Key Takeaways
- WooCommerce dominates with over five million active installations, making it the top WordPress e-commerce plugin by far.
- Several plugins like TheCartPress and PayPal Shopping Cart lack recent updates, posing security risks and compatibility concerns.
- Easy Digital Downloads is a strong WooCommerce alternative specifically for selling digital-only products like ebooks and media.
- Ecwid and BigCommerce support multi-channel and international selling but require paid plans for full functionality.
- Many listed plugins are niche solutions-booking tools, credit systems, PayPal-only buttons-serving specific rather than general e-commerce needs.
If you want to run a web store, one of the easiest ways to do it is to set up a WordPress site and use an e-commerce plugin. It’s pretty quick to set up, so you can go from no web presence to a functional web store in a matter of a few hours.
The question is, which shopping cart plugin should you use? There are just so many of them to choose from. I’ve compiled as many as possible and given you a quick rundown of their benefits. Feel free to choose one of these, or recommend another I haven’t listed in the comments.
1. WooCommerce
It should be no surprise that this is the top of the list. It’s the top of basically every list. The free WooCommerce plugin is a great e-commerce platform that’s kept as up to date as possible and it’s well developed and protected.
It’s well over five million active installations according to the WordPress plugin directory, which makes it by far the most widely used e-commerce solution for WordPress. It integrates nicely with a number of other plugins and has more features than basically any other option. Only look to the rest of this list if there’s some must-have feature you can’t do without, or you can’t use WooCommerce for some reason.
2. WP EasyCart
Another recommended shopping cart plugin, it isn’t nearly as widely used as WooCommerce. But it’s still pretty capable. The free version only accepts Stripe, Square, and PayPal, while paid versions have a ton more. The free version also doesn’t have some more advanced features that can be helpful for niche or widespread brands, which makes paid plans more helpful for those businesses.
3. Cart66
Developed by Reality66, Cart66 is a cloud-based shopping cart plugin. It outsources the advanced or tough features of a shopping cart, like security and online product delivery, so you can focus your site resources on other elements of your brand.
Their plugin directory page has tutorials for their features, which can be helpful given that the plugin works in a manner different from other plugins. That said, development activity on Cart66 has slowed considerably, so be sure to verify it’s still actively maintained before committing to it.
4. WP Ultra Simple PayPal Cart
It’s a very easy, very basic shopping cart plugin that lets you use shortcodes to add a “buy now” button to any post with a product attached to it. All it does is integrate PayPal as a payment processor, so it’s fairly limited. It doesn’t cover other payment types - not even credit cards - and it doesn’t have the inventory management, order tracking, or other commerce features some other plugins have. If it fits what you’re looking for, great; if not, don’t expect them to add more features.
5. TheCartPress
This cart plugin has expansion plugins for its own features, themes, and large compatibility across WordPress. However, proceed with caution if you’re thinking about it.
TheCartPress has not seen actual development updates in years, which is a red flag. Outdated plugins can open up security vulnerabilities and may break following a WordPress core update. This is a recurring theme you’ll see with a few plugins on this list: always prioritize plugins with active, consistent development.
6. PayPal Shopping Cart
Here’s a second easy PayPal integration on this list. It’s another basic PayPal integration plugin that can add add-to-cart buttons to your site. Again, it’s very easy to use and very limited in what it can do. Like TheCartPress above, it has gone a long time without updates, so use it with caution and verify latest compatibility with your version of WordPress.
7. WordPress Simple PayPal Shopping Cart
It’s a third variation on the PayPal theme. But it has a bit more to it. It’s more popular than the other two PayPal options on this list and has historically been better maintained.
It works with physical and online products, integrates with responsive design, and supports coupon codes. It’s also helpful for adding directly to your theme if you want your button in a consistent place on every page of your site.
8. eCommerce WD
It’s a basic e-commerce platform plugin with extra add-ons for features like filters, Stripe integration, mini carts, top-rated product feeds, and other options. On its own it works fairly well. But the expansions make it a solid choice for smaller stores. Do check the plugin’s update history before installing, as activity in the WD plugin family has been inconsistent.
9. Easy Digital Downloads
Sometimes you don’t need a full storefront - you just want to sell online products. It’s a great plugin if you don’t have a physical inventory to manage. You can sell anything from images to documents and e-books to media.
It supports PayPal and Stripe natively, and a number of premium extensions are available to add extra payment processors and features. It remains one of the most actively developed and well-known plugins in this space, and it’s a strong alternative to WooCommerce specifically for online-only stores.
10. JigoShop
Developed by Jigo Ltd, this plugin supports a store with affiliate products and online products. It does extensions for advanced features and extra payment processors, so make sure to calculate what you need for your store before getting too deep. Also know that there’s an older, abandoned plugin of the same name floating around - make sure that you’re installing the correct, actively maintained version.
11. Ecwid
The Ecwid eCommerce Shopping Cart plugin is one of the more popular options on this list. It lets you sell globally and can automatically calculate shipping and taxes across a number of international payment options and shipping methods. The free version is limited to 10 products at a time. But paid plans are available for better product counts and advanced features. Ecwid has continued to grow as a platform and it’s also a strong choice for multi-channel selling - like social commerce on places like Instagram and Facebook.
12. MarketPress
One of the plugins created by WPMU DEV, this is a very capable and quality plugin. It supports 15 payment processors, 120 currencies, physical and online products, tax calculation, invoicing, social sharing, shortcodes, and a whole lot more. It also integrates nicely with other WPMU DEV plugins, though most of them are paid products. Remember that WPMU DEV has shifted its focus toward its wider suite of tools and hosting services, so verify latest support and compatibility before picking it.
13. LaterPay
One of the only plugins of its type on this list, LaterPay doesn’t let you run a traditional storefront on your blog. Rather, it turns your blog content itself into a monetized product. You can create a full subscription gate or charge per post. The content-locked subscription model is hard to execute successfully, and this plugin’s relevance has diminished as the wider market has consolidated around bigger platforms like Patreon and Substack for this use case. Worth learning about. But most sites will be better served by other options.
14. WordPress eStore
It’s a premium plugin from Tips and Tricks HQ that lets you sell physical and online products with a protected download manager, easy order tracking, and a quick installation. It’s a fairly capable plugin that sees less use basically because there’s no free version. On the upside, it’s a one-time fee instead of a subscription, which gives you an unlimited license - though tech support is only included for one year.
15. Shopify
Shopify is one of the biggest names in online commerce and deserves a mention, though its relationship with WordPress is limited. The old dedicated Shopify WordPress plugin has been discontinued, and the latest integration options are more focused on embedding buy buttons or connecting Shopify’s headless commerce features with a WordPress front end.
If you want a full Shopify storefront, that’s a stand-alone commerce platform starting at around $39 per month (as of 2026). There’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s largely outside the scope of a WordPress plugin list. It’s worth thinking about if you expect to outgrow WordPress-native services.
16. BigCommerce
One of the largest competitors to Shopify, BigCommerce has a WordPress plugin that integrates its platform with your WordPress site and commerce backend while keeping your WordPress front end. It’s a feature-rich and quite capable alternative to purely WordPress-native services.
Pricing has shifted over the years, so be sure to check their latest rates - plans have historically ranged from around $39/month on the entry tier as high as business-level pricing for high-volume merchants. The downside is that it’s not a self-contained WordPress plugin, so you’re dependent on a third-party platform. That said, for bigger stores it’s a very capable option.
17. NinjaShop
NinjaShop was formerly ExchangeWP, which itself was formerly iThemes Exchange. The repeated name changes have come alongside changes in the plugin’s scope and business model. Before committing to it, do some due diligence on its latest development status, as the iThemes/NinjaShop ecosystem has seen turbulence over the years.
18. Shopp
Shopp is a shopping plugin with quite a bit going for it in terms of analytics and security. It has capable cart management, supports promo codes, has a related products widget, and can dynamically change pricing and details on product variants. It also scans for PCI violations constantly, which is a great touch. Development has been quieter, so verify its compatibility with your latest WordPress version before installing.
19. WP Deposit
It’s an outside-the-box plugin that can be helpful for some use cases, but won’t be a mainstream choice. It lets you create user accounts where users can deposit credits in exchange for benefits like ad-free browsing, subscriptions, and other benefits. It can be helpful for running a credit system on your site. But managing that much transaction overhead comes with its own administrative overhead.
20. Easy Online Booking
It’s a plugin focused on a niche business - something like a travel agent or appointment-based service provider. If you are in a space where you book meetings, travel dates, or other such events, this is worth a look for managing it directly from WordPress.
21. Inquiry Cart
A basic shopping cart platform for running a low-tier web store. Frankly, there are better options out there, and with so many well-supported alternatives available in 2026, this would not be a top recommendation unless you have a very specific reason to use it.
22. Book a Place Pro
Another easy booking and calendar management plugin, it has a few more options than similar booking plugins - like custom numbering and permissions management that can come in handy for small service businesses.
23. Digital Paybox
A simple plugin alternative to Easy Digital Downloads, it supports a number of payment methods that other systems might not, which could make it worth a look for a small online shop with an international audience. Verify latest payment gateway support before installing, as some of the smaller processors it has historically supported have come and gone over the years.
24. 5sec PayPal Buttons
Not much to say about it. It’s a basic plugin to add PayPal buttons to your blog or storefront page. Unlike the free PayPal button plugins listed above, it is a premium offering from CodeCanyon. If you need something this simple, there are free alternatives worth trying first.
25. X-Cart Integration
X-Cart is a well-established, non-WordPress commerce platform that you can use for your own storefront. This plugin integrates it with your WordPress installation. It’s a niche choice but a solid one if you’re already invested in the X-Cart ecosystem.
26. Orilla Cart
Not Gorilla - Orilla. It’s a bit of a sleeper option with a loyal user base. It’s a decent shopping cart with an interface that some users like. But it struggles to stand out because there are so many similar options with stronger reputations and bigger communities. Worth a look if you’re feeling adventurous. But most users will be better served higher up this list.
