Add a cart and checkout to an existing website, with payment processing and order management.
Shopping cart software can mean two different things: a complete commerce platform with its own storefront and checkout, or a cart that plugs into an existing website. The right choice depends on whether you are replacing your current site, embedding products into it, or extending an open-source stack. Checkout customization, payment gateways, inventory synchronization and how tightly the cart is tied to the rest of the site are the practical dividing lines.
By SEM Solutions Editorial Team. Researched from vendor documentation, not hands-on testing. Ordered by Overall Score. Checked October 7, 2026. How we research
Hosted checkout operations
#1 of 6 in Shopping Cart Software
Shopify's cart and checkout sit inside a broader hosted commerce system, so products, inventory, payments and order management are already connected. Checkout can be extended through the platform while accelerated payment options such as Shop Pay are integrated into the purchase flow. It is strongest when the cart belongs to the main store platform.
Customizable commerce backends
#2 of 6 in Shopping Cart Software
BigCommerce supports its hosted cart and checkout as well as custom storefront implementations through APIs and development frameworks. That gives development teams room to keep BigCommerce as the commerce backend while building a different front end; Multi-Storefront can also centralize several shopping experiences around the same platform.
For WordPress carts
#3 of 6 in Shopping Cart Software
WooCommerce handles cart and checkout inside WordPress, with payment gateways and other commerce functions added through extensions. That model lets site owners keep content and selling in one WordPress installation while selecting the processors and plugins they need. It earns its place when the website already depends on WordPress themes, plugins and editorial workflows.
Self-hosted cart control
#4 of 6 in Shopping Cart Software
PrestaShop provides cart and checkout functionality inside a self-hosted ecommerce application, not as a hosted add-on. Consider it when checkout behavior needs to remain within a developer-controlled commerce stack. Merchants can modify the open-source code, use modules and operate multiple stores from the platform.
For existing websites
#5 of 6 in Shopping Cart Software
Ecwid helps teams add a shopping cart to a site without forcing a full rebuild. You can embed a catalog, individual product cards or Buy Now buttons and keep the current site's design around the commerce layer; the store remains centrally managed while the public shopping experience sits inside the existing site.
Ranked by Overall Score: our Editor Rating and Market Signal, 50/50. Market Signal uses Ahrefs and Semrush data through September 2026, pulled October 12, 2026. How we score
Hosted ecommerce platform covering online storefront, checkout, point of sale and multichannel selling.
Best for: Brands and retailers that want a hosted store and checkout, selling online, on social channels and in person from one admin.
Composable ecommerce platform with multi-storefront, B2B, checkout customization, and marketplace channel tools.
Best for: Growing ecommerce brands and B2B sellers that need multiple storefronts, channel selling, and customizable commerce infrastructure.
Free, open-source WordPress plugin that adds a store, checkout and extension marketplace to a site.
Best for: Businesses already running WordPress that want full control over their store, hosting and choice of payment gateway.
Open-source ecommerce software with hosted options and a marketplace for store modules and themes.
Best for: Merchants and agencies that want an extensible ecommerce platform with open-source control and a large module marketplace.
Embeddable ecommerce platform that adds a managed store to existing sites and social channels.
Best for: Small businesses that want to add ecommerce to an existing website or sell across web, social, marketplaces, and physical locations.
Hosted ecommerce builder with product management, checkout, marketing, and marketplace selling features.
Best for: Small and midsize online retailers that want a hosted storefront with commerce and marketing functions built into one platform.
Yes. Embedded-cart products such as Ecwid are built for that use case. WordPress sites can also add commerce through WooCommerce. A full hosted platform is more appropriate when you want the commerce system to become the main website.
Checkout customization matters when you need special payment logic, business rules, unique fields, custom branding or integrations that must run during purchase, before an order is created. Those requirements should be mapped before platform selection.
Yes, WooCommerce and PrestaShop both offer a free plan. Free tiers usually come with usage limits, so check whether they cover your volume before relying on them long-term.
Among the tools listed here whose main product is in this category and whose pricing we've verified, Shopify has the lowest listed starting price: $29/mo (annual billing). Starting price isn't the whole picture, so check what's included at that tier before deciding.