E-commerce platforms – ranking

Choosing the right e-commerce platform for your business is a tough nut to crack. The dream of many e-commerce managers starting a new project or planning to migrate their store is to search on Google for “e-commerce platform rankings” and get a clear answer to the question of which existing platform is the best. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. When searching for such phrases, we do get a lot of rankings and comparisons, but they differ significantly from each other. They often create more confusion in our meticulously conducted research than they bring benefits. We have to face the truth. There is no one perfect solution for every business.

Where to start your search?

On the SimilarTech portal, you can find a ranking of e-commerce platforms based on the number of stores built on a particular engine. It lists as many as 254 positions. That’s quite a lot, and it’s not even a complete list because our native Selesto, for example, is missing from it. So how do you choose the best one out of over 250 different platforms?

Random selection or crystal ball divination are not appropriate solutions to the situation.

So where do we start? By creating a brief. For now, an internal one that will help you precisely define your needs. It is these needs that should determine the choice of an e-commerce platform. The profile of your business, the number of products in your offer, the functionalities your customers expect, the budget you have, or future development plans are crucial elements that you must take into account when choosing a platform for your online store. If you don’t properly analyze your business and define the appropriate guidelines, you may end up with an e-commerce solution that doesn’t fulfill its main function, which is generating profits.

WooCommerce vs Magento – Which solution to choose?

When comparing e-commerce platforms, we should start by choosing the appropriate category. Here, we have several options: open-source engines, SaaS platforms, and dedicated web applications. Each of them has different capabilities, implementation times, or budgets required. Therefore, before you start choosing between different solutions, it is worth determining which type of platforms suits your needs and financial and operational capabilities.

Open-source platforms

Among them, you will find engines like WooCommerce, Magento, or PrestaShop. This type of e-commerce platform is free and does not require a license fee or monthly subscription payment. Of course, you have the option to purchase additional templates and plugins, but even in its basic version, extended with a few free modules, you can build a powerful online store on this engine.

Thanks to the so-called open-source nature, you have complete control over your sales platform and the ability to configure and personalize it as you wish. The service provider does not limit you in any way. This type of technology is supported by a community that is eager to help, develop the platform, and share custom plugins. The almost complete freedom to modify the code is a significant advantage of these solutions. There are no impossible things here.

However, you have to be aware that you won’t build an online store on an open-source engine by yourself in one day. It requires programming knowledge and several hundred hours spent on the code. It is also worth noting that such platforms give you independence from the solution provider. Is the e-commerce agency building your store not performing well? No problem! You can relatively easily transfer your business to another software house.

SaaS solutions

Engines in the Software-as-a-Service model are very popular e-commerce platforms in Poland and beyond. Their biggest advantage is the quick implementation time for the store. You don’t need a small army of programmers to create a fully functioning e-commerce on such a platform. It’s enough that you spend a few minutes clicking through all the necessary options yourself. Just add the products, and voila! Your store can start operating.

Launching such a store doesn’t cost much. However, it involves a monthly subscription that you will have to pay as long as your store operates on such an e-commerce platform. However, you must remember that these types of solutions have limited capabilities, and at a certain stage of development, you may lack certain features. It is worth mentioning that when using a SaaS platform, you are permanently tied to a specific solution provider, and transferring your store to another provider is basically impossible. In such a situation, you will have to build your e-commerce store from scratch.

Dedicated platforms

Created especially for you and 100% tailored to your needs. Such solutions tempt with high flexibility and complete alignment with your business. One might shout, “Perfect!” However, there are a few “buts” here…

A dedicated web application is a significant expense and requires countless hours spent on creating a perfect online store. From the start of coding such a platform to its final publication, it can take several months or even years. It’s not an easy task. When considering a dedicated platform for your e-commerce, you must take into account that constant support and maintenance of your store by programmers will be necessary. Unfortunately, this is associated with significant costs of maintaining such a platform. You have to give something to get something. Importantly, dedicated platforms tie you 100% to the implementation company. Only developers from that company know exactly what is hidden in the code of your store. Therefore, changing providers is nearly impossible.

E-commerce platforms – ranking

If you have reached this point in the article, you probably have a rough idea of what type of solution will be best for your business. Whether you choose from open-source engines or SaaS platforms, the following comparison of e-commerce platforms should help you. So let’s get started!

11. Shoplo

Shoplo is a popular SaaS e-commerce platform. On its website, it boasts over 20,000 satisfied customers.

For whom?

Shoplo is primarily aimed at beginner entrepreneurs who want to build their e-commerce store independently.

Costs

• It offers a 14-day trial.
• It offers three packages to its users:
  Standard – targeted towards sellers starting with e-commerce
  Premium – for businesses with specific requirements
  Enterprise – for large companies requiring a personalized approach

Package	Net price first year*	Net price after 12 months*
Standard	25 zł	200 zł
Premium	od 499 zł	od 499 zł
Enterprise	od 5999 zł	5999 zł

*monthly subscription

• The packages differ in the functionality offered to online stores, so it’s worth checking the current pricing on the manufacturer’s website.

Advantages

• It has a simple and functional builder.
• It supports multilingual stores.
• It offers comprehensive sales reports.
• It has many attractive and functional templates.
• It integrates with payment systems, logistics, and even marketplaces like Ceneo or Domodi.
• It provides continuous technical support.

Disadvantages

• It severely limits website customization.
• It is not SEO-friendly.
• It is inconvenient to use for large e-commerce stores.
• It has a limited number of functionalities.

10. Weebly

This SaaS solution belongs to Square, a company that specializes in payment processing. According to the Top ECommerce Platforms Technologies ranking prepared by SimilarTech, over 26,000 stores operate on this platform.

For whom

The Weebly e-commerce platform is designed for beginner entrepreneurs with a low budget for creating and maintaining a store.

Costs

• Weebly offers three packages for online stores:
  Pro – for groups and organizations
  Business – for small businesses and stores
  Business Pro – for advanced sellers

Package	Monthly subscription with annual payment	Extras
Pro	$12	– A domain worth $20 – $100 credit for GoogleAds
Business	$25	– A domain worth $20 – $100 credit for GoogleAds
Business Plus	$38	– A domain worth $20 – $100 credit for GoogleAds – Email marketing worth $96

• make sure to check on the provider’s website for the specific differences in functionality between these packages.

Advantages

• It enables easy and quick creation of an online store
• It has a built-in code editor that allows for a certain degree of flexibility and customization of your e-commerce site
• It offers over 350 free and paid plugins
• It guarantees automatic responsiveness of the website to mobile devices
• It is well optimized for SEO

Disadvantages

• Difficulties in contacting support
• It has very limited functionality
• Offers a small number of templates to choose from

9. BigCommerce

E-Commerce platform in the open SaaS category. It is an interesting solution trusted by over 36,000 online stores.

For whom

BigCommerce targets its offer towards medium and large stores that want to sell their products across multiple channels.

Costs

• Does not charge sales commissions.
• Does not have a fixed pricing structure – to know the exact price, you need to submit an inquiry through the manufacturer’s website form.

Advantages

• Allows for a certain degree of customization of the offered package functionalities.
• Includes hosting in the price.
• Supports mobile versions of stores.
• Provides a comprehensive set of marketing tools.
• Allows for shopping cart customization.
• Enables integration with various shipping methods.
• Allows for tax rule configuration.
• Offers multistore functionality, allowing efficient management of your store in different regions.
• Supports multi-currency stores.
• Provides 24/7 technical support.

Disadvantages

• Offers limited options for optimizing the store for SEO.
• Any additional modules and plugins come at a cost.
• Is not a fully flexible solution – at a certain stage of development, specific solutions may be lacking.

8. OpenCart

Free e-commerce platform operating in the open-source model. It is used by over 470,000 online stores worldwide.

For whom?

OpenCart targets its offer to both experienced store owners and those who are just starting their e-commerce journey.

Costs

• The implementation costs are relatively low compared to a solution that requires developer support.
• Additional modules that are not included in the basic version of the platform can be costly.

Advantages

• Provides an efficient platform for most e-commerce businesses.
• Allows for easy modification of the source code.
• Enables quick deployment of a basic version of an online store.
• Offers thousands of free plugins.
• Has an easy and intuitive interface.
• Allows for managing marketing activities.
• Offers above-average responsiveness.
• Facilitates straightforward implementation of key SEO elements.

Disadvantages

• Is not a 100% flexible engine – there are elements that cannot be changed.
• Provides limited analytics and reporting features.
• Advanced plugins are expensive.
• Plugins may not keep up with OpenCart platform updates.

7. WIXeCommerce

This is a popular drag-and-drop tool for creating and managing online stores. Over 120,000 stores worldwide operate on this platform.

For whom

WIX targets its offer to small e-commerce businesses that sell physical products, are just starting their operations, and have a low budget for e-commerce implementation.

Costs

• WIX oferuje 3 pakiety dostępne dla e-Commerce’ów

Package	Monthly subscription net price with payment for 12 months in advance.
Business Basic	75 zł
Business Unlimited	112,50 zł
Business VIP	165 zł

Advantages

• Has stable servers.
• Allows for easy creation of an attractive online store without any programming knowledge.
• Offers many responsive themes included in the package price.
• Enables store optimization for search engines.
• Integrates with secure payment gateways.
• Supports advanced marketing tools (e.g., abandoned cart feature).
• Allows for comprehensive order management.
• Does not limit your store’s product count.

Disadvantages

• Has limited store configuration options for specific needs.
• Does not offer multi-channel selling functions, such as selling through FB or Amazon.
• Imposes a limit on the number of product attributes.
• Offers only limited storage capacity, making it unsuitable for selling heavy digital products.

6. PrestaShop

This is one of the leading open-source platforms that has been used by over 300,000 online stores.

For whom

PrestaShop is often used by small and medium-sized companies that find SaaS solutions insufficient. It is also a good option for large stores that have thousands of products in their inventory.

Costs

• When using PrestaShop, you don’t incur any licensing or subscription costs. However, there are expenses associated with purchasing a domain, maintaining a server, hiring developers for e-commerce implementation, and purchasing additional modules.

Advantages

• Provides complete flexibility, allowing you to customize the store according to your needs.
• Offers a wide range of built-in functionalities.
• Regularly updated, ensuring security.
• Enables the creation of multilingual stores, including through multistore functionality.
• Allows integration with multiple wholesalers and suppliers.
• Ensures independence from the provider, giving you the freedom to choose or change implementation agencies.
• Allows for gradual store expansion, providing scalability for your business.
• Offers a catalog of over 4,000 modules and 2,500 templates.
• Includes features that support the SEO of your store.

Disadvantages

• Offers relatively lower performance, resulting in slower operation compared to competitors.
• Requires substantial hosting space.
• Remains compatible with a maximum of one version backward

5. Squarespace Commerce

One of the most popular platforms in the American and British markets. According to the SimilarTech report, it is used by over 300,000 stores worldwide.

For whom

It is suitable for small businesses that are just starting their e-commerce journey and have a relatively low budget for store implementation and operation.

Costs

• Squarespace offers two plans specifically designed for e-commerce.

Plan	Monthly payment
Commerce Basic	$27
Commerce Advance	$49

• You will find a detailed breakdown of the functionalities included in a specific plan on the manufacturer’s website.

Advantages

• Provides an efficient and intuitive platform.
• Enables the creation of a store without the need for programming assistance.
• Collaborates with popular payment gateways (PayPal, Apple Pay, etc.).
• Offers integration features with social media.
• Allows for easy optimization of the store for SEO.
• Provides several useful marketing and branding tools.
• Offers good technical support.

Disadvantages

• Does not support multilingual stores.
• Significantly restricts editing of the source code.
• Does not have systems to optimize the website’s speed

4. WooCommerce

This is a plugin for the well-known WordPress that allows you to easily implement your online store. Over 3.4 million businesses use it, making it the most popular e-commerce platform in the world.

For whom

WooCommerce is mainly intended for small and medium-sized businesses that have a limited budget and manage their store and its promotion independently.

Costs

• As expected from an open-source platform, WooCommerce is free, so you won’t incur costs such as monthly subscriptions or licenses.
• However, you should be aware that more advanced plugins may come at a cost.

Advantages

• It is an accessible and user-friendly platform – basic knowledge of WordPress is sufficient.
• It offers a vast catalog of free and paid templates.
• It is highly scalable and responsive.
• It allows for the creation of unique plugins.
• It has detailed technical documentation, making it easy to customize the code to your needs.
• It offers analytical tools.
• It provides full control over your store’s data.
• It allows integration with numerous accounting systems, POS systems, etc.
• It enables platform expansion through various plugins.
• It allows customization of shipping options and management of VAT rates.

Disadvantages

• With a large number of products, the platform may become less efficient.
• It does not offer support assistance.
• Frequent WooCommerce and plugin updates can cause errors in your store.
• Ready-made templates are often not compatible with system updates.
• It requires significant memory resources – when choosing this engine, consider appropriate hosting.
• WooCommerce is also popular among hackers, so your store may be exposed to frequent cyberattacks.

3. Shopware

This is a popular open-source engine that was created by combining Symfony and the JS library Vue. Currently, there are over 185,000 stores built on this platform.

For whom

Shopware is an e-commerce platform designed for both the SME sector and corporate clients, allowing for both B2C and B2B sales. Thanks to the fact that this engine can be used without a frontend, it is often used to replicate other business models such as C2C, A2C, etc.

Costs

• Shopware is available in 3 packages:

Package	Monthly payment
Rise	od $600
Evolve	cena ustalana indywidualnie
Beyond	cena ustalana indywidualnie

Advantages

• It enables simple and transparent store administration.
• It has a flexible frontend.
• It provides a feature that allows creating a PWA website based on Vue Storefront integration.
• It offers the Shopware Markets function, which allows connecting all sales channels.
• It has an efficient B2B overlay.
• Shopware allows for extensive system expansion.
• It offers a built-in PayPal module.
• It facilitates international sales by adapting to the legal situation of many countries.

Disadvantages

• The platform is heavily focused on the German market.
• It has a relatively small pool of experts.
• Advanced features come at a high cost.
• There are issues with integrations with external systems.
• Some actions, such as generating feeds, take a long time.

2. Shopify

One of the fastest-growing e-commerce engines in the Software-as-a-Service category. Currently, over half a million online stores are using it.

For whom

Shopify is a solution for both beginner e-commerce owners who want to start their own store and begin selling immediately, as well as mature stores with a diverse product range operating in multiple markets simultaneously.

Costs

• Shopify offers three basic plans and two alternative packages*.

Package	Monthly payment
Basic	$24
Shopify	$69
Advanced	$299
Starter*	$5
ShopifyPlus*	from $2000

• New users can also take advantage of a 14-day trial.

Advantages

• Allows for the independent deployment of an online store.
• Characterized by high performance and intuitive functionality.
• Offers hundreds of interesting templates.
• Allows for quick modifications.
• Provides advanced analytics features and tools for managing advertisements.
• Provides access to numerous plugins, both free and paid.
• Ensures a high level of e-commerce security.
• Offers professional 24/7 technical support.

Disadvantages

• Many solutions are not tailored to the Polish market; Shopify’s focus is mainly on the USA.
• To sell in multiple currencies, you need to be prepared for high costs (required Shopify Plus subscription).
• Templates are not optimized for SEO, which necessitates the use of programming assistance.
• Does not offer extensive configurators.
• Does not perform well in selling products by weight or in decimal units.

1. Magento

This is one of the most popular open-source e-commerce platforms. It powers nearly 300,000 stores worldwide.

For whom

Magento is a technology aimed at large e-commerce businesses that have a large product catalog and require advanced functionalities such as product configurators or AR fitting rooms.

Costs

• Magento is an open-source platform, so you won’t have to pay a monthly subscription fee.
• However, you should expect high costs for a Magento store as it will require many hours of programming work.
• Some advanced plugins are paid, so you should consider this in your budget.

Advantages

• Provides complete flexibility and almost infinite customization possibilities of the code.
• Performs well even when offering tens of thousands of products in your e-commerce.
• Offers thousands of free and paid plugins that can further enhance your store.
• Has a rich catalog of free templates.
• Allows for the creation of advanced configurators.
• Enables integration with almost any external system (e.g., ERP).
• Is one of the most secure e-commerce engines.
• Allows for efficient store modification through access to numerous community-created modules.
• Has a large and helpful community surrounding it.
• Offers multisite functionality, making it easy to expand your offering to foreign markets.
• Ensures independence from implementation agencies – the choice or change of an implementation agency is up to you.
• Enables gradual store expansion and scalability of your business.

Disadvantages

• System configuration can be challenging.
• Implementation can be costly and time-consuming.
• Creating and maintaining a store requires programming knowledge, so you won’t be able to do it without an experienced developer.
• You need to perform all updates yourself (with the help of a programmer).

Summary

Open source or SaaS, Magento vs PrestaShop – what to choose? There are many e-commerce platforms on the market. Choosing the best solution for your business won’t be easy. Searching in Google for phrases like “e-commerce platform rankings” will certainly help you gather some information about available solutions, but the final decision is up to you. You know your business best and understand the needs of your customers. Choose wisely. We hope that this comparison of e-commerce platforms will help you at least a little in making the best decision for you.