We often hear about people who have achieved great success in their fields of expertise and continue to pursue their dreams.

A business will experience several stages of development. This is often the most challenging stage, as you will have to face many obstacles and find financing.

One of the most important decisions you can make is choosing which eCommerce platform to use for scaling your business in its early stages.

This post will help you choose between Magento and OpenCart.

Let’s get started!

Magento vs. OpenCart: Brief introduction

Magento: What is it?

What is Magento?

Let’s take a look at some Magento statistics before we say anything.

• More than 270.000 merchants choose Magento for their business (Email Vendor Selection).

• Magento powers 1.2% of all websites on the Internet (Envisage Digital).

• The 3rd position on the list of top eCommerce products (BuiltWith).

• Magento supports around 758.600 websites ( BuiltWith).

These are outstanding numbers for an eCommerce platform in a crowded market. Magento is well-known because of its innovative designs, robustness and cutting-edge technology. It competes with giants like Shopify and WooCommerce.

Magento, owned by Adobe, was created to be an eCommerce platform that meets merchants’ online shipping requirements.

It offers 2 solutions for eCommerce businesses:

• Magento Open Source (no licensed version): This version can be downloaded from the Magento website at no cost.

• Magento Commerce (license version: A paid version that allows merchants to access Magento Commerce. If you need the cloud version, you can also get hosting service

What is Opencart?

What is Opencart?

OpenCart, like Magento, is an open-source eCommerce platform that’s free and easy to use. BuiltWith estimates that there are 958.600 OpenCart customers:

• Currently, there are 421.853 live sites
• Opencart was used by 536.706 sites in the past

OpenCart, a popular eCommerce platform with many advanced features, is highly recommended because of its simplicity and ease-of-use.

OpenCart prioritizes simplicity so merchants can build websites quickly and then manage them from the admin backend. OpenCart also offers 2 plans:

• OpenCart Open Source: A free version Magento
• OpenCart Cloud Edition is a paid plan that includes hosting support

Magento vs. OpenCart – Primary similarities

Before we dive into the details of 2 platforms, let’s take a look at what Magento and OpenCart share in common.

• There are many extensions available to meet any business’s needs.

• Both are open-source, and were developed in PHP

• Customers have the option to make recurring payments

• Templated allows those without any technical or programming knowledge to easily add and publish products using the templated approach

• You can power a website that supports multiple languages and currencies

Below is a quick overview of 2 platforms.

Let’s now look at some key differences between Magento and OpenCart. We will first evaluate each platform in different aspects and then discuss each section.

Magento vs. Opencart: Key differences

Use it quickly

Magento

Magento is not the most popular choice for ease of use due to its technical complexity and high requirements.

Magento Dashboard

Pros:

• If you don’t know much about technology, the entire process of installation, launching, and maintenance can be a pain, especially for Magento Open Source users.

• You will still need technical knowledge, even with Magento Cloud and Magento Commerce (license versions), to make your website

• “professional and highly functional” in order to continue to work.

• Take the time to learn and master this platform.

We can’t deny that Magento has made great efforts to simplify its user interface (both backend and frontend).

Cons:

• Merchants can now create and design their own web pages with the help of system documentation without the need for a developer.

• The backend has a simple interface that is easy to use, and it’s very straightforward.

• The main dashboard on the backend displays important statistical data. After logging in, the admin can view it.

• Increase sales and marketing efficiency by offering more features and capabilities

OpenCart

OpenCart is more popular than Magento because of its simple UI and easy installation.

OpenCart Dashboard

Pros:

• Sidebars are organized in a logical order on the left side to make it easy for you to navigate.

• Allow users to perform almost all tasks needed to manage a website, including downloading extensions, editing and adding products to the backend.

• The primary statistics data that reflect the business’s sales performance, such as total orders, total clients, and information about the latest orders, are presented.

• You don’t need to have a lot of programming knowledge

OpenCart’s user-friendly approach to building websites is a positive thing, but it has a very narrow scope.

Cons:

OpenCart’s entire system is not optimized for large-scale growth as Magento.

Let’s conclude:

OpenCart is the clear winner in terms of simplicity.

OpenCart is the better choice for those looking for a simple web solution that doesn’t require any learning curve.

Besides this benefit, one of the major drawbacks of eStores is their lack of advanced eCommerce functionality and features to make them highly scalable and powerful.

SEO Power

Magento

Magento targets eCommerce, as mentioned earlier. Magento was designed to be a market leader within the eCommerce industry from the beginning.

It makes sense that Magento provides multiple SEO extensions to its users, which allows them to rank higher on search engines.

Kobe Digital SEO settings

Cons:

• You can set meta-titles, keywords and URL text. These are essential for optimizing a website’s search engine optimization performance

• Merchants can set the categories and keywords for CMS pages

• Rich snippets support and XML sitemap set

• Excellent compatibility with most popular SEO tools for Magento like Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Google Content Experiments.

• To target more keywords with your Magento store, you can add a WordPress blog. This will allow you to leverage the SEO power.

• Allow canonical tags

Magento allows merchants to easily optimize content and analyze traffic, making their eStores more attractive. Magento is a strong advocate for SEO. It offers advanced, customizable SEO features.

You can find and download the Magento2 SEO Suite extension from Kobe Digital for even better results in SEO.

OpenCart

OpenCart isn’t recommended for SEO due to its limitations in SEO features.

OpenCart offers some SEO functions to help users improve their web rankings in search engines. These features are too basic.

OpenCart SEO Settings

Users can make basic adjustments such as:

• Modify the meta tag, meta description and URLs. SEO friendly
• Add 301 referrals to rel=canonical
• To improve a website’s SEO performance, you can support many SEO plugins

Cons:

• You will need to have some PHP programming skills
• It is quite difficult for new users to deal with.

OpenCart’s SEO system has all the basic features required by an eCommerce platform. However, it is essential. OpenCart may not be the best solution for those who require powerful, integrated SEO features.

Let’s conclude:

Magento is clearly superior to OpenCart in terms of SEO features.

Magento is the best choice for anyone looking for an all-encompassing SEO solution. OpenCart’s system for SEO is less powerful than Magento’s but it still offers some basic features that merchants can use.

You can customize

Magento

Magento is a popular platform that allows eCommerce businesses to access almost any product or service they need. 

Magento Marketplace

There are currently:

• More than 3.500 extensions (paid and free) have been thoroughly tested for code standard, compatibility and security in Magento Marketplace and the famous Magento extension provider, Kobe Digital.

• Magento has more than 350 features built in that give it an advantage over its competitors

• Many Magento add-ons can be installed and set up easily at the store’s backend.

You can also customize your eStore using third-party themes or add-ons. Furthermore, with some programming skills, you can make modifications to Magento’s open source code to suit your needs.

OpenCart

OpenCart Marketplace

OpenCart is a better alternative to Magento Marketplace because of its large number of plugins and easy installation.

• There are more than 13.000 extensions, plugins, and themes. Merchants can choose from both paid and free versions
• It is much easier to set up than Magento’s backend.

OpenCart is undoubtedly more popular than Magento. It offers more themes and apps. OpenCart users can customize their store’s appearance, functionality and more.

Let’s conclude:

The installation of plugins, extensions and themes is easy on both platforms. We will be evaluating them on their customizability by looking at two aspects: the amount of add-ons available and the quality.

OpenCart allows for more personalization than Magento with nearly 3.000 extensions.

Magento is better than OpenCart in terms of security, volume, and integrity issues.

Support

Support is a real concern for users of open-source platforms. We will therefore compare two platforms using 2 factors: the documentation system and developer community.

Magento

Magento Open-source users will not receive any support from the Magento team. It’s an open-source version of Magento, so this is understandable.

Magento Forums

Over time, Magento users have become a large community of developers and merchants who enjoy sharing their knowledge and experiences.

• Trusted Magento forums include Magento Stack Exchange and Magento Forum with almost 500.000 members, Magento Developers and Experts Forum and Reddit. Quora.

• There are many Facebook groups for different Magento communities around the globe

• This documentation contains all information about Magento. It includes Help Center Guide, FAQs, Troubleshooting and Support Tools.

Any of the above resources can help you find practical solutions to your Magento problems.

OpenCart

Similar to Magento, OpenCart has a forum that allows people to share technical knowledge and experiences related to web development.

OpenCart support packages

OpenCart also offers other support options

• You will pay $99 per month for a dedicated support service.

• OpenCart documentation, which covers all the tools that merchants need to manage their storefronts through the admin panel

• This is a list of books that the OpenCart community recommends on different topics. It is available for download in most cases.

• You can open a support ticket from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 5 pm.

Let’s conclude:

It’s easy for platform users to find the answers they need from both their community forums and other service providers that have been certified by both platforms.

Individuals who choose to use the licensed versions of both platforms will have access to the support teams for each platform.

OpenCart support has been outperformed by Magento support since:

• Magento’s community is stronger and more diverse than OpenCart’s.

• Magento’s documentation system is better-developed and more detailed.

• Magento documentation can be divided into two areas: Developers and Merchants. This makes it easy for users to quickly find the solutions they need.

Data security

Magento

Magento being an eCommerce-based platform, security seems to be a priority. This is evident in:

• To ensure all client’s websites are secure from hackers and frauds, we release security patches that include updates

• Include the CSP (Content Security Policy), which is available for Magento open-source versions. Magento Security Extension helps reduce the risk from Cross-Site Scripting as well as other types of attacks (such card skimmers, session hijacking, etc.).

• To protect your security from hackers, offer different Magento 2 security extensions

• All versions Magento are PCI compliant

• Offer Magento Security Center, where you can find information and download the most recent patches and updates

Magento Security Center

Also, Magento Open-source versions require that you regularly update and patch the software. Otherwise, you risk security.

OpenCart

OpenCart, though it is similar to Magento (an open-source platform), offers fewer updates and patches. It is therefore more susceptible to cyber attacks than Magento.

Therefore, it is up to business owners to ensure their web security. You can also solve the problem by purchasing third-party add-ons from the market.

You should still:

• Choose a security extension carefully, as they are available on the Opencart Marketplace.

• Avoid extensions with dubious origins as they can be vulnerable and aren’t controlled or screened like Magento doses

OpenCart’s focus is not as strong as Magento. OpenCart is an easy platform that makes it less susceptible to security breaches. The more complicated a system is, the less secure it will be. Its primary defenses are therefore fairly well defended.

Let’s conclude:

Magento is the best option for people who want a “always-up-to-date” platform with security guarantees.

Store Management

Magento

Magento is a prominent platform for catalog management.

Magento allows merchants to:

• You can easily categorize products with any attribute you choose, such as color, product type, or style.

• You can get real-time stock updates, which will help you manage your store better

• Print invoices, bills and shipping labels from the admin panel. Right from the admin panel

• Other functions include reviewing back-ordered items, average order amount, search keywords, customer purchases, overall sales level and other important metrics

• Product filers, product tag moderation and power inventory management are some of the tools that can be used to manage your inventory.

You can also make minor changes to your store’s sections from the admin dashboard.

Magento supports unlimited products and categories to enhance its store management. Merchants can group products by color, size or other features to meet their specific needs.

Magento allows large businesses to easily accommodate multiple types of products.

OpenCart

As OpenCart users, you can:

• The admin panel allows you to track and update real-time order statistics.

• You can add unlimited products or categories. With the filter feature, the admin can edit or delete product descriptions. You can also crawl through all inventory by using the filter feature.

• You can filter, edit, or view buyers based on their ID, order status, and identity. The number of actions users can perform is limited.
• You can sell anything from physical items, digital items, and subscriptions.

• OpenCart allows merchants to track payments for different customer subscriptions. It also supports merchants with a variety of shipping options by default such as USPS, UPS and FedEx.

Let’s conclude:

Both of them put a lot into creating a store management framework that includes all the essential functionalities needed for a dynamic eCommerce site.

Both provide an overview of the store’s current performance and support unlimited products and order tracking.

Magento’s store management seems to be more advanced than OpenCart, but it is still difficult to determine who is the winner of this competition. OpenCart has limitations in the backend and some limitations in the available actions.

Payment methods

Magento

Magento defaults to only 2 payment options:

• Paypal
• Braintree

Kobe Digital has a wealth of Magento2 payment extensions that merchants can add to their preferred payment method.

You can also make your checkout process more efficient by utilizing advanced features such as one-click payment and one step checkout.

OpenCart

OpenCart’s users are impressed by the many payment gateways that it supports. It actually has more than 36 opinions. Many of them accept international payments, which is a great benefit for global companies.

Opencart Extension Store allows users to add additional payment methods to meet their needs. OpenCart offers many shipping options by default, to help international businesses.

Final words

OpenCart is the clear winner in this area. OpenCart offers more payment options than Magento. This gives eCommerce businesses a significant competitive advantage over Magento default.

Pricing and Cost

Pricing plans

We know that Magento and OpenCart both come with two editions (free and paid).

• Magento Open-source vs. Magento Commerce
• OpenCart Open-source vs. OpenCart Cloud version

Magento and OpenCart Cloud editions are available in paid or licensed editions. These editions include Magento Commerce and OpenCart Cloud editions. OpenCart and Magento will provide hosting services with dedicated support and out-of-the box features.

These editions are expensive and not recommended for businesses with large budgets. Open-source editions are a great choice for small businesses. You must also clarify upfront the unavoidable costs.

• Hosting charges
• You can add plugins, extensions and themes to enhance your eCommerce performance.
• The time it takes to develop and maintain the web
• Price for domain name and SSL Certificate

The majority of OpenCart extensions’ prices fluctuate between $10 and $500. Magento extensions are typically between $9 and $800. Prices for Magento extensions vary depending on the features and development agency.

Other than the hosting costs, the costs of operating websites on Magento or OpenCart are comparable.

Hosting costs

Your store’s speed and security are determined by the hosting service. It is easy to find a web hosting provider for Magento or OpenCart. There is only one difference: the price.

OpenCart and Magento are open-source platforms, as we have already mentioned. This means they are free to download and that you don’t need to pay anything to get them.

It’s quite different if you choose Magento Enterprise Edition or OpenCart Cloud-based Version, as you get full support from their development teams.

Your selected edition is completely free so it makes sense to add hosting costs to your plan before you make any decisions. Magento hosting requires more investment than OpenCart.

• Magento is a resource-intensive platform

• OpenCart is light. OpenCart uses less resources.

• OpenCart’s target customers are often small businesses. This group has a lower demand than large corporations. Hosting service costs are also lower than high-demand corporations.

Hosting service costs for open-source users are typically:

• Magneto: $29-$1000/month
• OpenCart: $10-$50/month

The cost of an eCommerce website can vary greatly from one business to the next. It all depends on the size of the business, its web-building purpose, financial resources, and other factors.

Magento vs. OpenCart – Which one is the best?

Short verdict

The overall winner is:

• OpenCart’s ease of use is much greater than the technical requirements.

• Magento has a more advanced SEO feature that improves SEO performance

• Customizability

• Data security: Magento releases patches and updates more often to improve its web security

• Magento wins in store management

• Pricing & cost: OpenCart charges less hosting cost

SimilarTech

Magento is not for the faint of heart. Magento is a complex platform with many advanced functionality and features. This means that it requires a lot of learning.

Magento is a highly scalable tool that can be used to rivals in digital marketing by professional developers and businesses with large hosting budgets.

OpenCart is a lot easier than Magento.

OpenCart is an ideal choice for small businesses because of its easy installation, intuitive interface and low coding skills. It still has much to learn about Magento’s top-notch functionality. 

For whom is Magento best?

Magento, however, is more complicated and requires programming skills. Magento is a more prominent and secure platform that allows merchants to personalize their sites.

Its extensions are also more extensive than OpenCart, making it the best choice for businesses that need to grow quickly and have a large budget.

OpenCart: Who is it for?

OpenCart can be used by small businesses, startups, and beginners with limited budgets. OpenCart is ideal for entrepreneurs without technical knowledge who want to manage their online shops with simplicity.

This is a cost-effective option that requires minimal investment. You should remember that your business may grow one day.

The bottom line

Your final decision between Magento or OpenCart will depend on many factors. This post will help you make the best decision.

Thank you for reading!