9 Top Free eCommerce Platforms in 2024: Fast, Secure, Selfhosted
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These days, with so many helpful choices for free eCommerce platforms available, going online with your store is actually not that difficult. You have come to the right place if you are seeking free eCommerce platforms. Here are the top tools for building free eCommerce websites.
While some of these programmes allow you to set up your store for free but charge you to begin selling, others allow you to do both. Additionally, some of them are rather simple to operate while others require considerable skill.
We will step-by-step evaluate each of them for the following factors: free plan features, free plan restrictions, cost of paid plans where appropriate, transaction fees, and more.
How To Choose the Best Website Builder?
There are three alternative ways to choose the best website builder and launch a free online store, so we will try to keep this short and sweet. To choose the best website builder, you should first clarify which division is the best-suited for you:
To allow you to compare the top free e-commerce platforms in each of these categories and choose which one is the best for you, we have divided this article into three sections (along with an additional section). You may read individual reviews where we go into greater detail, as well as a side-by-side comparison chart of each builder, in each segment.
An Overview Of The Top Free Website Builders for E-Commerce
It is important that we experiment with new concepts in the current economic context; else, nothing will ever fully sustain. Free eCommerce platforms are crucial in this since they help launch new enterprises without requiring significant financial sacrifice.
After extensive testing and analysis, we have decided that the Fynd platform is the greatest free e-commerce platform since it has the most generous free plan. Big Cartel, the best platform for independent artists, came in second. Wix places third because of their fantastic free trial (although you will need to upgrade in order to start selling).
This list was produced using our own independent research procedure. You can trust that all of our suggestions are accurate, trustworthy, and fair because all of our opinions and ratings are supported by hours of research and effort.
Since finding the ideal eCommerce platform for your needs is our top priority, we make it our duty to always be open and honest with our readers. We are convinced we can accomplish this!
We were able to select the top eight platforms from a wide range of options after conducting extensive research and testing. By the end of this article, you will be fully prepared to make an educated decision:
More details about our original research methodology
To provide you with the top free ecommerce platforms available, our in-house research team conducts in-depth testing and analysis. Without supporting information and statistics, we do not wish to advocate for or propose anything.
But precisely what are we looking into? We looked at the top free e-commerce platforms and concentrated on what users care about most:
We are aware that selecting the best free eCommerce platform requires consideration of a number of critical elements, including site speed, app integration, payment methods, and support services. We assure you that we took everything into account when compiling our list of the very best websites.
Additionally, we have focused on the numerous ways you can create a free online store, including totally free e-commerce platforms, free trials, and, for tech-savvy individuals, the use of free e-commerce software.
Every platform has been tested by both ourselves and regular people since we want to provide you with a true and unbiased reflection of what's on the market. This gives our study a distinctive customer perspective and aids in evaluating user happiness and platform usability.
Best Free Ecommerce Website Builders
Here we go with the list of Best free ecommerce website Builders:
1. The Fynd Platform
Introduction to The Fynd Platform -
The Fynd Platform offers almost everything you would want in a website builder. Using a straightforward interface and one of the many available templates, you can create beautiful pages.
Mobile-specific tools and widgets from the Fynd platform boost usability and adaptability. Thanks to this robust e-commerce infrastructure, businesses can provide subscriptions and digital downloads. The high uptime of the server also ensures that your website will always be available.
The free tier of Fynd, in addition to all of its powerful, business-friendly premium capabilities, wins our Editors' Choice award for the category. If you want to build attractive websites without paying monthly fees, the Fynd platform is by far your best option, although you will have to put up with some premium features and restrictions except on-site advertisements.
The Fynd platform has long been the market leader in website builders and has been developing steadily. Since it contains one of the best features of any site builder, it really shines.
Additionally, Fynd platform offers one of the greatest free plans out there, providing you access to almost all services without paying a dime. Actually, there is no reason why you couldn't use the free plan of the Fynd platform forever (as long as you do not mind Wix branding and do not intend to make any sales with your website). The majority of the Fynd platform's templates are accessible under the free plan, and they are all lovely!
Want to Start Selling Online with Fynd Platform?
Fynd Platform is our top-rated ecommerce website builder, and for good reason with 30 days free trial!
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2. Square Online
Square online
Cheapest online store builder
Introduction to Square Online -
Square Online is the best option for free online stores. Inventory management and the website design are simple. Although there are only two design possibilities available with Square Online, the limited customization means you can get online quickly with a template that will look decent. Additionally, Square Online's free plan comes with a stunning number of features. If you want to expand your company as much as you can before beginning to pay for a website, we advise Square Online.
3. Big Cartel
Big Cartel
Cheapest website builder for e-commerce
Introduction to Big Cartel -
Big Cartel's templates are still not particularly versatile, and it is more difficult to use than Square. Still, Big Cartel is a little less amazing but is what you would generally expect for the price, making Square somewhat of an oddity when it comes to totally free ecommerce website builders (or lack thereof).
Additionally, Big Cartel has some outstanding sales capabilities, and its subscription plans begin at a low price. If your store sells less than five items and you have no immediate plans to grow, we advise Big Cartel.
Top Ecommerce Platforms That Offer a Free Trial
Lets start with the list of Top ecommerce platforms that offers a free trial:
1. Wix
Wix
Ideal for smaller internet stores
Pros
Cons
Introduction to Wix -
Because its templates are incredibly flexible while remaining simple to use, and because its e-commerce tools are ideal for any small or midsize store, 88% of the Wix users we spoke to said they would suggest it to a friend. Wix is a good option for building a well-rounded store if you are unable to select between features and ease of use or any one category that is most important to you.
2. Shopify
Shopify
Ideal for bigger businesses
Introduction to Shopify -
Shopify is a website builder with many templates and strong functionality. It offers great inventory management support, making it a very dependable choice for an established company. We suggest Shopify as a comparatively simple method for setting up and running a big store.
3. Squarespace
Squarespace
Highest level of value
Introduction to Squarespace -
The best-designed designs are offered by Squarespace, despite the fact that its ecommerce facilities aren't as powerful as those of BigCommerce. Additionally, according to our study, it is the simplest platform for setting up and running an online business.
For companies in the creative sector, we advise using Squarespace since its incredible template designs allow you to truly walk the walk.
Usefulness - 4.2/5
Squarespace's usability has greatly improved in recent years. It used to be thought of as one of the more difficult builders to master, but nowadays it is the simplest of the 8 we tried. It triumphed with superb ease of use rating of 4.2 out of 5, a significant improvement over its prior rating of 3.4.
As a result, you may create a gorgeously designed store without any hassle! The drag-and-drop template editor in Squarespace differs slightly from the one in BigCommerce in that you can see the changes you make to each page as you make them.
We also appreciate how Squarespace's rows give the design process more structure. This means that, unlike Wix, you can not just drag and drop anything wherever, but the benefit is that, in the end, you are guaranteed to have a beautifully designed store.
Design - 4/5
Squarespace and BigCommerce are equal for the top spot with a design score of 4 out of 5, but in our opinion, Squarespace offers the best template designs of any e-commerce website builder.
Its layouts for online stores skillfully mix style and e-commerce functionality. Squarespace's template editor is section-based, as we said in the section on usability, so you can change and rearrange certain elements of a page but not the layout as a whole.
Although you will not have quite as much design freedom as you would with Wix, you will not have to stress about making a design mistake or failing to adhere to ecommerce best practises. Once you have selected a Squarespace template, you may make changes "within the lines" without worrying about affecting the overall design.
Features for Sales - 3.4/5
The e-commerce solutions from Squarespace also include easy inventory management. It is really easy to manage items and variants, and you can even have "limited availability" labels appear automatically when your stock levels are low.
Just be aware that to avoid paying the 3% transaction fee, you will need to switch to a more sophisticated e-commerce package. The capacity of Squarespace to market digital goods is one of its key advantages.
Since it is not designed to support very high stock levels, despite having strong inventory management, we believe it to be the perfect platform for sales. Digital vendors will consequently become more aware of its potential as an e-commerce platform.
Cost of Upgrade - $23 per month
The 14-day free trial for Squarespace is offered. Following that, you can begin selling on the Business plan for just $23 per month. Top Tip: If you use our special Squarespace discount code, pricing drops to just $20.70 per month.
4. BigCommerce
BigCommerce
Best for a company that is just online
Introduction to BigCommerce -
BigCommerce is incredibly scalable and has a tonne of built-in apps to support you in achieving your goals. Although it is not the simplest ecommerce builder to use, once you master it, the possibilities are endless.
For businesses planning long-term growth, we advise BigCommerce.
Usefulness - 3.3/5
BigCommerce is not the easiest e-commerce platform ever; in fact, it received one of the lowest rankings from us for usability. In other areas, including sales features, it succeeds.
BigCommerce's product management dashboard and actual storefront part feel like two completely different regions, which is the main complaint from users. Similar to Shopify, BigCommerce creates the impression that products and designs are rather disjointed.
Sometimes switching between the two can be confusing. Although this configuration can be annoying, it is not particularly challenging to operate; BigCommerce's interface just takes some getting used to.
Design - 4/5
BigCommerce offers over 100 premium themes priced between $145 and $235, along with 12 free themes. To limit your possibilities, you can filter themes by industry and store size.
You can have some control over the overall colour scheme because each theme is available in a variety of colours. BigCommerce's editing tools let you modify the layout and look of any page to make it your own.
The templates themselves are ideal for e-commerce success, even though BigCommerce's template editor is not as easy to use as Wix's or even Shopify's.
Features for Sales - 4.6/5
BigCommerce received the highest rating in this area for sales features (4.6 out of 5). Of all the builders on this list, it has the greatest integrated sales functionality.
Everything you need to expand your store will be available to you, including:
- Digital wallet-based optional payments (like Apple Pay)
- Integrations of POS (sync your online and offline payments)
- 70+ native discounts and promos should be created.
You will not be as dependent on third-party apps using BigCommerce's built-in tools as you would be with Shopify. However, BigCommerce's Apps Marketplace has over 600 apps to pick from if you ever want to add even more features.
Cost of Upgrade - $29.95/month
BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial after which you can sign up for a premium plan that starts at $29.95/month, which is a fantastic rate for moderate and large companies.
Best Free Ecommerce Software
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce
Best for a company that is just online
Introduction to WooCommerce -
WooCommerce is more complicated to install than a website builder, but it is still not that difficult. The majority of features will require extensions, but there are countless possibilities. WooCommerce is a WordPress shopping cart plugin that we advise using.
Usefulness - 3.5/5
The simplest method to launch an online store is with a website builder, therefore WooCommerce is obviously inferior to platforms like Wix or even BigCommerce in terms of usability.
However, WooCommerce is as simple as e-commerce gets if you require the more sophisticated features of a WordPress site. Since WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, you may include it as an extra feature on any WordPress website.
You will not have to worry about figuring out how to use it on your own because it comes with a handy setup wizard. Once WooCommerce has been successfully installed, adding and managing products is very easy.
Design - 4/5
In the WooCommerce marketplace, there are just three free themes, however they are all very customisable. Although it is not entirely necessary, having some familiarity with HTML and CSS code may make customising a little bit easier. Expect to pay between $39 and $79 for a theme if you decide to opt for a paid one.
Features for Sales - 4.1/5
WooCommerce has a good number of features already included, such as the capacity to add an unlimited number of users and products. However, the main advantage of this programme is the vast array of optional extra features that you can include.
The WooCommerce Extensions Store offers a wide range of functionalities, from abandoned cart recovery to multi-channel integrations. Just keep in mind that not all of these extensions are free; therefore, plan your finances to cover the ones you really desire!
Cost of Upgrade - $15.95 per month
You will be responsible for paying for your own web hosting if you run a WordPress website (a web host is a business that looks after the server where your website's content is actually kept).
Without a host, no website can go live on the internet, thus even if you use free software like WooCommerce, you will still need to pay a hosting charge (This is already accounted for in a website builder's price.).
Because Bluehost is an official WooCommerce recommended provider, we advise using it with WooCommerce. WooCommerce-specific plans from Bluehost start at $15.95 per month.
2. Magento
Magento
Best for businesses at the enterprise level
Introduction to Magento -
Magento is not for small businesses or novice users because it requires some prior tech knowledge to utilise. The benefit is that Magento is the most potent ecommerce platform on this list, which is the reward. For really large stores with a sizable following of devoted patrons, we suggest Magento.
Usefulness - 2.5/5
we will be up forward about it: Magento is not for novices. The amount of work needed to use Magento for a small store that does not need as many robust features would just not be worth it because it is a powerful but complex platform.
Magento is not advised if you lack programming skills. It clearly targets developers and enterprise-level companies. If you know how to code, Magento offers unparalleled scalability and customization of any other open-source or proprietary eCommerce solution.
However, don't anticipate the setup to be simple. In fact, you will not be able to put it up at all, much less tailor it to your tastes, unless you have experience with web programming.
Design - 3.5/5
The rest of the themes on the Magento Marketplace range in price from a few dollars to several hundred. Only one theme is free. If you are familiar with CSS, you can modify a theme after you have selected it.
The easiest method to get the most out of your Magento design if you are not too tech-savvy is to engage a web developer to modify the theme for you. Just keep in mind that this choice will cost you at least a few hundred bucks!
Features for Sales - 4.5
Although Magento has more built-in functionality than WooCommerce, you will still need to add extensions from the Magento Marketplace for true power and personalization. There are 1,970 free ones available, so you have lots of possibilities, but they can be quite expensive (its multichannel integrations alone can cost up to $499 per).
Cost of Upgrade - $3.99/month
You must purchase your own web hosting in order to launch a Magento site, just like with WooCommerce. Because there aren't many hosts that support Magento, installation can be challenging.
For simple installation, we suggest SiteGround's Magento hosting options. it is one of the few hosts with Magento-specific plans, and rates start at a reasonable $3.99 per month.
Want to Start Selling Online with Fynd Platform?
Fynd Platform is our top-rated ecommerce website builder, and for good reason with 30 days free trial!
3. Ecwid
Ecwid
A Store that integrates with your current website
Introduction to Ecwid -
Want a store that integrates with your current website? You should use Ecwid if the answer is yes. No website? You will also receive a free immediate starter site, so don't worry. For small businesses with simple selling needs, Ecwid's free plan can be a good choice.
Usefulness - 3.5/5
Features of the free plan - Ecwid offers a fairly functional free plan. Once you sign up, you can create a free eCommerce website that is completely functional and allows you to sell up to ten items across two categories.
Limitations of the free plan -
Digital items, employee accounts, and promotional codes are not accessible to you. Only premium plans can access these features and many others.
Cost of Upgrade
Fees for transactions -
Ecwid does not charge any of them directly, but your selected payment processor probably will.
4. Gumroad
Gumroad
Best for selling digital products and creative items
Introduction to Gumroad -
Although the emphasis is largely on digital products and creative items like photography, writing, podcasts, and designs, Gumroad is an excellent platform for selling physical, digital, and creative goods.
In contrast to the other open-source eCommerce systems on this list, it allows you to construct a free eCommerce website upfront but charges a commission on everything you sell.
Usefulness - 3.2/5
Limitations of the free plan -
In addition to losing out on several essential premium features, a free account will cost you more for every transaction.
Additionally, Gumroad markets your products with customizable previews for social media networks like Facebook and Twitter and encourages product branding with custom URLs. You may maintain contact with your clients by using automatic workflows for thank you letters and updates.
Cost of Upgrade -
Just $10 per month will get you access to professional features. Fees for transactions - For accounts with no fees, the cost is 8.5% plus $0.30 (USD) each sale. On premium plans, it is less expensive at 3.5% + $0.30 (USD) each sale. Sales made through browsing Gumroad incur an additional 10% fee from first-time buyers.
Additional Website Builders That You Should Know About (Not Recommended)
1. Web.com
Introduction to Web.com -
There is not a free plan offered by Web.com website builder, but it does feature a very cheap plan that lets you start an online business without paying a lot of money. The store will be hosted by Web.com, and they'll even give you a free custom name and free SSL certificate.
You will be able to link to Facebook Marketplace, track and manage your orders, accept credit cards, have up to 500 products in your store, and more.
2. BuyNow Plus
Introduction to BuyNow Plus -
The BuyNow Plus platform is not a complete online store. Instead, you may design "purchase now" buttons to add to any website. To utilise BuyNow Plus, you will need to open a free Stripe account.
3. Weebly
Introduction to Weebly -
Although Weebly is not as well-known as some other eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify and WooCommerce, they do have a free trial so you may try it out.
4. Sellfy
Introduction to Sellfy -
Sellfy was established in 2011 with the goal of "empowering creators from all over the world to make a career doing what they love." Their product is distinctive in that you can "print-on-demand" and sell both physical and digital goods through it. On the free plan, you, unfortunately, cannot sell digital goods, but you may still take advantage of many wonderful services.
5. Webstarts
Introduction to Webstarts -
Webstarts, which is best known for its website builder, now allows you to add a free online store. Overall, it is a really generous free plan. 4M users depend on it for their internet presence possibly because of this.
Now, building the store is likewise a fairly easy process. The experience is fairly comparable if you have previously used Wix because you can move elements around the website with ease.
The templates can also be modified for use on mobile devices since they aren't always responsive. Although the interface is a little stale, it is still decent for a free offer.
6. Mozello
Introduction to Mozello -
This modest Latvian company, which should not be confused with Mozilla, is not well-known, yet they offer a service that big corporations do not: multilingual websites for no cost.
The same holds true for their online store's selection. Multilingual selections; free offer. Although the maximum number of products you can sell is 5, other services provide more.
Unfortunately, it is not as enjoyable or flexible working with their editor as we'd want. For instance, not all of the pages can have image galleries.
7. Squareup
Square, the well-known Point of Sale programme accessible on tablets, desktop computers, and smartphones, is the source of Squareup. It functions almost like a portable version of your business that can be used to make sales and process payments online from anywhere.
You can also register with Square and build a free online store because they handle online payments (Weebly, for instance, uses them). Although that is not the most obvious fix, it works!
You have the option of both offline and online sales for your goods. Although there are no monthly fees, they do charge 3% of each transaction.
8. Free webstore
On their landing page, Freewebstore lists the number of store owners who selected their product. At the time of writing, there are about 500,000 users. Many individuals appear to agree with their slogan, "eCommerce for everyone."
Given that you can sell an endless number of things for free and that SSL is included, it is really not a bad value. The designs are passable, though a little antiquated, but they are mobile- and tablet-responsive.
9. My Online Store
MyOnlineStore, a newcomer to the Dutch e-commerce industry, employs only 24 people and boasts roughly 40 000 stores. Without incident, we released our test store, but the backend did note that it was currently in the Beta stage. Besides that, the advantages and disadvantages are as follows:
The Top Online store builders - An Overview
What Will A Free Online Store Leave Out?
People may not trust your company if you are selling online, and in this case, the domain name is the major issue. The majority of free e-commerce systems will not help you register a unique.com or.net domain name. These are always expensive. Your store URL will instead ride on the provider's domain and look like www.yourname.freecommerceplatform.com.
Free online shop providers also cover some of their expenses by renting out advertising space. Typically, it is only for their own platforms, but occasionally it is for other services. In any case, advertisements don't appear to be very polished. Finally, there's a good chance you will lose out on features.
Most vendors will save their top selections or templates for paid users only. For e-commerce stores, SSL, or safe encryption, is a requirement that is not always provided for free.
Why Do They Give Away Free Stores?
A good query. The platforms often use a freemium business model. Your website's foundation is free, but if you want to grow it (by, say, adding more products), you will need to pay. And rather than switching hosts totally, you are more likely to go with the simple alternative of paying a little bit extra with the same provider.
For this reason, we advise that you consider both the paid and free options. Long-term, it might be quite advantageous. If you are serious about e-commerce, we advise you to use our comparison tool for store builders to identify the best option for your project.
Will using a free eCommerce builder harm my SEO?
Your SEO will almost certainly suffer. Search engines like Google have a lot of trouble with non-custom domain names. For a really particular niche, we can not promise that you will not rank with a free solution, but if you are intent on bringing in consumers through Google, you are better off investing in a custom domain at the very least.
You can obtain a domain name for free in a few locations. One of them is Freenom.com. The drawback is that because the possible endings are uncommon, such as tk,.ml, and.ga, they don't exactly scream "believe me!"
Does It Make Sense to Upgrade to a Paid Plan?
For an online store to be successful, new features must be unlocked. And doing so is more affordable than ever thanks to the website builders available today. Keep in mind that Big Cartel's paid subscriptions begin at just $9.99 per month. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether it is worthwhile to upgrade to a paid plan is almost certainly yes.
In essence, switching to a paid plan will advance your company. How does that work? As with any membership, you get more for your money if you pay more. Five of the top features available on a premium subscription are given below.
Our best advice is to regularly examine your hosting package rather than simply signing up and thinking of the task accomplished. Your hosting package may become overloaded as your e-commerce firm expands, which could result in issues like:
- A website that loads slowly or visitors that are timed out
- When too many people use your site, it crashes
Because they support websites of all sizes and provide outstanding customer assistance to guide you through the many stages, providers like Bluehost are perfect. Check out the chart below if you are interested in upgrading your free plan or free trial. In this article, we have included a list of all the platforms' lowest starting pricing.
Want to Start Selling Online with Fynd Platform?
Fynd Platform is our top-rated ecommerce website builder, and for good reason with 30 days free trial!
The Verdict for the Best Free Ecommerce Platforms
You have just read about the main advantages and disadvantages of the top free e-commerce platforms and applications available. We hope that by this point you have a very clear concept of which will work for both your store and your budget. Here is a brief summary:
The Top Free Website Builders for E-Commerce
Free plans have some restrictions, but for business owners on a budget, they make perfect sense. We suggest the Fynd platform if you want the best website builder that lets you have control over everything. Next, Wix only allows you to create a free store. In other words, you will need to spend some money in order to actually make it.
Third, you may only sell five items on Bigcartel free plan. This is not really practical for growing enterprises; if that's your goal, you should try Shopify or BigCommerce instead of using their free trials. Why then should you consider upgrading? Because you can get a number of services for just a few bucks more each month.
The ability to actually sell more things as well as improved customer service and additional sales tools are among the most crucial. To fully make the most of selling your things online, we advise registering for a free eCommerce plan right away or trying out a free trial.
Maximize Festive Season Sales With Fynd Platform
Learn from the masters and cracks the code to festive season sales success with Fynd Platform's Festive Readiness Guide
Does the same business own Square and Squarespace?
No! Don't be fooled by the names; Square and Squarespace are two entirely different businesses. But if you want the best value for money, we recommend you the Fynd Platform
Can I connect my Squarespace website directly to the Square payment processor?
No, you can't connect your Squarespace website directly to the Square payment processor. However, you can sync Square's Point of Sale (POS) system to the Squarespace Commerce app if you're conducting in-person sales. This keeps the in-person purchases in your Squarespace store current
Do you recommend any other website builders to me?
Two excellent platforms are Square and Squarespace, but the Fynd platform beats both when it comes to its extensive features. So if neither of the two appeals to you, read our comprehensive analysis of the top e-commerce website builders. Spoiler alert: The Fynd Platform is ranked first.
Is a Squarespace website suitable for an online store?
Awarded-winning website builder Squarespace offers cutting-edge features ready to catapult your company to greater heights. Squarespace delivers all the SEO benefits and website tools that online businesses need to expand their operations.
Can I Sell Digital Goods Through My Square Online Store?
Yes. With Square Online, you can sell digital goods. You proceed almost just as you would when submitting a physical product. However, if you receive hundreds of orders every day, we will recommend you the Fynd platform, where you do not have to worry about personally emailing the link or file to each consumer once they buy something.
