# VirtueMart review (2026): is it any good? > Free open-source ecommerce extension for Joomla Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. VirtueMart is a free, open-source ecommerce extension that adds a shop to a Joomla site. It manages products, categories, attributes and variants, with multi-language support, payment gateways, shipping and tax calculation, and stock tracking. The vendor says it has been in development since 2002 and extends through plugins, components, templates and modules. - **Category:** Online Store Builders - **Made by:** VirtueMart (since 2002) - **Website:** https://virtuemart.net - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you don't use Joomla, since it only runs there. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, VirtueMart is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** The core extension is free to download and use; third-party extensions and templates may cost extra. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | VirtueMart | $0 | Free open-source extension for Joomla that you install on your own site. | Read from https://virtuemart.net on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with VirtueMart before buying. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Joomla site owners adding a shop to an existing site - Merchants who want a free, self-run store with no subscription ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. VirtueMart is a free, open-source shop extension for Joomla. Release 4.6.0 is marked as not working on Joomla 6, no paid support exists, and you need your own hosting. - **Value for money: C.** Free to download, but you host it, so it sits in the middle. Third-party extensions and templates may cost extra. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The core extension is free with no caps. Hosting and any add-ons are on you. - **Features: C.** Products, 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: D.** No rating on record. You install it into a Joomla site on your own hosting. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Runs only on Joomla, with PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.Net links. No apps. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from VirtueMart's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among online store builders - VirtueMart's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 29 of the 80 other online store builders we grade, and level with 13. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 55 of 80) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - VirtueMart has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/online-stores ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** VirtueMart is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. - You could make: Inventory: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: Checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Joomla, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.Net **Tags:** Online store, Open source, Self-hostable, Inventory ## Alternatives - [HikaShop](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hikashop): Ecommerce extension for Joomla and WordPress sites. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hikashop-vs-virtuemart) - [OpenCart](https://toolgpa.com/tools/opencart): Free open-source shopping cart you host yourself. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/opencart-vs-virtuemart) - [PrestaShop](https://toolgpa.com/tools/prestashop): Open-source ecommerce software, free to self-host or sold hosted. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/prestashop-vs-virtuemart) - [WooCommerce](https://toolgpa.com/tools/woocommerce): Free, open-source store plugin for WordPress that you host yourself. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/virtuemart-vs-woocommerce) - [Zen Cart](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zen-cart): Free open-source PHP shopping cart you host yourself. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/virtuemart-vs-zen-cart) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://virtuemart.net - https://virtuemart.net/features Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/virtuemart Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).