Ecommerce Business Platforms in 2026: Hosted vs Open-Source vs Marketplaces, Fees and How to Choose

Picking an ecommerce business platform is one of the first big decisions when you start selling online, and one of the hardest to undo. This guide is for US small businesses and side-hustlers choosing where to build a store. It explains the three kinds of platform — hosted, open-source and marketplace — with fees taken from each company's official pricing page and dated, plus how payment processing and sales tax work, a monthly cost comparison at a realistic sales level, and a checklist for choosing. We don't rank platforms; the right one depends on your products, skills and budget.

Quick answer

An ecommerce business platform runs your store's catalog, checkout, payments and orders. Hosted platforms (for example Shopify or BigCommerce) charge a monthly fee and handle the tech. Open-source software (for example WooCommerce) is free but you pay for hosting and upkeep. Marketplaces (Amazon, Etsy) bring buyers but take a bigger cut per sale.

• Entry plans on official US pricing pages (Oct 2026): Shopify Basic $29 a month billed yearly; BigCommerce Core $29 a month billed annually; WooCommerce Free

• Card processing typically 2.9% + 30¢ per online sale on top of the plan fee

• Marketplaces: Amazon referral fee 15% for most categories; Etsy transaction fee 6.5%

• On your own site you handle sales tax registration and filing; marketplaces generally collect tax for you

Why the platform choice matters

Online sales keep growing as a share of US retail. The Census Bureau's quarterly estimates put e-commerce at 17.1% of total retail sales in the second quarter of 2026, or $340.2 billion for the quarter, seasonally adjusted. That's a big market — and a crowded one. Your platform affects four things you'll feel every month:

• Cost. A plan fee, card processing on every order, and sometimes an extra platform fee if you use an outside payment processor.
• Control. How much you can change the design, checkout and data — and whether you own the customer relationship.
• Workload. Who handles hosting, security updates, backups and uptime.
• Compliance. Who calculates and collects sales tax, issues tax forms and keeps card data secure.

There's no single "best" ecommerce platform for a small business. A potter selling 30 pieces a month, a supplement brand with subscription orders and a parts distributor selling to other businesses need very different things.

The three types of ecommerce platform

Hosted (software-as-a-service) platforms

A hosted platform rents you a complete store. The company runs the servers, software updates, checkout and security; you pick a theme, add products and connect a payment processor. Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and Square Online all work this way. You pay monthly, and the platform may take a percentage of sales if you don't use its own payment service.

Good fit if you want to launch quickly without a developer, prefer predictable bills, and are happy working within a platform's design and feature limits. Extra features usually come from an app store, and those apps often charge their own monthly fees.

Open-source platforms

Open-source software is free to download, use and modify. WooCommerce, a plugin for WordPress, is the best-known example; WooCommerce describes itself as "free, open-source" with "no platform fees, no revenue share". You install it on web hosting you choose, pick a payment processor, and add extensions for features like subscriptions or advanced shipping.

Good fit if you already run a WordPress site, want full control over design and data, or have unusual product or checkout needs. The trade-off is responsibility: you (or a developer you hire) handle updates, backups, performance and security, including keeping plugins patched.

Marketplaces

A marketplace lists your products inside its own shopping site. Amazon, Etsy, eBay and Walmart Marketplace are the big US examples. Buyers are already there, and the marketplace runs checkout and payments. You pay a mix of subscription, listing, referral or transaction fees, and you follow the marketplace's rules on listings, shipping times and customer service.

Good fit if you need sales before you can build an audience, sell commodity or searchable products, or want to test demand. The trade-offs: higher per-sale fees, little control over branding, and the marketplace — not you — owns the customer relationship. Our guides to selling on Amazon and selling on Etsy go through each in detail.

Fees from official pricing pages (October 2026)

All figures below come from each company's US pricing page as it appeared in early October 2026. Platforms change prices and plan names often — BigCommerce, for example, has moved to plans with annual sales caps — so check the live page before you sign up.

Hosted platforms

Sources: Shopify and BigCommerce US pricing pages, early October 2026. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 a month; BigCommerce Performance is custom-priced. Shopify's offer at the time: 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months.

Two details are easy to miss:

• Third-party transaction fees. Shopify adds a fee on each order if you take payments through a processor other than Shopify Payments — 2% on Basic. BigCommerce charges a similar "Open Payment Provider Fee" only for processors outside its embedded list; the embedded list includes Stripe, PayPal and others.
• Sales caps. BigCommerce's plans now carry trailing-12-month sales caps; when you pass them, the plan automatically upgrades. Budget for the next tier if you expect growth.

Website builders such as Wix and Squarespace also sell commerce plans. Their prices vary by plan and billing term, so compare them on their own pricing pages using the same checklist below.

Open-source: WooCommerce

WooCommerce's pricing page lists the core software as Free, with no monthly subscription and a 0% revenue share. It estimates that hosting runs $25–$350 a month for most stores, scaling with traffic, and that paid extensions cost $29–$299 a year per extension. Add a theme (free or paid), a domain name, and possibly developer time. Payments go through the processor you choose at that processor's rates.

Marketplaces

Sources: Amazon Selling Partner pricing and Etsy's fees policy, verified October 2026.

Payment processing: the fee you pay on every order

After the plan fee, card processing is usually your largest platform cost. The rates on official pages in October 2026:

• Stripe: 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction, plus +1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is needed. No monthly fee on the standard plan.
• PayPal: 3.49% + fixed fee for PayPal Checkout and Venmo, and 2.99% + fixed fee for standard card payments; the fixed fee depends on currency.
• Shopify Payments: 2.9% + 30¢ online on Basic, falling on higher plans; using it avoids Shopify's third-party fee.

A few practical points:

• Small orders hurt more. The fixed 30¢ is 1% of a $30 order but only 0.3% of a $100 one. If your average order is small, the fixed fee matters as much as the percentage.
• Offer wallets. Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal can lift conversion, but check each one's rate.
• Card security (PCI DSS). Hosted checkouts and processors' hosted payment fields keep card numbers off your servers, which shrinks your compliance burden. On self-hosted stores, use your processor's hosted fields rather than collecting card numbers yourself.
• Tax forms. Payment processors and marketplaces report your gross sales to the IRS on Form 1099-K when you pass the federal threshold — currently $20,000 and more than 200 transactions — and some states use lower thresholds.

Sales tax: who calculates, collects and files

Sales tax is where platform choice has the biggest legal effect.

Nexus. Since the Supreme Court's 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, a state can require an out-of-state seller to collect its sales tax once the seller passes that state's "economic nexus" threshold — even without a warehouse or office there. Thresholds vary: $100,000 in Florida, $500,000 in California and $500,000 in Texas, for example. You always have nexus in your home state if you sell taxable goods there.

Marketplace sales. States with a sales tax generally have marketplace facilitator rules that make platforms like Amazon and Etsy collect and remit tax on the sales they facilitate. That covers those orders — but you still need your home-state permit, and your own-website sales are your responsibility.

Your own website. On a hosted or open-source store, you're the seller of record. The software can calculate the right rate at checkout, but you must register in each nexus state, collect the tax and file returns. Options to automate:

• Built-in tax tools. Shopify's US pricing page lists automated sales tax calculations and liability tracking among plan features, with an advanced tax platform as an add-on.
• Payment-processor tax products. Stripe Tax charges 0.5% per transaction where you're registered on no-code integrations.
• Certified Service Providers. In Streamlined Sales Tax member states, qualifying remote sellers who register through the Streamlined system can get calculation, filing and remittance from a certified provider paid for by the state, according to the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board.
• Third-party apps that connect to your platform and file returns for a monthly fee.

State rules on marketplace-only sellers differ. Texas, for example, says a remote seller whose only Texas sales go through a marketplace provider that certifies it is collecting the tax doesn't need a Texas permit — but must still keep records of those marketplace sales for at least four years. Once you add your own website, sales made there count toward each state's threshold on their own terms, so track sales by state from day one. Most platforms can export a sales-by-state report; download it every quarter and compare it with the thresholds for the states where you sell most.

Before launching, get a sales tax permit in your home state — our Texas and California guides show what that involves — and check whether your products are taxable there. Work out what to charge with the sales tax calculator.

What it really costs: a monthly comparison

Take a small online shop selling $8,000 a month across 160 orders (average order $50), all domestic card sales. Here's what platform and payment fees would roughly add up to at October 2026 prices, before apps, shipping labels and advertising.

Simplified: Etsy's transaction fee also applies to shipping charges, Amazon referral rates vary by category, and FBA, ads and apps are excluded. WooCommerce hosting figure is an assumption within WooCommerce's own published range.

The pattern is consistent: your own store is cheaper per sale, a marketplace is cheaper per customer acquired. Etsy and Amazon cost more per order, but they also deliver shoppers you'd otherwise pay for with ads. Check your own numbers with the marketplace profit calculator.

How to choose: a checklist

Questions to answer before you pick a platform

0/10

• Where will buyers come from — your own audience and ads, or marketplace search?
• Total monthly cost at your expected sales: plan + processing + third-party fees + apps
• Does the plan have sales caps or staff limits you'll hit within a year?
• Can you use your preferred payment processor without an extra platform fee?
• How will sales tax be calculated, collected and filed in each state where you have nexus?
• Does it support your product type: variants, digital goods, subscriptions, B2B pricing, bundles?
• Shipping: live carrier rates, discounted labels, local pickup, international?
• Who handles hosting, updates, security and backups — and what does that cost in time?
• Can you export products, customers and orders if you leave?
• Point-of-sale needs for markets, pop-ups or a physical shop?

Share Print

Some patterns that hold for most small businesses:

• Testing an idea with little cash? A marketplace or a hosted plan's trial lets you validate demand without a large upfront spend. Our guide to starting a business with no money has more on low-cost testing.
• Building a brand with repeat customers? Your own store keeps the customer data and email list, which marketplaces don't give you.
• Unusual workflow or deep WordPress content? Open-source gives you the most control, if you can support it.
• Selling in person too? Check point-of-sale integration and in-person card rates before you commit.

Switching platforms later

Many stores outgrow their first platform, and moving is common. It's easier if you plan for it from the start.

What moves easily. Products, variants, prices, customer records and order history can usually be exported as CSV files and imported into the new platform, either directly or with a migration app. Product photos come across with the product files on most platforms.

What doesn't. Themes and custom design rarely transfer, so expect to rebuild the look of the store. Apps and extensions have to be replaced one by one. Saved customer passwords usually can't be moved, so customers must reset them. Stored card details for subscriptions depend on your payment processor; if you keep the same processor, migrating subscriptions is far simpler than switching both at once.

A low-risk platform migration

Step 1

Export products, customers, orders

Step 2

Rebuild theme and apps

Step 3

Map 301 redirects

every old URL

Step 4

Test side by side

Step 5

Switch domain

in a quiet season

Protect your search traffic. Product and category URLs often change between platforms. Set up 301 redirects from every old URL to its new equivalent before you switch over, and submit an updated sitemap to search engines. Skipping this step is the most common reason sales drop after a migration.

Time it well. Move during your quietest season, run the old and new stores side by side for testing, and give yourself a week to fix problems before you switch your domain.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Comparing plan prices only. A $29 plan can cost more than a $79 one once third-party transaction fees and apps are added. Always model total monthly cost at your real sales level.

Ignoring app creep. Review, upsell, subscription and shipping apps often carry their own monthly fees. Review subscriptions every quarter and cancel what doesn't pay for itself.

Forgetting sales tax registration. A platform calculating tax doesn't register you with the state. Collecting tax without a permit, or not collecting where you have nexus, both cause trouble. Register before you collect.

Under-estimating open-source upkeep. An unpatched plugin can take a store offline or expose customer data. Budget for managed hosting or a maintenance plan.

Relying on one marketplace. Account suspensions and fee changes happen. Build an email list and, when you can, a store you control.

Skipping legal basics. You still need any local business license your city requires, an EIN if you hire, and possibly an LLC to separate business and personal liability.

Official pricing and rules pages

• Shopify pricingPlans, card rates, third-party fees
• BigCommerce pricingPlans, sales caps, payment provider fees
• WooCommerce pricingFree core, hosting and extension estimates
• Stripe pricingCard and payment method rates
• PayPal merchant feesCheckout and card rates
• Streamlined Sales Tax — free CSP servicesState-paid sales tax filing for qualifying sellers
• Census Bureau e-commerce statisticsQuarterly US online sales

What to do next

Write down your expected monthly sales, order count and average order value, then price two or three platforms using the live pricing pages and the payment fee calculator. Sort out your home-state sales tax permit before your first sale, and if you're still weighing products, our dropshipping guide and startup cost calculator will help you plan the launch budget.

Frequently asked questions

What is an ecommerce business platform?

It's the software that runs your online store: product catalog, cart and checkout, payments, orders, shipping and taxes. There are three broad types — hosted platforms you rent monthly, open-source software you install on your own hosting, and marketplaces where you list products in someone else's store.

How much does an ecommerce platform cost per month?

On official US pricing pages in October 2026, entry-level hosted plans start at $29 a month on annual billing at both Shopify and BigCommerce. WooCommerce software is free, but you pay for hosting — which WooCommerce estimates at $25–$350 a month — plus any paid extensions. Card processing adds roughly 3% of sales on top.

Do ecommerce platforms collect sales tax for me?

Marketplaces such as Amazon and Etsy generally collect and remit sales tax on sales they facilitate, under state marketplace facilitator laws. On your own website you're the seller: the platform or a tax app can calculate tax at checkout, but you must register in each state where you have nexus and file the returns.

Should a small business start on a marketplace or its own website?

It depends on whether you need customers or margin first. Marketplaces bring ready-made traffic but take a larger cut — Amazon's standard referral fee is 15% and Etsy's transaction fee 6.5%. Your own site costs less per sale but you must bring the traffic. Many sellers run both.

What's the difference between hosted and open-source ecommerce?

A hosted platform runs the software, servers, security patches and checkout for a monthly fee; you customize within its limits. Open-source software such as WooCommerce is free to use and fully customizable, but you arrange hosting, updates, backups and security yourself or pay someone to.

Can I move my store to another platform later?

Yes, but plan for it. Products, customers and orders can usually be exported as CSV files, though apps, theme designs, URLs and saved payment methods often don't transfer cleanly. Set up redirects from old product URLs so you don't lose search traffic.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Shopify pricing (US) — Shopify · accessed 9 October 2026
2. 2.BigCommerce pricing — BigCommerce · accessed 9 October 2026
3. 3.WooCommerce pricing — WooCommerce · accessed 9 October 2026
4. 4.Stripe pricing — Stripe · accessed 9 October 2026
5. 5.Stripe Tax pricing — Stripe · accessed 9 October 2026
6. 6.PayPal merchant fees (US) — PayPal · accessed 9 October 2026
7. 7.Selling on Amazon — pricing — Amazon · accessed 9 October 2026
8. 8.Etsy fees and payments policy — Etsy · accessed 9 October 2026
9. 9.South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 585 U.S. 162 (2018) — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School · accessed 9 October 2026
10. 10.Certified Service Providers — free services — Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board · accessed 9 October 2026
11. 11.Quarterly retail e-commerce sales — U.S. Census Bureau · accessed 9 October 2026
12. 12.IRS FAQs on Form 1099-K threshold under the One Big Beautiful Bill — Internal Revenue Service · accessed 9 October 2026
13. 13.Remote sellers — Texas sales and use tax — Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · accessed 9 October 2026
14. 14.Wayfair implementation — frequently asked questions — California Department of Tax and Fee Administration · accessed 9 October 2026