5 Best WordPress Shopping Cart Plugins [Handpicked]

If you’re thinking about opening a store or selling a book that requires a shopping cart, then you’re in the right place.

I’ll talk about WordPress shopping cart plugins, which come with advanced functionalities like payment and order management, on top of a cart feature.

The world has gone so far with the power of cutting-edge, modern technology. If you don’t have the right tool, you’ll fall behind before your journey even gets started.

TL;DR:

I’m going to review the top 5 WordPress shopping cart plugins to build online stores. Here’s the sneak peek:

– FluentCart takes the top spot, offering intuitive UI, hybrid product support, and advanced features
– SureCart is a fantastic plugin with a box of amazing features for small and medium businesses
– WooCommerce remains ideal for large enterprises despite its complexity
– Easy Digital Downloads excels specifically for digital products, such as software, plugins, ebooks, etc.
– Ecwid offers simplicity for small businesses through external platform integration

Bottom line: FluentCart is recommended for most users seeking a comprehensive, beginner-friendly solution that requires no extra effort.

Why do you need a WordPress shopping cart plugin?

We need WordPress plugins to make our lives easier. That’s the reason for using a WordPress plugin.

Every plugin comes with solutions that are needed in different scenarios.

So, when we try to sell something, we need a cart plugin to make the process easier and more efficient.

What do you require to start an online shop?

Option for showcasing products
An easy add-to-cart button
Payment processing
Inventory management for physical products
A way to handle digital downloads

These are some basic options you need to run your online business. You may also need to connect an email marketing tool to track customers’ journeys and reduce abandoned carts.

Shipping and VAT calculations are also required in many situations.

For all that and more, a WordPress shopping cart plugin will help you run and establish your business.

FluentCart

If you’re in the WordPress industry, you must know about Fluent Family. WPManageNinja has a popular lineup under Fluent brands, like Fluent Forms, FluentCRM, Ninja Tables, etc.

Their recent inclusion is FluentCart, the fresh yet powerful WordPress eCommerce plugin to get your store up and running.

One thing I can assure you about Fluent Family is that they don’t cut corners to stay in the competition. They’ve set such high standards that customers never question their build quality.

They solved several problems that the online business owners were facing with other eCommerce tools.

Other tools require addons with a high dependency
You have to pay the platform fee and the additional transaction fee sometimes
It’ll be challenging to create hybrid products with other plugins

As it’s just being launched, they have more planned features. For payment, they’ll offer Stripe and PayPal, along with Cash Upon Delivery. But the list of upcoming payment gateways is almost ready.

Similarly, tax/VAT calculation, product bundle, and some additional features are not available right now.

Considering these semi-negative aspects, all other aspects of FluentCart work in your favor, especially for creating the online store right away.

It has everything to build a global-standard store for physical and digital products. No worries, if you want to sell both, you can do that as well.

FluentCart handles all product types uniformly, whether physical or digital. Physical products require inventory management, while digital products need recurring pricing and download management features.

For recurring businesses, like freelance-based services, annual pricing for apps, and monthly payments for coaching, you can amazingly use this tool.

Key features

FluentCart is a native WordPress plugin without bloating your website
A complete WordPress eCommerce solution that presents order management, convenient payment systems, and easy store setup
It has hybrid product support that handles physical and digital products, subscriptions, and licensing all without extra add-ons
Lightning-fast checkout with built-in coupons
Activation, renewal, and expiration controls of the license with built-in subscription & license management
Full API support for headless eCommerce and custom integrations
Get powerful insights for revenue, customer behavior, and product performance from the real-time analytics dashboard
FluentCart is also developer-friendly, meaning it’s open-source with countless action hooks, filter hooks, and extendable features

SureCart

Sure Family is also a renowned umbrella brand in the WordPress industry with SureMembers, SureForms, SureDash, and SureCart.

With SureCart, you can create, manage, and scale your physical or digital shop without any hassle.

SureCart is more of a platform than a WordPress plugin, although the plugin is a popular tool for the eCommerce category.

You can get started with the free tool, but you will have to consider a 1.9% platform fee for each transaction.

You’ll get waived from this fee with any pro packages.

SureCart has been in the market for nearly three years, and it’s already gained traction from the eCommerce world.

The headless facility, faster performance, and all essential features in one box made this tool a better alternative for WooCommerce.

Key features

Complete order management with fulfillment, returns, refunds, inventory, and manual order creation
SureCart also comes with the headless eCommerce approach that empowers websites to sell products through customizable order forms
Advanced subscription management with various options like free & paid trials, installment plans, and payment reminders
Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Google Pay, and Apple Pay will help you receive payments across 135+ currencies
Multiple pricing options for one store, 5 stores, or unlimited stores, with annual or lifetime payment
Integrated with online learning and membership tools, such as LearnDash, TutorLMS, MemberPress, and LifterLMS
No transaction fees on Pro and Lifetime plans for cost-effective selling
Handling multi-product types, including physical products, digital downloads, services, subscriptions, and donations
SureCart offers abandoned cart, one-click upsells, order bumps, and upgrade options during checkout as revenue boosters

WooCommerce

WooCommerce needs no introduction. With its decade-long legacy and countless features, it’s still one of the best WordPress cart plugins.

Although new eCommerce tools like FluentCart and SureCart are so advanced that it’s hard to choose WooCommerce over the modern eCommerce tools.

The learning curve is very high, the plugin is cumbersome, and a beginner will get overwhelmed while getting started with the plugin.

Having said the negatives, there are rays of light as you’ll find tons of tutorials across the entire internet on WooCommerce.

And WooCommerce can be a good choice for an enterprise-level online store. It offers a large number of addons, pretty much for every need.

Key Features

Open-source flexibility with versatile customization options
Over 7,000 plugins are available in the WordPress repository, and many of them have connections with WooCommerce
Built-in stock tracking and management tools make inventory management easier
WooCommerce is extremely popular for its vast payment gateway support, with various options
Deep customization capabilities for experienced users
Since it’s a native WordPress plugin, you can easily introduce your store on your blog site and vice versa
The core plugin is free, which offers basic functionality and is enough to start a store at no cost
No matter what your need is, you can get an addon for your purposes
A plethora of resources is available online to help with your store setup

Easy Digital Downloads

When you’re looking for an option for opening a shop for digital products, Easy Digital Downloads can be a great solution.

With 100+ integrations, unlimited file downloads, and popular payment gateways, this plugin is gaining traction every day.

There are some criticisms, like it’s limited to digital products, a little bit expensive, and somewhat complicated UI.

I’ll still recommend this product for digital sales only because of its dedicated features for online business growth.

You can enjoy both basic and advanced features like PDF invoices, discount codes, content restriction, product bundles, fraud prevention, and software licensing.

Key Features

Sell subscriptions and digital products with automatic billing, free trials, reminder emails, and custom discount codes
Intuitive checkout process designed for seamless digital purchases
Charge your customers in their preferred currencies with a dozen payment gateways supported
The list of advanced features includes cross-sells & upsells, Gravity Forms checkout, Slack, invoices, and social discounts
Robust product management with tools for tracking sales and managing digital inventory
The download process is streamlined so that customers can browse, purchase, and download products effortlessly
The core is lightweight with minimal features, but extensible through multiple add-ons
Many popular email marketing tools, like ActiveCampaign and Mailchimp, are integrated

Ecwid

Ecwid is not a self-hosted WordPress plugin. It provides a simplified eCommerce platform for entrepreneurs.

With the plugin, you establish the connection between WordPress (your website) and Ecwid (the online platform).

Although it seems overwhelming, it’s not actually. You don’t have full control over your data like a native WordPress plugin, but that will not be a big issue.

With support for dozens of payment gateways, intuitive connection with social networks, and the ability to configure taxes and shipping, Ecwid can be a good consideration for building an eCommerce website in WordPress.

Key Features

The WordPress plugin is Gutenberg-friendly, with support for multiple languages and multiple payment methods
Automatic shipping calculation with USPS, UPS, FedEx, Canada Post, Australia Post, and other couriers. Automatic tax calculations are also available for some countries
Sell products on Facebook and Instagram while synchronizing with WordPress for orders, customers, and inventory
Secure checkout with the PCI DSS Level 1 certified checkout system hosted externally
Works with any WordPress theme and integrates seamlessly
Easily import your WooCommerce products and rebuild stores
Ecwid’s free mobile application will help you manage your store with sales and inventory tracking, and accept payments from anywhere
Secure servers for your store with unlimited storage, backups, and security updates
You can sell on multiple places by sharing your stores across blogs, websites, social media, and even Amazon, eBay, etc.

It’s your call

I’ve made my top picks. Now the ball is in your court, and I believe you’re going to choose the right tool for your business.

While every plugin has its own advantages, you have to decide which one matches your needs perfectly.

WooCommerce is a great option for a large online shop, while SureCart and Ecwid are perfect for small and medium businesses.

And solely for digital products and services, Easy Digital Downloads is a comprehensive plugin.

But, overall?

Yes, FluentCart is my top recommendation to build your dream commerce website.

FluentCart will let you create any type of shop with ease and advanced features
You can create a hybrid shop where you’ll sell both physical and digital products
You can charge for your services recurringly
The UI and UX are top-notch, built for beginners
The tool is super-fast, resulting in smooth and quick order processing
It helps you be connected with other Fluent suite products

FAQ: WordPress shopping cart plugins

Q: What is a WordPress shopping cart plugin?
A: A WordPress shopping cart plugin is a tool that enables a WordPress website to sell products online. It includes essential eCommerce features like product creation, cart management, payment processing, order management, shipping, and inventory tracking.

Q: Do I need a shopping cart plugin if I only sell one product?
A: Yes, even if you sell a single product, you’ll get benefits from a shopping cart plugin with secure payment processing, order management, invoicing, and future customer relationship management.

Q: Can I sell both physical and digital products with these plugins?
A: Most modern plugins like FluentCart, SureCart, and WooCommerce support both physical and digital products. Easy Digital Downloads is specifically designed for digital products only.

Q: Why is FluentCart recommended over WooCommerce?
A: FluentCart offers a sleek, intuitive, and user-friendly interface with built-in features that don’t require additional add-ons. It’s faster, easier to set up, and doesn’t have the learning curve that WooCommerce has. However, WooCommerce is better for large enterprise stores that need extensive customization.

Q: What are the transaction fees for these plugins?
A: FluentCart has no platform fees. SureCart charges 1.9% on the free plan but waives fees on pro plans. WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads don’t charge platform fees, but you’ll pay standard payment gateway fees. Ecwid’s fees vary by plan.