Opencart vs Magento: Understand the Key Differences

Choosing an e-commerce platform is not an easy task, especially when one must choose between two rock-solid options: Magento and Opencart. But why is this choice difficult? Because both these options are very different from each other, though that doesn’t take away the fact that they are each competent platform as well. Let’s start with Magento first. It was developed a little over a decade ago and is easily among the top choices for self-hosted and open-source e-commerce platforms and CMS across the whole world. Currently owned by Adobe, Magento has come a long way from what it had to offer in its early days. Available in two versions, both come packing the requisite e-commerce capabilities along with the agility, security, and varied functionalities.

On the other hand, we have Opencart, which is also an open-source and self-hosted e-commerce platform that is also quite popular in the industry. Among other things, this one offers the ability to adapt the source code following the business’ requirements seamlessly. And then there’s also the fact that it is quite easy to learn and be very intuitive. It is easy to see why people would struggle to choose between the two. So, we put together a quick guide that will help you quickly navigate the differences between them.

1. Hosting: Both Magento, as well as Opencart, are self-hosted solutions. What does this mean then? Well, it means how one host and other relevant details, along with the pricing involved, are the company’s decision. The difference arises in the installation requirements for each, so read that carefully.
2. User-friendly factor: Magento, admittedly, comes with a steeper learning curve, which means that a foundation in the developing world, as well as some technical skills. It is rendered as a must before one can use it. And once you have the requisite expertise in place, there’s no telling what one can do with Magento; starting from a highly customizable design, extensions, virtually limitless SEEO support, there’s a lot on offer. While Opencart isn’t as challenging to use, it delivers simplicity and teas of use.
3. Payment gateway integrations: If we were to talk about just native payment gateway integrations, one could say Magento was at a disadvantage since it doesn’t natively integrate as many options as Opencart. However, Magento more than makes up for it employing top-notch third-party extensions that allow the integration of payment systems. And did we mention that Magento now also gets its native payment gateway — Magento Payments.
4. Community: Both options have amply large cities, but Magento has an advantage here since its community has more individuals with specialized skills that are needed to keep up with the platform’s requirements.

The truth is that both Magento and Opencart are highly capable solutions that offer high levels of form as well as functionality. But there’s a strong case to be made for an Opencart to Magento migration, as evidenced in the discussion mentioned above. So, which one are you opting for then?