The right WordPress ecommerce plugin depends on what you sell and where checkout happens. A store shipping physical products needs a different plugin from one selling ebooks, a PayPal cart for a handful of items or a catalogue that takes quote requests. Ten free plugins follow in no particular order, with directory numbers as of Oct 2026.
Most people start by asking which store plugin is the biggest. That's the wrong question. A shop selling candles needs shipping and tax, a writer selling ebooks needs downloads, and a cafe selling gift vouchers might only need a PayPal button. Each of those is a different plugin, and putting the biggest one on a small job leaves you looking after a lot you'll never use.
The ten below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and every description comes from the plugin's own WordPress.org plugin directory page. If you've picked a plugin and need a design to go with it, my guide to the best WordPress theme for an ecommerce store covers that side.
WordPress store plugins side by side
Each plugin here is free to install from the WordPress.org plugin directory, as of Oct 2026, so the free plan column reads Yes. Several makers sell extra features on their own sites, so check the plugin's page for what the free version includes before you build around it.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy Digital Downloads | WordPress ecommerce plugin | Selling ebooks, software and other downloads | Yes |
| Easy PayPal Shopping Cart | PayPal shopping cart plugin | Adding a PayPal cart with no coding | Yes |
| eCommerce Product Catalog | Product catalog plugin | A catalogue or request-a-quote site | Yes |
| Ecwid by Lightspeed | Hosted shopping cart plugin | Selling on your site, Facebook and Instagram | Yes |
| FluentCart | WordPress ecommerce plugin | Physical, digital and subscription products in one store | Yes |
| Simple Shopping Cart | PayPal shopping cart plugin | A lightweight cart for a handful of products | Yes |
| StoreEngine | WordPress ecommerce plugin | Memberships, subscriptions and licensing alongside products | Yes |
| SureCart | WordPress ecommerce plugin | Stripe and PayPal checkout with upsells and subscriptions | Yes |
| WooCommerce | WordPress ecommerce plugin | Full store for physical, digital and subscription products | Yes |
| WP EasyCart | WordPress ecommerce plugin | Products, checkout, shipping and tax with Stripe, Square and PayPal | Yes |
The ten ecommerce plugins, one line each
Easy Digital Downloads
Best for: Selling digital products and subscriptions such as ebooks and software, with Stripe and PayPal payments built in.
Easy PayPal Shopping Cart
Best for: Adding a PayPal shopping cart to your website and starting to sell with no coding required.
eCommerce Product Catalog
Best for: Building a product catalogue that can sell online or work as a request-for-quote website instead.
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Best for: Running one shopping cart across your WordPress site, Facebook and Instagram, with iPhone and Android apps to manage it.
FluentCart
Best for: Subscriptions, physical products and digital downloads in one plugin that its makers built for performance and flexibility.
Simple Shopping Cart
Best for: Small sellers who want a lightweight cart for products or services and to start accepting orders in minutes.
StoreEngine
Best for: Digital and physical products sold alongside memberships, subscriptions, affiliates, coupons and licensing in one lightweight plugin.
SureCart
Best for: A fast shop with Stripe and PayPal checkout, plus digital downloads, order bumps, upsells, affiliates and subscriptions.
WooCommerce
Best for: Launching a full online store in days and growing it for years, from the first sale onwards.
WP EasyCart
Best for: Running the whole shop from WordPress: products, checkout, orders, shipping and tax, with Stripe, Square and PayPal.
Start with what you sell
- Physical products with shipping and tax: a full store plugin that names products, checkout, orders, shipping and tax.
- Ebooks, software and other downloads: a plugin built for digital products, where the file is the thing you sell.
- Subscriptions or memberships: check the description names subscriptions, and licensing too if you sell software.
- A handful of items through a PayPal checkout: a lightweight PayPal cart, which is far less to look after than a full store.
- A catalogue where customers ask for a quote: a catalogue plugin that can run as a request-for-quote site.
- Selling on Facebook and Instagram as well: a connector to a hosted cart that covers those channels too.
That's the order to decide things in. Once you know which of those you are, ten options shrink to two or three, and the rest of the choice is about checkout and hosting.
Your hosting has to keep up with your shop
The biggest plugin here, with 7,000,000+ active installs as of Oct 2026, is also the one with the clearest hosting bar. The WooCommerce documentation asks your host to support WordPress 6.9 or greater, PHP 8.3 or greater, MySQL 8.0 or greater or MariaDB 10.6 or greater, HTTPS, and a WordPress memory limit of 256 MB or greater.
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Here's the part people miss. The same plugin's directory listing shows a lower minimum, PHP 7.4, so getting it to install isn't the same as meeting what its own documentation asks for. If you're on older shared hosting, ask your host which PHP version and memory limit you've got before you load a few hundred products. One of the small PayPal carts here lists PHP 5.4 as its minimum.
Where checkout and your data live
Most of these run the whole shop inside WordPress. One is a connector to a hosted cart that also sells on Facebook and Instagram and comes with iPhone and Android apps, its listing says. With a hosted cart, your products and orders sit with that service, so ask where your data lives before you commit.
Payment options differ too. The listings name Stripe and PayPal checkout, Stripe, Square and PayPal built in, or PayPal on its own. If you already take card payments through one provider, a plugin that names it keeps everything in one place.
Big install numbers, tiny rating counts
The directory numbers, as of Oct 2026, show how differently these are used. The biggest plugin has 4,832 ratings at 90/100. StoreEngine has 700+ active installs and 100/100, but from 17 ratings, and Easy PayPal Shopping Cart sits at 78/100 from 15.
A perfect score from 17 people tells you less than a 90 from thousands. Read the number of ratings next to the score, and look at the last-updated line: going by the directory, every one of the ten has shipped an update since late August.
Do you make a WordPress ecommerce plugin? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on choosing a store plugin
Decide what you sell first, then pick the smallest plugin that does that job well: a full store for a candle shop, a downloads plugin for ebooks, a PayPal cart for a few products, a catalogue if people ask for quotes. Check your host's PHP version and memory limit before you build, because that's the thing that's hard to change once the shop's live.
When the shop is up and running, my list of website changes that boost an online store's sales is the next thing to read.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Which WordPress ecommerce plugin is right for a small shop?
It depends on what you sell. Physical products need a plugin that handles shipping and tax, downloads need a digital products plugin, and a few items can run on a lightweight PayPal cart.
Are WordPress ecommerce plugins free?
All ten here are free plugins in the WordPress.org plugin directory, as of Oct 2026. Several makers sell extra features on their own sites, so check what the free version includes.
Can I sell digital downloads with WordPress?
Yes. Some plugins here are built for digital products like ebooks and software, and several full store plugins handle downloads alongside physical products.
What hosting does a WordPress store need?
It depends on the plugin. The documentation for the biggest one asks for PHP 8.3 or greater, MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6 or greater, HTTPS and a 256 MB memory limit, so check with your host first.
Can I sell on Instagram from a WordPress store?
One plugin here, a connector to a hosted cart, says it lets you sell on Facebook and Instagram as well as on your own site.
