OpenCart vs WooCommerce
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?
OpenCart
Free PHP-based shopping cart system
VS
WooCommerce
Open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress
| Feature | OpenCart | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,174 | ★ 10,451 |
| First released | 2009 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Shopify, Wix Stores | Shopify, BigCommerce |
Why pick each one
Choose WooCommerce if…
- Massive plugin and theme library
- Large community and documentation
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCart or WooCommerce better?
Neither is universally better. WooCommerce 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 OpenCart and WooCommerce free and open-source?
Yes. OpenCart is licensed under GPL-3.0 and WooCommerce under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenCart and WooCommerce with Docker?
OpenCart: yes. WooCommerce: yes.