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OpenCart

opencart.com

Free plan Open source WebLinuxAPISelf-hostedBrowser extension
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Spec score 8.9 #31 of 280 in Ecommerce platforms

What it is

OpenCart is free, open-source software for managing one or more online stores. Its administration dashboard presents orders, sales, customers, people online and sales analytics. One interface can manage multiple stores with separate themes, localized settings and per-store product prices. Catalogs support unlimited categories and products, including downloadable products. Customer features include reviews and ratings, reward points, filters, multiple currencies and more than 40 languages, with guest and registered-user checkout. OpenCart lists 36 integrated payment methods and shipping connections for Australia Post, FedEx, Royal Mail, UPS and USPS. Its marketplace offers more than 13,000 modules and themes, including service integrations, payment providers and conversion modules. An API lets third-party applications communicate with a store, and the software is described as SEO friendly. Users can configure their own backups and restorations. Self-hosting requires a web server, PHP, cURL and a database. There are no monthly fees.

Spec sheet

What it does
OpenCart is a PHP-based open-source shopping-cart and online-store management system that supports multiple stores from one administration area.Read 21 Oct 2026 · github.com
Product
OpenCart is an open-source online store management program for managing one or more online stores.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Free plan
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · opencart.com
API
OpenCart has an API that lets third-party applications communicate with a store.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Support
OpenCart offers community forum support and dedicated technical support, which it describes as commercial support.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Abandoned cart recovery
NoRead 20 Sep 2026 · opencart.com
Admin dashboard
The administrator dashboard summarizes orders, sales, customers, online visitors and analytics through widgets.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Affiliate marketing
A built-in affiliate system tracks referrals, supports percentage commissions and offers cheque, PayPal or bank-transfer payouts.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
API and architecture
OpenCart uses an MVC-L architecture and exposes an API for third-party applications to communicate with a store.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
App marketplace
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · opencart.com
Backup and restore
The administration area includes tools to create and restore store backups.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Backups
The features page says users can set up their own backups and restorations.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Catalog
The product page states that stores can have unlimited categories and products, and can sell downloadable products.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Checkout and SEO
The software provides guest and registered-user checkout and describes itself as SEO friendly.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Company founding and headquarters
LinkedIn lists OpenCart as founded in 2005, headquartered in Hong Kong and privately held.Read 21 Oct 2026 · uk.linkedin.com
Company history
The company page says OpenCart was registered as a business in Hong Kong in June 2012 and that version 0.3 was released in 2006.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Company incorporation
A Hong Kong company directory records Opencart Limited as incorporated on May 8, 2012, with live status.Read 21 Oct 2026 · ltddir.com
Company legal identity
Crunchbase lists the legal name as Opencart Holding Ltd and identifies Daniel Kerr as owner and founder and Andy Tsang as co-founder.Read 21 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
Company size
LinkedIn lists OpenCart's company size as 11–50 employees.Read 21 Oct 2026 · uk.linkedin.com
Currencies and languages
OpenCart supports automatic currency-rate updates, multiple tax settings and more than 40 languages, including right-to-left languages.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Customer features
The software includes product reviews and ratings, reward points, filters, multiple currencies and support for more than 40 languages.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Developer documentation
Official documentation covers installation, administration, catalog, extensions, sales, systems, reports and a developer guide with coding standards, database schema, extensions, events, startups, tasks and cron jobs.Read 21 Oct 2026 · docs.opencart.com
Digital products
Merchants can upload downloadable products and set their selling price.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Discounts and coupons
Core merchandising includes discounts, coupons and special prices.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Extensions
The marketplace offers more than 13,000 modules and themes, including service integrations, payment providers and conversion modules.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Extensions marketplace
The official marketplace advertises more than 13,000 modules and themes covering integrations, payments, shipping, marketing, accounting, reporting and language packs.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Hosting model
hostedRead 20 Sep 2026 · opencart.com
Hosting requirements
For self-hosting, the download page lists a web server, PHP, cURL and a database as minimum requirements.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Latest release
The download page lists OpenCart 4.1.0.4 dated August 11, 2026.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Licence
The public repository identifies OpenCart as GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3).Read 21 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: administration interface
G2 reviewers report that parts of the administration interface and screen layouts feel dated or unintuitive.Read 21 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: developer skills
G2 feedback says substantial code changes generally require a developer and that a built-in database migration tool would be useful.Read 21 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: extension quality
Reviewers warn that some extensions are outdated, confusingly marketed or may introduce security and compatibility problems.Read 21 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: support sentiment
Trustpilot shows a polarized distribution, with 52% five-star and 45% one-star reviews, and notes that OpenCart has not invited customers to review it.Read 21 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Multi-store
One admin interface can operate multiple storefronts with different themes, localized settings and per-store pricing.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Notable release news
GitHub shows version 4.1.0.4 released on August 11, 2026 with fixes, Bootstrap 5.3.8, Font Awesome 7.2.0, product-variant image support and security-related corrections.Read 21 Oct 2026 · github.com
Payment integrations
The product page lists 36 integrated payment methods, including PayPal, Authorize.Net, Klarna, Skrill and SagePay, with hundreds more marketplace extensions.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Payments
The features page says 36 payment methods are integrated and additional methods are available through the marketplace.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Praise: flexibility and ease
G2 reviewers repeatedly describe OpenCart as easy to install or configure, flexible, open source and extensible through modules and themes.Read 21 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Praise: value
GetApp reviewers generally report strong value because the core is free, although some essential capabilities may require paid add-ons.Read 21 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Product options
The catalog supports configurable options and attributes such as size, color, length and other product variables.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Rating on Capterra
4.3 out of 5 from 153 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · capterra.lu
Rating on G2
4.3 out of 5 from 106 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on GetApp
4.3 out of 5 from 153 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Rating on Software Advice
4.3 out of 5 from 153 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
Rating on Trustpilot
3.5 out of 5 from 29 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Rating on TrustRadius
4 out of 10 from 24 reviews and ratingsRead 21 Oct 2026 · trustradius.com
Recurring payments
Recurring-payment support is provided for subscriptions, memberships and installment-style charging.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Release process
The project says feature releases are announced to developers one week before publication for compatibility testing, while patch releases may have shorter testing periods.Read 21 Oct 2026 · github.com
Reviews and ratings
Product pages include an integrated customer comments, reviews and ratings system.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Reward points
The platform provides reward points that can be used to encourage repeat purchases.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Self-hosted installation
The download page instructs users to download the archive, upload it to a server and run the automatic installer; cloning GitHub, Softaculous and AWS are also listed options.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Shipping
Listed shipping integrations include Australia Post, FedEx, Royal Mail, UPS and USPS.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Shipping integrations
Built-in shipping integrations include Australia Post, FedEx, Royal Mail, UPS and USPS, with additional methods available in the marketplace.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
Store management
Its admin dashboard shows orders, sales, customers, people online and sales analytics.Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
System requirements
Documentation specifies a web server (Apache recommended), MySQLi, PDO or PostgreSQL database support, PHP 8.0 or later, and libraries including cURL, GD, Iconv, Mbstring, OpenSSL, ZipArchive and Zlib.Read 21 Oct 2026 · docs.opencart.com
User permissions
Administrators can create user groups and assign separate access privileges to different users.Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com

Plans and prices

OpenCart Free Open-source store software · free download and updates · no monthly fees Read 8 Oct 2026 · opencart.com
OpenCart open-source download Free Unlimited categories and products · self-hosted installation · no monthly fees Read 21 Oct 2026 · opencart.com

Every OpenCart plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free download with no monthly fees
  • Manages multiple stores from one interface
  • Supports downloadable products and unlimited catalogues
  • Includes 36 integrated payment methods
  • Marketplace offers over 13,000 modules and themes

Limits

  • No abandoned-cart recovery
  • Self-hosting requires server, PHP, cURL and database
  • Dedicated technical support is commercial

Who it suits

It suits organisations running one or multiple online stores that want open-source administration, downloadable products and extensive extension options. Self-hosting users need a web server, PHP, cURL and a database.

Verdict

OpenCart covers multi-store administration, catalogues, checkout, payments, shipping and extensions without monthly fees. Buyers should account for its self-hosting requirements and the absence of abandoned-cart recovery.

Where Specifiction places it

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