Is OpenCart or Sellfy better?

Neither clearly leads. OpenCart starts at Free and Sellfy at $22/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, OpenCart or Sellfy?

OpenCart has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OpenCart and $22/month for Sellfy.

Does OpenCart or Sellfy run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use OpenCart for free?

Yes. OpenCart has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sellfy starts at $22/month.

What is OpenCart best used for?

OpenCart is most often used for a merchant with volume high enough that a percentage transaction fee costs more than a developer, an agency building client stores where the client must own the code and the data outright, a store with unusual catalogue or pricing logic that a hosted platform will not permit, selling in a market where the local payment gateway is not supported by the mainstream saas platforms. Of those, a merchant with volume high enough that a percentage transaction fee costs more than a developer and an agency building client stores where the client must own the code and the data outright are not what Sellfy is typically brought in for.

What can OpenCart do that Sellfy cannot?

OpenCart covers MIT licensed source, Self-hosted PHP and MySQL, No transaction fees, Multi-store. Sellfy covers Physical & digital products, Membership/subscription sales, Email marketing, Marketing automation.

E-Commerce · head to head

OpenCart vs Sellfy

OpenCart

E-Commerce

Self-hosted open source shopping cart written in PHP, released under the MIT licence

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Sellfy

E-Commerce

Ecommerce platform for creators and entrepreneurs

From: $22/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only OpenCart has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: OpenCart extensions modify core behaviour through an XML patching system, so two modules that patch the same file conflict in ways that surface as broken checkout rather than as an installation error, and resolving that requires a developer reading both patches.; Sellfy every plan caps annual sales volume: $10k on Starter, $50k on Business and $200k on Premium
They diverge on capability: OpenCart covers MIT licensed source, Sellfy covers Physical & digital products.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenCart and Sellfy actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenCart and Sellfy differ
Attribute	OpenCart	Sellfy
Starting price	Free	$22/month
Pricing model	open-source	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Founded	2009	2013

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in OpenCart

MIT licensed source
Self-hosted PHP and MySQL
No transaction fees
Multi-store
Extension marketplace
Multi-currency and multi-language
OCMod modification system
Full data access

Only in Sellfy

Physical & digital products
Membership/subscription sales
Email marketing
Marketing automation
Affiliate program
Analytics
Mobile app
Multi-currency support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

OpenCart

A merchant with volume high enough that a percentage transaction fee costs more than a developernot Sellfy
An agency building client stores where the client must own the code and the data outrightnot Sellfy
A store with unusual catalogue or pricing logic that a hosted platform will not permitnot Sellfy
Selling in a market where the local payment gateway is not supported by the mainstream SaaS platformsnot Sellfy

Sellfy

Selling digital downloads, subscriptions or print on demand goods from a hosted storefrontnot OpenCart
Running a small creator store without building a sitenot OpenCart

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

OpenCart

Extensions modify core behaviour through an XML patching system, so two modules that patch the same file conflict in ways that surface as broken checkout rather than as an installation error, and resolving that requires a developer reading both patches.
Major version upgrades have broken third party extension compatibility, so moving between them means re-purchasing or re-commissioning modules and effectively rebuilding parts of the store rather than clicking update.
Hosting, patching, backups and PCI scope are all your responsibility, so a security update you postpone is a breach you own, and there is no vendor obligation to notify or protect you.
Extension quality on the marketplace is uneven and modules are sold as one-off purchases with no guaranteed maintenance, so a module central to your store can simply stop being updated and leave you holding the code.
The core project is maintained by a very small team relative to the platforms it competes with, so security fixes, compatibility with new PHP versions and feature work all arrive at a pace you cannot influence or pay to accelerate.

Sellfy

Every plan caps annual sales volume: $10k on Starter, $50k on Business and $200k on Premium
Exceeding the cap forces a plan upgrade rather than an overage charge, so growth is a step change in cost
Maximum file size per digital product is tied to the plan, at 10 GB, 15 GB and 20 GB
Email marketing credits are metered per plan, from 2,000 to 50,000
Cart abandonment, upselling and the affiliate programme all require the Business plan
Payment processing fees from PayPal or Stripe are charged on top of the subscription

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenCart

Free

Open SourceFree
- Core ecommerce features
- Free support
- Extensions available

Sellfy

$22/month

Starter$22/month
- From $22/month with annual billing (or $39/month with monthly billing)
- Basic e-commerce features for digital and physical products
Business$null/month
- Mid-tier option with expanded capabilities
Premium$null/month
- Highest tier with up to 20GB per digital product file storage

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenCart if

You need mit licensed source.
You want to start without paying.
You also want self-hosted php and mysql.

OpenCart review

Choose Sellfy if

You need physical & digital products.
You also want membership/subscription sales.

Sellfy review

Questions people ask

Is OpenCart or Sellfy better?: Neither clearly leads. OpenCart starts at Free and Sellfy at $22/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenCart or Sellfy?: OpenCart has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OpenCart and $22/month for Sellfy.
Does OpenCart or Sellfy run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use OpenCart for free?: Yes. OpenCart has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sellfy starts at $22/month.
What is OpenCart best used for?: OpenCart is most often used for a merchant with volume high enough that a percentage transaction fee costs more than a developer, an agency building client stores where the client must own the code and the data outright, a store with unusual catalogue or pricing logic that a hosted platform will not permit, selling in a market where the local payment gateway is not supported by the mainstream saas platforms. Of those, a merchant with volume high enough that a percentage transaction fee costs more than a developer and an agency building client stores where the client must own the code and the data outright are not what Sellfy is typically brought in for.
What can OpenCart do that Sellfy cannot?: OpenCart covers MIT licensed source, Self-hosted PHP and MySQL, No transaction fees, Multi-store. Sellfy covers Physical & digital products, Membership/subscription sales, Email marketing, Marketing automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OpenCart: Is OpenCart really free?

The software is MIT licensed with no paid edition. The costs are hosting, extensions, and a developer, and for a low volume store those can exceed a SaaS subscription.

Sellfy: How much does Sellfy cost?

Sellfy starts at $22/month for the Starter plan with annual billing ($39/month with monthly billing). Higher tiers (Business and Premium) are available but specific pricing requires contacting sales or visiting the pricing page.

Source

OpenCart: Does it charge transaction fees?

No. There is no platform cut and no surcharge for using your own payment gateway, which is the main financial argument for self-hosting at volume.

Sellfy: Does Sellfy charge transaction fees?

No, Sellfy charges zero transaction fees on sales, unlike competitors such as Gumroad which charges 10%. If revenue exceeds a plan limit, a 2% fee may apply unless you upgrade to a higher tier.

Source

OpenCart: How hard is customisation?

Theme changes are ordinary PHP templates and are approachable. Changing behaviour means the OCMod patching system, which conflicts between extensions and needs a developer.

Sellfy: Does Sellfy offer a free trial?

Yes, new users can access a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. During the trial you can customize store design and add product types, but upgrading to a paid plan is required to start selling.

Source

OpenCart: What is the biggest hidden cost?

Upgrades. Version transitions have broken extension compatibility before, so budget for a partial rebuild rather than assuming updates are routine maintenance.

OpenCart vs Sellfy

OpenCart

Sellfy

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in OpenCart

Only in Sellfy

What people use each for

OpenCart

Sellfy

Where each one falls short

OpenCart

Sellfy

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenCart

Sellfy

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenCart if

Choose Sellfy if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on OpenCart

More on Sellfy

Keep looking

Other head to heads