities
• Product listing options
• SEO optimization
• Stripe and Paypal integration

Pros

• It's super easy to set up and use
• The pricing plans are very affordable
• A mobile app that allows you to run your business on the go
• A Point of Sale with a Stripe integration

Cons

• Lacks automated abandoned cart recovery
• No built-in newsletter or blog features
• Limited payment processing services

Pricing

• Gold (5 products): Free
• Platinum (50 products): $9.99/month
• Diamond (500 products): $19.99/month

Image via Big Cartel

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Extremely easy to use

14. Shopify

Image via shopify

Shopify is another one of the best ecommerce platforms for businesses looking for a feature-rich platform to build their online store.

Shopify is flexible with a drag-and-drop feature that makes customization easy. So if you don't have coding experience, you'll find it easy to credit your Shopify store’s outlook. It also provides professionally designed themes to get you started.

Besides building an online store, Shopify allows you to sell products through marketplaces like Amazon, and social media platforms. So businesses looking to start selling internationally will also find Shopify efficient.

You can also sell a wide range of items, including digital downloads, subscriptions, online courses, and more. It is regarded as one of the best ecommerce platforms and has a range of pricing plans for both established businesses and those on a budget.

So if you're new to ecommerce sales, you'll likely find everything you need on the lower-tier plans including an affordable email marketing tool. And if you're a larger business or a fast-growing store, there's plenty of opportunities to scale with best ecommerce platforms

Key Features

• Reports and analytics
• Email marketing and SEO
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Digital products and subscriptions
• Dropshipping
• SEO and email marketing tools
• Targeted social ads
• Abandoned cart recovery notifications
• POS system
• Order and inventory management
• Library of extensions and third-party apps
• Reporting and analytics

Pros

• You can have multiple users manage your Shopify store
• There are lots of free integrations to enable multiple sales channels
• Shopify provides 24/7 customer support through email, live chat, and social media
• You can sell online and in person through the POS integration

Cons

• Compared to top competitors, the theme library appears quite limited
• Using Shopify involves a significant learning curve
• You may need to install third-party applications to get some basic functionalities

Pricing

• Basic: $39/month
• Shopify: $105/month
• Advanced: 399/month

Image via Shopify

Tool Level

• Beginner to advanced

Usability

• Involves a slight learning curve

15. AbanteCart

Image via AbanteCart

Next is AbanteCart, an open-source ecommerce platform for small to medium-sized businesses. Here’s why this software made it to the list of the best ecommerce platforms to consider.

First, being an open-source platform, AbanteCart’s core software is free to download.

The software offers a beginner-friendly interface with easy-to-use features. For instance, the customer dashboard allows you to track order progress and history. It's also extremely easy to add products to AbanteCart.

This makes it suitable for users with little programming knowledge.

AbanteCart offers a multi-store feature that allows you to manage numerous online stores from a single platform.

You can also sell digital products through your AbanteCart online store.

For more functionality like payment processing and social media connection, you can visit the AbanteCart marketplace to find a suitable app.

You can also find themes there to customize your digital storefront. However, compared to other platforms, these themes may appear outdated.

Key Features

• Email marketing
• Product customization
• Multi-store management
• Abante marketplace with numerous extensions
• Ability to embed products into blogs or existing sites
• Unlimited product uploads

Pros

• The tool offers great flexibility and expansion capacity
• You can embed products into existing sites to boost sales
• The functionality is beginner-friendly

Cons

• The platform’s themes appear quite outdated compared to other platforms
• Customer support is limited

Pricing

• Free

Tool Level

• Beginner to intermediate

Usability

• Easy to use

16. Sellfy

Image via Sellfy

Sellfy is one of the best ecommerce platforms for selling digital products, digital subscriptions, physical products, print merchandise, and more. This means that your customers will be able to purchase or download products directly from your online store.

Sellfy also allows you to embed products on other sites such as social media platforms and sell products directly from there.

Another unique feature is a pay-what-you-want feature that allows customers to input the amount they would like to pay for a product. You can set a minimum fee yourself and let them do the rest.

This is especially useful for donations and if you want to test product prices in the market.

Sellfy automatically translates pages based on customer location. This includes product pages and CTA buttons. You can manually translate other pages too.

The platform offers PayPal and Stripe as the only payment options which could be limiting. Each plan also has a revenue cap and if you exceed it you'd need to upgrade to the next plan.

Key Features

• Built-in marketing tools like email marketing discounts, and upselling
• Digital products of all kinds
• Print on demand
• Subscriptions
• Video streaming
• Automatic page translation for button and checkout pages
• Pay What You Want feature
• Discount codes and upselling
• Order management
• Easy customization

Pros

• Sellfy lets you sell a wide range of products including digital products
• The embed feature allows you to sell products on social media platforms
• You can launch an affiliate program within the application

Cons

• The payment gateways available are limited
• The list of integrations can be limited

Pricing

• Starter: $29/month
• Business: $79/month
• Premium: $159/month

Image via Sellfy

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

17. Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Image via Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Formerly called Demandware, Salesforce Commerce Cloud is one of the best ecommerce platforms for enterprise-level users.

It’s entirely cloud-based and it enables businesses to set up an ecommerce store and provide customers with a great shopping experience. This includes B2C, B2B, and D2C companies.

The platform is complex and requires technical knowledge to customize. This makes it convenient for businesses with a high marketing budget.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud provides easy integrations with all Salesforce tech stack tools, which can be an advantage if you’re using any of them. The platform also has generative AI capabilities to help users drive more automation on their online stores.

Key Features

• Custom storefront themes
• A shopping cart with the ability to accommodate thousands of items
• Order management
• Product catalogs
• Multi-store management
• Customer support

Pros

• It provides features for B2B, B2C, and D2C companies
• The platform is highly scalable
• Provides useful automation tools

Cons

• The platform can be expensive
• It involves a steep learning curve

Pricing

You need to contact sales for the exact prices of the plans.

Tool Level

• Advanced

Usability

• Requires coding knowledge

18. Square Online

Image via Square Online

Square Online was formerly known as Weebly. The platform was first built as a credit card payment processing solution. It then grew into an independent ecommerce platform with a range of helpful financial tools.

It’s now among the best ecommerce platforms for small businesses and beginner ecommerce marketers.

The platform provides a free plan that you can take advantage of if you're on a budget. It's important to note that you'll still need to pay payment processing fees even on the free plan.

Also, to remove Square advertising from your account, you'd need to upgrade to a paid plan. Luckily, Square’s paid plans are affordable compared to most other cloud-based ecommerce platforms.

Square Online does not provide a blog section. However, there's an alternative feature called Square Stories that you can use as a blog.

There are over 200 third-party applications on Square Online’s integration list you can tap into to improve the store's functionality.

Key Features

• A list of useful add-ons
• Inventory management
• Inbuilt Point of Sale solution

• Abandoned cart recovery
• Lead capture forms
• Search engine optimization tools
• Site customization
• Sync with Square POS
• Multiple payment types

Pros

• You get a free domain name with the paid plans.
• It's ideal for small store owners with a lower sales volume
• You can use the platform to sell both online and offline
• You can sell products on social media

Cons

• The free version can be quite limited
• You'll need coding knowledge to customize your store
• The transaction fees can add up especially for larger volume sellers

Pricing

• Free: $0 (+processing fees)
• Plus: $29/month (+processing fees)
• Premium: Custom (+processing fees)

Image via Square Online

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

19. CoreCommerce

Image via CoreCommerce

CoreCommerce was originally built purely as a shopping cart application called digiSHOP PRO. It then grew into one of the best ecommerce platform supporting thousands of businesses across the globe.

The platform offers a range of pricing plans suitable for businesses with varying budgets. On the higher tier plans, customers get customization liberties allowing them to personalize every little detail of their site.

This, however, requires in-depth coding knowledge.

One feature that stands out for CoreCommerce is its invoicing creation and delivery tool. This allows you to streamline your billing operations and send invoices to customers.

The platform also provides detailed analytics to help track your orders and financial transactions.

The CommerceGateway feature provides multiple secure payment processing options, like recurring billing among other options.

Key Features

• Automated shipping and tax calculations
• Multiple languages
• Multiple currencies
• PCI level compliance
• Inventory management
• Order management
• Mobile friendly store
• Free store designs and themes
• Recurring billing

Pros

• Enables easy international selling
• Offers a free plan

Cons

• Limited built-in customization
• The platform may be too advanced for beginners.

Pricing

• Free: $0/month
• Pioneer: $29/month
• Pro: $79/month
• Pro Plus Unlimited: $229/month

Image via CoreCommerce

Tool Level

• Intermediate to advanced

Usability

• Need technical knowledge

20. Miva

Image via Miva

If you’re looking for an ecommerce platform for B2B businesses, then Miva is a good option for you. It provides ecommerce solutions for both B2C and B2B businesses, of all sizes.

It is an advanced ecommerce platform with sophisticated features and, yet, has a user-friendly interface and navigation. Building an online store is easy using templates and themes. You don’t need any coding experience.

There are enough online learning resources available for new users to help them use the platform to its full potential.

It can handle large and complex product catalogs and offers robust product management features. You can add unlimited product variants to your catalog and Miva will be able to handle it with ease.

What else?

It integrates with multiple apps and platforms to provide enhanced functionality and make your online store work seamlessly.

Key Features

• All-in-one B2B and B2C ecommerce platform
• Multiple pricing options for various types of businesses
• Robust product and inventory management features
• Numerous integrations to enhance the platform’s functionality
• Product recommendations, upselling, and cross-selling features
• Complex catalog management
• PCI compliance, SSL encryption, and fraud prevention

Pros

• Caters to B2C, B2B, and DTC businesses
• Many customers vouch for its excellent customer service
• Is scalable and suitable for businesses of all sizes

Cons

• Website design and customization features can be improved further
• Some advanced features have a learning curve

Pricing

• Custom pricing

Tool Level

• Advanced

Usability

• Moderately easy to use with advanced features requiring some initial effort to master.

21. PageCloud

Image via PageCloud

This is one of the best ecommerce platforms which is a website builder for varying purposes. During setup, you'll be asked the purpose of the site you're creating. Here, you can choose the “sell online” option to create an ecommerce store.

PageCloud provides a list of themes that are well-designed and you can choose one. The website builder has a drag-and-drop functionality that makes it easy to customize your store’s looks.

Another exciting feature is that up to three people can log in to PageCloud and edit your store’s outlook, which makes collaboration easier.

The site has a lengthy list of integrations too to expand your functionality.

Key Features

• Opt-in forms and newsletters
• Free SSL certificate
• Automated email marketing
• Scheduled order pickup
• Automated abandoned cart recovery
• Product filters
• Multilingual catalog
• Sell on Amazon and eBay

Pros

• Provides lots of room for customization
• Attractive modern-looking templates
• Simple pricing

Cons

• Can be expensive if you're looking to build a simple website
• The templates aren't automatically mobile responsive. You'd need to switch to the mobile version in the settings.

Pricing

• Website Plans
  • Start – Free
  • Launch – $24/month
  • Grow – $45/month
  • Pro – $99/month

Image via PageCloud

• Ecommerce
  • Starter: $39/month
  • Advanced: $79/month
  • Unlimited: $99/month

Image via PageCloud

Tool Level

• Intermediate

Usability

• Slight learning curve involved

22. GoDaddy

Image via GoDaddy

The platform is popularly known for providing domain registration services. But did you know that it also falls under the list of best ecommerce platforms?

GoDaddy allows you to build and test your online store for free.

The platform is suitable for small businesses and startups with little to no programming knowledge. It provides hundreds of themes to give your store a unique outlook and these themes are categorized by industry.

These themes are extremely easy to customize even for those with no coding experience.

GoDaddy also provides several inbuilt ecommerce marketing options for your online store. This includes the ability to boost online traffic with SEO.

You can also sell products on Facebook or use the tool’s default email marketing feature to build your lists and send catchy newsletters.

Key Features

• Domain name registration
• Web hosting
• Simplified shipping
• Up to 5,000 product uploads
• Modern-looking store designs
• Mobile friendly designs
• Built-in marketing and SEO

Pros

• It's easy to customize and beginner friendly
• The platform offers hundreds of attractive mobile-friendly themes

Cons

• It can be difficult to scale on GoDaddy
• The list of integrations appear pretty limited

Pricing

• GoDaddy Website Builder
  • Basic – £6.99 /mo
  • Standard – £8.99 /mo
  • Premium – £11.99 /mo
  • Ecommerce – £12.99 /mo

Image via GoDaddy

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

23. Easy Digital Downloads

Image via Easy Digital Downloads

Just like WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads is another on the list of best ecommerce platforms. Unlike WooCommerce, this platform specializes in selling digital products and subscriptions.

These include items such as ebooks, PDF documents, licensed software, and more.

The platform provides flexible payment options including popular payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal.

There's also a subscription payment option. You can create discounts to incentivize customers and increase conversions.

The unlimited downloads feature ensures that you do not incur additional bandwidth for file downloads.

Getting started with Easy Digital Downloads is easy. You can install the plugin for free on WordPress

Key Features

• Subscription billing
• Content protection
• Reports and analytics
• Store management
• 100+ third-party integrations
• Unlimited file downloads
• Offer discount
• 14-day money-back guarantee

Pros

• The platform is easy to set up
• Provides a recurring subscription integration

Cons

• Limited customer support
• Fewer free themes

Pricing

• All Access Pass – $349 billed annually
• Professional – $209 billed annually
• Extended – $159 billed annually
• Personal – $89 billed annually

Image via Easy Digital Downloads

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

24. Bluehost

Image via Bluehost

This platform is popularly known for providing WordPress hosting. However, it also provides online store-building services for WordPress sites.

These functions are powered by both WooCommerce and YITH. This gives you access to their numerous site-building tools and themes.

For instance, you can set up appointments and bookings on your Bluehost website.

Bluehost is suitable for small businesses looking to use WooCommerce to host their online stores. The platform allows you to also sell on other retail marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon.

And if you're not in a position to design your online store yourself, Bluehost offers the option to have their experienced team do it for you.

Key Features

• Domain name and SSL
• Yoast SEO
• Gift cards
• Multichannel inventory management
• Bookings and appointments
• Automated WordPress updates
• Website analytics
• Product wishlist
• Product search and filtering

Pros

• Bluehost allows you to upload unlimited products
• It provides a wishlist feature which is a bit rare
• You can sell products on marketplaces

Cons

• It uses WordPress, which means you'd need to learn the site
• There are storage limits

Pricing

• Online store: $8.95/month billed annually
• Online store + marketplace: $12.95/month billed annually

Image via Bluehost

Tool Level

• Intermediate

Usability

• Involves a slight learning curve

25. Commercetools

Image via Commercetools

Commercetools is a leading German-based enterprise-level ecommerce platform. It’s one of the best ecommerce platforms if you’re looking for cloud-based software that offers headless ecommerce building solutions for B2B and B2C use cases.

This headless architecture gives you more flexibility to customize both the front-end and back-end versions of your online store.

Being an API-driven platform, Commercetools allows developers to build custom ecommerce sites using any programming language or technology.

Key Features

• Headless architecture
• API-driven platform
• Cloud-based tool
• Omnichannel commerce
• Easy integration with existing software

Pros

• It's highly scalable mainly due to its headless architecture
• Commercetools gives you complete control over your store's outlook

Cons

• It's library of integrations can be limited
• It's not suitable for beginners

Pricing

• Contact sales

Tool Level

• Advanced

Usability

• Requires technical expertise

26. Joomla

Image via Joomla

Joomla is an open-source content management system that allows you to build powerful websites. It does not come with ecommerce functionalities and you'd need to add extensions to make your site a storefront.

Luckily, the platform provides a popular ecommerce extension, J2Store, that you can install for free. There are also lots of other extensions that Joomla provides that you can use to expand your store's capabilities.

With coding experience, you can customize Joomla into any complex ecommerce site you like if need be. This makes it a bit harder to navigate than most beginner-friendly tools, but it's easy to use overall with a technical experience.

The platform also provides lots of guides and tutorials to make the process easier.

Key Features

• Built-in SEO tools to help modify meta descriptions edit robot.txt files etc
• List of free and paid extensions
• Supports 70+ free and paid payment plugins

Pros

• There are multiple shopping cart extensions to explore
• If you choose J2Store as your ecommerce extension, you'll be able to sell different types of products including digital products, subscriptions, tickets, etc.

Cons

• The platform lacks an integrated ecommerce functionality
• It's more suitable for advanced users than beginners

Pricing

• Free

Tool Level

• Intermediate to advanced

Usability

• Involves a bit of a learning curve

27. Hostinger

Image via Hostinger

Hostinger is a popular hosting provider like Bluehost which makes it perfect for various use cases. It also provides website-building tools that you can use to create your ecommerce platform.

The website builder is easy to use with an intuitive template editor and 100+ prebuilt templates for your inspiration.

The platform provides AI tools to help with content creation, logo making, and image editing. This set it apart as one of the best ecommerce platforms for online store building.

Hostinger’s ecommerce management tool comes with a user-friendly interface. You can sell up to 500 products without incurring transaction costs.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop website builder
• Prebuilt website building templates
• Order management
• Over 20 payment options
• Third-party integrations
• 24/7 live chat support

Pros

• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Free website domain for the first year and free SSL certificate if you host your website with Hostinger
• There are built-in SEO tools

Cons

• The site does not offer dedicated servers which can be limiting for businesses looking to scale
• The site isn’t as flexible as other platforms in the market

Pricing

• Premium: $2.99/month
• Business: $3.99/month
• Cloud Startup: $8.99/month

Image via Hostinger

Tool Level

• Beginner

Usability

• Easy to use

FAQs

Q1. Which platform is best for an ecommerce website?

A. Depending on the type of ecommerce site you want to build, the best ecommerce platforms are:

• Magento – The best ecommerce platform for a large online store that needs customization
• Templemonster – The “Amazon” of templates and themes
• BigCommerce – Best for a purely ecommerce store
• WooCommerce – Best ecommerce platform for a WordPress site
• Squarespace – Great choice for an ecommerce business with subscription-based products
• Yo!Kart – One of the best ecommerce platforms for a multi-vendor store
• Volusion – The right ecommerce platform for store-owners looking for hosted solutions
• Wix – Best ecommerce platform with web hosting for small businesses

Q2. What are the 5 best ecommerce websites?

A. Looking for inspiration for your ecommerce store?

Here are 5 online businesses that have created buyer-centric ecommerce stores using the best ecommerce platforms:

• SkullCandy
• Bliss
• Bohemian Traders
• Alice + Whittles
• Hebe

Q3. What is the best ecommerce system?

A. The best ecommerce platforms for online selling have these features:

• Third-party plugins to improve essential ecommerce features
• Reports and analytics capabilities
• Strong built-in SEO, multi-channel selling, and other marketing features
• Inventory management
• Customer support
• Affordable transaction fees
• Mobile app support
• Reliable payment processing

Q4. Is Shopify still the best ecommerce platform?

A. Although it’s not listed in our list of best ecommerce platforms, Shopify remains one of the best ecommerce platforms.

It has everything you need to set up your ecommerce website and sell online. However, this ecommerce platform fails in a few crucial areas where other platforms excel, such as:

• Poor SEO
• Complicated customization of the online stores
• Overly reliant on costly apps

Other best ecommerce platforms you can use in place of Shopify are BigCommerce and Adobe Commerce.

Q5. Is Shopify good for beginners?

A. Although it's one of the most popular ecommerce platforms, Shopify is not the best choice for beginners who want to start selling online.

The editor is not as intuitive as other platforms on our list of the best ecommerce platforms.

Ready to Sell Products Online with the Best Ecommerce Platforms?

There you have it, the best ecommerce platforms compared.

There’s no perfect ecommerce platform, but we’ve narrowed down the 27 best ecommerce platforms that’ll help you create a stunning and powerful online store.

While at the top of our list of best ecommerce platforms is Magento, we recommend making a choice based on your ecommerce business needs.

Have you tried any other ecommerce platforms for your own online store?

Share your experiences in the comments below.