Ecwid vs PrestaShop
We give Ecwid a 2.2 GPA and PrestaShop a 2.4, out of 4.0. Ecwid grades higher on features and ease of use. PrestaShop grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PrestaShop
Open-source ecommerce software, free to self-host or sold hosted
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAEcwidFair | 2.4GPAPrestaShopFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $5 a month, but that's 10 products on a company.site address. A shop on its own domain starts with Venture at $29 a month on yearly billing ($35 monthly), the category's middle. Ecwid charges no fee on sales on any plan. | CClassic is free, but you pay for hosting, a domain and any paid modules, and the listing has no figure for those. So we go on Hosted: €24 a month on yearly billing, in euros and before VAT (€29 monthly). That's the ordinary middle, and no PrestaShop fee on sales is listed. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan, and the pricing page mentions no trial. The cheapest way in is Starter at $5 a month, which is cheap but not free. | BThe Classic software is free to download with unlimited products, and one person could run a shop on it for years. Hosting isn't free, though, and the 14-day Hosted trial takes payment details at sign-up. |
| Features | BThe whole job is here: a store you can embed anywhere or build from 70+ templates, tax at checkout, carrier rates, labels, stock per variation, abandoned-cart emails and subscriptions. Marketplace selling goes through third-party apps, but the core is complete. | CCheckout in 20 currencies across 190 countries, Google and social ads, eShip labels, Klaviyo email and proper SEO controls cover the basics. Past that you're adding from 3,200+ themes and modules, and the paid ones cost extra. |
| Ease of use | B4.62 from 1,255 App Store ratings. Adding the store to a site you already run is the easy route, with no new website to build. | CNo store rating on record. Hosted takes the server off your hands, but PrestaShop says installing and customizing a store takes some technical knowledge, and the free Classic route means running your own server. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with WordPress, Stripe, Square, Clover, Mailchimp, Amazon, eBay and Instagram, plus an App Market from Venture. No desktop app, so it stops at B. | BWeb only, but with PayPal, Stripe, Klarna, Klaviyo, Google, Facebook, Instagram and Hostinger, 3,200+ themes and modules, and open code you can change freely. No phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | adding a shop to the website you already have | custom stores you own, especially in Europe |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ecwid and PrestaShop. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ecwid starts at $5 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PrestaShop starts at about $26.89 a month and scores 2.3.
Ecwid scores higher and starts $21.89 a month lower. Of the other online store builders on the chart, none scores higher than Ecwid for less, and 2 score higher than PrestaShop for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Ecwid starts at $5 per month (Starter). PrestaShop starts at €24 per month excl. VAT, billed annually (Hosted; €29 billed monthly).
- PrestaShop has a free plan. Ecwid does not.
- Only Ecwid lists iOS and Android apps.
- PrestaShop is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Ecwid also covers inventory, digital downloads and shipping labels.
At a glance
| Ecwid | PrestaShop | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month (Starter) | €24 per month excl. VAT, billed annually (Hosted; €29 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Classic: the open-source PrestaShop software, free to download and run on your own hosting, with unlimited products. Hosting, a domain and paid modules cost extra. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of Hosted; payment details are taken at sign-up |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Ecwid by Lightspeed | PrestaShop |
| Price read from | ecwid.com | prestashop.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Ecwid
- Owners of an existing website who want to add a store without rebuilding
- Small shops with a short catalog that want a low monthly price
- Sellers who show the same catalog on several sites and social channels
PrestaShop
- Developers and agencies building custom stores for clients
- European sellers who want open-source software with VAT and GDPR tools
- Merchants who want to own their store's code and data
Worth knowing
Ecwid
- There is no free plan, and Starter allows only 10 products, with no mobile app, App Market or live chat support.
- Ecwid charges no transaction fees on any plan, but the payment provider you connect charges its own processing fees.
- Marketplace selling needs Business and third-party apps that may charge extra; in-person POS syncing needs Unlimited.
- The pricing page mentions no free trial, and staff accounts start on Business with 2 seats.
PrestaShop
- Classic is free to download, but hosting, a domain and any paid modules or themes cost extra; the offers page gives no figures for those costs.
- PrestaShop says installing and customizing a store takes some technical knowledge, especially to set it up on a server.
- Hosted is priced in euros excluding VAT, and its legal tools are built around European rules such as GDPR.
- Paid technical support is sold separately, from €90 for an hour of analysis and up to four hours of work.
Key features
Ecwid
- Add a store to any website
- Embed the store on an existing site built with WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or another platform, or on several sites at once, and manage it all from one account.
- Instant Site builder
- Build a store site without code from more than 70 templates on a free company.site address, or connect your own domain; Venture and higher can buy one inside Ecwid.
- Social, marketplace and in-person selling
- Sell on Instagram and Facebook from Venture, on Amazon, eBay and Walmart through third-party apps from Business, and in store through Square, Clover or Lightspeed on Unlimited.
- Tax, shipping and stock
- Calculate sales tax at checkout, show carrier rates, generate shipping labels and track stock with low-stock alerts, including stock per product variation.
- Marketing automation
- Automated emails, abandoned-cart reminders, coupons, scheduled promotions, a Mailchimp sync and catalog ads on Meta and TikTok.
- Subscriptions and digital goods
- Sell downloads of up to 25 GB per file from Venture, and bill recurring subscriptions from Business through Lightspeed Payments or Stripe.
PrestaShop
- Open-source store software
- Download PrestaShop free, install it on your own server and change any part of it, with unlimited physical and virtual products and product packs.
- PrestaShop Checkout with PayPal
- Take payments in 20 currencies across 190 countries, including PayPal installments, with Stripe, Klarna and other payment providers also offered.
- Google, Facebook and Instagram ads
- PrestaShop Marketing runs automated ads on Google networks, and PrestaShop Social syncs the catalog with Facebook and Instagram.
- Shipping and marketing automation
- eShip for PrestaShop prints labels and handles shipments, and PrestaShop Automation connects Klaviyo for targeted email campaigns.
- Marketplace and SEO tools
- Add from more than 3,200 themes and modules in the PrestaShop Marketplace, and manage custom URLs, meta tags, canonical URLs and redirects.
Plans
Ecwid
Starter$5
per month
Up to 10 products, 70+ site templates on a company.site address, a store you can add to any site, and email support.
Venture$29
per month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
Up to 100 products and digital goods, Instagram and Facebook selling, the mobile app, App Market, automated tax, coupons and live chat support.
Business$49
per month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)
Up to 2,500 products, marketplaces, subscriptions, abandoned-cart recovery, wholesale pricing groups, 2 staff accounts and phone support.
Unlimited$119
per month, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)
Unlimited products and staff accounts, in-person selling through a POS integration, 500 scheduled promotions and priority support.
PrestaShop
Classic€0
Open-source PrestaShop 9 that you download and host yourself, with PrestaShop Checkout, ad tools, shipping and the Marketplace built in.
Hosted€24
per month excl. VAT, billed annually (€29 billed monthly)
Installed and hosted by PrestaShop, with automatic VAT calculation, GDPR and cookie tools, and support by email, chat or phone 6 days a week.
Ways to pay less
Ecwid
- Annual discount
Pay annually to save 16%
Venture costs $29 a month billed annually against $35 monthly, Business $49 against $65, and Unlimited $119 against $149. Starter is $5 either way.
PrestaShop
- Annual discount
Hosted billed annually saves 17%
The Hosted offer costs €290 a year excluding VAT, shown as €24 a month, against €29 a month without commitment.
