E-commerce platforms provide everything needed to sell products online — product catalogs, shopping carts, checkout, payment processing, and order management. The market ranges from all-in-one hosted solutions (Shopify, BigCommerce) to headless and open-source options (Medusa, Saleor) for developers who want full control.

Shopify dominates for good reason: it handles complexity behind a simple interface and has a massive app ecosystem. However, its transaction fees (unless using Shopify Payments) and customization limits push some businesses toward alternatives.

When choosing an e-commerce platform, consider your product type (physical vs digital), customization needs, transaction fee tolerance, and technical capabilities. For most businesses, starting simple and migrating when you outgrow the platform is better than over-engineering from day one.

All e-commerce tools

1

Leading e-commerce platform for building online stores with themes, apps, and payments.

Paid from $29/mo Businesses wanting the most popular e-commerce platform
Online Store Themes App Store Payments
2
WooCommerce Free Open Source

Open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress with extensions and payment gateways.

Free WordPress users wanting e-commerce functionality
WordPress Plugin Extensions Payments Shipping
3
Medusa Free Open Source

Open-source headless commerce platform built with Node.js for developer-first e-commerce.

Free Developers wanting a headless, open-source Shopify alternative
Headless Open Source Node.js Plugins
4
Saleor Free Open Source

Open-source, GraphQL-first headless commerce platform for high-volume stores.

Free Teams wanting GraphQL-first headless e-commerce
GraphQL Headless Dashboard Multi-Channel
5

E-commerce platform with headless commerce, multi-channel selling, and B2B features.

Paid from $29/mo Growing businesses wanting enterprise e-commerce features
Multi-Channel Headless B2B SEO
6
Gumroad Free tier

Simplest platform for selling digital products, courses, and memberships.

No monthly fee (10% cut) · Paid from 10% Creators selling digital products simply
Digital Products Memberships Email Workflows
7
Lemonsqueezy Free tier

All-in-one for digital sales, subscriptions, and licensing with built-in tax handling.

No monthly fee · Paid from 5% + $0.50 SaaS founders wanting all-in-one digital sales
Subscriptions Tax Compliance Licensing Checkout
8

Beautiful e-commerce built into Squarespace's website builder platform.

Paid from $27/mo Design-focused brands selling physical products, art, or creative services
E-commerce Website builder Email marketing Inventory management
9

E-commerce platform for creators selling digital products, subscriptions, and merch.

Paid from $22/mo Creators selling digital products, print-on-demand merch, and subscriptions
Digital products Subscriptions Print-on-demand Email marketing
10
Thinkific Free tier

Online course platform for creators and businesses to build, market, and sell courses and communities.

Free plan with one course · Paid from $49/mo Course creators and coaches who want full control over their course site and student experience
Course builder Student communities Website builder Certificates

Popular e-commerce comparisons

Find alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Shopify vs WooCommerce — which is better?
Shopify is better if you want a hosted, managed solution that just works. WooCommerce is better if you already use WordPress and want full control over your store. Shopify is easier to start with; WooCommerce is more flexible but requires more technical management.
What is headless commerce?
Headless commerce separates the storefront (what customers see) from the backend (product management, orders, inventory). This lets you build a custom frontend with any technology while using the e-commerce platform as an API. It offers maximum flexibility but requires development resources.
What are the real costs of running a Shopify store?
Beyond the monthly plan ($29-299), factor in: Shopify Payments processing fees (2.9% + $0.30), app subscriptions (most stores need 5-10 apps at $5-50/month each), theme costs ($0-350), and any custom development. A typical small store costs $50-200/month all-in.

Explore more