WordPress eCommerce plugins are needed to run online businesses smoothly. As eCommerce has multiplied exponentially over time, we are constantly on the hunt for a helping hand while taking care of our business.
Investing in an eCommerce plugin without knowing what is best for you can be tough. To ease that up, we compare the top 8 WordPress eCommerce plugins.
In this article, we will discuss which WordPress eCommerce plugin is best for your online business and examine the pros and cons of each one. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Table of Contents
What to look in for the WordPress eCommerce Plugin?
When selecting a WordPress eCommerce plugin, consider factors beyond your store’s needs. These key elements will impact your site’s performance and user experience:
Integration of Payments
It is better to utilize plugins with integrated payment processors or in-house gateways because installing them separately could cause your website to load more slowly.
Effect on the Speed of the Site
Your website’s user experience and SEO rankings may suffer if you have too many plugins installed. Look for performance insights in forums and reviews.
Personalization
Since each online store is different, pick a plugin that makes customization simple. To make setup easier, look for plugins with comprehensive documentation, shortcodes, and hooks.
Support
Reliable support is crucial because downtime might result in revenue losses. Choose plugins that provide multichannel, round-the-clock support.
Best 8 WordPress eCommerce plugins
Here is the list of the best WordPress eCommerce plugins:
1. WooCommerce
One of the most widely used WordPress eCommerce plugins, WooCommerce is trusted by small and medium-sized enterprises and online shops all over the world. With the help of this open-source plugin, you may sell physical and digital goods straight from your WordPress website.
WooCommerce makes it easy to set up an online store, so you can launch and begin selling right away. It is favored by both developers and business owners due to its adaptability and simplicity of use.
Pro’s:
- Extremely Customizable: Use extensions, themes, and unique code to customize your store.
- Scalable: Fits both small and big internet merchants.
- Friendly to SEO: extensions and built-in features to increase search engine exposure.
- Cost-effective: Users can begin using the core plugin for free because it is free.
- Big Ecosystem: Almost infinite options are offered by a large plugin library and community.
Con’s:
- Configuring advanced functions may be too much for novices.
- Although the main plugin is free, premium extensions can be expensive.
- For large stores with high traffic, optimization may be necessary.
Pricing:
- Extra Fees: There are differences in the costs of payment gateways, hosting, and themes.
- Core Plugin: No cost.
- Depending on the feature or integration, premium extensions might cost anywhere from $29 to $299+.
2. Easy Digital Downloads
Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is an excellent WordPress eCommerce plugin for those focused on selling digital products like eBooks, music, software, or other downloadable items. Specifically designed for digital-only stores, EDD offers a variety of features to help you sell products in different formats seamlessly. Customers can even choose specific product versions directly from an embedded post or page, enhancing the shopping experience.
Pro’s:
- Focused on Digital Products: Perfect for shops that sell downloaded goods.
- Easy to use and lightweight: less complicated to use and configure than all-purpose plugins like WooCommerce.
- Adaptable: allows for a variety of extensions to add sophisticated functionality.
- Optimized Checkout: Simplified to improve user satisfaction.
- Developer-Friendly: An adaptable API for developing unique features.
Con’s:
- Unsuitable for establishments that sell tangible goods.
- Purchasing premium extensions is frequently necessary to access advanced functionality.
- Less focused than eCommerce plugins with multiple uses, such as WooCommerce.
Pricing:
- Core Plugin: No cost.
- Premium Plans: Depending on features and included extensions, prices range from $99 to $499 annually.
- Extensions: The cost of each add-on varies, usually beginning at $29.
3. Ecwid
Ecwid is a flexible WordPress eCommerce plugin that functions as a software as a service (SaaS) solution, enabling companies to sell on social networking platforms and easily interface with WordPress.
You may manage items, sales channels, and payments straight from your website thanks to its WordPress plugin, which imports all dashboard and settings tools.
With Ecwid integrating the Google Ads panel, choosing ad packages and starting campaigns is simple and doesn’t require you to leave your dashboard.
Pro’s:
- Simple Integration: Integrates with other platforms and WordPress with ease.
- Networked: Selling across websites, social media, and marketplaces
- Payment Flexibility: Provides a range of manual and online payment choices.
- Courier Integration: Determines delivery charges automatically.
- Easy to use: Simple to set up and maintain.
Con’s:
- Not as many choices for customization as plugins like WooCommerce.
- A few functions rely on third-party apps or integrations.
Pricing:
- Premium Plans: Higher-tier plans with more sophisticated features start at $14 per month.
- Free Plan: Features for small enterprises are limited.
4. BigCommerce
An all-in-one eCommerce plugin, BigCommerce provides a headless solution in which its architecture functions apart from the WordPress core. You can effectively manage the backend of your store using the BigCommerce dashboard by linking your BigCommerce account to WordPress.
The WordPress eCommerce plugin offers features for easily managing discounts, promotions, and other store operations in addition to embedding product listings on pages.
To assist businesses make up for lost sales and spur expansion, BigCommerce also provides strong marketing tools like discount code production, promotional materials, and emails for abandoned carts.
Pro’s:
- Scalability: Ideal for growing businesses with extensive inventory and traffic.
- Integrated Marketing Features: Conversion rates are raised by tools like abandoned cart recovery.
- Performance: WordPress servers are less taxed by headless setups.
- Enterprise Options: Cutting-edge resources for big companies.
Con’s:
- For newcomers, the setup could be difficult.
- For tiny enterprises, prices can be exorbitant.
- Less customizable than WordPress-native plugins such as WooCommerce.
Pricing:
- Enterprise Plan: Personalized prices according to needs
- Plan Standard: $39 per month.
- Plans Plus: $105 per month.
- Plan Pro: $399 per month.
5. Cart66 Cloud
With eCommerce and integrated services to manage email receipts, payment security, and safe digital goods storage, Cart66 offers a comprehensive WordPress business solution.
Cart66 streamlines store management by guaranteeing PCI compliance for payment gateways and doing away with the need for extra tools like SMTP servers.
By eliminating the need for additional plugins or services, having everything integrated into a single platform saves time and effort.
Pro’s:
- Streamlined Management: Provides a single platform with all required tools.
- Billing method: Recurring billing makes it easier to sell subscription-based goods.
- Security: Guarantees PCI adherence for secure payment handling.
- Convenience: No other plugins or SMTP server setup is required.
- Dedicated Support: Provided by a group of people who are committed to making sure the store runs well.
Con’s:
- Compared to other plugins like WooCommerce, it might not be as adaptable.
- Ideal for small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Necessitates using the functionalities that are already included in the platform.
Pricing
- Monthly Starter Plan: $19.
- Monthly Professional Plan: $49.
- Plan Premium: $99 per month.
- Advanced features may incur additional costs.
6. MemberPress
One of the best WordPress eCommerce plugins for digital goods and subscription-based service sales is MemberPress. It is perfect for membership sites since it provides strong access control tools to limit content and manage user access.
You don’t need any extra tools to market online courses thanks to the integrated course builder. MemberPress is an intuitive solution for managing subscriptions and providing value to your clients, regardless of whether you are selling memberships, courses, or exclusive content.
Pro’s:
- Simple configuration for membership and subscription management.
- Customize access levels for various users with flexible access control.
- Compatible with third-party tools and WooCommerce.
Con’s:
- Emphasizing subscriptions and digital products.
- For smaller organizations, this could be costly.
- It could take some time to become proficient with advanced capabilities.
Pricing:
- Plan Basic: $179 annually.
- Plan Plus: $299 annually.
- Plan Pro: $399 annually.
7. Shopify
Two of the most well-known WordPress eCommerce plugins, WooCommerce and Shopify, provide strong capabilities for building online storefronts. Shopify is a hosted eCommerce builder, which means it can host your store without the need for third-party hosting, in contrast to WooCommerce.
By turning on the Buy Button function, Shopify’s WordPress integration lets you sell goods without the need for a plugin. It offers multi-currency flexibility, sales tracking, fundamental eCommerce technologies, an infinite number of products, and more than 100 payment options.
Pro’s:
- Manages payments, store administration, and hosting all on a single platform.
- You can sell goods without a plugin.
- Ideal for both small and large organizations.
- Features like mobile-friendly themes and customizable robots.txt raise search engine ranks.
Con’s:
- There is just a 14-day trial available; there is no free plan.
- In contrast to open-source systems such as WooCommerce.
- For smaller firms, monthly fees and transaction costs can mount up.
Pricing:
- Plan for Shopify: $105 per month.
- Plan Advanced: $399 per month.
8. WP EasyCart
WP EasyCart is a versatile eCommerce WordPress plugin with user-friendly shopping cart features. You can sell retail goods under the free plan, but you can only use simple payment methods and there will be a 2% registration fee for each transaction (in the free version). The community forum is the sole way to get support.
Application fees are eliminated when you upgrade to the Pro plan, which also grants you access to more than 30 payment processors for international transactions, memberships, and digital downloads For small businesses seeking a flexible eCommerce solution, WP EasyCart is the best option.
Pro’s:
- User-Friendly Easy to set up and a user-friendly UI.
- The Pro plan offers more than 30 gateways for international transactions.
- A free plan for essential eCommerce requirements.
- Offers retail products (Pro plan), digital downloads, and memberships.
- Performance information to improve choices.
Con’s:
- Digital downloads and memberships are not supported.
- For free users, the community forum is their only source of help.
Pricing:
- Free Plan: 2% application fee; only retail items are eligible.
- Pro Plan: $99/year; unlocks advanced features and eliminates transaction costs.
- Premium Support: Charged extra for this service
Comparing WordPress eCommerce Plugins
We have created a comparison of the best eCommerce plugins in which we talk about their features for you to decide which is the best one as per your requirements:
| Plugin | Highly Customizable | Supports Physical Goods | Easy to Use | Pricing Details |
| WooCommerce | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Core Plugin: Free; Premium Extensions: $29–$299+ |
| Easy Digital Downloads | ✔ | ❌ | ✔ | Core Plugin: Free; Premium Plans: $99–$499/year; Extensions: $29+ |
| Ecwid | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Free Plan available; Premium Plans start at $14/month |
| BigCommerce | ❌ | ✔ | ❌ | Standard: $39/month; Plus: $105/month; Pro: $399/month; Enterprise: Custom pricing |
| Cart66 Cloud | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | Starter: $19/month; Professional: $49/month; Premium: $99/month |
| MemberPress | ❌ | ❌ | ✔ | Basic: $179/year; Plus: $299/year; Pro: $399/year |
| Shopify | ❌ | ✔ | ✔ | Shopify Plan: $105/month; Advanced Plan: $399/month; Transaction fees: 0.5%–2% unless using Shopify Payments |
| WP EasyCart | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Free Plan: 2% fee; Pro Plan: $99/year |
Conclusion
Choosing the appropriate WordPress eCommerce plugin is essential to managing a profitable online store. Whether it’s MemberPress’s subscription-focused features, Shopify’s hosting and payment integration, or WooCommerce’s scalability, each plugin has unique advantages.
Payment gateway integrations, site speed impact, customization choices, and dependable support should all be given top priority when making your decision to choose the ideal WordPress eCommerce Plugin.
Plugins that are lightweight and have multiple functions can improve the functionality of your website. Make sure the option you select offers thorough documentation, and active support channels, and is in line with your business objectives.
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