If you are a tech-savvy online business owner looking for the best eCommerce platform, PrestaShop vs osCommerce stands out among the top contenders. Though both of them are open-source solutions, these two options offer different features that cater to different business needs.
In this article, we will compare PrestaShop vs osCommerce in several dimensions, including:
- Pricing
- Technical requirements
- Scalabilities and performance
- Design and customizability
- eCommerce capabilities
- Marketing and promotion
- Apps and integrations
- Customer support
- Security
We hope that by the end of this article, you will have a better insight into which platform best suits your business goals.
An Overview of PrestaShop vs osCommerce
Before getting to the detailed comparison of PrestaShop vs osCommerce, let's dive first into their strengths and weaknesses.
PrestaShop pros and cons
PrestaShop's user ratings: 4.3/5 on G2 | 4.3/5 on Capterra
PrestaShop is a popular open-source eCommerce platform known for its user-friendly interface, customization options, a good set of PrestaShop features, and extensive marketplace of themes and modules. Launched in 2007, it has grown into a preferred choice for small to medium-sized businesses looking for a scalable yet cost-effective solution.
One of PrestaShop’s biggest advantages is its modular structure, allowing store owners to add features as needed. However, while the core software is free, many essential features require paid modules, which can increase long-term costs.
Below is a breakdown of PrestaShop pros and cons to help you decide if it’s the right choice for your business.
Pros | Cons |
✓ User-friendly dashboard: Easy to navigate, even for beginners. | ✕ Modules can be expensive: Many advanced features require paid add-ons. |
✓ Highly customizable: Thousands of themes and extensions available. | ✕ Requires technical knowledge for deeper customization: Coding skills may be needed to perform advanced customization. |
✓ Large community support: Active forums and third-party developers provide extensive support. | ✕ Performance optimization needed: Stores might be slow without proper hosting and caching. |
✓ SEO-friendly: Built-in SEO tools help improve search engine rankings. | ✕ Limited built-in features: Some essential eCommerce functions require additional modules. |
✓ Scalable for growing businesses: Suitable for small and medium-sized stores. | ✕ Hosting costs vary: Performance depends on the hosting provider. |
In short, PrestaShop is a great option if you want a flexible and scalable eCommerce solution with an intuitive interface. However, keep in mind that customization and advanced features often require additional investments in modules and development.
⇒ If you want to see our thoughts on this platform, please check out our PrestaShop review.
osCommerce pros & cons
osCommerce's user ratings: 3.7/5 on G2 | 3.9/5 on Capterra
osCommerce is one of the oldest open-source eCommerce platforms, launched in 2000. It provides a flexible and fully customizable solution for merchants to create a unique online store. Unlike modern platforms, osCommerce has a lightweight core, making it fast and efficient when properly optimized.
However, while osCommerce offers complete control over store functionality, it requires extensive coding knowledge. The platform lacks many built-in features, so store owners often need to install add-ons or develop custom solutions. Despite its age, osCommerce still has a dedicated community, though its support network is smaller compared to newer platforms like PrestaShop.
Let's take a look at the table below to discover all osCommerce pros and cons.
Pros | Cons |
✓ Completely free and open-source: No licensing fees. | ✕ Outdated interface: Requires extensive customization to modernize. |
✓ Highly customizable: Developers have full control over the code. | ✕ Steep learning curve: Not beginner-friendly; requires advanced technical skills. |
✓ Lightweight and fast: Minimal resource consumption when optimized properly. | ✕ Limited built-in features: Many essential eCommerce functions require add-ons. |
✓ Simple hosting requirements: Can run on most basic web hosting plans. | ✕ Smaller support community: Fewer active developers and resources compared to competitors. |
To conclude, osCommerce is best suited for developers or experienced store owners who want complete flexibility and don’t mind handling technical aspects. However, if you’re looking for an out-of-the-box solution with modern features, PrestaShop might be a better choice.
PrestaShop vs osCommerce – All Differences & Similarities
When choosing between PrestaShop vs osCommerce, it’s important to compare their key differences and similarities. Both platforms are open-source and allow full customization, but they differ significantly in terms of features, usability, scalability, and long-term viability.
Similarities of PrestaShop vs osCommerce
osCommerce and PrestaShop share some common traits, including:
- Open-source & self-hosted: Both platforms allow full customization and require separate web hosting.
- PHP & MySQL-based: Developers familiar with PHP can modify and extend both platforms.
- Third-party extensions: Users can add new features using modules, plugins, and add-ons.
- Community-driven: Both platforms have active developer communities offering support and custom solutions.
Major differences between PrestaShop vs osCommerce
PrestaShop offers a modern, user-friendly interface with built-in eCommerce tools, making it easier for beginners. It includes many default features, reducing the need for add-ons. However, it requires performance optimization and good hosting to maintain speed.
Security is stronger in PrestaShop due to regular updates and security patches. It is scalable for small to medium-sized businesses and has official support plans, along with a large community for troubleshooting.
osCommerce, on the other hand, has an outdated admin panel, requiring manual coding for extensive customization. It offers minimal built-in features, making it more dependent on third-party modules. While it is a lightweight platform, it requires manual performance tuning to handle large traffic loads.
Security updates are not automated, so users must monitor and manage vulnerabilities themselves. osCommerce is flexible for customization but needs custom development to scale. It lacks official support, relying solely on a smaller, community-driven network.
Our Quick Verdict on PrestaShop vs osCommerce
Criteria | PrestaShop | osCommerce | Winner |
Pricing | Free core, but paid modules increase costs. | Completely free, but custom development can be expensive. | A tie |
Technical requirements | Requires basic coding skill for daily use. | Requires strong technical knowledge and coding. | PrestaShop |
Hosting & performance | Needs optimized hosting for speed and stability. | Lightweight, but requires manual performance tuning. | PrestaShop |
Design & customizability | Thousands of themes and modules for customization. | Fully customizable but needs coding knowledge. | PrestaShop |
eCommerce capabilities | Built-in features for product management, inventory, and orders. | Basic features, requires extensions for advanced functions. | PrestaShop |
Marketing & promotion | SEO-friendly, built-in marketing tools, and third-party add-ons. | Limited SEO and marketing tools, needs custom solutions. | PrestaShop |
Apps & integrations | Large marketplace with thousands of modules. | Smaller selection of community add-ons. | PrestaShop |
Security | Regular updates and security patches. | Requires manual monitoring and updates. | PrestaShop |
After carefully analyzing PrestaShop vs osCommerce, we believe that PrestaShop wins most key areas, making it the better choice for business owners who want a scalable, feature-rich, and user-friendly eCommerce solution. osCommerce is only suitable for developers or businesses with specific technical needs.
If you’re looking for a secure, modern, and well-supported platform, PrestaShop is the better option.
Pricing
» The verdict:
It's a tie between PrestaShop vs osCommerce in terms of pricing since both platforms are free to install with additional development fees. Yet, in our opinion, PrestaShop is more budget-friendly for smaller businesses since this platform is already equipped with essential built-in eCommerce functionalities.
Thanks to the nature of open-source solutions, both platforms are free to download. Nonetheless, PrestaShop vs osCommerce still differs in several expenses as outlined below.
Factor | PrestaShop Estimated Cost | osCommerce Estimated Cost |
Installation fee | Free | Free |
Hosting | Starts from $5/month and might vary based on your chosen hosting plan. | Starts from $5/month and might vary based on your chosen hosting plan. |
Domain name | $10 – $20/year | $10 – $20/year |
Theme | $87 – $262 (one-time purchase) | $100 – $500+ for custom built |
Modules/Add-ons | Starts from $10.39/month Total cost might vary depending on the number of modules you install. | Starts from $19/month Total cost might vary depending on the number of modules you install. |
SSL Certificate | Free – $100/year | Free – $100/year |
Development cost | Optional, $0 – $1000+ | Likely required, $500 – $5000+ |
Maintenance & update | $100 – $500/year (if using paid modules) | $500 – $2000/year (custom updates required) |
So what do we think about this? We would recommend PrestaShop if you prefer an affordable, out-of-the-box solution since it includes many core eCommerce features without additional development. However, if you have technical expertise and want a highly customized store, osCommerce might be a good choice, though long-term maintenance and development costs should be considered.
Technical Requirements
» The verdict:
Between PrestaShop vs osCommerce, PrestaShop is the better choice for users with little technical knowledge, as it offers a simpler setup, built-in features, and an intuitive interface.
PrestaShop technical requirements
PrestaShop is designed to be user-friendly, with a simple installation process that requires minimal technical knowledge. It has an intuitive dashboard and does not demand extensive coding for basic functionality. However, for advanced customization or troubleshooting, some familiarity with PHP, MySQL, and FTP is helpful.
Server requirements to install PrestaShop:
- Web server: Apache Web Server 2.4 or any later version.
- PHP: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 8.0, 8.1 (recommended).
- SQL: Minimum of MySQL 5.7 or MariaDB 10.2. Later version is recommended.
- Server RAM: Minimum of 256MB.
Please note that PrestaShop is fully-supported for Unix-based systems (such as Linux and macOS). If you are using a Windows device, the installation might still work but it is not actively supported.
osCommerce technical requirements
osCommerce is developer-focused, meaning it requires manual setup, custom coding, and frequent updates. Unlike PrestaShop, it lacks an easy-to-use backend, making it difficult for beginners to manage. Since osCommerce has fewer built-in features, store owners often need to modify PHP, JavaScript, and MySQL databases for advanced functionality.
Server requirements to install osCommerce:
- Web server: Apache Web Server 2.4 or any later version.
- PHP: 7.0 or any later version.
- SQL: MySQL 5.6 or higher version.
- Server RAM: Minimum of 128MB.
Scalability and Performance
» The verdict:
In terms of scalability between PrestaShop vs osCommerce, PrestaShop is the better choice, offering multi-store support, built-in optimizations, and better hosting compatibility.
PrestaShop scalability and performance
PrestaShop is designed to scale with business growth, making it ideal for small to medium-sized stores. It can support a large product catalog and high traffic, but performance optimization is necessary as the store expands.
Store owners can improve scalability by upgrading to VPS or dedicated hosting, integrating a CDN, and using caching solutions like Redis or Memcached. Multi-store management is also supported, making PrestaShop a strong choice for businesses looking to expand across multiple online storefronts. However, as the product count increases, database optimization and regular maintenance become essential to prevent slowdowns.
osCommerce scalability and performance
osCommerce, in contrast, is lightweight and flexible, but its scalability is limited without custom development. While it can handle small to mid-sized stores, performance tends to decline as the product count and traffic grow.
Unlike PrestaShop, osCommerce lacks built-in optimization tools, requiring store owners to manually adjust server settings, optimize the database, and implement third-party caching solutions. Since it does not support multi-store management natively, businesses looking to expand often face higher development costs to customize the platform for scalability.
Design and Customizability
» The verdict:
When choosing between PrestaShop vs osCommerce in terms of design and customizability, PrestaShop is the better choice for users who prioritize design flexibility and ease of customization, thanks to its theme marketplace, built-in customization tools, and modern templates. It allows quick design adjustments without basic coding skills and supports a large variety of third-party modules for additional customization.
PrestaShop design and customizability
PrestaShop offers a modern, visually appealing design experience with thousands of pre-designed themes available in its marketplace. These themes cater to different industries and are mobile-responsive by default, ensuring a seamless shopping experience across devices. Users can easily modify themes using the built-in theme editor, making it simple to change layouts, colors, and fonts without coding.
For advanced customization, developers can edit Smarty templates and CSS files, providing complete control over the store’s look and feel. Additionally, PrestaShop’s large module marketplace allows users to add custom features without extensive development work.
osCommerce design and customizability
osCommerce, on the other hand, has a more outdated design structure and lacks a dedicated theme marketplace. While store owners can modify the front-end appearance, customization requires manual coding. Unlike PrestaShop, osCommerce does not provide a built-in theme editor, making design adjustments more complex. Users must edit HTML, CSS, and PHP files directly, which may not be ideal for those without technical expertise.
While it offers some community-created templates, the selection is limited compared to PrestaShop’s vast marketplace.
eCommerce Capabilities
» The verdict:
Between PrestaShop vs osCommerce, PrestaShop is the superior platform for eCommerce capabilities, offering advanced inventory management, built-in payment gateways, and seamless shipping integration. It provides more out-of-the-box functionality, making it ideal for businesses that want a fully operational store without heavy customization.
A strong eCommerce platform needs to provide essential features for product management, inventory control, payment processing, shipping, and customer management. Both PrestaShop and osCommerce offer these core functions, but they take distinguished approaches to eCommerce features.
Below, we will compare PrestaShop vs osCommerce in different eCommerce features to help you make an informed decision.
Feature | PrestaShop | osCommerce | Winner |
Product management | Advanced tools for managing product attributes, categories, and digital/physical products. | Basic product management; requires add-ons for advanced features. | PrestaShop |
Inventory control | Real-time stock management, low-stock alerts, and multi-location inventory tracking. | Simple stock tracking; lacks automated inventory updates. | PrestaShop |
Payment gateways | Supports over 200 payment methods including PayPal, Stripe, and credit cards. | Limited default payment options; requires add-ons for popular gateways. | PrestaShop |
Shipping & fulfillment | Integrated carriers like UPS, FedEx, and DHL; customizable shipping rules. | Basic shipping options; third-party modules needed for advanced settings. | PrestaShop |
Multistore management | Supports multiple stores from a single dashboard. | No built-in multi-store feature; requires custom development. | PrestaShop |
Tax & compliance | Automated tax calculations, VAT support, and compliance tools. | Basic tax settings; requires add-ons for advanced tax rules. | PrestaShop |
Order management | One-click order processing, refund handling, and customer tracking. | Basic order processing; lacks built-in refund and tracking features. | PrestaShop |
Mobile optimization | Responsive themes and mobile-friendly checkout. | Requires custom development for mobile optimization. | PrestaShop |
Digital product sales | Built-in support for selling digital products. | Requires additional modifications to support digital products. | PrestaShop |
Apps and Integrations
» The verdict:
PrestaShop is the better platform for apps and integrations, thanks to its official module marketplace, wide selection of third-party add-ons, and built-in compatibility with popular services. Store owners can quickly expand functionality without needing advanced technical expertise.
PrestaShop apps and integrations
PrestaShop offers a vast selection of apps and integrations through its official Addons Marketplace, where users can find thousands of free and paid modules for expanding their store’s capabilities. The platform supports seamless integration with major payment gateways, marketing tools, and shipping integration. Therefore, PrestaShop is able to offer online merchants a great collection of additional features, compensating for their basic built-in functions without custom coding required.
Additionally, PrestaShop provides a well-structured and documented API, enabling developers to integrate external services with ease. Since the API is flexible and scalable, businesses can develop custom workflows, automate routine tasks, and integrate with enterprise solutions without disrupting store performance. This makes PrestaShop an ideal choice for growing businesses that require deep system connectivity and automated operations.
osCommerce apps and integrations
osCommerce relies primarily on community-developed add-ons for expanding its functionality, but unlike PrestaShop, it lacks a centralized marketplace for official modules. Users must manually search for and install add-ons from various sources, making it difficult to find well-supported, up-to-date extensions. Besides, the marketplace size that osCommerce offers is much smaller than PrestaShop, making it less accessible for store owners who want quick, hassle-free integrations.
On another note, osCommerce has a basic API structure, but it lacks comprehensive documentation and official support. This platform requires manual configuration and coding for most external integrations, and the connection often involves custom PHP development. Since osCommerce does not provide native webhooks or built-in automation tools, businesses relying on real-time data updates and external system integration may find it difficult to maintain efficiency without ongoing technical support.
Security
» The verdict:
When it comes to security between PrestaShop vs osCommerce, PrestaShop is the more secure platform, offering regular security updates, built-in fraud protection, and official PCI compliance tools. It provides automated security patches, making it easier for store owners to stay protected against emerging threats.
PrestaShop security
PrestaShop takes a proactive approach to security, regularly releasing official updates and security patches to protect stores from vulnerabilities. It includes built-in SSL support, which ensures secure checkout processes and compliance with PCI DSS standards for payment security.
Besides, the platform also encourages secure coding practices by following OWASP guidelines to prevent threats like SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS), and brute force attacks. The default admin panel includes security measures like IP whitelisting, CAPTCHA, and two-factor authentication (2FA) for enhanced protection.
osCommerce security
On the other hand, osCommerce offers basic security features, but it does not have a dedicated team regularly providing security updates. While SSL encryption can be enabled, it is not pre-configured, requiring manual setup by store owners. PCI compliance also depends on third-party payment gateways, as osCommerce does not include secure transaction management by default.
Since osCommerce does not have automated security patches, store owners must monitor vulnerabilities manually and apply fixes themselves.
PrestaShop vs osCommerce – FAQs
Which is better, PrestaShop vs osCommerce?
PrestaShop is generally the better choice for most businesses because it offers more built-in features, better security, and an easier user interface. It provides a modern design, official support, and a large marketplace of modules, making it suitable for small to medium-sized businesses looking for a scalable solution.
osCommerce, on the other hand, is more developer-focused and requires manual customization for advanced features. It may be a good choice for businesses that need full control over their codebase, but it lacks built-in security updates and a centralized module marketplace, making it less user-friendly for non-technical users.
Is PrestaShop still being used?
Yes, PrestaShop is still widely used by hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. It remains a popular open-source eCommerce platform, especially among small and medium-sized businesses that want an affordable and flexible solution.
Why not to use PrestaShop?
While PrestaShop is a feature-rich and scalable platform, it does have some drawbacks. Many essential features require paid modules, which can increase costs over time. Additionally, while it is easier to use than osCommerce, it still requires some technical knowledge for installation, updates, and performance optimization.
Which companies use PrestaShop?
Some well-know brands that are leveraging PrestaShop for their business includes:
- Magimix
- Huygens
- Bleu de Chauffe
- Dealy
- Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse
- Vape Green
Final Thoughts
And that brings us to the end of our comparison between PrestaShop vs osCommerce. To conclude, PrestaShop is the better choice for most business owners as it provides a user-friendly interface, built-in eCommerce features, a large module marketplace, and regular security updates. osCommerce, on the other hand, is best suited for developers or businesses with specific customization needs. Therefore, to choose the best eCommerce platform, it depends greatly on your business needs, technical expertise, and long-term goals.
If you like this article, don't forget to check out other articles on our LitExtension blogs for more expert tips and insights.
