Comparison · 2026

E-commerce platforms in 2026, compared honestly.

PrestaShop 9.2, WooCommerce 11.2, Shopware 6.7.15, Adobe Commerce 2.4.9, Shopify Spring ’26, BigCommerce, Wix and Squarespace — facts, trade-offs, and what each one is actually good at. Updated October 2026.

Last reviewed · 11 October 2026 · By the DataFirefly team

At a glance

The quick comparison matrix.

Ten criteria, eight platforms. Two ticks means natively excellent, one tick means built-in but with limits, tilde means possible with effort, cross means not really.

Criterion	PrestaShop	WooCommerce	Shopware 6	Shopify	Adobe Commerce / Magento OS	BigCommerce	Wix Commerce	Squarespace Commerce
License	Open source	Open source	Dual	SaaS	Dual	SaaS	SaaS	SaaS
Hosting model	Self	Self	Self/Cloud	Managed	Self/Cloud	Managed	Managed	Managed
Entry pricing	€50/mo	€30/mo	Free CE	$29/mo	Free OS	$29/mo	$29/mo	$19/mo
Native B2B	~	×	✓✓	~	✓✓	✓	×	×
Native multi-store	✓	×	✓	~	✓✓	✓	×	×
Native multilingual	✓✓	~	✓✓	~	✓✓	~	~	~
You own your data	✓	✓	✓	×	✓	×	×	×
Headless ready	~	~	✓✓	✓	✓	✓	×	×
EU / GDPR friendly	✓✓	✓✓	✓✓	~	✓	~	~	~
SEO defaults	✓	✓✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	~	✓

✓✓ natively excellent ✓ built-in ~ possible with effort × not really

In depth

Each platform on its own terms.

PrestaShop

Version 9.2 · September 2026

We work on this

Europe's open-source flagship — multi-store, multi-language, modular.

License: Open source (OSL 3.0)
Hosting: Self-hosted
Stack: PHP 8.1–8.5 · Symfony 6.4 LTS · MySQL/MariaDB · Hummingbird 2.1

~147k

Live stores

EU + LATAM

Market focus

€50/mo hosting

Starting cost

Strengths

Strongest native multi-store and multi-language in the open-source space — no plugin needed for a 5-country setup.
Version 9.2 (September 2026) adds a native one-page checkout and an “Ask AI” assistant in the back office, built on the PrestaShop MCP server.
Mature module marketplace (PrestaShop Addons), mostly EU-priced.
Owned since February 2026 by the cyber_Folks group, alongside the Sylius team. Releases kept coming: 9.1 in March, 9.2 in September 2026.

Trade-offs

Self-hosted means you carry the operational weight (hosting, updates, security).
Module ecosystem quality varies — vetting is essential.
Migration from 1.7 to 9.x remains a non-trivial project even with the Update Assistant.

Best for

Independent merchants in Europe and Latin America with multi-language or multi-store needs.

Avoid if

You want a fully managed SaaS experience with zero ops responsibility.

Go further

WooCommerce

Version 11.2 · October 2026

We work on this

The largest e-commerce platform on the web — content and commerce together.

License: Open source (GPLv2)
Hosting: Self-hosted on WordPress
Stack: WordPress 7.0+ · PHP 7.4+ · MySQL · HPOS · Block editor

~4M

Live stores

29%

Share of live stores

€30/mo hosting

Starting cost

Strengths

Largest extension ecosystem of any e-commerce platform, between the WooCommerce Marketplace and the WordPress.org directory (7M+ active installs).
Inherits WordPress SEO maturity — by default, the best-indexed e-commerce platform.
HPOS now stable since 9.0 — order tables scale to hundreds of thousands of rows without admin slowdown.
Free core, free hosting choice, full data ownership.

Trade-offs

Performance at large catalogue sizes (10 000+ SKUs) requires aggressive caching and DB tuning.
Security depends heavily on plugin discipline — half the breaches come from outdated extensions.
Multi-store is plugin territory, not native — fine for one shop, painful past three.
A new version every month (11.0, 11.1 and 11.2 between August and October 2026): budget regular update testing.

Best for

Content-driven brands, blogs that sell, catalogues under 5 000 SKUs, small to mid-sized DTC.

Avoid if

You need true multi-store out of the box, or run a high-throughput catalogue with intensive personalisation.

Go further

Shopware 6

Version 6.7.15 · October 2026

We work on this

Modern architecture, Germany-born, B2B-leaning. Headless-ready by design.

License: Dual : Community (open source) + Commercial
Hosting: Self-hosted or Shopware Cloud
Stack: PHP 8.2–8.5 · Symfony 7.4 · Vue 3 · Vite · Pinia

~30k

Live stores

DACH + EU B2B

Market focus

Free CE / €600+/mo Commercial

Starting cost

Strengths

Cleanest modern architecture among open-source platforms — Symfony 7, Vue 3, Pinia, Vite admin.
Native B2B Suite (Commercial) covers complex pricing, quotes, employee accounts, approvals.
AI-first roadmap: Shopware Copilot in the admin, and an Agentic Commerce sales channel for AI assistants such as ChatGPT (6.7.10, May 2026).
EAA-compliant since 6.7 by default — no extra work for accessibility.

Trade-offs

Smaller extension marketplace than PrestaShop or WooCommerce.
Steeper learning curve : the Vue 3 / Symfony 7 stack rewards experienced developers.
Many premium features sit behind the Commercial license, not the free Community Edition.
Commercial plans scale with revenue: Rise from €600/month, Evolve from €2,400/month, Beyond on quote (excl. VAT).

Best for

B2B mid-market in DACH and Northern Europe. Projects that will go headless or need solid PIM-like product modelling.

Avoid if

You're a small DTC brand looking for a quick launch on a tight budget.

Go further

Shopify

Version Spring '26 Edition · Continuous (latest: June 2026, 150+ updates)

The fastest path from idea to live store. Now AI-first with Sidekick.

License: SaaS proprietary
Hosting: Fully managed
Stack: Liquid · GraphQL Admin/Storefront API · Hydrogen + Oxygen (headless)

~3.1M

Live stores

23%

Share of live stores

$29 to $2,300+/mo

Starting cost

Strengths

Time-to-launch unmatched — a presentable store in a weekend, no developer required.
Sidekick AI builds automations and custom apps from natural language and proactively suggests actions (Spring 2026).
Agentic Storefronts: products sell natively in ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, with Google AI Mode and Gemini rolling out (2026).
Massive App Store, polished mobile admin, world-class checkout.

Trade-offs

Vendor lock-in : your store data, theme code, and apps live inside Shopify.
Transaction fees apply unless you use Shopify Payments — and Shopify Payments is not available in every country.
Deep customisation past Liquid / Functions is expensive — Plus tier required.
EU merchants face data residency questions on a US-hosted platform.

Best for

DTC brands, fast launches, content creators selling, North American operators.

Avoid if

You need full data ownership, complex multi-language EU setups, or low-cost scaling.

Go further

Adobe Commerce / Magento OS

Version 2.4.9 · May 2026

The enterprise heavyweight — and the open-source community keeping it free.

License: Magento OS : open source · Adobe Commerce : commercial
Hosting: Self-hosted (OS) or Adobe Cloud (ACCS)
Stack: PHP 8.3–8.5 · Symfony 7.4 · Magento framework · MySQL/MariaDB · OpenSearch · Redis/Valkey

$5M+ revenue

Best fit

Enterprise B2B/B2C

Market focus

Free (OS) or $22k+/year (Adobe)

Starting cost

Strengths

Most flexible enterprise architecture — multi-store, multi-website, multi-currency at any scale.
Mage-OS fork keeps the open-source path alive with faster security patches.
Adobe Sensei AI integration for personalisation and live search.
Native B2B suite (Adobe Commerce) is the deepest in the market.

Trade-offs

Complexity is brutal — a small Magento project is a 2-month engagement.
Hosting needs are heavy : Redis, OpenSearch, RabbitMQ, sized for the catalogue.
Adobe publishes no list price: estimates start around $22k/year and pass $100k/year for cloud-managed.
Talent pool is narrow and expensive.

Best for

$5M+ revenue retailers with complex B2B, multi-brand, or multi-region operations and an in-house tech team.

Avoid if

You're under $2M revenue or you do not have a dedicated technical team.

Go further

BigCommerce

Version SaaS · continuous · Catalyst (headless, GA 2024) + Stencil 2.x storefronts

Shopify's mid-market alternative — strong B2B Edition and multi-storefront, now part of Commerce.com.

License: SaaS proprietary
Hosting: Fully managed
Stack: Stencil · GraphQL Storefront/Admin API · Catalyst (Next.js) for headless

~36k

Live stores

Mid-market B2B/B2C

Market focus

$29 to $399+/mo

Starting cost

Strengths

No platform fee on orders paid through an integrated payment provider — pricing scales with sales volume.
Native Multi-Storefront (one backend, multiple branded fronts) without an extra tier.
B2B Edition with quotes, customer groups and price lists.
Catalyst headless framework based on Next.js — clean modern path to a custom front.

Trade-offs

App marketplace is a fraction the size of Shopify's.
Theme variety is limited — most stores look similar.
Smaller agency / freelance ecosystem outside the US.
Since June 2026, a fee of 2% (Core) down to 0.6% (Scale) applies to orders not paid through an integrated payment provider.

Best for

Mid-market B2B and B2C brands that want managed SaaS with native B2B and multi-storefront.

Avoid if

You need a deep app marketplace or a vibrant theme ecosystem.

Wix Commerce

Version SaaS · continuous · Wix Harmony AI builder (January 2026) + Wix Studio

Drag-and-drop website builder with a commerce module bolted on.

License: SaaS proprietary
Hosting: Fully managed
Stack: Visual builder · Velo (JavaScript runtime)

~967k

Live stores

Share of live stores

$29 to $159/mo

Starting cost

Strengths

Easiest editor on the market — no learning curve.
All-in-one : domain, hosting, design, payments under one roof.
Wix Studio (newer editor) finally produces semantic, accessible output.

Trade-offs

Catalogue is capped in practice past a few hundred SKUs.
Hard to migrate away from — site is locked to the Wix editor.
No real headless or API-first path.

Best for

Creators, freelancers, and service businesses adding a small product line.

Avoid if

You expect to grow past 500 SKUs or need any custom logic.

Squarespace Commerce

Version SaaS · continuous · v7.1 (current) + Fluid Engine editor

Beautiful by default — design-first commerce for small catalogues.

License: SaaS proprietary
Hosting: Fully managed
Stack: Custom CMS · Fluid Engine drag editor

~392k

Live stores

Share of live stores

$19 to $99/mo

Starting cost

Strengths

Best-in-class default design — the Squarespace look is recognisable for a reason.
Strong on creative and lifestyle brands — photography, art, food.
All-in-one bundle : domains, email, scheduling.

Trade-offs

Limited B2B and complex pricing capabilities.
Smaller third-party app ecosystem than Shopify or BigCommerce.
No multi-store, multi-language is basic.
The entry Basic plan adds a 2% transaction fee; Core and above have none.

Best for

Creative and lifestyle brands with under 500 SKUs and a strong visual identity.

Avoid if

You need a configurable backend, an open API, or significant developer extension.

Recommendations

Pick one by use case.

Eight typical project shapes — and the platform we would actually recommend for each.

Our pick: PrestaShop

Independent DTC brand, EU, < 500 SKUs

Multi-language native, full data ownership, mature EU module ecosystem, low TCO.

PrestaShop Store Creation

Our pick: WooCommerce

Content-driven brand (blog + commerce)

WordPress' editorial DNA combined with a battle-tested e-commerce layer. SEO defaults are unmatched.

WooCommerce Store Creation

Our pick: Shopware 6

B2B mid-market, DACH region

Native B2B Suite, modern Vue 3 admin, Symfony 7 backend, and Germany-grade data residency.

Shopware B2B

Our pick: Shopify

Fast launch, no developer in-house

A polished store live in days. Sidekick AI builds tasks, themes, and apps from prompts.

Shopify Store Creation

Our pick: Adobe Commerce

Enterprise B2B, multi-brand, $5M+ revenue

Worth the cost only past significant scale. Mage-OS is the open-source path if you have the team.

Shopware vs Magento

Our pick: BigCommerce

Mid-market B2B on managed SaaS

B2B Edition and Multi-Storefront on a managed platform, with no platform fee when you use an integrated payment provider.

Our pick: Squarespace

Creative or lifestyle brand, < 100 SKUs

Beautiful defaults, fastest path from photoshoot to live store.

Our pick: Wix Commerce

Service business adding a small product range

All-in-one with the gentlest learning curve. Fine up to a few hundred SKUs.

Our stance

Why we picked three of these.

We work on PrestaShop, WordPress / WooCommerce, and Shopware 6. Three open-source platforms, three places where we have ten years of operational scars and the documentation to match.

We do not work on Magento — the complexity-to-payoff ratio is brutal below $5M of revenue. We do not work on Shopify — the customisation ceiling is real and most of our value lives below it. We do not work on Wix or Squarespace — there is nothing for a developer to do there, by design.

If your project lands on one of our three, the expertise pages tell you exactly what we deliver. If it lands elsewhere — we will tell you honestly and often recommend a peer.

Common questions

Things people always ask.

Six questions we hear in every pre-sales call.

Which platform has the best SEO out of the box?

WooCommerce, by a clear margin — it inherits more than twenty years of WordPress SEO maturity. PrestaShop 9.2 with Hummingbird 2.1 is a strong second. Shopify and BigCommerce are competent but constrain technical SEO. Wix has improved sharply with Wix Studio but still trails the open-source platforms.

Does Shopify still take a transaction cut on top of subscriptions in 2026?

Yes — if you do not use Shopify Payments. Plans take 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced) or 0.2% (Plus) on top of the payment processor's own fees. If you use Shopify Payments, those platform fees are waived. The catch: Shopify Payments is not available in every country. BigCommerce adopted a similar model in June 2026.

What's the real difference between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce in 2026?

Magento Open Source (2.4.9 since May 2026, or the Mage-OS community distribution) is free under OSL — you handle hosting, security, and support. Adobe Commerce adds the B2B Suite, Page Builder, advanced reporting, customer segmentation and AI features. Adobe publishes no list price: third-party estimates start around $22,000/year and reach about $190,000/year for the cloud-managed tier.

Is Shopware really viable outside Germany in 2026?

Yes for B2B and mid-market. Yes for projects that will go headless. The talent pool is densest in DACH but the platform ships with English/French/Spanish admin and full multilingual storefronts. Outside DACH, expect a smaller pool of local agencies and to import expertise.

PrestaShop vs WooCommerce — which is the better open-source choice?

Different DNA. WooCommerce wins for content-heavy stores, single-shop projects, and if you already live on WordPress. PrestaShop wins for catalogue-first projects, multi-language, and multi-store. Store Leads counts about 4 million live WooCommerce stores and about 147,000 PrestaShop stores (October 2026): WooCommerce is far bigger, PrestaShop is more concentrated in Europe.

Are AI features like Sidekick or Shopware Copilot mature enough to rely on?

Mature for assistance — drafting copy, suggesting analytics queries, building flow steps. Not yet mature for autonomous operation. The Agentic Storefronts (Shopify, Shopware) selling natively in ChatGPT or Copilot are real but the traffic share is still small. Worth setting up now to be in position when it grows.

Sources

Where the numbers come from.

Versions, dates and prices were checked against official release notes and pricing pages on 11 October 2026. SaaS prices are in US dollars, per month, billed yearly, excluding tax; they vary by country. Store counts are live stores detected by Store Leads, not figures published by the vendors.

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