Bagisto vs OpenCart
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Bagisto
Laravel-based open-source e-commerce platform
VS
OpenCart
Free PHP-based shopping cart system
| Feature | Bagisto | OpenCart |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 97 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,157 | ★ 8,203 |
| First released | 2018 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify, Wix Stores |
What are Bagisto and OpenCart?
Bagisto
Bagisto is a free, open-source e-commerce framework built on Laravel and Vue.js. It offers multi-warehouse inventory, a modular admin, and headless capabilities for building modern online stores.
- Built on Laravel framework
- Multi-warehouse inventory
- Headless GraphQL API
- Multi-channel and multi-locale
OpenCart
OpenCart is a free, open-source online store management system built in PHP. It is lightweight and easy to set up, with a marketplace of extensions and themes for small to mid-sized retailers.
- Lightweight and quick to install
- Multi-store from one admin
- Extension marketplace
- Multilingual and multi-currency
Bagisto vs OpenCart: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Bagisto versus GPL-3.0 for OpenCart. OpenCart is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Bagisto. OpenCart is the more established project (first released 2009), while Bagisto arrived in 2018. Bagisto has the considerably larger community, at 28,157 GitHub stars versus 8,203.
Why pick each one
Choose Bagisto if…
- Modern Laravel stack
- Active development
Watch out for
- Smaller extension ecosystem
- Documentation gaps in places
Choose OpenCart if…
- Low resource requirements
- Beginner-friendly setup
Watch out for
- Smaller community than competitors
- Limited advanced features
Frequently asked questions
Is Bagisto or OpenCart better?
Neither is universally better. Bagisto has the larger community, while OpenCart is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bagisto and OpenCart free and open-source?
Yes. Bagisto is licensed under MIT and OpenCart under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bagisto and OpenCart with Docker?
Bagisto: yes. OpenCart: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Bagisto or OpenCart?
OpenCart has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Bagisto. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.