WordPress is an affordable and fully customizable blank canvas to create an ecommerce store. But it can seem a little daunting. The default WordPress site is incredibly basic and doesn’t even have an ecommerce storefront. Thankfully, there are plugins that can add the functionality or customizability you need.
In this article, we’ll talk about:
- What are the best free WordPress plugins for an ecommerce store?
- How do they help?
- Where can you find them?
If you’re looking for free e-commerce plugins for WordPress, this article will be your one-stop shop for them all.
TL;DR: There are plugins for any ecommerce function you need and multiple plugins that can do the same job. The important thing is to look out for well-written plugins that aren’t buggy. However, wading through reviews is time-consuming. So we’ve tested plugins and come out with the ultimate list below. Our first recommendation is to install MalCare to protect your store from day one.
With a vast market of free WordPress plugins at your fingertips, navigating the necessities and functions can be difficult. If you’re new to ecommerce stores, you may struggle with knowing what your store needs. To make this article a little more helpful, we thought it was best to categorise the plugins as follows:
Free WordPress plugins for e-commerce store content and customization
- WooCommerce – ecommerce storefront
- Elementor – page design and customization
- Easy Digital Downloads – downloadable goods
- Simple Membership – Membership functionality
- Subscriptions for WooCommerce – subscription management
Free WordPress plugins for managing eCommerce transactions
- WooCommerce Multilingual and Multicurrency – international transactions
- WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway – Accept payments
- WooCommerce Tax – calculate taxes
Free WordPress plugins for e-Commerce shipping, delivery and fulfilment
- Order tracking – WordPress Status Tracking – Tracking status of orders
- WooCommerce Shipping – manage shipping
Free WordPress plugins for e-Commerce marketing and sales
- RankMath – SEO
- Google Site Kit – traffic analysis
- Ultimate Social Media Sharing icons – social media sharing
- WPForms – forms builder
- Hubspot – email marketing and live chat
Free WordPress plugins for e-Commerce store essentials
- Airlift – performance
- MalCare – security
- Real Simple SSL – SSL encryption
- Akismet Anti-Spam – spam prevention
Best free WordPress plugins for e-commerce store
We’ve ranked the plugins by the number of active installations. Active installations can be a good sign of the popularity and quality of plugins. While the plugins on this list are free (or have free versions), we must mention that some premium plugins are worth the investment.
For example, BlogVault is a premium backup plugin that takes real-time backups automatically. This saves you the trouble of manually backing up your ecommerce site on a regular basis. MalCare, a security plugin on this list, has a free version and some premium plans.
While the free security plugin will protect your site with a firewall and scan for malware every day, in case your site does get hacked, the premium plan will help you reverse the damage with one-click cleanups.
With that in mind, let’s dive into our list of the best WordPress eCommerce plugins.
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the first step to building an e-commerce site on WordPress. It’s a blank canvas that allows you to sell anything, from anywhere. It is designed to integrate well with other plugins or extensions that add more flexibility. It’s got a dashboard that helps you manage every aspect of your orders, right out of the box.
What does it do?
- Creates product/service listings
- Sets up shipping configurations
- Sets up flexible payment methods
- Manages orders on dashboard
Why do we recommend it?
- Easy install and setup
- Integrates easily
- Developer-friendly
2. Elementor
Elementor is our favourite page builder because of how easy it makes customising your WooCommerce pages. It has a great premium version but the free version is chock-full of basic widgets that allow you to insert images, text, buttons, tabs, icons, and so much more. It’s especially useful if you use the plugin to edit pre-designed Elementor templates that suit your business.
What does it do?
- Adds headings and titles
- Inserts and edit images
- Creates buttons or icons
- Displays product photos
- Modifies layouts of widgets
Why do we recommend it?
- Great community
- Superb support team
- Developer-friendly
Alternatives: Gutenberg
3. Real Simple SSL
As an e-commerce store, you will be handling a lot of private customer data. You need to be able to protect this data. Real Simple SSL can be your saving grace. It helps with migrating from HTTP to HTTPS in just one click. In fact, no matter what type of site you own, we recommend you install this WordPress plugin.
What does it do?
- Offers easy SSL migration
- Monitors server health
- Protects site visitor data
- Offers privacy controls
Why do we recommend it?
- Necessary for security
- Easy install and setup
Alternatives: WP Encryption
4. Akismet Spam Protection
Spam comments can be frustrating and a pain to manually delete or block. If comments are an important part of your e-commerce store, Akismet Spam Protection has a free version that can help you manage them. It monitors your comment section for spam and misleading links. It keeps track of the comment history and enables you to block them, if you want. It’s the best way to keep your comment section interactive.
What does it do?
- Monitors comments for spam
- Logs the status of comments
- Exposes all misleading links
- Blocks worst spam comments
Why do we recommend it?
- Easy-to-use plugin
- Great support team
Alternatives: Titan Anti-spam and Security
5. Contact Forms by WPForms
WPForms is a popular free WordPress plugin for ecommerce stores because it helps you easily create all types of forms. You can create forms for your contact pages, billing details, registration pages, or even conduct surveys. The plugin comes with a library of pre-designed templates that saves you the trouble of creating a page from scratch.
What does it do?
- Offers pre-designed templates
- Helps with entry management
- Provides instant notifications
- Creates high performance forms
- Creates multi-page forms
- Adds functionality to upload files
- Creates custom files
- Offers smart captcha functionality
Why do we recommend it?
- Drag-and-drop builder
- Easy-to-use
Alternatives: Contact Form 7
6. Site Kit by Google
Site Kit by Google is a free ecommerce plugin for WordPress that collects data from other Google tools like GA4 and Google Ads. It avoids the need to install individual plugins on your site and reduces the time it takes to gather data from different sources for analytics. It’s incredibly easy to use too.
What does it do?
- Provides stats on WordPress dashboard
- Provides stats from Google tools
- Offers page-wise analytics metrics
Why do we recommend it?
- Quick install and setup
- Easy-to-manage Google tools
Alternatives: Exact Metrics
7. RankMath
A WooCommerce SEO plugin like RankMath helps you understand the Google search engine and make changes that earn you higher rankings. We recommend the plugin because of how good their AI is. It understands your site’s content and offers suggestions that are designed to optimise your ecommerce store for a search engine.
What does it do?
- Suggests changes with AI
- Offers keyword information
- Helps with smart linking
- Eases schema markups
- Suggests related keywords
Why do we recommend it?
- Great documentation
- Amazing support team
Alternatives: Yoast SEO
8. WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway
To accept credit card payments, your WooCommerce store needs to be integrated with payment gateways like Stripe. Stripe is a popular payment gateway that has the added bonus of being trustworthy amidst customers. WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway is a free plugin that helps you integrate your store with Stripe and accept payments in over 35 countries across the globe.
What does it do?
- Integrates with Stripe payment gateway
- Enables Apple Pay at checkout
- Enables Google Pay at checkout
Why do we recommend it?
- Reliable payment gateway
- Easy setup
Alternatives: PayPal
9. WooCommerce Tax
Taxes are notoriously difficult to understand and incorporate into an online store. WooCommerce Tax is an amazing plugin that helps you calculate and charge tax to the customer. If you have products that have variable tax, or want to sell in countries with differing tax laws, this is the plugin to help you out. WooCommerce Tax is a free ecommerce plugin for WordPress that does one job but does it well.
What does it do?
- Automatically calculates sales tax
- Automatically collects sales tax
Why do we recommend it?
- Built by good developers
- Has great documentation
- Great support team
Alternatives: EU/UK VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce
10. WooCommerce Shipping
Savings on shipping costs? Savings on time and effort? Automatically create shipping labels? These are the benefits of the free ecommerce plugin WooCommerce Shipping. It works with local US carriers and partners with popular postal services like DHL and USPS. These partnerships also come with discounted shipping rates that we’re sure you’d appreciate.
What does it do?
- Offers discounted shipping rates
- Provides labels for printing
- Enables international shipping
- Works with USPS and DHL
Why do we recommend it?
- Integrates well with WooCommerce
- Easy setup and installation
Alternatives: ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Plugin
11. Hubspot
Hubspot does a lot of things like email marketing and analytics. It also has a popular live-chat and chatbot feature, and provides you with all the tools you need to encourage impressions. It helps you build a relationship with your customers and has a great way to monitor and generate leads.
What does it do?
- Adds live chat functionality
- Adds chat bot functionality
- Helps with email marketing
- Uses a reporting dashboard
- Monitors contacts and leads
- Creates forms and popups
Why do we recommend it?
- Great reporting feature
- Full customizability
Alternatives: LiveChat and OptinMonster
12. MalCare
There are very few things, if any, that are more important to a site than security. Sure, you can manually scan for malware but it requires a lot of meticulous work. MalCare is a free plugin that can do it in minutes. All you need to do is sign up and add your site to the dashboard. We love how easy, effective, and powerful the plugin is.
What does it do?
- Instals a real time firewall
- Offers login protection
- Conducts daily malware scan
- Monitors for vulnerabilities
- Offers community support
Note: While MalCare has a great free version, when it comes to important things like security, we recommend you upgrade to one of the premium plans. Every site should have the following features:
- Malware removal
- Bot protection
- Performance monitoring
- Personalised support
Why do we recommend it?
- Great for single sites
- Regularly updated
- Automatic security for your site
- Doesn’t put a load on your server
13. Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons
Sharing your products on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram can showcase your products to a larger audience. It’s also nice if your site visitors can find you on social media platforms and follow your work. This is why a free plugin like this one is useful.
What does it do?
- Offers 16 social media icons
- Attaches actions to icons
- Displays sharing icons on pages
- Customises locations of icons
Why do we recommend it?
- Great tool for marketing
- Easy to install
Alternatives: Sassy Social Share
14. WooCommerce Multilingual and Multicurrency
If you’re selling to a global audience, making sure that your customers can understand your content and buy products in their preferred currency is crucial. WooCommerce Multilingual and Multicurrency is a free WordPress plugin for e-commerce stores that can do it all. It reduces the hassle you go through and aids you in selling to a larger audience.
What does it do?
- Displays multiple currencies
- Adds currency switchers
- Helps format currencies
- Helps with content translation
- Accepts local payment methods
Why do we recommend it?
- Easy to use
- Easy set up
Alternatives: Weglot Translate and CURCY
15. Easy Digital Downloads
While WooCommerce natively supports the sale of downloadable products, Easy Digital Downloads specializes in it. You have the ability to keep digital downloads behind a paywall, so that customers that haven’t paid can’t access them. The plugin also manages your orders and offers a direct checkout functionality if your customer wants to skip the cart. It’s a great way to grow a digital products WooCommerce store.
What does it do?
- Creates detailed reports
- Showcases products
- Protects product files
- Provides clean checkout
- Manages order status
- Manages customer details
- Accepts Stripe payments
- Offers discount functionality
Why do we recommend it?
- Highly customisable code
- Compatible with any theme
- Great documentation
Alternatives: Download Monitor
16. Simple Membership
Simple Membership is a popular membership plugin that has an amazing free version. It enables you to monetise your content and prevent non members from accessing it. You can encourage more memberships by teasing the exclusive content. The plugin also helps you customise the customer experience by creating a login page and member profiles. Most importantly, we love the plugin for its admin functionality. For example, you can manage every aspect of your memebrships from approving them to providing a good login experience.
What does it do?
- Showcases teaser content
- Enables debugging
- Enables content protection
- Approves members manually
- Enables members to cancel easily
- Creates front-end profiles
- Creates front-end login pages
Why do we recommend it?
- Fully customisable
- Easy membership setup
- Great admin functionality
Alternatives: Ultimate Member
17. Subscriptions for WooCommerce
A free subscription plugin like Subscriptions for WooCommerce empowers you to get regular payments. IIf you’re looking for a free WordPress plugin that can convert simple products to subscription products, we think you’d love this plugin. It’s packed with all the features you’d need to manage a successful subscription site.
What does it do?
- Accepts recurring payments
- Offers free trial functionality
- Manages payment frequencies
- Manages subscription orders
- Monitors recurring transactions
- Limits free trial frequency
- Enables easy cancellations
Why do we recommend it?
- Compatible with payment gateways
- Easy-to-customise subscription plans
Alternatives: YITH WooCommerce Subscription
18. Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking
As your ecommerce business grows, managing orders can be difficult. The Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking plugin is a free ecommerce plugin for your WooCommerce store that does exactly what its name suggestd. You can not only customise your tracking but easily update statuses of orders. This helps customers keep track of where their purchases are.
What does it do?
- Creates infinite orders
- Enables search for orders
- Updates order status
- Creates custom statuses
- Enables deleting of orders
- Customises tracking pages
- Customises timezone settings
Why do we recommend it?
- Helps improve customer experience
- Translates to multiple languages
Alternatives: Orders Tracking for WooCommerce
19. Airlift
A slew of factors go into making a page rank well on Google search results: page load speed being one of them. Things like badly written code or large image files can slow your site down. Airlift is a complete performance solution that optimises your site files on multiple fronts to make your site lightning fast. You can sign up for Airlift now to experience the plugin.
What does it do?
- Enables CDN on your site
- Optimises the site’s CSS
- Enables caching on the site
- Helps with image optimisation
Why do we recommend it?
- Easy-to-use
- Quick install
- Great support
Note: While we’ve listed free plugins, we’d be remiss to not reiterate that not all free plugins are great. There are some premium plugins that are better than their free counterparts, and worth the investment. One such example is BlogVault, a backup plugin that is designed for ecommerce sites. It takes real-time backups that help you avoid any loss of data.
How to pick the best free ecommerce plugins for your WordPress site?
Picking a free WordPress plugin for e-commerce store can be difficult, but by a general rule of thumb, the following are the top factors to look out for:
- Compatibility: The plugin needs to be compatible with the WordPress version that your site has, the theme you’ve installed, and all the other plugins you’ve installed. We recommend you check the reviews and WordPress community for any issues other people have faced.
- Rate of updates: Every new update comes with bug and vulnerability fixes. A vulnerable plugin can be hacked and used to hack your site. This is why we also recommend installing a security plugin like MalCare that warns you of vulnerabilities as soon as they’re identified.
- Support team: If you’re new to WordPress, you may need some help using plugins to customise your site. A great support team can help you out in a jiffy. We recommend you check reviews for evidence of a good support team.
- Documentation: Along similar lines of support is documentation. Documentation has information about the plugin, how to install it, how to use it, and any information that a user will find useful. We recommend looking for documentation before you install the plugin.
- Active installations: This shows the number of people that use the plugin. It’s a sign of how popular the plugin is. A popular plugin is usually a good bet.
Final thoughts
Plugins are an absolute blessing…..as long as they don’t have bugs and don’t disrupt your site. We recommend you install a security plugin like MalCare to scan for vulnerabilities, especially when you manage a site that stores customer information.
FAQs
What are the best free WordPress plugins for ecommerce?
The best plugins for a WordPress ecommerce store are:
- WooCommerce
- Elementor
- Easy Digital Downloads
- Simple Membership
- Subscriptions for WooCommerce
- WooCommerce Multilingual and Multi-Currency
- WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway
- WooCommerce Tax
- Order Ttracking – WordPress Status Tracking
- WooCommerce Shipping
- RankMath
- Google Site Kit
- Ultimate Social Media Sharing icons
- WPForms
- Hubspot
- Airlift
- MalCare
- Real Simple SSL
- Akismet Anti-Spam
Is WordPress free for ecommerce stores?
Aside from the domain and hosting fees, your entire WordPress ecommerce site can be free. There are free plugins that help you make the most out of your WordPress site.
How do I add ecommerce to WooCommerce for free?
Install WooCommerce, a free WordPress plugin to add ecommerce functionality to your site. It allows you to add products and accept cash on delivery payments, out of the box.
