OpenCart vs Thirty Bees

OpenCart and Thirty Bees are both free, open-source, self-hosted PHP ecommerce platforms, but they took different paths to get there: OpenCart (founded 2009)…

Best for OpenCart: OpenCart fits merchants who want the longest-established, most extension-rich free PHP cart (13,000+ marketplace listings) and are comfortable assembling functionality through third-party extensions and themes.
Best for Thirty Bees: Thirty Bees fits merchants who want a large set of features (500+) already built into the core, or who are already familiar with or invested in the PrestaShop 1.6 module/theme ecosystem and want continued compatibility.

At a Glance

 OpenCartThirty Bees
Primary categoryEcommerceEcommerce
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelOpen Sourceopen-source
Starting priceFree (self-hosted); hosting from $59/monthFree
Free planNot documentedNot documented
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsNot documentedNot documented
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documented
Public APINot documentedNot documented

Key Differences

Origin and Founding Year

OpenCart: OpenCart was founded in 2009 as an independent PHP shopping cart project.

Thirty Bees: Thirty Bees was founded in 2017 as a fork of PrestaShop 1.6, created to maintain a stable, compatible alternative.

OpenCart's longer independent history versus Thirty Bees's inherited PrestaShop lineage shapes each platform's starting feature set and community.

Built-in Feature Count

OpenCart: OpenCart's core feature set centers on catalog/order management, multi-language/currency support, and payment gateway integrations, with more advanced functionality typically added via extensions.

Thirty Bees: Thirty Bees ships with 500+ built-in features out of the box, including flexible checkout options, multi-site/multi-currency support, built-in SEO tools, and native PDF invoice generation.

A larger built-in feature count can reduce reliance on paid third-party extensions to reach a usable feature set.

Extension/Module Ecosystem Size

OpenCart: OpenCart's official marketplace lists over 13,000 extensions and themes.

Thirty Bees: Thirty Bees retains compatibility with many modules and themes built for PrestaShop 1.6, but its own dedicated marketplace and community are described as smaller than platforms like PrestaShop.

A larger, dedicated extension marketplace (OpenCart) generally offers more choice and competition on price for add-on functionality.

Active Maintenance Signal

OpenCart: OpenCart is described as a long-running project with an active developer community, without a specific recent version date cited.

Thirty Bees: Thirty Bees released version 1.6 in November 2024, cited as evidence of ongoing active development.

A recent release date is a concrete, verifiable signal of active maintenance that buyers can point to.

SEO Tooling

OpenCart: OpenCart's documented feature list does not call out dedicated built-in SEO tools.

Thirty Bees: Thirty Bees includes built-in SEO-oriented configuration options as a named feature.

Native SEO configuration reduces the need for separate SEO extensions or manual setup.

Feature-by-Feature

Platform Basics

FeatureOpenCartThirty Bees
Free, open-source, self-hostedAvailableAvailable
Founding yearAvailableAvailable
GPL / open licenseAvailableNot documented

Built-in Features

FeatureOpenCartThirty Bees
Built-in SEO toolsNot documentedAvailable
Native PDF invoice generationNot documentedAvailable
Multi-language and multi-currencyAvailableAvailable
Responsive (Bootstrap-based) storefrontNot documentedAvailable

Ecosystem

FeatureOpenCartThirty Bees
Official extension/theme marketplace sizeAvailableNot documented
PrestaShop 1.6 module/theme compatibilityUnavailableAvailable
Multiple payment gatewaysAvailableNot documented

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

OpenCart

Self-Hosted Community — Free N/A
Bronze Cloud Hosting — $59/month Monthly
Silver Cloud Hosting — $99/month Monthly
Gold Cloud Hosting — $199/month Monthly

Thirty Bees

Community Edition — Free self-hosted

Pros & Cons

OpenCart

Pros

  • Free, open-source core platform with no recurring software license fee
  • Large, mature marketplace of extensions and themes
  • Full control over hosting, customization, and data since it is self-hosted
  • Multi-store and multi-currency support built into the core platform
  • Long-established community and forum with over a decade of documentation

Cons

  • Self-hosting requires server management, security patching, and scaling expertise
  • Achieving a fully custom storefront often requires paid extensions or developer work
  • User interface feels dated compared to newer hosted platforms like Shopify
  • Extension and theme costs can add up, with premium options reaching $400 to $1,300 or more per year
  • Smaller out-of-the-box feature set than fully managed SaaS competitors before extensions are added

Thirty Bees

Pros

  • Free and open source with no mandatory subscription for core features
  • Full code ownership and control since it is self-hosted
  • Built on the proven, stable PrestaShop 1.6 codebase
  • Includes many features as standard that competitors charge extra for
  • Straightforward migration path for former PrestaShop 1.6 users

Cons

  • Requires self-hosting, server management, and technical setup knowledge
  • Smaller ecosystem and module marketplace than Shopify or WooCommerce
  • Less frequent major feature releases than mainstream SaaS platforms
  • Official support options are more limited than paid hosted platforms
  • Interface and admin experience feel dated compared to modern store builders

Use Cases

Choose OpenCart: OpenCart fits merchants who want the longest-established, most extension-rich free PHP cart (13,000+ marketplace listings) and are comfortable assembling functionality through third-party extensions and themes.
Choose Thirty Bees: Thirty Bees fits merchants who want a large set of features (500+) already built into the core, or who are already familiar with or invested in the PrestaShop 1.6 module/theme ecosystem and want continued compatibility.
Need both: There's no realistic scenario for using both together — both are complete, self-hosted ecommerce platforms, so a merchant chooses one as the foundation of their store rather than running them in parallel.

OpenCart

  • Budget-conscious online stores — Launch a fully featured online store without recurring SaaS subscription fees, paying only for hosting and chosen extensions.
  • Agency-built custom storefronts — Build highly customized e-commerce sites for clients using OpenCart's open codebase and extension ecosystem.
  • Multi-brand or multi-region retail — Manage several storefronts with different currencies, languages, and domains from a single OpenCart installation.

Thirty Bees

  • Migrating from PrestaShop 1.6 — Store owners on an aging PrestaShop 1.6 install can move to a maintained, patched fork without a full platform rebuild.
  • Budget-conscious self-hosted stores — Merchants who want full e-commerce functionality without paying recurring platform subscription fees.
  • Developer-controlled storefronts — Agencies and technical teams that want complete access to source code for deep customization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Thirty Bees related to OpenCart?

No, they are unrelated projects. Thirty Bees is a fork of PrestaShop 1.6 (created in 2017), while OpenCart is an independently developed PHP shopping cart platform founded in 2009.

Which platform has more built-in features?

Thirty Bees documents 500+ built-in features out of the box. OpenCart's core is comparatively lean, with advanced functionality typically added via its 13,000+ extension marketplace.

Which has the larger extension marketplace?

OpenCart's official marketplace lists over 13,000 extensions and themes, a scale not documented for Thirty Bees, though Thirty Bees retains compatibility with many existing PrestaShop 1.6 modules and themes.

Are OpenCart and Thirty Bees both free?

Yes, both have free, open-source cores that require self-hosting. Thirty Bees notes that some modules, themes, and support are paid add-ons via its marketplace.

Is Thirty Bees still actively maintained?

Yes, the project released version 1.6 in November 2024, indicating ongoing development. OpenCart's data does not cite a specific recent release date but describes it as a long-running, actively maintained project.

Does either platform include built-in SEO tools?

Thirty Bees documents built-in SEO-oriented configuration options as a named feature. OpenCart's documented feature list does not call out dedicated SEO tooling.

Read the full OpenCart review · Read the full Thirty Bees review