There are few tools that I consider absolutely essential when running an online business.
One of them is definitely a shopping cart software.
You might consider it as the backbone of your business: it allows you to get paid for your hard work creating online courses, membership sites, masterminds, coaching programs, online summits, and pretty much anything else you’d like to sell.
But it also helps with marketing your products, giving your customers a great buying experience and ultimately, building trust.
It’s something you really can’t do without.
So, the next logical question is: what’s the best shopping cart software platform on the market?
As with all platforms and apps, the choice these days is virtually infinite.
Older companies keep updating their products and adding new features. New companies pop up every day.
In this in-depth guide, I did hard work for you.
I compared and reviewed 18 of the best shopping cart platforms, so that you can see their features and pros and cons at a glance, without having to read hundreds of reviews.
I also cover some best practices and frequently-asked questions to help you decide on the best tool for you.
Excited? Let’s get going!
What Are The Best Shopping Cart Software Services?
In this section, we are going to review the best shopping cart software services.
For each tool, a brief introduction is given with the software’s main benefits.
Then, we give a short rundown of platform’s key features, followed with some pros and cons.
A very important part of each mini-review is the ‘Who is XX for’ section.
You’ll find that some services are better suited to e-commerce store owners. Others are best if you want to sell services. Others are great for small businesses.
Pay close attention to this section, which will help you decide on what is best for your needs.
You’ll see that in many places in this article I thoroughly recommend ThriveCart.
This is my go-to shopping cart software these days, and I stand behind it 100%.
But let’s get to the reviews right away, so you can decide for yourself on the best option for you and your business.
Shopping Cart Software Reviews (Ultimate Comparison Guide)
Here are my picks for the best shopping cart software, services and platforms for 2020. After the list, you’ll find an in-depth review of each tool. Enjoy!
- ThriveCart
- SamCart
- PayKickstart
- ClickFunnels
- Kartra
- GrooveKart
- Teachable
- Thinkific
- CartFlows
- SendOwl
- WooCommerce
- Spiffy (Formerly GoSpiffy)
- Gumroad
- Shopify
- Zaxaa
- Keap (Formerly Infusionsoft)
- Ontraport
- PayCartPro
1. ThriveCart
ThriveCart is a relatively young shopping cart software (launched 2016).
However, it is rapidly gaining a large customer-base who even prefer it to more ‘bigger’ names in the industry such as SamCart.
I was one of ThriveCart’s early adopters and I have never looked back.
The software is extremely feature-rich and the constant updates it receives make it more and more impressive by the day.
The possibilities with it are really endless, and the amount of customization you can make, together with its countless integrations make it – in my opinion – the best shopping cart software currently on the market.
What’s even more interesting is that at the time of writing this, you can purchase a lifetime licence for ThriveCart at an incredibly low price (more on this below).
You can read my full review of ThriveCart here.
Who Is ThriveCart For?
ThriveCart is suitable for all kinds of businesses. It’s a robust platform that’s incredibly versatile and flexible. Plus, its many integrations make it suitable in almost any scenario.
Key Features of ThriveCart Shopping Cart Platform
- Real-time metrics and forecasting
- High-converting carts and upsells
- Supports various payment options
- Bump offers
- One-click upsell funnels
- Popup or embeddable carts
- Countless integrations
- Native sales-tax calculation
- Behavior rules
- Built-in dunning
- Affiliate-management system
Pros
- Great interface
- Great A/B testing feature
- Very frequently updated
- In-depth reporting (but easy to understand)
- Affiliate-management system is very robust
- Great price
- Very active FB community
- Great support via email
Cons
- Customization might require a little ‘work’ to get the exact look you need
- Some integrations a little cumbersome to setup
Plans and Pricing
ThriveCart is currently offering a lifetime deal for its ‘regular plan’ at $495 (normally $95/month or $1950+/year).
However, at checkout, ThriveCart gives you the opportunity to upgrade to their Pro Plan:
The Pro Plan adds various features that are really essential, especially at the low price-point they are offered.
Normally, this plan would cost $1000 to add on, but is currently offered at $195.
Here are the extra features you get with the Pro Plan:
- Powerful Affiliate Center
- Subscription saver functionality (dunning)
- Automatic Sales-Tax calculation
- Intelligent business projections
- JV Contracts
- Advanced user management
- Client usage rights
- Custom domain-name functionality
ThriveCart is an easy to use shopping cart software that’s designed to help online businesses owners sell digital products and increase revenue.
2. SamCart
SamCart has been the industry standard shopping cart software for many years.
That is, until ThriveCart was launched back in 2016.
Overall, SamCart is definitely a solid solution with tons of great features. But the problem is, ThriveCart is simply better in so many ways, lots of marketers are making the switch.
With that being said, it does have its pros – such as great A/B testing capabilities, very in-depth reporting and a great affiliate-management platform.
But when you factor-in the price SamCart currently sells at, and you compare it with ThriveCart’s lifetime deal, you’ll definitely notice where to spend your money.
Who Is SamCart For?
SamCart is a very robust platform that’s well ‘established’, so it’s suitable for most businesses, including e-commerce stores.
There are some limitations that come with which pricing plan you choose, and the overall cost of the software is pretty high.
Key Features of SamCart Shopping Cart Software
- Bump offers
- 1-click upsells
- A/B testing
- Supports payment plans
- Various integrations (email service providers, membership site platforms, payment gateways and marketing automation platforms)
- Supports coupons, trial offers and dunning
- In-depth reporting dashboard
- Affiliate-management platform
Pros
- Fast and easy to set up
- Offers a free SSL certificate
- Great control over coupons and discounts
- Great reporting and analytics
- Great knowledge-base
Cons
- Only supports Stripe and PayPal
- Customization is somewhat limited
- No native sales-tax calculation
- Not great if you are selling services
- Quite expensive
Plans and Pricing
SamCart offers a 14-day free trial. There are three pricing plans that are billed monthly.
Tiers differ based on features, but all plans include checkout templates, integrations, payment processing, coupons, checkout popups and a free SSL certificate.
Launch Plan: $49/month. 1 admin user, only sales reporting, SamCart branding on pages, no affiliate management.
Grow Plan: $99/month. 3 admin users, no affiliate management.
Scale Plan: $199/month. Full set of features, 10 admin users, priority support via email.
SamCart is a web-based checkout platform. It helps you create a beautiful page that showcases your product and accepts the order all on the same page.
3. PayKickstart
When it comes to its sheer number of features, PayKickstart is probably second to none.
It’s got a great set of templates, a very solid affiliate-management platform and even an advanced funnel-builder.
PayKickstart is also the software that offers the most options for flexibility and customization.
The endless possibilities it gives, however, are quite difficult to navigate, and so is their interface, with so many bells and whistles that might be a little overwhelming for those just starting out.
Who Is PayKickStart For?
If you are a medium-level or advanced marketer who is looking for a highly customizable option, PayKickstart might be the choice for you.
Not really recommended for beginners due to its fairly steep learning curve and possible ‘overkill’ when it comes to features.
Key Features of PayKickStart Shopping Cart Platform
- Supports various payment gateways and options
- 50+ checkout page templates
- Popup and embeddable checkout forms
- Custom API
- Supports various payment options
- 1-click upsells, order bumps, coupons
- Dunning and cart abandonment management
- Affiliate management system
- Automatic sales and VAT tax calculation
- In-depth reporting and analytics
- Mobile app
- Countless integrations (email, webinar, CRM, etc.)
Pros
- Supports more payment processors than its competitors
- Great templates + great customization options
- Offers a marketing portal to host email swipes, banners and contests
- Checkout pages and transactional emails can automatically be translated in 25 languages
- Live chat support
Cons
- Steep learning curve
- Dashboard is cumbersome to navigate
- No A/B testing feature
Plans and Pricing
PayKickstart offers a 14-day free trial. There are three pricing plans, billed either monthly or annually (20% discount).
All plans offer zero transaction fees, but there are some limitations in the amount of features you get in the cheaper plan.
Basic Plan: $29/month or $22/month (billed annually). Maximum 5 products, no order ‘bumps’, no affiliate management platform.
Professional Plan: $99/month or $77/month (billed annually). Unlimited products. No demographics reporting, no surveys, no “Audience Builder”.
Premium Plan: $149/month or $116/month (billed annually). Unlimited products. Full set of features.
