Freedom251 › Ecommerce platforms
Phoenix Cart
What Phoenix Cart is
Phoenix Cart is independent, open-source ecommerce software for merchants who want to run stores on their own hosting. Its self-hosted web core sells physical and digital products, supports multichannel sales, and has no stated product limits or transaction fees. The free Phoenix Cart plan includes unlimited products, orders, and customers, while the maker says the core has no monthly platform fee. International selling includes multiple currencies, languages, and local tax rules. PayPal, Stripe, and offline payments are built in, with addons available for more payment methods. Customer emails, confirmations, and order updates can be sent automatically, and abandoned-cart recovery is supported. Themes and extensions allow customization without coding to start. Installation can use Softaculous, Installatron, or a manual GitHub download and server upload. PHP hosting and at least one SQL database are required, with MySQL and MariaDB supported. An addon marketplace and community support forum are available.
Who it suits
It suits shopowners seeking self-hosted control of store, customer, and sales data. Agencies, freelancers, and developer shops can choose the agency membership tier for client projects.
What it does well
- Free core supports unlimited products, orders, and customers
- No transaction fee is listed
- Supports physical and digital products
- Multi-currency and multi-language selling included
- Themes and extensions support customization
What to know first
- Requires PHP hosting and an SQL database
- Self-hosted installation requires server setup
- Some addons are paid
- Agency tier costs £99 per month
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Cart | £0 forever · Unlimited products · Unlimited orders · Unlimited customers | Free |
| Code Co-op | Members contribute £10 per month · Exclusive addons · Custom features · Growing library of tools · Private Co-op forum · Supports project development | £10 a month |
| Phoenix Cart Core | Free to use · self-hosted installation | Free |
| Code Co-op Founding Member | Monthly; page gives approximate prices of $13 USD and 11 Euro · At least one new addon each month · previous 10 monthly addons on joining · private forum access | £10 a month |
| Agencies & Developers | Monthly; page gives approximate prices of $105 USD and 90 Euro · Everything in Founding Member tier · commercial license for client work · unlimited client projects | £99 a month |
As phoenixcart.org lists them, read 20 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Phoenix Cart provides a self-hosted store core with broad product, payment, and international selling support. Its main trade-off is handling hosting and installation yourself, with optional paid memberships and addons for additional services.
Facts from Phoenix Cart's own pages
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Yes · phoenixcart.org, 20 Sept 2026
- Addons
- The maker's addon library lists both free and paid community addons across areas including payments, shipping, themes, discounts and security. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- App marketplace
- Yes · phoenixcart.org, 20 Sept 2026
- Audience
- The maker describes the Code Co-op as a way for businesses that rely on Phoenix Cart to help fund development, and its higher tier targets agencies, freelancers and developer shops. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Customization
- Merchants can use themes and extensions to customize a store, and the page says no coding is required to start. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Digital products
- Yes · phoenixcart.org, 20 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · phoenixcart.org, 20 Sept 2026
- Hosting model
- self-hosted · phoenixcart.org, 20 Sept 2026
- Hosting requirements
- The project README says installation requires PHP hosting and at least one SQL database, with MySQL or MariaDB supported. · github.com, 5 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Phoenix Cart can be installed through Softaculous or Installatron, or manually by downloading it from GitHub and uploading it to a server. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- International selling
- Multi-currency, multi-language support and local tax rules are built in. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Order handling
- Customer emails, confirmations and updates are sent automatically. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Ownership
- The maker says merchants keep control of their customer and sales data and pay no monthly platform fees for the core. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Payments
- PayPal, Stripe and offline payments are included, and addons can add extra payment methods. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Product
- Phoenix Cart is independent open source eCommerce software for shopowners who want control of their online stores. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Products
- The core supports selling physical or digital products, with no product limits or extra fees stated on the page. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Sales channels
- multichannel · phoenixcart.org, 20 Sept 2026
- Security
- The homepage describes Phoenix Cart as reliable and secure but provides no named security certification or compliance standard there. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker links to an open community help and support forum where shopowners can ask other shopowners for help. · phoenixcart.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Transaction fee
- none · phoenixcart.org, 20 Sept 2026
Where Phoenix Cart stands on Freedom251
- Ecommerce platforms#96 of 280