The Classic edition is free to download and use, with no sales commissions. However, hosting, a domain, SSL, and most premium modules or themes are separate costs, so running a complete store isn't entirely free in practice.
PrestaShop
Are you struggling to create a successful online store with PrestaShop? Our blog page offers step-by-step guides and practical advice to help you launch your online store and start making sales.
If you're comparing platforms before committing your store to one, the question of what is PrestaShop usually comes up early in that research. It sits in the same conversation as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, but with a different trade-off: more control in exchange for more responsibility.
To better understand this platform, let's break down what is PrestaShop, what does it have to offer, and who is PrestaShop for.
What is PrestaShop
PrestaShop is a self-hosted, open-source eCommerce platform first released in 2007, now maintained by Fortidia after PrestaShop joined the group in November 2021. Unlike hosted platforms such as Shopify, PrestaShop's core software is free to download; store owners install it on their own hosting environment and manage updates, security, and performance themselves.
According to BuiltWith, PrestaShop is currently the home for 172,000+ online stores across the world. As reported by Store Leads, most PrestaShop users are small businesses with under 10 employees. This platform is also a popular choice for European sellers, with over 80% of stores using PrestaShop being from this region.
That said, due to the technical skill it requires, PrestaShop is one of the most migrated-from platforms in 2025, according to our LitExtension eCommerce Migration Report. However, when learning about what is PrestaShop, you'll discover that PrestaShop offers many features that could benefit your business growth.
Key PrestaShop Features
Once you understand what is PrestaShop at its core, the next question is what it actually lets you do out of the box. PrestaShop feature set is built around flexibility, so it groups naturally into a few categories:
- Storefront & design: Hundreds of free and premium themes, plus a drag-and-drop-friendly template system that lets developers customize layouts without rebuilding the platform from scratch.
- Catalog & inventory management: Support for unlimited products, variations (size, color, etc.), bulk editing, and stock tracking across single or multiple warehouses.
- Payment & checkout: Native integrations with major gateways like PayPal and Stripe, plus a one-page checkout option designed to reduce cart abandonment.
- SEO & marketing tools: Built-in URL rewriting, meta tag editing, and marketing modules for discounts, email campaigns, and abandoned cart recovery.
- Multi-store & multi-language support: One backend can run several storefronts across different languages, currencies, and regions. This is a core feature that's part of why PrestaShop has stayed popular with European merchants selling cross-border.
- Module & theme marketplace: Thousands of add-ons in the official PrestaShop Addons marketplace, covering everything from shipping calculators to loyalty programs, so merchants can extend functionality without custom development.
What Is PrestaShop Pros and Cons
Regardless of how powerful it is, every eCommerce platform has trade-offs, and PrestaShop is no exception. Here's how its strengths and limitations stack up:
Pros | Cons |
- Free, open-source core software - Full customization over storefront and backend - No vendor lock-in or forced subscription fees - Large module and theme marketplace - Strong multi-store, multi-language, multi-currency support - Well-suited for cross-border and European merchants | - Requires technical know-how or developer support to manage - You're responsible for your own hosting, security, and updates - Premium modules and themes can add up in cost over time - Support is largely community-driven unless you're on a paid plan - Performance and stability depend heavily on how well the store is maintained |
We also ran a full feature breakdown and assessment of this platform, so don't forget to check out our PrestaShop review for more information and insights.
Who Should Use PrestaShop
Given everything covered so far, what is PrestaShop best suited for comes down to how much technical involvement a merchant is willing to take on. From our testing and experience, PrestaShop works well for:
- Businesses with in-house developers or an agency relationship
- Merchants selling across multiple countries, languages, or currencies
- Store owners who want to avoid ongoing subscription fees or sales commissions
- Businesses with complex catalogs or B2B requirements
On the other hand, PrestaShop is usually not the right fit for:
- Solo founders or non-technical users
- Very small catalogs where the overhead of self-hosting and module management outweighs the benefit of customization
- Anyone who wants predictable, all-inclusive pricing
How Much Does PrestaShop Cost
PrestaShop's core software is free, but running a real store on it rarely stays free for long. The platform is offered in three editions, and the costs differ meaningfully across them.
Cost item | Typical range | Notes |
Classic | Free | Open-source download; you supply your own hosting |
Hosted plan | From €24/month (excl. tax) | Includes hosting, updates, and support; 14-day free trial |
Enterprise plan | From around €2,115/month | Custom pricing, 24-month minimum commitment, dedicated support |
Hosting (self-managed) | Roughly €3–100/month | Varies by traffic and provider; PrestaShop-managed hosting add-on runs about €200/month |
Domain name | €10–30/year | Often bundled free in year one with hosted plans |
Premium theme | €50–200 one-time | Free themes are also available |
Essential modules (security, SEO, payment) | €100–300 in year one | PrestaShop's Addons Marketplace lists over 4,000 modules |
Custom development (optional) | €2,000–130,000+ | Depends heavily on catalog size, B2B logic, and integrations |
For the full breakdown and recommendations, please check out our article on PrestaShop pricing.
What Is PrestaShop Alternative
Once you know what is PrestaShop capable of and what it costs, it's worth weighing it against the platforms merchants most often compare it to.
Alternative | Best for | Key differennces from PrestaShop |
Merchants who want the fastest, most beginner-friendly setup | Fully hosted SaaS with plans from around $29–$299/month; less raw customization than PrestaShop, but far less technical overhead | |
Businesses already built on WordPress, especially content-driven brands | Free plugin like PrestaShop's Classic edition, but tied to the WordPress ecosystem; real-world costs typically land between $75 and $6,500/year depending on store size | |
Large enterprises needing deep customization and multi-store architecture | Also open-source at its core, but generally more complex and resource-intensive to run than PrestaShop, with enterprise pricing to match | |
Mid-market to enterprise stores wanting strong native B2B features without heavy app reliance | Fully hosted with plans around $29–$299/month and no transaction fees, trading some flexibility for built-in scalability | |
Very small stores wanting a lightweight, free open-source option | Similar self-hosted, free-core model to PrestaShop, but with a smaller module ecosystem and simpler out-of-the-box feature set |
The pattern across these alternatives is consistent: hosted platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce trade flexibility for convenience, while open-source options like WooCommerce, Magento, and OpenCart trade convenience for control, which is exactly the same trade-off PrestaShop asks merchants to make. PrestaShop differentiates itself through multi-store and multi-language support, which is part of why it still has a strong footprint in Europe.
Can I Migrate to PrestaShop?
Yes, migrating to PrestaShop is a common path, especially for merchants leaving a platform they've outgrown or one that charges recurring fees they'd rather avoid. Store owners most often migrate to PrestaShop from Magento, WooCommerce, OpenCart, Shopify, or a legacy custom-built platform, and most core store data can move across in the process.
If you'd rather not handle the PrestaShop migration yourself, this is where a dedicated migration service becomes worth considering. LitExtension is one of the more established names in this space, supporting migrations across more than 140 shopping cart platforms, including transfers to PrestaShop. Rather than manually exporting and re-importing CSV files, LitExtension automates the mapping of products, customers, orders, categories, and other core data directly into your new PrestaShop store, which reduces the risk of data loss or mismatched fields along the way.
PrestaShop Migration Made Easy With LitExtension!
LitExtension offers great migration solutions that help you transfer your data from the current eCommerce platform to a new one accurately and painlessly with utmost security.
What is PrestaShop - FAQs
Is PrestaShop free?
Is PrestaShop good for beginners?
Not particularly. PrestaShop's Classic edition assumes some technical comfort with hosting and configuration. Merchants who want a simpler, fully managed experience are usually better served by the Hosted plan or a SaaS platform like Shopify.
How does PrestaShop compare to Shopify or WooCommerce?
PrestaShop offers more built-in flexibility and no forced transaction fees, similar to WooCommerce, but with stronger native multi-store and multi-language support. Shopify remains easier to set up and manage for non-technical users, at the cost of less raw customization.
