Choosing a platform is the first big decision when you start an online store. OpenCart, WooCommerce and Shopify are the three most common choices for Indian small and medium businesses, and each suits a different kind of shop. This guide compares them on the points that matter most in India: running cost, payments, GST, ownership and how much help you will need.
The short answer
- Shopify suits sellers who want to start quickly, have a small catalogue and prefer a monthly subscription with hosting included.
- WooCommerce suits businesses that already use WordPress or want a content-heavy site with a blog and a store together.
- OpenCart suits stores with many products, categories and options that want full ownership and low running costs.
Running costs
Shopify charges a monthly plan fee, and paid themes and apps add their own monthly fees. It also adds its own transaction fee on some plans when you use an outside payment gateway, so check the current pricing for your plan. WooCommerce and OpenCart are free software: you pay for hosting, a domain, any premium theme or extensions, and the developer who sets it up and maintains it. For most Indian stores, yearly hosting for OpenCart or WooCommerce costs less than a year of Shopify plus apps, but you need someone to look after updates and security.
Payments and GST
- All three work with Indian gateways such as Razorpay, PayU, PhonePe PG and Cashfree, so customers can pay with UPI, cards, net banking and wallets.
- GST invoices need the right settings or an extension on all three. Make sure your invoices show your GSTIN, HSN codes and the correct tax split (CGST/SGST or IGST).
- Cash on delivery with a small extra charge is easy on all three.
Ownership and flexibility
With WooCommerce and OpenCart you own the code and the data on your own hosting, and any developer can work on it. Shopify is a hosted service: it is simpler to run, but you work within its rules and apps, and moving away later takes effort. If you need custom features, such as special pricing for wholesale buyers, integration with your billing software or a marketplace model, OpenCart and WooCommerce give more freedom.
Speed and SEO
All three can rank well on Google. Speed depends more on the theme, images and hosting than on the platform. Shopify's hosting is fast by default; OpenCart and WooCommerce need good hosting and some tuning, such as caching, image compression and a lean theme.
Which one should you choose?
- Fewer than 50 products, want to start this week, happy with a monthly fee: Shopify.
- Content, blog or courses matter as much as products: WooCommerce.
- Hundreds or thousands of products, product options, wholesale pricing or custom features: OpenCart.
We build on all three, and many of our client stores run on OpenCart because of its low running cost and flexibility.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move from Shopify to OpenCart or WooCommerce later?
Yes. Products, customers and orders can be exported and imported, and old URLs can be redirected so you keep your Google rankings. Plan it for a quiet sales period.
Which platform is cheapest?
Over a few years, OpenCart or WooCommerce on good shared hosting usually costs the least. Shopify is cheaper to start but its monthly fees add up.
Do I need coding knowledge?
Not for daily work. Adding products, managing orders and running offers is done from the admin panel on all three. Setup, custom features and updates are best left to a developer.
Not sure which platform fits your store?
Tell us what you sell and how many products you have. NPD Softwares will recommend a platform, give a clear quote and build the store with UPI payments and GST invoices. See our work.