Free and low-cost e-commerce software for your business

3-minute read

Thinking of expanding your business? An online store might be the solution! Whether you sell directly to consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B), e-commerce helps you reach new customers beyond your local area.

How does e-commerce software help?

Setting up your own online store is easier than ever with e-commerce software. These tools enable you to

sell products and services online with minimal upfront investment
reach customers 24/7
expand your company’s geographic reach
boost your business’s visibility online
automate some functions to lower costs
increase customer retention and loyalty

What does e-commerce software do?

A basic e-commerce storefront is a web-based system that allows customers to shop for products and helps streamline the order fulfillment process. Here's what most e-commerce solutions offer:

setting up an online store with a shopping cart
accepting payments online with PayPal and/or major credit cards
showcasing your products in an online product catalogue
optimizing your store for search engines
tracking inventory automatically to avoid stockouts
analyzing your performance with reports
promoting your business with online marketing tools

AI capabilities in e-commerce software

Artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived in e-commerce, offering several innovative features to enhance customer experiences, boost sales and streamline operations:

Personalized product recommendations that can appear on product pages once shoppers have added an item to their shopping cart, increasing the chances of conversion.
Smarter search, suggesting relevant products even if the search terms aren't a perfect match.
Dynamic pricing, adjusting prices based on various factors like real-time demand, competitor pricing and historical data to maximize your profitability.
Targeted advertising, by identifying the most likely customers for specific products and campaigns and displaying personalized ads.
Optimized inventory, by combining historical data, real-time insights and predictive capabilities to recommend optimal inventory levels.

Free and low-cost e-commerce solutions

E-commerce solutions come in all shapes and sizes, from simple email order systems to complex business integrations. If you are looking for low-cost or free tools, you may want to consider the following.

Revised March 2024

Free English French English support French support Data stored in Canada iOS app. Android Social integration

BigCommerce Essentials

Free English French English support rench support Data stored in Canada iOS app. Android Social integration

BigCommerce Essentials provides an all-in-one solution to build, run and scale your online store with no additional transaction fees. It integrates website building tools, online store management features and marketing functionalities. Plus, an extensive app marketplace allows you to expand your store's capabilities further.

EasyInvoice

Free English French English support French support Data stored in Canada iOS app. Android Social integration

EasyInvoice provides a quick and easy way to receive online payment for products or services. Designed for small business owners who feel overwhelmed by the options of sophisticated platforms, EasyInvoice is intentionally simple: All you have to do is email a link to your customers or add a “Pay now” button on your site. There are no set-up or monthly fees, but merchants pay a payment processing fee. Designed by a Canadian firm located in Burlington, Ontario, EasyInvoice is in English by default, but can be changed to French upon request.

Ecwid by Lightspeed

Free English French English support French support Data stored in Canada iOS app. Android Social integration

Ecwid by Lightspeed delivers a flexible e-commerce solution. Whether you're looking to build a new online store from scratch or add e-commerce capabilities to your existing website, Ecwid centralizes your products, inventory and orders in one system. It even allows you to sell across social media platforms and integrate with online marketplaces like Amazon or point-of-sale systems in your physical store. This versatility makes Ecwid an interesting option for businesses exploring different online selling channels.

Panierdachat.com

Free English French English support French support Data stored in Canada iOS app. Android Social integration

Panierdachat.com offers a robust and scalable e-commerce shopping cart. With a comprehensive range of features including a secure solution that is PCI compliant to protect you against credit card fraud, Facebook and mobile commerce storefront, web-design tools, inventory management tools, and seamless integration with Intuit Quickbooks, it makes selling on the Internet almost easy.

Shopify

Free English French English support French support Data stored in Canada iOS app. Android Social integration

Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce platform that empowers you to build and manage your online store with ease. Going beyond web sales, it allows you to sell across social media channels and even integrate with brick-and-mortar locations for a unified omnichannel experience. Shopify also offers built-in artificial intelligence features to help you write better product descriptions, edit product images and suggest personalized FAQs and customer service responses. Their subscription plans come with varying features to fit your needs, with monthly fees and transaction fees to consider.

Square Online

Free English French English support French support Data stored in Canada iOS app. Android Social integration

Square Online has all the features you need to start your e-commerce website quickly. It works for all kinds of businesses—retail, restaurants, services—and integrates with all Square point of sale systems, making inventory management between your physical and online stores easy. There is a free plan, but keep in mind you’ll still have to pay transaction fees.

WooCommerce

Free English French English support French support Données au Canada: Optionnel iOS app. Android Social integration

WooCommerce is an open-source platform you can download and install for free on your WordPress website. This means it leverages the vast ecosystem of WordPress plugins and extensions to add functionalities to your site such as payment gateways, shipping options, marketing tools and AI-assisted features like product recommendations or chatbots. Setting up and managing a WooCommerce store typically requires some technical knowledge of WordPress. If that sounds intimidating, Woo Express may be a better option. This paid subscription service is a hosted e-commerce solution that prioritizes ease of use over extensive customization options and comes with AI-powered features like product-description generation.

This table lists applications alphabetically and isn’t exhaustive. Hyperlinks to external sites do not constitute endorsement by BDC of those websites or any information, opinions, products or services expressed or described on them.

Furthermore, the list is only a starting point and excludes applications that are neither low cost nor free. We have also focused on turnkey solutions rather than on solutions that you can integrate into an existing website. When assessing e-commerce software for your organization, you will probably consider many other factors. It is important to shop around and compare different e-commerce platforms to choose the one that meets your specific business needs and budget, including hidden costs.

BDC will review and edit this list regularly. If you are an e-commerce software vendor and would like us to consider adding your solution, please contact us.