OpenCart vs Shopify? Which One Suits You? (2023)

Do you want to start an online business but cannot decide which platform to go for? Well, then you are in the right place. We will do a detailed comparison of OpenCart vs Shopify and you can decipher which one best suits you.

Introduction to Shopify:

Shopify is a Canadian multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Its headquarters are also based in Canada. It was founded back in 2006. Shopify is an e-commerce platform. It lets potential business owners start an online business. People with a business idea can build an online store on Shopify, select a theme for their store, add products and start selling to their niche. It is effortless and less costly to start a business with Shopify because you only have to pay Shopify’s subscription and you are good to go.

Expenses for paying rent, utilities, and employees are reduced. There are many other ways through which expenses are reduced in Shopify such as dropshipping. Dropshipping lets you order directly from the supplier and ship it to the consumer without having to stock up on inventory. There are options like a 14-day free trial, an easy payment system, and minimal cost in Shopify that provide ease for business owners.

Moreover, with Shopify, you can be creative. You can even sell tickets to an event, stickers, fairy lights, and every little thing. Store owners can experiment with their product line without worrying about stock lying in inventory because with Shopify dropshipping there is no need to stock up. It can be said that with Shopify doing business will not cost you a kidney and it’s much easier.

Introduction to OpenCart:

OpenCart was founded by Daniel Kerr and its first public release was on May 11, 1999. Just like Shopify, Opencart is also an e-commerce platform. It is defined as an open-source e-commerce platform. Opencart enables purchasing and selling of items. Multiple stores can be managed through OpenCart by just one installation. It can be downloaded and updated free of cost and there are so subscription charges as well. Only hosting and extra extensions are charged. You can easily sell things without paying heavy fees. The open cart gives customization options too.

You can pick exceptional themes to give your clients an amazing experience. To use this platform, a business has to download the OpenCart program and upload the files to their server. It’s pretty simple and inexpensive to start a business with OpenCart. OpenCart provides tons of other options too such as an admin dashboard, user access, special discount, and coupons. Easy payment and shipment gateways, built-in SEO, and many others. This platform is professional and reliable.

A business does not need any technical assistance to set up a store on OpenCart. It can be done in a few simple steps. OpenCart serves a wide variety of users. It facilitates web developers looking for a user-friendly interface, to shop owners just launching their business online. Sometimes people are scared to pay subscription fees for a platform fearing security breaches, technical issues, and many others. OpenCart provides a user-access option where access is available to two parties, one is the admin and the other can be a group of people who have some role in business. In case of any mishap or technical issue on a system of one user, another user can still access the store and work on it.

OpenCart vs Shopify

OpenCart vs Shopify both are e-commerce platforms. They both have strengths and weaknesses. Some people may find Shopify useful and others might prefer OpenCart depending on their needs. They both are similar in some ways and different in others. We will discuss it in detail about both of them, so you can make a conclusion about which one to opt for. Let’s dive into it.

Fees:

The first and foremost thing that arises in a business owner’s mind is cost. Business is done solely for profit and cost must be considered to estimate profit. Similarly, while considering OpenCart vs Shopify, their pricing must be kept in focus. OpenCart has no subscription fees. It can be downloaded and updated without any cost. There will be some additional cost of additional extensions, hosting, domain name, and an SSL certificate.

Shopify on the other hand has a subscription fee. It offers three pricing plans: Shopify basic, the main Shopify plan costs, and advanced Shopify cost. These pricing plans serve a wide variety of users. They can choose any of the plans according to their budget.

OpenCart is much cheaper than Shopify. There are only some basic expenses in OpenCart.

User Management Access:

User management access means that an admin can grant access to someone else or another group of people for better flow of work e.g. an admin can assign various available permission to the store manager. It helps in better management of store because admin does not have to look for everything, the burden is divided and work is performed efficiently.

OpenCart vs Shopify both provide user management access. You can add emails of those to who you want to assign access and they will be able to access some parts of it. However, there is a two-step authentication process in Shopify and there is no such thing in OpenCart.

Multiple Store Management:

Some business owners deal in different products that cannot be sold in the same store, for that they need multiple stores. OpenCart provides multiple store management through one installation. An admin can handle two stores through one account. Access becomes much easier for him. On the other hand, Shopify does not provide such an option.

The only way you can manage two stores in Shopify is by having two different accounts for different stores. A business owner has to pay separate subscription fees for both installations. Shopify is costly in this regard. Also, the process is difficult in comparison to OpenCart.

Easy To Use:

This is the most important aspect to consider while choosing a platform for your business because everyone finds easy ways to accomplish tasks. You and your team members might not be too techy and a platform that is difficult to use might be a problem for them. You can also save a good amount of money that will be paid to the technical team in case of choosing difficult to use platform.

It is said that Shopify is pretty easy to use. Any layman can make an account on it and start selling. But OpenCart takes much more effort. It requires coding skills to set up a new store. You have to purchase a new domain and hosting, create a database using open-source administration, install OpenCart, and complete your store.

With Shopify, you can start by entering some basic information such as email address, store name, and your name and that’s it. Even bank account details and other payment info is also not required.

SEO:

SEO stands for “search engine optimization”. It is simply a process of improving your site to increase its visibility when people search for products and services related to your business on Google, Bing, etc.

OpenCart lacks some advanced SEO capabilities. There are limited options for SEO URL customization, which means fewer SEO-friendly URLs for search engines and users. There are no auto Meta generation, no scalable tools for SEO management, and no microdata on product pages. While on the other hand, Shopify online stores have SEO built-in to help you optimize your content. Title tags, Meta descriptions, and URLs can easily be edited.

Shopify is way better than OpenCart in terms of SEO. And especially for beginners who want to make use of SEO.

Security:

Security is a matter of concern for a business owner when starting a business. There is a risk of hacking and other technical issues. A secure and reliable platform is important in this regard. OpenCart does not take any responsibility to protect your website and you have to protect your website. Some additional steps can be taken to secure your website such as deleting the install folder, keeping admin login difficult, and some others. Shopify is very secure. It takes responsibility for your website. It also has a security section on its website where you can file your complaints.

Themes/Customization:

OpenCart vs Shopify both offer customization options. There are thousands of themes from which you can choose. Of course, an attractive theme attracts a lot of customers’ attention. If we compare Opencart vs Shopify it would be a tie because both of them are no less in this regard. There are over 500 OpenCart themes and templates on theme forest. Shopify has over 100 free and paid themes for your e-commerce store.

Inventory Management, Order Processing, Shipping, And Payment:

These aspects should not be omitted when making a comparison between two e-commerce platforms. OpenCart vs Shopify both have a whole store management process. They both offer warehouse services, dropshipping, and other essential features that are necessary for inventory management. There is also a process for order processing, shipping, and payment. There are payment gateways that make it easy for business owners and customers to receive and make payments.

Over there is no one winner when it comes to managing inventory, making payments, and delivering products.

Free and Paid Applications:

Applications are essential for your store. It adds a lot of value to your store. OpenCart is a really good option for applications and add-ons. It has over 14000 extensions. Store on OpenCart can also be customized at a low cost. On the other hand, Shopify has over 3000 applications available. With Shopify, you can add a lot of functionality to your store. Shopify tends to provide apps and add-ons for simple and popular functionalities AMP or drag. Both provide such great applications either free or at quite a low cost. There is no one winner when it comes to extensions and applications.

Conclusion:

If we wrap up the whole discussion, we can say that both OpenCart vs Shopify have pros and cons. There are a few differences between both of them such as OpenCart is less expensive but it is also not easy to use. Shopify is pricier but it does not require any coding skills. Shopify’s customer satisfaction rate is much more than OpenCart but that’s maybe because OpenCart is not that popular. When we look at the customer satisfaction rate, we will see that Shopify has a greater customer satisfaction rate. It is easier to use, more popular, more secure, has built-in SEO, and much more that makes it more convenient for business owners as well as customers.