HikaShop vs VirtueMart (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, HikaShop grades higher than VirtueMart: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
HikaShop grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
HikaShop
Ecommerce extension for Joomla and WordPress sites
Which one is for you
Pick HikaShop if
- Fits if you already have a Joomla or WordPress site and want to add a shop
- Makes sense if you want a cheap yearly licence for one site
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't run Joomla or WordPress, as it works only inside them
- Tight if you stay free: guest checkout, wishlist and personal email support are paid
- Watch out: paid editions cover one site for one year, and extending costs €40 or €70 a year
- Watch out: prices are in euros, and EU buyers without a VAT number pay tax at checkout
Pick VirtueMart if
- Fits if you already run Joomla and want a free shop
- Works for people who can get by on forum help
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't use Joomla, since it only runs there
- Skip it if you're moving to Joomla 6, as release 4.6.0 is marked as not working on it
- Watch out: no paid support plan is listed, only the forum and partner agencies
- Tight if you want a hosted shop, because you need your own hosting
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHikaShopFair | 2.0GPAVirtueMartFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AEssential is €60 a year for one site, about €5 a month, under 60% of the category's $20 cheap start. Business is €120 a year. | CFree to download, but you host it, so it sits in the middle. Third-party extensions and templates may cost extra. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe Starter edition is free with unlimited products and orders, variants, inventory and tax rules. One site could run on it, with forum support. | BThe core extension is free with no caps. Hosting and any add-ons are on you. |
| Features | CCatalog, inventory, international selling and marketing tools. Guest checkout and wishlist need Essential, and the API and mobile app need Business. | CProducts, multi-language shops, payments, shipping and tax, shopper groups and inventory. The Joomla 6 gap means it doesn't cover the newest Joomla. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. You need your own Joomla or WordPress site on your own hosting, and the vendor says it supports MySQL only. | DNo rating on record. You install it into a Joomla site on your own hosting. |
| Platforms and integrations | CRuns inside Joomla or WordPress only, with Stripe and PayPal links. The mobile app is Business only. | CRuns only on Joomla, with PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.Net links. No apps. |
| Best for | a shop inside an existing Joomla or WordPress site | Joomla sites that want a free shop extension |
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: HikaShop and VirtueMart. How we grade
Price against what you get
HikaShop starts at about $5.59 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. VirtueMart has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
They score the same, and VirtueMart starts $5.59 a month lower. Of the other online store builders on the chart, 5 score higher than HikaShop for less, and none scores higher than VirtueMart 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
- VirtueMart is open source, according to its own site.
- HikaShop also covers templates.
At a glance
| HikaShop | VirtueMart | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | €60 per year for 1 site | Free |
| Free plan | Starter edition: free, with unlimited products and orders, variants and inventory, payment and shipping plugins, tax rules, currencies and coupons, and forum support. | The core extension is free to download and use; third-party extensions and templates may cost extra. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | HIKARI Software | VirtueMart |
| Price read from | hikashop.com | virtuemart.net |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HikaShop
- It runs only inside Joomla or WordPress and needs your own hosting; the vendor says it supports MySQL only.
- Paid editions include one year of updates and support for one website; extending costs €40 per year on Essential and €70 per year on Business.
- Prices are listed in euros, and EU buyers without a valid VAT number pay a tax rate added at checkout.
- The REST API, mobile app and affiliate program are limited to the Business edition.
VirtueMart
- It runs only on Joomla and needs your own hosting.
- Release 4.6.0 is marked by the vendor as not working on Joomla 6; a VirtueMart 5 is planned for that.
- No paid support plan is listed on the site; help comes from the forum and community, and partner agencies are listed.
Key features
HikaShop
- Catalog and inventory
- Categories, characteristics, variants, options and custom fields, with stock tracking, for small or large catalogs.
- International selling
- Languages, currencies, zones and tax rules, with more than 90 payment gateways listed on the homepage.
- Marketing tools
- Coupons and discounts, affiliate programs (Business edition) and email-marketing integrations.
- Built-in statistics
- A dashboard shows revenue, orders, average order value and top products.
- Customization
- Views, checkout, fields and emails can be overridden without forking the code.
- Marketplace and auctions
- HikaMarket (multi-vendor), HikaSerial and HikaAuction are sold as separate extensions.
VirtueMart
- Product management
- Products, nested categories, attributes and variants, with multiple media types such as images, PDFs and videos.
- Multi-language shops
- Built-in multi-language support for stores aimed at several markets.
- Payments, shipping and tax
- Payment gateways including PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.Net, plus shipping and tax calculation by weight, destination and tax rate.
- Shopper groups
- Groups change how prices are shown or calculated, for example prices with tax for B2C and without for B2B.
- Inventory
- Stock tracking, low-stock notifications and backorder management.
Plans
HikaShop
Starter$0
Unlimited products and orders, variants, inventory, payment and shipping plugins, tax rules and coupons, with forum support.
Essential€60
per year for 1 site
Adds custom fields, product options, guest checkout, multicart, wishlist, AI Commerce (UCP and MCP) and personal email support. Priced in euros.
Business€120
per year for 1 site
Adds the REST API, the HikaShop mobile app, an affiliate program, product filters and comparison, and prices per user group and zone. Priced in euros.
VirtueMart
VirtueMart$0
Free open-source extension for Joomla that you install on your own site.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HikaShop or VirtueMart?
As of Nov 13, 2026, VirtueMart is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $5.59 a month for HikaShop. HikaShop starts at €60 per year for 1 site, and VirtueMart is free.
Which has a free plan, HikaShop or VirtueMart?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both HikaShop and VirtueMart have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.