SHSelfHostIndex

Magento Open Source 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.

Not the right match-up?
MA Magento Open Source Enterprise-grade open-source commerce platform VS OP OpenCart Free PHP-based shopping cart system
FeatureMagento Open SourceOpenCart
CategoryE-commerce PlatformsE-commerce Platforms
LicenseOSL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM4,096 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 12,164★ 8,174
First released20082009
ReplacesShopify Plus, BigCommerceShopify, Wix Stores

Why pick each one

Choose Magento Open Source if…

  • Powerful for large catalogs
  • Robust enterprise features
Magento Open Source details

Choose OpenCart if…

  • Low resource requirements
  • Beginner-friendly setup
OpenCart details

Frequently asked questions

Is Magento Open Source or OpenCart better?

Neither is universally better. Magento Open Source 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 Magento Open Source and OpenCart free and open-source?

Yes. Magento Open Source is licensed under OSL-3.0 and OpenCart under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Magento Open Source and OpenCart with Docker?

Magento Open Source: yes. OpenCart: yes.

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