Note (September 2026): WP eCommerce, listed third below, was closed in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory on February 16, 2024 for a security issue and can no longer be downloaded, and the Simple Reviews Widget website no longer loads; both entries now say so.
The best WordPress e-commerce plugin for most online stores is WooCommerce, the free, open-source store plugin with more than 7 million active installations according to WordPress.org (September 2026). Shopify’s official WordPress plugin suits sellers who want Shopify’s hosted checkout, and MemberPress suits paid memberships and subscriptions. WP eCommerce has been closed since February 2024.
Key Takeaways
- WooCommerce remains the main WordPress store plugin: free core, 7,000,000+ active installs and version 11.1.2 released on September 22, 2026, according to WordPress.org.
- Shopify is a hosted platform, not a native WordPress plugin; its official plugin adds Shopify products and checkout to a WordPress site and needs a paid Shopify plan.
- MemberPress is a paid membership plugin; as of September 2026 its annual plans list at $199.50 to $499.50 for the first year, and prices change.
- WP eCommerce was closed by WordPress.org on February 16, 2024 for a security issue and should not be installed on a new store.
- The Simple Reviews Widget site no longer loads and the plugin is not in the WordPress.org directory, so its availability could not be confirmed.
Selecting the best E-commerce business plugin is very important as they can help in creating more growth opportunities and business.
There are countless E-commerce plugins available in the marketplace, but choosing the right one is a task. Based on the requirement of your website, you can shortlist the plugins by looking at their uses and functionality. You can also choose, compare and then select the best ones in the market.
We are here to help you with it, with our list of the top 5 WordPress Plugins for an e-commerce business, with each entry’s status checked in September 2026. So, let’s have a look at them.
Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins For Your Store
1] WooCommerce
WooCommerce is one of the most popular and most used e-commerce plugins for WordPress. It is the most comprehensive plugin that comes with a large number of themes and add-ons that you can select from to create a full-fledged e-commerce platform with easy usability options.
With hundreds of free and paid extensions in the WooCommerce Marketplace, you can customize your e-commerce website as you like and build a store of your preference. You can also enhance your already built website with easy-to-follow documentation.
2] Shopify
Shopify is a cloud-hosted platform that aids in easy selling of products online. Shopify itself is not a WordPress plugin: it is a hosted commerce platform run by Shopify Inc., a Canadian company headquartered in Ottawa. Shopify publishes its own free WordPress plugin, built by Shopify and not associated with WordPress, which lets you add Shopify products and collections to WordPress pages and send buyers to Shopify’s checkout. The plugin needs a paid Shopify plan.
It is a very user-friendly plugin that helps you easily set-up your online store with various customizations. You can get your online store up and running in no time with a number of customizable options that aid in more selling of products.
It also comes with a lot of attractive themes that you can use to change the look of your store and give it a fresh feel.
3] WP eCommerce
WP eCommerce was one of the oldest WordPress e-commerce plugins and came with a lot of out-of-the-box features. According to the WordPress.org Plugin Directory, the plugin was closed on February 16, 2024 for a security issue and is no longer available for download, so it should not be used for a new store. The plugin let store owners create a personalized online store and offered different payment gateways.
For many years it provided checkout features for WordPress stores. It also provides uninterrupted co-ordination with various other plugins. It never had as many extensions as WooCommerce. Sites still running WP eCommerce should plan a move to a maintained plugin such as WooCommerce.
4] Simple Reviews Widget
Reviews and testimonials from previous customers are one of the best ways to generate more sales and invite new customers to your website. Simple Reviews Widget was one plugin built for this job.
This plugin basically displays the Reviews and testimonials of your clients on your website. You can customize this plugin in a sidebar widget and include relevant Schema Markup too. This plugin can be customized as per your choice including all colors, fonts, and background.
It was promoted as a fully responsive widget that could be used on any website and in any language. As of September 2026, the developer’s website no longer loads and the plugin is not listed in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory, so its availability could not be confirmed. You can easily download the plugin here (this link may no longer work).
5] MemberPress
Subscription-based products are becoming a norm these days and have lately become one of the recurring ways to generate continuous income from the online store.
MemberPress is another WordPress e-commerce plugin that is used to sell subscription-based products and services. It is a fully functional e-commerce plugin and comes with loads of integration options.
You can customize and enhance the functions of your digital store with the help of MemberPress. You can manage customers and visitors by granting them access to your online goods and have a good control over your inventory.
MemberPress also allows you to create social communities and forums with all the necessary extensions for your store. It also allows various payment gateways for ease of the users.
Conclusion
Having an e-commerce store and running it efficiently is a task in itself. And, to help you with it, and provide you with more features, flexibility options and control over the store, these plugins are very necessary.
Of the five plugins on this list, WooCommerce, the Shopify plugin and MemberPress are still actively offered as of September 2026, while WP eCommerce is closed and Simple Reviews Widget could not be confirmed. Choose a maintained plugin that fits what you sell, and keep it updated.
Which WordPress E-Commerce Plugins Still Work?
Three of the five plugins in this list are still actively offered as of September 2026. The table below summarizes the status of each one, based on the WordPress.org Plugin Directory and the makers’ own websites.
| Plugin | What it does | Status (September 2026) | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | Full online store inside WordPress | Active; version 11.1.2, 7,000,000+ active installs | Core plugin free; many extensions paid |
| Shopify plugin | Adds Shopify products and checkout to WordPress | Active; distributed by Shopify, not WordPress.org | Free plugin; needs a paid Shopify plan |
| WP eCommerce | Store plugin | Closed by WordPress.org on February 16, 2024 (security issue) | Not available |
| Simple Reviews Widget | Customer review display | Website does not load; not in WordPress.org directory | Could not be confirmed |
| MemberPress | Memberships and subscriptions | Active; sold from the MemberPress website | Paid annual plans |
What Is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress, first released in September 2011 and acquired by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, in May 2015, according to Wikipedia. WooCommerce rebranded as Woo on October 31, 2023, but the plugin is still called WooCommerce.
According to its WordPress.org listing, the WooCommerce core is free and lets you sell physical and digital goods, product variations and downloads. Subscriptions, bookings and memberships are added through extensions. The listing says stores can take payments through more than 100 payment gateways, including Stripe, PayPal and Square, and that the WooPayments service is available in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Italy.
As of September 2026, WordPress.org lists WooCommerce version 11.1.2, updated on September 22, 2026, with more than 7 million active installations. It requires WordPress 7.0 or later. For a step-by-step setup, see our guide on how to deploy an e-commerce site on WordPress.
How Does the Shopify Plugin for WordPress Work?
The Shopify plugin for WordPress connects a WordPress site to a Shopify store. According to Shopify, you set up products in Shopify, then add products or collections to WordPress pages and posts from the WordPress editor, and buyers complete their purchase in Shopify’s checkout. Inventory, orders and analytics are managed in Shopify.
The plugin is downloaded from Shopify’s website rather than the WordPress.org Plugin Directory. Shopify’s plans are named Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus, and prices vary by country and billing period. As an example, Shopify’s India pricing page listed the Basic plan at ₹1,499 per month billed yearly as of September 2026, after a 3-day free trial; check the Shopify pricing page for your region, because prices change.
Shopify states that its checkout converts 17% better than WooCommerce on average, citing its own 2023 study; that is the company’s claim, not an independent measurement. If you are weighing the two platforms, read Shopify or WooCommerce: the hardest choice and our guide to switching from WooCommerce to Shopify.
How Much Does MemberPress Cost?
MemberPress is a premium WordPress membership plugin sold from its own website. As of September 2026, the MemberPress pricing page lists three annual plans, all shown at a first-year discount:
- Launch: $199.50 per year (normally $399), with transaction fees.
- Growth: $349.50 per year (normally $699), with no transaction fees.
- Scale: $499.50 per year (normally $999), with no transaction fees.
Prices change and renewal prices can differ from first-year prices, so confirm the current price on the MemberPress website before buying.
How to Choose a WordPress E-Commerce Plugin
The right plugin depends on what you sell and how much of the store you want to manage yourself.
- Physical or digital products, full control: WooCommerce, which runs on your own WordPress hosting.
- A few products on an existing WordPress blog, hosted checkout: the Shopify plugin with a Shopify plan.
- Courses, paid content or subscriptions: a membership plugin such as MemberPress.
Before installing any store plugin, check its WordPress.org listing or the maker’s site for the last update date, the tested WordPress version and whether it is still available. A plugin that has been closed, like WP eCommerce, receives no security fixes through the directory. Trust signals also matter once the store is live; see why trust badges are important for e-commerce, and make sure the store handles customer data correctly with our guide to making a WordPress website compliant with GDPR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best e-commerce plugin for WordPress?
WooCommerce is the most widely used WordPress e-commerce plugin, with more than 7 million active installations according to WordPress.org as of September 2026. Its core is free and open source, and paid extensions add features such as subscriptions and bookings.
Is WooCommerce free?
Yes. The WooCommerce core plugin is free, according to its WordPress.org listing. Store owners still pay for hosting and a domain, and many extensions, themes and payment services carry their own fees.
Can I use Shopify with WordPress?
Yes. Shopify offers a free official WordPress plugin that adds Shopify products and collections to WordPress pages and uses Shopify’s checkout. It requires a paid Shopify plan, and the plugin is downloaded from Shopify rather than the WordPress.org directory.
Is WP eCommerce still available?
No. WP eCommerce was closed in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory on February 16, 2024 for a security issue and is not available for download, according to WordPress.org.
Is MemberPress an e-commerce plugin?
MemberPress is a WordPress membership plugin used to sell subscriptions, paid content and courses. As of September 2026 it is sold in annual plans starting at $199.50 for the first year, according to the MemberPress pricing page; prices change.
1 Comment
Great job! Thank you very much for your hard research.
I’d like to refer you one more useful plugin called WC Checkout Fields Editor. It’s a fantastic plugin to help you manage your checkout page beautifully. It enables you to manage billing address, shipping address and additional at the checkout page effectively.