Comparison of the best e-commerce platforms for online businesses

E-commerce content management systems (CMS) serve as the backbone of online retail operations. These platforms provide businesses with the tools to build, manage, and scale their online stores, handling everything from product listings and payment processing to customer experience and inventory management.

As consumer expectations continue to rise and online competition grows fiercer, selecting the right e-commerce CMS is no longer a technical afterthought - it’s a strategic decision that can define a business's trajectory.

Choosing the most suitable platform hinges on several key factors, including the size and nature of your business, your growth ambitions, budget, and in-house technical expertise. While some platforms offer user-friendly interfaces designed for smaller businesses and non-technical users, others cater to larger enterprises requiring complex customisations, integrations, and robust scalability.

Let’s look at the leading e-commerce platforms and discuss the diverse use cases and strengths of each solution.

BigCommerce is a market-leading open SaaS e-commerce platform that offers a robust, fully hosted solution ideal for businesses of any size. With a rich array of built-in features, it supports rapid growth, multichannel selling, and global reach, without requiring extensive technical expertise.

Key features
BigCommerce combines ease of use with enterprise-level performance by offering a suite of features like built-in SEO, multi-currency and multilingual support, and headless commerce capabilities.

Its platform enables merchants to sell across marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and international storefronts - all from a single dashboard. It also includes powerful analytics, flexible APIs for custom integrations, and secure cloud hosting, making it suitable for scaling businesses.

Ease of use: intermediate
BigCommerce delivers enterprise-level features through a user-friendly interface, making advanced e-commerce capabilities accessible without requiring extensive technical knowledge. It's ideal for growing businesses that need robust functionality but want to avoid the complexity of expert-level platforms.

WooCommerce is a powerful open-source plugin that transforms WordPress websites into fully functional online stores. Known for its flexibility and vast ecosystem, WooCommerce allows for extensive customisation across product listings, checkout flows, and design elements.

Key features
WooCommerce utilises the vast WordPress ecosystem to offer unparalleled customisation through plugins, themes, and integrations. It supports digital and physical products, various shipping options, tax rules, and payment gateways.

The open-source nature allows businesses to fine-tune the backend to suit specific workflows, while also enabling content-rich marketing strategies with WordPress’s native blogging and SEO tools. WooCommerce is developer-friendly, as well as accessible to non-technical users through visual themes and plugins.

Ease of use: intermediate
As a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce offers incredible flexibility and customisation options, while requiring moderate technical familiarity to unlock its full potential. It's perfect for businesses that want control over their e-commerce experience and have some technical resources available.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is an enterprise-grade, cloud-based e-commerce platform designed to deliver unified, omnichannel shopping experiences. It utilises deep CRM integration and AI tools to offer tailored, data-driven customer interactions at scale.

Key features
Salesforce Commerce Cloud stands out for its tight integration with Salesforce’s ecosystem (CRM, Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud), enabling real-time customer data access and personalisation. It supports omnichannel commerce, allowing businesses to unify digital and physical shopping experiences across web, mobile, and in-store.

Plus, AI-driven tools like Einstein enhance personalisation and merchandising, while the platform also offers multi-site, multi-language, and multi-currency functionality. Its scalability and customisation make it ideal for complex B2C and B2B environments.

Ease of use: expert
Salesforce Commerce Cloud delivers enterprise-grade e-commerce capabilities but requires deep knowledge of the Salesforce ecosystem and dedicated technical expertise. It's designed for large organisations that need sophisticated customer relationship management integrated with their e-commerce operations.

Magento, now Adobe Commerce, is a powerful and highly customisable open-source platform built to support large-scale and complex e-commerce operations. It offers both on-premise and cloud-hosted enterprise solutions.

Key features
Magento (Adobe Commerce) offers comprehensive product and order management, multi-store capabilities, and advanced pricing and promotion options. Its integration with Adobe Experience Cloud enhances personalisation, content management, and analytics.

The platform is built for flexibility, supporting headless setups, API integrations, and custom modules. With strong B2B features and robust support for localisation, Magento is a preferred choice for enterprises requiring deep control over their online operations.

Ease of use: expert
Magento's highly complex architecture offers unparalleled customisation and scalability, but demands dedicated developers with platform-specific expertise. It's the choice for enterprises that need complete control over their e-commerce experience and have the resources to support its complexity.

OpenCart, is a lightweight, open-source e-commerce platform known for its ease of use and accessibility. It offers essential out-of-the-box features and is ideal for small retailers or startups seeking a low-cost entry point to online selling.

Key features
OpenCart provides essential e-commerce functionality out of the box, including built-in product and order management, user reviews, and basic SEO tools. Its lightweight footprint allows for fast performance, and its admin panel is user-friendly and intuitive.

The platform supports a range of payment gateways and shipping methods, while thousands of free and paid extensions (with themes and modules) allow merchants to expand functionality as needed. It also benefits from low hosting and infrastructure requirements.

Ease of use: intermediate
OpenCart provides an open-source solution with a user-friendly administration panel and extensive customisation options through its marketplace of extensions. It offers good value for businesses that need flexibility, without the steep learning curve of more complex platforms.

PrestaShop, is an open-source e-commerce platform particularly popular in European markets. With a modular architecture and multilingual support, it offers a balance of usability and flexibility for growing online retailers.

Key features
PrestaShop features a powerful back office for managing products, customers, orders, and shipping with a high degree of flexibility. Its modular design allows merchants to tailor their store functionality, with thousands of add-ons and themes available. The platform supports multilingual and multi-currency operations, making it ideal for international selling.

The e-commerce platform also provides advanced reporting tools and strong SEO features, helping businesses grow organically. It boasts a customisable front-end design, and benefits from community and localised resources.

Ease of use: intermediate
PrestaShop's modular architecture allows for significant customisation whilst maintaining relative ease of use through its intuitive back-office interface. It's well-suited to European markets and businesses that need multilingual and multi-currency capabilities.

commercetools, is a next-generation, headless commerce platform built for scalability, innovation, and omnichannel retail. Its API-first, microservices-based architecture allows businesses to create fully customised and future-ready digital commerce solutions.

Key features
commercetools decouples the front-end and back-end, allowing businesses to build tailored digital experiences across multiple platforms. Its architecture is based on microservices and APIs, enabling quick innovation and seamless integration with external systems.

Scalable for high-growth and enterprise environments, commercetools excels in supporting multiple business models (B2B, B2C, D2C) and international operations with localisation features. It also offers real-time inventory, promotions, and pricing management across touchpoints, supporting complex omnichannel experiences.

Ease of use: expert
As an API-first, headless commerce platform, commercetools requires significant technical expertise to implement. However, it offers ultimate flexibility in creating custom shopping experiences. It's suitable for brands that need to deliver commerce across multiple touchpoints and channels.

Drupal Commerce, is a powerful, open-source CMS built for flexibility, scalability, and security. It empowers organisations to create dynamic, content-rich websites and applications with advanced customisation, robust APIs, and enterprise-grade capabilities. It is suitable for large enterprises and government portals that require top-level security, as well as brands that need multilingual, global websites.

Key features
Drupal Commerce enables highly customised shopping experiences by tightly integrating with Drupal’s powerful CMS capabilities. This makes it ideal for content-heavy websites needing e-commerce functionality. In addition to seamless content-commerce integration, it offers strong security and scalability for enterprise needs.

It supports complex workflows, multilingual and multi-currency configurations, and strong user access control. The modular design allows for advanced customisations, and the large community of developers ensures ongoing support and innovation.

Ease of use: expert
Drupal Commerce leverages the power of the Drupal content management system but requires deep development skills to configure and maintain effectively. It's suited to complex projects that need to integrate e-commerce with sophisticated content management requirements.

Shopify, is a fully hosted e-commerce platform that allows businesses to quickly create and manage online stores. Known for its ease of use and rapid setup, it supports thousands of merchants globally with tools for product management, marketing, and payments.

Key features
Shopify offers a drag-and-drop store builder with mobile-optimised themes that make it easy for users to create attractive storefronts without needing coding skills. The platform includes a built-in payment gateway and seamless integrations with major shipping providers, simplifying logistics and fulfilment.

Shopify also boasts a robust app marketplace that allows merchants to extend store functionality as needed. Combined with secure cloud hosting and 24/7 customer support, these features make Shopify an accessible and reliable choice for businesses of all sizes.

Ease of use: beginner
Shopify stands out as the gold standard for beginner-friendly e-commerce, combining an intuitive interface with powerful functionality that scales with business needs. Its extensive app marketplace and built-in payment processing make it the go-to choice for entrepreneurs who want professional results without technical complexity.

Shopware, is a flexible, open-source e-commerce platform based in Germany, known for its API-first architecture and high customisability. It supports both B2C and B2B businesses with scalable, modern tools.

Key features
Shopware is built with an API-first and headless commerce framework, enabling retailers to deliver custom shopping experiences across different digital touchpoints. It includes a comprehensive content management system that supports engaging storytelling alongside commerce.

The platform’s modular plugin system offers flexibility to adapt to different business models and needs. With native support for multilingual and multi-currency operations, Shopware is particularly strong in serving international markets.

Ease of use: expert
Shopware's API-first architecture and modern development approach require specialist knowledge but reward technical investment with highly flexible and scalable e-commerce solutions. It's particularly popular in European markets where customisation and performance are priorities.

SAP Commerce Cloud, (formerly Hybris) is an enterprise-grade digital commerce platform that integrates deeply with SAP’s ERP and CRM systems. Built for scalability and flexibility, it serves complex businesses with global reach.

Key features
SAP Commerce Cloud offers deep integration with SAP’s enterprise suite, allowing seamless alignment between e-commerce, back-end systems, and customer data. The platform enables multi-brand, multi-language, and multi-region operations from a single control panel.

It also supports extensive product content management, robust B2B and B2C functionality, and advanced personalisation using AI-driven tools. These capabilities make it suitable for businesses with highly customised and large-scale operational needs.

Ease of use: expert
SAP Commerce Cloud is designed for large enterprises already invested in the SAP ecosystem, requiring specialised knowledge of SAP integration and enterprise-level technical expertise. It excels in complex B2B scenarios and organisations with sophisticated business process requirements.

Bluehost, is a web hosting provider that also offers e-commerce solutions through integrations with platforms like WooCommerce. It is known for affordability and simplicity for WordPress-based online stores.

Key features
Bluehost streamlines the process of launching an e-commerce store by providing integrated WordPress and WooCommerce hosting. It includes features such as automatic WordPress installation, free SSL, and domain registration bundled with its hosting plans.

A user-friendly control panel allows beginners to manage their online store effectively, and its 24/7 support ensures that help is readily available when needed. This makes it appeal to those entering e-commerce without prior technical experience.

Ease of use: beginner
Bluehost simplifies the typically complex process of setting up WordPress with WooCommerce, offering managed hosting with easy installation procedures. It bridges the gap between beginner-friendly hosting and the power of WordPress for those wanting more control.

Wix, is a website builder that includes e-commerce capabilities through its Wix Stores feature. It enables users to quickly build visually appealing online shops with minimal technical effort.

Key features
Wix combines an intuitive drag-and-drop editor with a broad range of designer-made templates optimised for desktop and mobile. The platform supports secure online payments, inventory management, and shipping integrations, making it suitable for small merchants.

It also includes built-in marketing tools such as automated emails, SEO assistance, and analytics, providing a complete solution for launching and growing a digital store. Its app market allows further feature expansion to meet specific business needs.

Ease of use: beginner
Wix's drag-and-drop editor empowers users to create visually stunning online stores using professionally designed templates. The platform's artificial design intelligence and user-friendly interface make it ideal for small businesses seeking an attractive web presence with minimal effort.

Squarespace, is a hosted website builder popular for its sleek design templates and integrated e-commerce functionality. It appeals to design-led businesses wanting polished, easy-to-maintain stores.

Key features
Squarespace provides a sleek website builder with award-winning templates, an intuitive interface, and built-in e-commerce tools. It supports digital and physical product sales, inventory tracking, marketing automation, and basic SEO features.

Payment processing is available via Stripe, PayPal, and Apple Pay. Squarespace also includes blogging and content tools, making it a compelling choice for brands with strong content strategies.

Ease of use: beginner
Renowned for its award-winning design templates and integrated e-commerce capabilities, Squarespace delivers exceptional visual appeal straight out of the box. It's perfect for creative businesses and brands that prioritise aesthetics alongside functional online selling features.

Hostinger, is a budget-friendly hosting provider offering e-commerce functionality via WordPress and WooCommerce. It is valued for its low pricing and simple onboarding process.

Key features
Hostinger offers a low-cost hosting environment ideal for small-scale merchants. Its proprietary website builder is simple and streamlined, while its WooCommerce hosting supports more customisable e-commerce stores. Hostinger includes a free domain, SSL, and a suite of performance and security tools. With global data centres, it delivers good loading speeds and is easy to set up for non-technical users.

Ease of use: beginner
Hostinger combines budget-friendly pricing with simple setup options, making professional e-commerce accessible to businesses with limited budgets. Its streamlined approach focuses on essential features without overwhelming new users with complexity.

GoDaddy, is a domain registrar and hosting provider that also offers a simple e-commerce store builder. It targets small businesses with a need for speed and simplicity in launching online.

Key features
GoDaddy’s online store builder includes tools for product listings, payment gateways, and marketing integrations. It is beginner-friendly, offering templates, analytics, social selling, and email marketing through its integrated dashboard. With a focus on fast deployment, it’s designed for users looking to get online quickly without advanced technical knowledge.

Ease of use: beginner
GoDaddy focuses on rapid deployment and simplicity, allowing users to launch online stores quickly with minimal fuss. The platform prioritises speed of setup over advanced customisation, making it ideal for businesses that need to get online fast.

Big Cartel, is a simple, artist-focused e-commerce platform aimed at independent makers and creatives. It provides just the essentials for selling products online with minimal setup.

Key features
Big Cartel focuses on simplicity and creativity, offering minimalistic templates and lightweight store management tools. It allows users to sell online without transaction fees on paid plans, supports inventory tracking, discount codes, and integrates with Stripe and PayPal. It’s best suited for those looking to sell a small range of products without complex functionality.

Ease of use: beginner
Big Cartel caters specifically to artists and creators with small product catalogues, offering a minimalist approach that keeps things simple and affordable. Its straightforward setup makes it ideal for makers and independent sellers who want to focus on their craft rather than complex technical configurations.

Volusion, is a cloud-based e-commerce platform offering an all-in-one package for online store creation, including templates, product management, and marketing tools.

Key features
Volusion includes responsive site themes, product variant support, analytics dashboards, and built-in SEO features. It supports various payment gateways and enables real-time shipping rate calculation. Its all-in-one platform is designed to provide everything a merchant needs, although it requires more manual configuration compared to newer alternatives.

Ease of use: beginner
Volusion offers an all-in-one e-commerce solution that requires some manual configuration but provides comprehensive features for established online retailers. Its approach suits businesses that want integrated functionality without relying on multiple third-party services.

Square Online, is a simple e-commerce solution by Square that integrates seamlessly with Square POS. It's built for small businesses looking to sell both online and offline.

Key features
Square Online integrates closely with Square’s POS hardware and software. It allows easy product sync between physical and digital channels, supports pickup and delivery options, and includes marketing and customer engagement tools. With no upfront cost, it’s suitable for businesses already using Square in person who want to sell online.

Ease of use: beginner
Square Online excels in its seamless integration with Square's point-of-sale systems, making it perfect for businesses that sell both online and in physical locations. The platform offers quick setup and synchronised inventory management across all sales channels.

Weebly, now owned by Square, offers a drag-and-drop website and store builder that caters to small businesses and hobbyists. It is easy to use and requires no coding.

Key features
Weebly offers a simple store setup with built-in marketing tools, flexible product pages, and support for both digital and physical goods. It integrates with Square for payments and inventory, and includes mobile apps for store management. It’s designed for ease of use rather than advanced customisation.

Ease of use: beginner
As a Square-owned platform, Weebly provides a straightforward drag-and-drop builder that's particularly suited to small businesses seeking simplicity. Its user-friendly approach and integrated marketing tools make it an accessible choice for first-time e-commerce ventures.

Ecwid, is a lightweight e-commerce solution that integrates with existing websites, social media platforms, and marketplaces. It is known for ease of use and quick setup.

Key features
Ecwid is designed for fast deployment across multiple platforms, including WordPress, Wix, Facebook, and Instagram. It includes mobile-responsive storefronts, automatic tax and shipping calculations, and multilingual/multi-currency support. Merchants can manage everything from a central dashboard, and the platform offers both free and premium plans.

Ease of use: beginner
Ecwid's lightweight approach allows businesses to add e-commerce functionality to existing websites and social media platforms, without having to start from scratch. This flexibility makes it perfect for businesses that already have an online presence and want to integrate selling capabilities.

Choosing the right e-commerce platform is a crucial step in establishing and expanding a successful online business. With so many options available, it’s important to match the platform to your business size, goals, and technical skills. Each solution offers different strengths, whether it’s ease of use, customisation, international reach, or integration with other systems.

By understanding what each platform offers and what your business needs, you can make a smart, future-ready choice that supports growth and delivers a great customer experience.