WordPress ecommerce plugins add product management, payment processing, and shipping to a WordPress site without needing a separate hosted platform. Coverage varies a lot though, some are built for physical goods, some for digital downloads, some for memberships, so “best” depends heavily on what you’re actually selling.
7 WordPress Ecommerce Plugins
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce remains the default choice for most WordPress stores, free core, huge extension ecosystem, and integrations with every major payment gateway and shipping carrier. Active, v10.9.4, updated within the last few weeks.
2. Easy Digital Downloads
Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is purpose-built for digital products, software, ebooks, music, rather than physical goods, and it’s optimized accordingly (no shipping logic to configure, faster checkout for downloadable files). Active, v3.6.9, updated within the last month.
3. Shopify
Worth flagging directly: Shopify is not a WordPress plugin, it’s a separate hosted platform. It’s included here because some site owners run WordPress for content and Shopify for the store (via the Shopify Buy Button or a headless setup), rather than because it installs into WordPress like the others on this list.
4. SureCart
The original version of this post recommended WP eCommerce here. WP eCommerce was permanently closed on WordPress.org in February 2024 for an unresolved security issue and should not be installed under any circumstances. SureCart is a current, actively maintained replacement covering similar ground: physical products, digital downloads, subscriptions, and donations, with a lighter footprint than WooCommerce since checkout processing runs on SureCart’s own infrastructure rather than your server. Active, v4.6.1, updated within days of this writing.
5. MemberPress
MemberPress is really a membership and subscription plugin rather than a general storefront, worth including if what you’re selling is gated content or recurring access rather than physical or downloadable products.
6. Ecwid by Lightspeed
Ecwid was acquired by Lightspeed and now carries that branding. Its main advantage is portability, the same store syncs across WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and other platforms if you ever need to run the store somewhere other than WordPress. Active, v7.0.8, updated within the last few months.
7. BigCommerce for WordPress
BigCommerce for WordPress connects a WordPress front end to BigCommerce’s hosted backend, useful for high-traffic stores that want BigCommerce’s infrastructure without giving up WordPress content tools. Active but last updated December 2024, worth a compatibility check on staging before committing given the gap since its last release.
Picking One
Selling physical or mixed products at any scale: WooCommerce, still the safest default. Purely digital downloads: Easy Digital Downloads over WooCommerce’s digital-product add-ons. Membership or subscription access: MemberPress. Want a lighter footprint than WooCommerce: SureCart. Need the store portable across platforms: Ecwid.