ChatGPT answers, unedited

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget where you want full control, I’d look first at WooCommerce.

Why WooCommerce fits

• Self-hosted: your WordPress/WooCommerce installation, database, products, customer data, and code live on infrastructure you control.
• No WooCommerce platform fee: WooCommerce says there are no transaction fees beyond whatever your payment processor charges. WooCommerce
• Low hardware/hosting requirements: a modest shared host or inexpensive VPS can handle a small catalog.
• Excellent for handmade products: product variants, inventory, coupons, shipping, photos, blogging/content, and SEO are all readily available.
• Huge ecosystem: you can add payment, shipping, tax, email, accounting, and other functionality without building everything yourself.
• You aren't locked into a hosted service: WooCommerce describes itself as open source with ownership of your store and data. WooCommerce

woocommerce.com

How I'd compare the main choices

PrestaShop is also genuinely self-hostable and open source; its current version 9 includes a redesigned admin, API, and updated Symfony stack. PrestaShop PrestaShop

Medusa and Saleor are more appropriate if you specifically want a headless/custom-built storefront. That gives you considerable control, but you're taking on substantially more development and maintenance than you need for a small handmade shop. OSSAlt Medusa Documentation

A cheap setup I'd use

Domain → inexpensive Linux hosting → WordPress → WooCommerce → payment processor

Start with:

• inexpensive shared hosting rather than a VPS
• a free/lightweight WooCommerce-compatible theme
• WooCommerce's core functionality
• only the plugins you actually need
• automated backups
• HTTPS
• a payment gateway such as Stripe/PayPal, where the processor—not WooCommerce—handles payment processing

The important caveat is that open source isn't literally zero-cost: you'll still pay for hosting, domain registration, payment processing, and potentially premium extensions. You'll also be responsible for updates, backups, and security. WooCommerce ossium

Bottom line: for a small handmade shop, I'd choose WooCommerce unless you already have significant web-development skills and specifically want a headless architecture. It gives you a particularly good combination of ownership, low initial cost, and not having to build your ecommerce system from scratch.

A cheap setup I'd use

For a small handmade goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce self-hosted on WordPress. It gives you the most control per dollar: your data, code, hosting, themes, and checkout flow are yours, with a huge ecosystem of extensions. Toolradar

Good options:

• Best overall: WooCommerce — easiest to self-host cheaply, great for handmade catalogs, blogs, SEO, coupons, shipping plugins, and custom themes. Open Source Groups
• Simpler dedicated store: OpenCart — lighter and less tied to a CMS, but a smaller ecosystem. Velocity
• More “pure ecommerce” feel: PrestaShop — stronger built-in store features, but usually more setup and hosting overhead. Open Source Groups
• Developer-focused: Medusa — maximum customization, but you’ll build more yourself; not ideal if you want to spend time making products rather than coding. Open Business Network

For your situation, a practical stack:

• $5–15/month VPS or shared hosting
• WordPress + WooCommerce
• Free theme initially
• Stripe/PayPal for payments
• Regular backups + updates

Avoid Magento unless you expect a large catalog and have technical help; it’s powerful but expensive to maintain. Velocity

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce.

woocommerce.com is open source, self-hostable, free to download, and gives you ownership of the store and its data. You can choose your own hosting and add functionality through its huge ecosystem of extensions. WooCommerce

My shortlist

Why WooCommerce fits you

For handmade goods, you probably need relatively straightforward things: products with variations, inventory, photos, shipping, coupons, payments, customer accounts and perhaps a blog. WooCommerce already handles physical products and has extensive extension/customization capabilities. WooCommerce

The important distinction is software cost vs. operating cost. Self-hosting doesn't make the store completely free—you'll still pay for hosting, your domain, payment processing, backups, and potentially premium extensions. But you aren't paying a platform subscription just to keep your store running.

PrestaShop would be my second choice if you don't want WordPress at all. Its open-source edition is freely downloadable and designed specifically as a standalone ecommerce platform, with catalog, inventory, orders, shipping and payment functionality built in. PrestaShop PrestaShop

I wouldn't start with Medusa or Saleor for this use case. They're excellent if you're a developer who wants to build a custom/headless commerce system, but that flexibility also means substantially more engineering and maintenance. WP Bundle WP Bundle

Bottom line: start with self-hosted WooCommerce + inexpensive managed/shared WordPress hosting. Keep the number of plugins small, use automatic backups, and avoid expensive “all-in-one” plugin bundles until you actually need their features.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need Etsy/Instagram integration, and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5/$10/$20), I can give you a very lean self-hosted stack and estimated monthly cost.

If your priorities are full ownership + self-hosting + very low cost, I’d pick WooCommerce.

My ranking for a small handmade-goods shop

Why WooCommerce

WooCommerce itself is free and open source, and you can choose your own host. It doesn't charge a platform revenue share; you'll primarily pay for hosting, payment processing, and any optional extensions. WooCommerce WooCommerce

For handmade products specifically, it's a particularly good fit because you can easily handle:

• Product variations — size, color, material, etc.
• Inventory and made-to-order products
• Coupons and sales
• Shipping rules
• Product galleries
• Customer accounts
• Reviews
• Digital products if you eventually add patterns, tutorials, etc.
• A blog/content site alongside the shop

Its enormous WordPress ecosystem also means you can usually find an existing extension instead of paying someone to build a feature from scratch. WooCommerce

The catch: you're responsible for updates, backups, security, and keeping plugins compatible. Open source means you own the system; it doesn't mean zero maintenance.

What I'd actually build on a tight budget

I'd keep it boring:

Linux VPS → WordPress → WooCommerce → free/lightweight theme → Stripe/PayPal → automated backups

You don't need a fancy headless architecture. For a small handmade shop, spending your money on products, photography, packaging, and marketing is likely to produce more value than engineering a custom storefront.

PrestaShop would be my second choice if you don't want WordPress at all. It's a dedicated ecommerce platform, open source, PHP-based, and designed specifically around stores rather than content publishing. PrestaShop Project PrestaShop Project

I'd avoid Magento, Medusa, and Saleor for your situation unless you already have significant development skills. They're powerful, but you're likely to turn "save money by self-hosting" into "become the unpaid IT department."

Bottom line: start with WooCommerce. It gives a small shop probably the best combination of $0 software license, cheap hosting, huge ecosystem, and genuine control. WooCommerce

If you tell me roughly how many products you have and your monthly budget for hosting (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can give you a specific dirt-cheap self-hosted stack.

For a small handmade goods shop, a tight budget, and a desire for full control, I would usually recommend starting with WooCommerce on self-hosted WordPress. It gives you the best balance of ownership, cost, ease of use, and flexibility. Open Source Groups Open Source Groups

My ranking for your situation

1. WooCommerce + WordPress — Best overall choice

Best if: you want to run the shop yourself without becoming a full-time sysadmin.

Pros

• Free, open-source, self-hosted
• Works on inexpensive shared hosting or a small VPS
• Huge ecosystem of themes, payment gateways, shipping tools, and handmade-product-friendly plugins
• Excellent for storytelling: blogs, maker stories, tutorials, SEO content
• Easy to add: - product variations (sizes, colors, materials)
• custom orders
• coupons
• galleries
• customer accounts

Cons

• You need to keep WordPress, plugins, and security updated
• Too many plugins can slow it down
• You are responsible for backups and maintenance

Typical budget

• Domain: ~$10–20/year
• Hosting: ~$5–15/month to start
• Optional premium theme/plugins: $0–200/year

For most handmade sellers, this is the sweet spot. Open Source Groups

2. PrestaShop — Best if you want a “pure ecommerce” system

Best if: your store is becoming more catalog-heavy.

Pros

• Built specifically for ecommerce rather than added onto a CMS
• Strong product/catalog management
• Good for multiple languages and currencies
• More “store manager” focused than WordPress

Cons

• Hosting requirements are a bit higher
• Extensions can add up in cost
• Less beginner-friendly than WooCommerce

A good choice if you expect hundreds or thousands of products. Velocity AI

3. OpenCart — Best lightweight option

Best if: you want something simple and low-resource.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Runs on modest hosting
• Straightforward admin panel

Cons

• Smaller ecosystem
• Less flexible for content/branding
• You may outgrow it sooner

Velocity AI

4. Magento Open Source — Probably not for you

Best if: you have developer resources and a large operation.

It is extremely powerful, but hosting, upgrades, and customization are much more demanding. For a small handmade shop, it is usually unnecessary complexity. Velocity AI

A low-cost setup I would choose

Stack:

• VPS or managed WordPress hosting
• WordPress
• WooCommerce
• Free lightweight theme (for example a block-based WordPress theme)
• Stripe/PayPal payments
• Automated backups
• Cloudflare for DNS/security

Keep it simple:

• 20–100 products → WooCommerce is ideal
• 100–2,000 products → WooCommerce still works with good hosting
• 5,000+ products or complex inventory → consider PrestaShop

Avoid these traps

• Installing 40 plugins “because they’re free”
• Self-hosting on an old home computer unless you enjoy server administration
• Choosing a platform because it is “more powerful” than you need
• Ignoring backups and updates

For a handmade business, your competitive advantage is usually photos, branding, product stories, and customer experience, not having the most technically advanced cart.

If you tell me:

1. roughly how many products you sell,
2. whether you already use WordPress, and
3. whether you want to sell on Etsy/marketplaces too,

I can narrow this down to a specific setup.

If your priorities are full control + very low cost + a small handmade-goods catalog, I’d choose WooCommerce.

My ranking for your situation

1. WooCommerce — best overall

• Free/open source and self-hostable.
• Runs on ordinary PHP/WordPress hosting, so you don't need a complicated server stack.
• Huge ecosystem for payments, shipping, taxes, product variants, coupons, etc.
• Particularly good if you want to write blog posts, tutorials, or SEO content alongside your shop.
• WooCommerce explicitly supports choosing your own host and owning your store/data. WooCommerce
• Downside: too many plugins can create maintenance/security headaches.
• PrestaShop — best if you want a dedicated ecommerce application

• More ecommerce-centric than WooCommerce.
• Open source, self-hostable, PHP-based, and highly customizable. PrestaShop Project
• Good choice if your store is likely to become substantially more complex.
• Downside: somewhat more involved to administer, and its ecosystem can involve paid modules.
• Medusa — best if you're a developer

• Modern, API-first, Node.js/TypeScript architecture.
• Excellent if you want to build a completely custom storefront.
• But you're effectively assembling a commerce application rather than installing a ready-to-use shop. Its own documentation shows that self-hosting involves deploying the application and storefront separately. Medusa Docs Medusa Docs
• I wouldn't pick it for a tiny shop unless you enjoy development.
• Saleor — powerful but overkill

• Excellent headless/GraphQL architecture.
• Much more infrastructure and development work than I'd recommend for a small handmade business.

What I'd actually build

For a tight budget, I'd keep it boring:

WordPress + WooCommerce → inexpensive VPS/shared hosting → your own domain → Stripe/PayPal → automated backups

You could run the whole thing yourself without paying a monthly ecommerce-platform fee. The unavoidable costs are hosting, domain registration, payment processing, and your time maintaining the software. Open Source Groups

One important distinction: "open source" doesn't mean "zero cost." Self-hosting gives you control, but you're taking responsibility for updates, backups, security, uptime, and payment integration.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need shipping/tax automation, and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can give you a specific self-hosted stack and estimated monthly cost.

My pick: WooCommerce

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d choose WooCommerce and self-host it on inexpensive Linux hosting.

WooCommerce is free/open source, gives you control of the code and store data, and doesn't charge a platform revenue share. WooCommerce WooCommerce

Why it fits your situation

• Low upfront cost: the core software is free. WooCommerce
• Easy to self-host: it runs as a WordPress plugin, so inexpensive PHP/MySQL hosting works. WooCommerce
• Huge ecosystem: you can find extensions for payments, shipping, taxes, coupons, inventory, product variations, etc., without building everything yourself.
• Excellent for handmade products: variations such as size/color, made-to-order products, inventory quantities, galleries, and custom product pages are straightforward.
• You retain control: you choose the host and can move the entire store elsewhere later. WooCommerce
• You can start lean: don't install 30 plugins just because they're available. A small store can run with WordPress + WooCommerce + a lightweight theme + payment/shipping integrations.

How I'd rank the alternatives

OpenCart is particularly attractive if you want a standalone, lightweight shopping cart rather than WordPress. PrestaShop is more feature-heavy and is a good choice for larger catalogs or more sophisticated international selling. ShopAppy PrestaShop Project

I would not start with Magento, Saleor, or Medusa for a small handmade shop unless you specifically want to build and maintain a custom technical stack. They can give you tremendous control, but the development/maintenance burden defeats the purpose of having a tight budget.

A sensible $10–30/month setup

I'd aim for:

Linux VPS/shared hosting → WordPress → WooCommerce → free/lightweight theme → Stripe/PayPal → your domain → automated backups

The important caveat is that "open source" doesn't mean zero cost. You'll still pay for hosting, domain registration, payment processing, backups, and potentially premium extensions. WooCommerce itself currently has no monthly platform fee or revenue share. WooCommerce

Bottom line: If your priority is maximum control for minimum money without turning ecommerce into a software-engineering project, choose WooCommerce. WooCommerce

If you tell me roughly how many products you have and whether you need shipping, custom orders, or local pickup, I can also give you a very lean self-hosted stack and estimated monthly cost.

For a small handmade goods shop, a tight budget, and a desire for full control, I would usually recommend:

Best overall pick: WooCommerce

woocommerce.com

Why it fits your situation:

• ✅ Cheapest path to a real store
• ✅ Huge ecosystem of themes, payment gateways, shipping tools, and handmade-product-friendly features
• ✅ Easy to self-host on inexpensive shared hosting or a small VPS
• ✅ You control your database, files, domain, and customer data
• ✅ Great for storytelling, blogging, SEO, and product photography (important for handmade goods)

The tradeoff:

• You need to keep WordPress, plugins, and backups maintained.
• Too many plugins can make a store slow, so keep the setup lean. WP Bundle

A realistic low-budget setup:

• Domain: ~$10–20/year
• Hosting: ~$5–15/month
• WordPress + WooCommerce: free
• Theme: start free
• Payments: Stripe/PayPal (you pay payment processing fees, not WooCommerce fees)

Other good options

PrestaShop

prestashop-project.org

Good if:

• You want a store-first system rather than a website with a store added on
• You expect more complex catalogs, variants, or international selling

Less ideal because:

• Hosting and customization can become more involved
• The ecosystem is smaller for a solo maker compared with WooCommerce Open Source Groups

OpenCart

opencart.com

Good if:

• You want something lightweight
• You have a simple catalog

Less ideal because:

• Less content/marketing flexibility than WordPress
• Fewer “brand story” tools for handmade businesses

Medusa

medusajs.com

Good if:

• You are a developer
• You want a completely custom storefront

Less ideal because:

• You typically need to build more pieces yourself
• It is designed more for custom/headless commerce than a solo artisan launching quickly WP Bundle

Platforms I would avoid for your situation

Magento Open Source

Powerful, but usually too heavy for a small handmade shop. Hosting, updates, and customization can consume more time and money than the store itself. Velocity

Saleor

Excellent technology, but generally aimed at teams with developers and more complex commerce needs. WP Bundle

My recommended stack for a handmade shop

Simple + affordable:

• WordPress
• WooCommerce
• Lightweight theme (avoid bloated multipurpose themes)
• Stripe or PayPal
• Automated backups
• Cloudflare for DNS/security
• A small VPS once traffic grows

Add later:

• Email marketing
• Product reviews
• Inventory tracking
• Wholesale features
• Custom product options (engraving, sizes, colors, personalization)

For a one-person or small-team handmade brand, WooCommerce gives the best balance of ownership, cost, flexibility, and not having to become a full-time server administrator. toolradar.com

My recommended stack for a handmade shop

Simple + affordable:

If your priorities are full control + very low cost + a small handmade-goods catalog, I’d pick woocommerce.com.

My ranking

1. WooCommerce — best overall for you

• Free and open source; you self-host it on your own server.
• Runs on WordPress, so you get an enormous ecosystem of themes, plugins, SEO tools, shipping integrations, etc.
• You own the store and its data and can modify the source code. WooCommerce
• Excellent for handmade products where you may want rich product pages, blogging, galleries, custom options, and relatively simple inventory.
• Downside: WordPress + plugins means you have to handle updates, backups, security, and plugin conflicts.
• prestashop-project.org — best if ecommerce itself is the priority

• Purpose-built ecommerce rather than an ecommerce plugin for a CMS.
• Strong catalog, inventory, orders, shipping, payment, and customization features. PrestaShop PrestaShop Project
• PrestaShop 9 is based on a modern Symfony/PHP stack and has an improved admin/API architecture. PrestaShop
• Downside: I'd expect a somewhat steeper learning/maintenance curve than WooCommerce, and extensions can add up in cost.
• opencart.com — good lightweight alternative

• Free, open source, and specifically designed for online stores. OpenCart Documentation
• Relatively lightweight and straightforward.
• Downside: Its ecosystem and flexibility aren't as attractive to me as WooCommerce for a small creative brand.

What I'd actually build

For a small handmade shop, I'd keep the stack boring:

$5–15/month VPS → Ubuntu/Debian → WordPress → WooCommerce → free/lightweight theme → Stripe/PayPal → automated backups.

You don't need Kubernetes, Docker clusters, headless commerce, or a fancy React frontend. Those can give you more technical control while actually giving you less time to run your shop.

Your biggest ongoing costs will likely be hosting, domain registration, payment processing, and any premium extensions—not WooCommerce itself. WooCommerce explicitly supports self-hosting and says the platform is free to download and modify. WooCommerce

Bottom line: For a one-person handmade-goods business, I'd start with WooCommerce. If you strongly dislike WordPress and want a dedicated ecommerce application, choose PrestaShop instead.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need variants/custom orders, and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can give you a dirt-cheap self-hosted setup with specific server specs and software.

My pick: woocommerce.com

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I'd choose WooCommerce + WordPress.

Why:

• No platform license fee — WooCommerce is open source and free to download/modify. WooCommerce
• Cheap hosting: it can run on ordinary PHP/WordPress hosting rather than requiring a more elaborate cloud stack.
• Huge ecosystem: shipping, payments, taxes, product options, coupons, inventory, SEO, and handmade-product-specific functionality are readily available.
• You control the data and code. WooCommerce explicitly supports choosing your own host and customizing the source. WooCommerce
• Easy to grow: you don't need to build a storefront from scratch, unlike headless platforms such as Medusa or Saleor. Toolradar

How I'd rank the alternatives

prestashop.com is probably my second choice. It's genuinely open source, self-hostable, and designed specifically as an ecommerce platform rather than a WordPress plugin. PrestaShop PrestaShop Project

I wouldn't start with Medusa or Saleor for your situation unless you're comfortable developing software. They're excellent when you want a highly customized headless architecture, but you're taking on considerably more infrastructure and development work. OSSAlt

A sensible $-minimal setup

I'd build it roughly like this:

WordPress + WooCommerce → inexpensive VPS/shared hosting → your own domain → Stripe/PayPal → free/lightweight theme → automated backups

The important distinction is that self-hosted doesn't mean zero cost. You'll still have hosting, domain, payment-processing fees, backups, and potentially paid extensions. But you avoid handing a percentage of every sale to an ecommerce SaaS platform.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need variants/custom orders, and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can give you a very lean self-hosted stack and estimated monthly cost.

My pick: WooCommerce

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I'd choose WooCommerce and self-host it.

WooCommerce is free/open source, gives you control over the code and store data, and can run on inexpensive WordPress hosting. Its huge extension ecosystem also means you can add shipping, payments, taxes, coupons, inventory, etc. without building everything yourself. WooCommerce WooCommerce

woocommerce.com

How I'd rank your options

The key distinction is that WooCommerce, PrestaShop and OpenCart give you a complete storefront + admin system, whereas Medusa and Saleor are more developer-oriented, headless commerce platforms that generally require you to build or integrate the storefront yourself. WP Bundle Toolradar

Why WooCommerce fits a handmade shop

You can start with:

• Cheap shared/VPS hosting
• Your own domain
• WordPress + WooCommerce
• A free theme
• Stripe/PayPal or another payment processor
• Basic shipping and tax plugins
• Automatic backups

The core WooCommerce software has no monthly subscription or revenue share; you'll still pay your payment processor, hosting, domain, and potentially some premium extensions. WooCommerce

And importantly, you don't have to start with a complicated headless architecture. Don't build a Next.js/Medusa/Saleor stack unless you actually need it. For a small catalog of handmade products, that adds maintenance rather than useful control.

When I'd choose something else

I'd consider PrestaShop if you want a dedicated ecommerce application rather than WordPress. It is also self-hostable and has an open-source core. PrestaShop Project

I'd choose Medusa if you're comfortable programming in TypeScript/Node.js and specifically want a highly customized headless storefront. Its architecture is much more developer-oriented. WP Bundle

I'd skip Saleor and Magento for your situation. They're powerful, but the additional infrastructure and development/maintenance burden aren't justified for a small handmade shop.

Bottom line: If your priorities are full ownership + very low cost + minimal technical hassle, start with self-hosted WooCommerce. Put your money into good hosting, backups, and security rather than an elaborate ecommerce stack.

For a small handmade goods shop, a tight budget, and a desire for full control, I would usually start with:

1. WooCommerce — best overall fit for most handmade shops

WP Bundle Open Source GroupsWhy I’d pick it:

• Lowest barrier to entry: runs on ordinary PHP/WordPress hosting.
• Huge ecosystem for handmade sellers: product variations, custom orders, coupons, shipping, taxes, galleries, SEO, blogging.
• You control your database, files, theme, and customer data.
• Easy to find help because so many developers know WordPress. WP Bundle

Typical budget setup:

• Small VPS/shared hosting: ~$5–20/month
• Domain: ~$10–20/year
• Free theme + free WooCommerce core
• Add paid plugins only when you actually need them

Downsides:

• You need to maintain WordPress updates, backups, security, and plugins.
• Too many plugins can slow the store down.

Best for:
A maker selling ceramics, candles, jewelry, art prints, clothing, crafts, etc.

2. PrestaShop — better if you want a “pure ecommerce” system

Velocity Open Source GroupsPros:

• Built specifically as a store, not a CMS with ecommerce added.
• Strong catalog, inventory, tax, and international selling features.
• Good if you expect many products or multiple languages. Open Source Groups

Cons:

• More technical than WooCommerce.
• Many useful modules/themes cost extra.
• Smaller ecosystem for casual DIY store owners.

Best for:
A growing handmade brand with hundreds or thousands of products.

3. OpenCart — lightweight and cheap

VelocityPros:

• Runs on modest hosting.
• Simple admin panel.
• Less “stuff” to maintain.

Cons:

• Smaller extension ecosystem.
• Less flexible for content marketing and storytelling.

Best for:
A straightforward catalog store where your products matter more than blogging/SEO.

4. Medusa — maximum control, but probably not for your first store

OSSAlt Open Source ProjectsPros:

• Modern developer-focused architecture.
• Great if you want a completely custom storefront.
• You own the backend and can build unusual shopping experiences.

Cons:

• You need programming skills.
• You build more yourself; it is not “install a theme and sell tomorrow.” OSSAlt

Best for:
A technical founder who wants a custom brand experience.

My recommendation for your situation

I’d choose:

Start: WooCommerce + WordPress
Hosting: inexpensive VPS or quality shared hosting
Theme: lightweight theme (avoid bloated “all-in-one” themes)
Payments: Stripe/PayPal or your local payment provider
Backups: automated daily backups
Security: automatic updates + 2FA

Spend your time on:

• great product photos
• descriptions and storytelling
• email collection
• packaging/fulfillment

—not building ecommerce infrastructure.

A good handmade shop usually does not need a complex commerce engine. WooCommerce gives you the most control per dollar, while leaving room to grow. WP Bundle Open Source Groups

If you tell me:

1. your technical comfort level (none / basic / developer),
2. number of products, and
3. whether you need custom orders or made-to-order workflows,

I can narrow it down further.

Spend your time on:

• great product photos
• descriptions and storytelling
• email collection
• packaging/fulfillment

—not building ecommerce infrastructure.

A good handmade shop usually does not need a complex commerce engine. WooCommerce gives you the most control per dollar, while leaving room to grow.

If you tell me:

If tight budget + self-hosting + full control are your priorities, I’d pick WooCommerce.

My shortlist

• 🥇 WooCommerce — best overall for a small handmade shop

• Free, open-source, and self-hostable.
• Runs on inexpensive PHP/WordPress hosting.
• Huge ecosystem of themes and extensions, so you can add shipping, payments, coupons, product variations, etc. without building everything yourself.
• Particularly good if you want a blog, tutorials, SEO content, and your shop together.
• WooCommerce says the core has no platform subscription or revenue share; you mainly pay for hosting, payment processing, and optional extensions. WooCommerce WooCommerce
• woocommerce.com
• 🥈 PrestaShop — best if you want a dedicated ecommerce system

• More ecommerce-focused than WooCommerce and doesn't depend on WordPress.
• Open-source and self-hostable, with strong catalog, inventory, localization, and payment capabilities. PrestaShop Project PrestaShop Project
• I'd choose it if your shop is likely to become fairly catalog-heavy.
• prestashop-project.org
• 🥉 OpenCart — worth considering for a very lightweight store

• Relatively modest server requirements and a straightforward traditional ecommerce setup.
• Less compelling than WooCommerce if you want lots of content/marketing functionality.
• Medusa — excellent, but probably overkill

• Modern, open-source, developer-oriented and self-hostable.
• Great if you want to build a highly customized React/Next.js storefront, but you're taking on considerably more development work. Medusa Docs
• I wouldn't choose it for a small handmade business unless you already code.

What I'd actually do

For a handmade shop with, say, 20–500 products, I'd run:

WordPress + WooCommerce → inexpensive VPS/shared host → free/lightweight theme → Stripe/PayPal or your preferred gateway → automated backups.

That gives you ownership of your store, database, product catalog, customer data, and code, without turning ecommerce into a software-development project. WooCommerce explicitly supports self-chosen hosting and source-level customization. WooCommerce

One important caveat: self-hosted doesn't mean zero cost. You'll still have hosting, domain, payment-processing fees, backups, security updates, and potentially paid plugins. The upside is that you're not paying a platform rent or surrendering control of the underlying store. WooCommerce

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need variants (sizes/colors), and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can give you a specific cheap self-hosted stack.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce.

woocommerce.com is open source, self-hostable, free to download, and gives you ownership of your store and data. It runs on WordPress, so you also get an enormous ecosystem of themes and extensions. WooCommerce WooCommerce

My ranking

Why WooCommerce fits you

• Very low starting cost: the software itself is free; you primarily pay for hosting, domain, payment processing, and anything you choose to add. WooCommerce
• Full control: you can choose your own host and access your store's code and data. WooCommerce
• Great for handmade products: product variations, inventory, photos, shipping, coupons, digital products, etc. are all well-supported.
• Easy to customize: WordPress makes it particularly good if your shop also needs a blog, tutorials, recipes, maker stories, or SEO content.
• You can start simple: don't install 30 plugins on day one. A lightweight theme + WooCommerce + payment/shipping essentials is enough.

When I'd choose PrestaShop instead

prestashop.com is my second choice if you want the website to be primarily an ecommerce application rather than a WordPress site. Its open-source edition is free to download and self-host, with catalog, inventory, orders, shipping, payments, SEO and other commerce functionality built into the platform. PrestaShop PrestaShop

PrestaShop also explicitly supports full store/data ownership and doesn't charge a commission on sales. PrestaShop

Bottom line: I'd start with WooCommerce on inexpensive VPS/shared hosting, keep the installation lean, and put your money into photography, packaging, and marketing rather than an elaborate ecommerce stack. If you tell me roughly how many products you have and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can give you a specific self-hosted setup.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d choose woocommerce.com.

It’s the best balance of control, low cost, ease of setup, and a huge ecosystem. WooCommerce is open source, self-hostable, and has no platform transaction fee beyond whatever your payment processor charges. WooCommerce WooCommerce

My ranking

Why WooCommerce fits you

• Very cheap to start: the software itself is free; your main costs are hosting, domain, payment processing, and any premium extensions you actually need. WooCommerce
• You own the store and data: you're not renting your storefront from a SaaS platform. WooCommerce
• Excellent for handmade products: product variations, inventory, coupons, shipping, taxes, physical products, and digital products are all well supported.
• Easy to customize: WordPress gives you an enormous ecosystem of themes and plugins, while WooCommerce itself exposes APIs and customization hooks. WooCommerce
• You don't need a developer: unlike Medusa/Saleor, you get a functioning storefront and admin interface rather than having to build much of the shopping experience yourself. Toolradar

What I'd actually build

For a really tight budget, I'd keep it boring:

VPS/shared hosting → WordPress → WooCommerce → free lightweight theme → Stripe/PayPal → automated backups

Don't install 30 plugins. Start with the essentials and add things only when you actually need them. Your biggest long-term expense with self-hosting isn't the software—it's maintenance, security, backups, and premium extensions.

I'd pick PrestaShop instead if you expect a substantially larger catalog or need sophisticated multilingual/multicurrency ecommerce. PrestaShop is also genuinely open source and self-hostable. PrestaShop Project PrestaShop Project

I'd pick Medusa only if you're comfortable developing software. It's powerful and self-hostable, but its storefront is a separate application, so you're taking on substantially more technical work. docs.medusajs.com docs.medusajs.com

Bottom line: WooCommerce is the sweet spot for a small handmade business that wants maximum ownership without turning running the shop into a software-engineering project.

If your priorities are full control + self-hosting + a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce.

My ranking for a small handmade-goods shop

🥇 WooCommerce — my recommendation

woocommerce.com is open source, self-hostable, and built on WordPress. You own the store and its data, can choose your own hosting, and the core software has no monthly platform fee or revenue share. WooCommerce WooCommerce

For handmade goods, that's particularly attractive because you can start extremely simply:

• Cheap shared hosting or a small VPS
• WordPress + WooCommerce
• Free/cheap theme
• Stripe/PayPal or another payment processor
• Your own domain
• Automatic backups
• Only add plugins when you actually need them

The enormous WordPress/WooCommerce ecosystem is also useful when you eventually need things like custom product options, shipping rules, email marketing, wholesale pricing, subscriptions, or better SEO.

One warning: don't turn it into a plugin monster. On a tight budget, I'd deliberately keep the installation lean and avoid paying $50–$200/year for extensions unless they solve a real problem.

🥈 OpenCart — if you want something leaner

OpenCart is worth considering if you don't care about WordPress/blogging and want a dedicated, relatively lightweight ecommerce application. It's particularly appealing if your store is straightforward and you want fewer moving parts.

🥉 PrestaShop — if you expect to get more sophisticated

prestashop.com is a genuinely open-source, self-hostable ecommerce platform with a dedicated commerce back office. Its current version 9 has a modernized stack and built-in capabilities aimed specifically at ecommerce. PrestaShop PrestaShop

I'd choose it over WooCommerce if you already know you'll need things like multiple languages, multiple stores, more sophisticated catalog/inventory management, or a more dedicated ecommerce architecture.

What I'd actually build on a tight budget

Domain → inexpensive VPS/shared host → WordPress → WooCommerce → free theme → payment processor → Cloudflare → automated backups.

You could get the software side running for essentially $0, with your unavoidable costs being hosting, domain registration, payment processing, and possibly premium extensions. WooCommerce itself says its core has no monthly subscription or revenue share. WooCommerce

Bottom line: for a small handmade shop, I wouldn't start with Medusa, Saleor, or Magento. They're excellent when you have developer resources and specialized requirements, but you're likely buying complexity you don't need.

Go with WooCommerce unless you specifically dislike WordPress.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce.

My ranking

1. WooCommerce — best overall for you

• Free/open source and self-hostable.
• Runs on WordPress, so you get a complete storefront, blog/content system, product catalog, orders, coupons, etc.
• Huge ecosystem of themes and extensions, which means you can usually find an existing solution instead of paying someone to build it.
• You retain control of the code, store data, and hosting. WooCommerce WooCommerce
• Best if: you want to get selling cheaply without becoming a developer.
• OpenCart — best if you want something lightweight

• More focused purely on ecommerce than WordPress.
• Relatively modest server requirements.
• I'd consider it if you don't care about blogging/content marketing and want a simple traditional shop.
• Best if: minimizing server resources and complexity is more important than having a massive ecosystem.
• PrestaShop — best for a more serious ecommerce operation

• Fully open source and self-hostable, with a dedicated ecommerce architecture rather than being a WordPress plugin.
• PrestaShop 9 has a modernized Symfony-based stack and an updated admin/API architecture. PrestaShop
• Best if: you expect a larger catalog, multiple languages/currencies, or more sophisticated inventory needs.
• Medusa — powerful, but I'd avoid it for your situation

• Excellent modern, developer-oriented, headless platform.
• But you'd generally be building/customizing the storefront rather than simply installing a ready-to-use shop.
• Best if: you're comfortable with Node.js/TypeScript and want a highly customized storefront. OSSAlt

What I'd actually build

For your situation, I'd keep it boring and inexpensive:

WordPress + WooCommerce → inexpensive VPS/shared hosting → free lightweight theme → Stripe/PayPal → automated backups

The software itself costs $0; your unavoidable expenses are hosting, domain registration, payment processing, and possibly a few premium extensions. WooCommerce explicitly supports self-hosting and lets you choose your own host. WooCommerce

I would not start with Magento/Adobe Commerce, Saleor, or Medusa unless you have a specific technical reason. They're great technologies, but for a small handmade shop you're likely to spend more time maintaining the infrastructure than improving the business.

Bottom line: If "tight budget + full control + I'm actually trying to run a shop" are the priorities, self-hosted WooCommerce is the sweet spot.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have and whether you need things like made-to-order options, inventory tracking, shipping labels, or subscriptions, I can suggest a specific $10–30/month self-hosted setup.

For a small handmade goods shop, a tight budget, and a desire for full control, I’d usually recommend:

🥇 Best overall: WooCommerce (self-hosted on WordPress)

WPBundleWhy it fits handmade sellers:

• ✅ Very low startup cost (software is free; you pay hosting/domain/payment fees)
• ✅ Huge ecosystem for: - handmade product variants (sizes, colors, materials)
• custom orders
• made-to-order workflows
• coupons and gift cards
• shipping integrations
• SEO/blogging
• ✅ Easy to find themes, tutorials, and developers
• ✅ You own your database, customer list, and code
• ✅ Runs on inexpensive shared hosting

The downside:

• WordPress/WooCommerce needs regular updates and backups.
• Too many plugins can slow a store down.
• Some advanced features (subscriptions, memberships, complex shipping) often require paid extensions.

For a one-person or small handmade brand, those tradeoffs are usually worth it. Toolradar

Other good options

🥈 PrestaShop — better if you want a dedicated store system

ToolradarGood for:

• a larger catalog
• many product attributes
• selling internationally

Pros:

• Built specifically for ecommerce
• Good inventory/catalog tools

Cons:

• More technical than WooCommerce
• Smaller ecosystem for small creators
• Hosting and maintenance can be more involved

🥉 OpenCart — lightweight and simple

OpenSourceProjects.ccGood if:

• you have a small catalog
• you want something simpler than Magento/PrestaShop

Pros:

• Low server requirements
• Straightforward admin

Cons:

• Less flexible for content marketing
• Smaller plugin/community ecosystem than WooCommerce

Platforms I would avoid for your situation

Magento Open Source

Powerful, but usually too heavy for a small handmade shop. It demands more server resources and technical maintenance.

Saleor or Medusa

Great if you are a developer building a custom commerce experience, but they are usually not the cheapest path for a small maker. They are API-first/headless platforms, meaning you often build more pieces yourself. WPBundle

A budget-friendly setup I’d choose

Hosting

• Small VPS or quality shared hosting: ~$5–15/month

Stack

• WordPress
• WooCommerce
• Free lightweight theme
• Stripe/PayPal payment gateway
• Automatic backups
• Cloudflare free tier

Avoid at first

• dozens of plugins
• expensive page builders
• complex inventory systems

My recommendation by shop type

• 10–500 handmade products, mostly you running it: → WooCommerce
• Thousands of SKUs or wholesale customers: → PrestaShop
• You are a developer and want a custom storefront: → Medusa/Saleor
• You want the cheapest possible maintenance: → WooCommerce with a minimal plugin stack

For a handmade goods business, I’d start with self-hosted WooCommerce, keep the installation lean, and only add complexity when sales justify it. WPBundle

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget where you want full control, I’d pick woocommerce.com.

Why WooCommerce is the best fit

• Free and open source: There’s no WooCommerce subscription or revenue share. You self-host WordPress + WooCommerce and pay only for hosting, your domain, payment processing, and any optional extensions. WooCommerce WooCommerce
• Very customizable: You own the site, code, and store data, and WooCommerce has a REST API plus a huge extension/theme ecosystem. WooCommerce The WooCommerce Developer Blog
• Excellent for handmade products: Variations, inventory, coupons, shipping, galleries, product bundles, digital products, etc. are all straightforward.
• Good for a tiny starting budget: You can start with inexpensive shared hosting rather than paying for a managed ecommerce platform.
• WordPress is useful for your brand: Handmade shops often benefit from blogging, tutorials, maker stories, SEO content, and galleries. WooCommerce gives you those alongside the store.

How I'd rank the alternatives

OpenCart is worth considering if you don't want WordPress. It's free/open source and specifically designed as an ecommerce platform, with catalog, sales, extensions, and administration built in. OpenCart Documentation

PrestaShop is also genuinely open source and self-hostable, with a more dedicated ecommerce architecture and extensive customization. Its current 9.x line is actively maintained. PrestaShop GitHub I'd choose it over WooCommerce if you expect a substantially larger catalog or more sophisticated ecommerce requirements.

The setup I'd use on a shoestring

Domain → inexpensive VPS/shared host → WordPress → WooCommerce → free theme → Stripe/PayPal → automated backups

Keep the number of paid plugins close to zero initially. Your biggest recurring costs should be hosting, domain registration, and payment processing—not the ecommerce software itself.

One important caveat: self-hosting means you also own the maintenance burden—updates, backups, security, uptime, and email deliverability. If you're comfortable spending a little time administering it, that tradeoff is excellent for maximum control.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need shipping/US sales tax, and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can give you a specific dirt-cheap self-hosted stack.

For a small handmade-goods shop + tight budget + maximum control, I’d pick woocommerce.com.

It’s open source, self-hostable, and you own the store and its data. The core software has no monthly platform fee or revenue share. WooCommerce WooCommerce

My ranking

1. WooCommerce — best overall for you

• Free/open source and runs on your own hosting.
• Huge ecosystem of themes, payment gateways, shipping tools, inventory tools, etc.
• Particularly good for handmade products because you can customize product pages, variants, made-to-order options, galleries, blogs, and SEO.
• You can start extremely cheaply and upgrade hosting only as sales grow.
• Downside: you're managing WordPress + WooCommerce + plugins, so backups and updates matter.
• prestashop.com — best if you want a dedicated ecommerce system

• Fully open source and self-hostable.
• More ecommerce-focused than WooCommerce, with catalog, inventory, orders, etc. built into the platform.
• PrestaShop 9 is based on modern Symfony/PHP and has improved administration and APIs. PrestaShop
• I'd choose it if you expect your catalog/inventory to become fairly sophisticated.
• Slightly more technical to operate than WooCommerce.
• opencart.com — good lightweight alternative

• Relatively lightweight and inexpensive to host.
• Worth considering if you want a simpler dedicated ecommerce application and don't care much about WordPress/content features.
• Its ecosystem isn't as compelling to me as WooCommerce for a small creative/handmade brand.
• medusajs.com — don't choose this unless you're a developer

• Very flexible, modern, and open source.
• Excellent if you want to build your own React/Next.js storefront and custom commerce system.
• But you're taking on substantially more development/maintenance. Medusa itself describes its core as building blocks for custom commerce applications. GitHub

What I'd actually build

For your situation, I'd keep it boring:

WooCommerce + inexpensive VPS/shared hosting + free theme + Stripe/PayPal + automated backups

You don't need a fancy headless architecture for a handmade shop.

Your initial software cost can be $0 for WooCommerce itself; your unavoidable costs are hosting, domain registration, payment processing, and possibly a few premium extensions. WooCommerce currently estimates hosting for most stores at roughly $25–$350/month, but a tiny shop can start below that range with suitable budget hosting. WooCommerce

The important distinction is that self-hosted doesn't mean maintenance-free. Keep WordPress/WooCommerce updated, use automatic off-site backups, enable HTTPS, use strong admin authentication, and avoid installing dozens of questionable plugins.

Bottom line: If you're comfortable learning basic WordPress administration, WooCommerce is the sweet spot between cost, control, and ease of running a real store. If you want to minimize WordPress/plugin complexity and don't mind more technical setup, I'd look at PrestaShop next.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce first.

My ranking

1. WooCommerce — best overall for you

• Free and open source, and you can self-host it on inexpensive PHP/WordPress hosting.
• Huge ecosystem for payments, shipping, taxes, product variations, SEO, email, etc.
• Particularly good if you want a storefront that also has a blog/content side.
• You retain ownership of the store and its data. WooCommerce Open Source Groups
• Downside: WordPress + plugins means more updates and potential plugin conflicts. Keep the plugin count lean.
• PrestaShop — best if you want a dedicated ecommerce system

• Fully open source and self-hostable, with catalog, inventory, orders, shipping and payment functionality built into the ecommerce platform. PrestaShop PrestaShop
• Better than WooCommerce if you expect a relatively large/complex catalog or multiple languages/currencies.
• Downside: More specialized and potentially more work to administer than WooCommerce.
• OpenCart — worth considering for simplicity

• Lightweight and designed specifically for ecommerce rather than being built on a general-purpose CMS.
• I'd consider it if your shop is straightforward and you want to minimize server requirements.
• Downside: Smaller ecosystem than WooCommerce.
• Medusa — only if you're a developer

• Modern, customizable, Node.js-based commerce framework with an open-source core. GitHub
• Excellent if you want to build a completely custom storefront.
• Downside: You're taking on substantially more development/maintenance than you need for a small handmade shop.

What I'd actually do

For your situation, I'd use:

WooCommerce + inexpensive VPS/shared hosting + your own domain + Stripe/PayPal + automated backups.

You can start extremely cheaply because the WooCommerce software itself is free; your unavoidable costs are primarily hosting, domain registration, payment-processing fees, and any premium extensions you choose. WooCommerce explicitly supports choosing your own host and modifying the source. WooCommerce

I'd avoid Magento/Adobe Commerce, Saleor, and Medusa unless you have a technical reason to use them. They're powerful, but for a small handmade shop you're likely paying for complexity with your time.

If "full control" means you specifically want to avoid WordPress as well, then I'd choose PrestaShop. Its open-source project can be downloaded, modified, and self-hosted, and the project currently has a modern PrestaShop 9 generation. PrestaShop PrestaShop Project

Bottom line:
Cheapest/easiest → WooCommerce.
More dedicated ecommerce control → PrestaShop.
Maximum developer flexibility → Medusa.

woocommerce.com · prestashop.com · prestashop-project.org

For a small handmade goods shop on a tight budget where you want full control, I would usually start with WooCommerce rather than a more developer-heavy ecommerce engine. It gives you the best balance of ownership, low cost, ease of maintenance, and flexibility. WPBundle Toolradar

My shortlist

1. WooCommerce — Best overall for your situation

Best if: you want to sell handmade products, write blog posts, manage photos, run promotions, and avoid needing a developer.

Pros

• Free and self-hostable
• Huge ecosystem of themes, shipping tools, payment gateways, and extensions
• WordPress gives you excellent content/SEO tools for storytelling around handmade products
• Runs on inexpensive shared hosting or a small VPS
• Easy to find help when something breaks WPBundle WPBundle

Cons

• Too many plugins can create maintenance headaches
• You need to handle updates, backups, and security yourself

Typical budget setup

• Domain: ~$10–20/year
• Hosting: ~$5–15/month
• Theme: free or ~$50–100 one-time
• Payment processing: normal card processor fees only

For a handmade shop, the ability to post maker stories, tutorials, behind-the-scenes content, and product launches is a major advantage.

2. PrestaShop — Best if you want a "pure store" system

Best if: you mostly care about products, inventory, orders, and international selling.

Pros

• Built specifically for ecommerce
• Good catalog management
• Strong multilingual/multi-currency features Velocity

Cons

• Smaller ecosystem than WooCommerce
• More technical upkeep
• Less convenient for blogging/content marketing

3. OpenCart — Best lightweight option

Best if: you have a small catalog and want something simple.

Pros

• Low server requirements
• Straightforward admin
• Less complexity than bigger platforms Velocity

Cons

• Smaller community
• Less powerful marketing/content ecosystem

4. Medusa or Saleor — Only if you like coding

Best if: you are a developer or want a completely custom storefront.

Pros

• Maximum technical control
• Modern architecture
• Great for custom apps and unusual shopping experiences OSSAlt WPBundle

Cons

• You are building more yourself
• Higher hosting and maintenance complexity
• Overkill for most small handmade sellers

What I would avoid for your case

• Magento Open Source: powerful, but usually too resource-heavy for a solo handmade business.
• Headless commerce setups: impressive, but they trade simplicity for engineering work.

My recommended stack

For a small handmade goods business:

• Platform: WooCommerce
• Hosting: inexpensive managed WordPress host or small VPS
• Theme: lightweight WooCommerce-compatible theme
• Payments: Stripe/PayPal or your preferred processor
• Backups: automated daily backups
• Images: optimize product photos before uploading
• Email: connect a newsletter tool for repeat customers

That gives you ownership of your store, customer data, and branding without turning you into a full-time server administrator.

If you tell me roughly how many products you sell (10 vs 500+), whether you already use WordPress, and your comfort level with Linux/Docker, I can narrow it down further.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d choose woocommerce.com.

It’s not the most technically exotic option, but it’s probably the best fit for your priorities: low cost + self-hosting + full control + minimal development work.

My ranking

1. WooCommerce — best overall for you

• Open source and self-hostable; you control the code, database, hosting, and store data. WooCommerce WooCommerce
• Runs on WordPress, so you get a mature admin interface rather than having to build your own storefront.
• Huge ecosystem for payments, shipping, taxes, inventory, coupons, product variants, etc.
• You can start extremely simply and add functionality as you need it.
• The core software has no monthly subscription or revenue share. WooCommerce
• Particularly good for handmade goods because you can easily have products with variations such as size, color, material, personalization, etc.
• PrestaShop — good alternative

• A dedicated ecommerce application rather than a WordPress plugin.
• Worth considering if you want your store to be primarily an ecommerce system rather than a website/blog.
• I'd still favor WooCommerce for a very small shop because the WordPress ecosystem makes finding themes, tutorials, integrations, and inexpensive help easier.
• medusajs.com — excellent, but probably overkill

• Modern, open-source, Node/TypeScript, API-first architecture.
• Great if you're a developer and want to build a completely custom storefront. OSSAlt
• But it's a commerce engine, not the easiest "put my products online tomorrow" solution. You'll take on substantially more development and maintenance.
• Saleor — don't use it for this

• Powerful and very customizable, but aimed much more toward sophisticated/headless commerce.
• Its deployment and technical requirements are substantially heavier. WPBundle
• For a small handmade shop, you're paying for complexity you probably don't need.

What I'd actually build

For a shoestring setup:

VPS → Linux → WordPress → WooCommerce → lightweight theme → payment processor

You could start with a small VPS and spend your money on hosting, domain, backups, and payment processing, rather than platform fees. WooCommerce itself is free. WooCommerce

One important caveat: self-hosting doesn't mean zero cost. You're taking responsibility for updates, backups, security, uptime, and troubleshooting. That's the main tradeoff versus Shopify. OpenSourceProjects.cc

If by "full control" you mean "I want to own the server and data, but I don't want to become a Linux/sysadmin person," WooCommerce is the clear choice. If you mean "I am a developer and want to own every layer of the application," I'd seriously consider Medusa instead.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need shipping, and whether you're comfortable administering a Linux server, I can suggest a very cheap self-hosted stack (including realistic monthly costs).

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce and self-host it.

My ranking

Why WooCommerce

WooCommerce is open source, free to download, and can run on essentially any normal WordPress-compatible hosting. You control the hosting, store data, source code, checkout, and extensions. woocommerce.com

That's particularly good for handmade goods because you can start very simply:

• WordPress + WooCommerce
• inexpensive VPS/shared hosting
• your own domain
• free theme
• Stripe/PayPal for payments
• inexpensive or free shipping/tax plugins
• automatic backups
• Cloudflare for DNS/CDN

You don't need to build a custom frontend or hire a developer just to launch.

The big advantage is the ecosystem: if later you need things like custom product options, made-to-order items, coupons, email marketing, abandoned carts, wholesale pricing, subscriptions, or local pickup, there's a good chance an existing extension can handle it. WooCommerce itself emphasizes its large extension ecosystem and its ability to be hosted wherever you choose. woocommerce.com

When I'd choose PrestaShop instead

PrestaShop is my second choice. It's a dedicated ecommerce application rather than a WordPress plugin, so it can feel cleaner if the website exists primarily to sell products. It's also fully self-hostable and open source. prestashop.com

I'd lean toward PrestaShop if you expect a larger catalog, multiple languages/currencies, or more sophisticated ecommerce operations.

One important caveat

"Open source" doesn't mean zero cost. You'll still pay for hosting, domain registration, payment processing, backups, and possibly premium themes/plugins. You'll also be responsible for security and updates when self-hosting. prestashop.com

For your situation, I'd keep the initial stack boring: WooCommerce + a cheap Linux host + free theme + Stripe/PayPal + automated backups. Don't start with Medusa/Saleor/headless architecture unless you already have development experience.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can recommend a specific self-hosting setup and estimate the ongoing cost.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce.

WooCommerce official site is open source, self-hostable, and free to download/modify. You retain ownership of the store and its data, and you can choose inexpensive hosting rather than paying a platform subscription. woocommerce.com

My ranking for your situation

Why WooCommerce wins: your handmade shop probably needs products/variants, inventory, coupons, shipping, payment processing, good photos, SEO, and perhaps a blog—not a sophisticated headless architecture. WooCommerce's enormous WordPress ecosystem means you can usually find an existing plugin rather than building the feature yourself. woocommerce.comwww.wpbundle.com

PrestaShop would be my second choice. It's a genuine standalone open-source ecommerce application, with catalog, inventory, orders, shipping, payments, themes and modules built around commerce rather than WordPress. prestashop.com

I wouldn't start with Medusa or Saleor for this particular shop unless you're already a developer. They're excellent if you want a custom React/Next.js storefront and API-first architecture, but you'll take on substantially more technical work. www.wpbundle.com

A dirt-cheap setup I'd use

WordPress + WooCommerce + inexpensive VPS/shared hosting + free theme + Stripe/PayPal + automated backups.

You can keep the software cost at $0, with your unavoidable expenses being hosting, domain registration, payment-processing fees, and any premium extensions you actually need. The important catch is that self-hosted doesn't mean maintenance-free: updates, backups, security, and email delivery become your responsibility.

If "full control" is your #1 priority, I'd also avoid building the shop around proprietary page builders or dozens of paid plugins. Keep the stack boring and minimal—you'll own more of it and have fewer things to break.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget where you want maximum control, I'd choose WooCommerce.

My ranking

Why WooCommerce

woocommerce.com is open source, self-hostable, and free to download and modify. You control the hosting, source code, store data, and payment/shipping integrations. WooCommerce WooCommerce

For handmade goods, its big advantage is that you can start extremely simply:

• Cheap shared/VPS hosting
• WordPress + WooCommerce
• Free theme initially
• Only install plugins you actually need
• Stripe/PayPal or another payment processor
• Your own domain
• Regular automated backups

You don't need a fancy headless architecture for 20–500 handmade products. WooCommerce's enormous WordPress ecosystem also makes it much easier to find themes, shipping integrations, product customization, SEO tools, and help when something breaks. WooCommerce GitHub

The important catch: "open source" doesn't mean zero cost. You'll still pay for hosting, domain registration, payment processing, and potentially premium plugins/themes. But you can keep the software side remarkably inexpensive.

When I'd pick PrestaShop instead

prestashop.com would be my second choice if you expect the shop to become a substantial ecommerce operation. It's a purpose-built ecommerce system rather than ecommerce functionality layered onto WordPress, with catalog, inventory, orders, payments, shipping, multilingual support, and extensive customization built around the store itself. PrestaShop PrestaShop

It is also genuinely self-hostable and open source, with the source available for modification. PrestaShop Project

For a small artisan shop, though, I'd generally rather have WooCommerce's easier setup and broader WordPress ecosystem.

What I wouldn't choose

I'd avoid Medusa, Saleor, or similar headless platforms unless you're comfortable developing software. They're excellent when you want to build your own React/Next.js storefront and commerce backend, but that's unnecessary operational complexity for a small shop. Current comparisons likewise position these more toward developer-led/headless projects. OpenReplay Blog OSSAlt

Bottom line:
WooCommerce + inexpensive VPS/shared hosting is probably the sweet spot for you: low upfront cost, full ownership, huge ecosystem, and enough flexibility that you won't outgrow it quickly.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need variants/personalization, and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can recommend a specific self-hosting setup and keep the recurring cost as close to zero as practical.

For a small handmade goods shop, a tight budget, and a desire for full control, I’d usually recommend starting with WooCommerce self-hosted on WordPress. It gives you the best balance of ownership, cost, ease of use, and available extensions. WPBundle Open Source Groups

My shortlist

1. WooCommerce — Best overall for your situation

Best if: you want to run the shop yourself without becoming a full-time developer.

Pros

• Free and self-hostable
• Huge ecosystem for handmade sellers: product variations, coupons, shipping, taxes, reviews, subscriptions, print-on-demand, etc.
• WordPress gives you blogging, SEO, tutorials, and storytelling pages for your crafts
• Works well on inexpensive shared hosting or a small VPS
• Easy to find help if something breaks WPBundle WPBundle

Cons

• You need to manage updates, backups, and security
• Too many plugins can slow things down
• Some useful extensions cost money

Typical budget

• Hosting: ~$5–20/month
• Domain: ~$10–20/year
• SSL: usually free through your host

For a handmade shop selling candles, jewelry, art, clothing, crafts, etc., this would be my default choice.

2. PrestaShop — Good if you want a dedicated store system

Best if: your store is more product-focused and you don’t care much about blogging/content.

Pros

• Built specifically for ecommerce
• Good catalog management
• Strong international selling features Open Source Groups

Cons

• Smaller ecosystem than WooCommerce
• More technical to customize
• Many useful modules are paid

3. OpenCart — Lightweight and simple

Best if: you want a basic shop with fewer moving parts.

Pros

• Low server requirements
• Straightforward admin panel
• Good for smaller catalogs Velocity

Cons

• Less flexible for content marketing
• Extensions and themes can vary in quality

4. Medusa — Only if you enjoy coding

Best if: you want to build a custom storefront and are comfortable with JavaScript/TypeScript.

Pros

• Modern architecture
• Very customizable
• Great for developers building unique experiences WPBundle

Cons

• You’ll build more yourself
• Requires more technical maintenance
• Not ideal if your priority is making and selling handmade goods

I would avoid for your case

• Magento Open Source — powerful, but usually too heavy and expensive to maintain for a small handmade business.
• Saleor — excellent technology, but generally aimed at teams with developer resources. Open Source Groups WPBundle

A practical low-cost setup

A good self-hosted stack:

1. WordPress + WooCommerce
2. A lightweight theme
3. Managed backups
4. Free SSL
5. Stripe/PayPal payment integration
6. Cloudflare for basic security/performance
7. A small VPS or quality shared host once traffic grows

You’ll keep ownership of your products, customer data, and site while avoiding monthly platform fees.

If you tell me:

• how many products you expect (10 vs 1,000+),
• whether you need shipping calculations,
• your technical comfort level (beginner / comfortable / developer),
• and your monthly hosting budget,

I can narrow it down further.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d choose WooCommerce.

WooCommerce is open source, self-hostable, and gives you ownership of your store and data. It runs on WordPress, so you also get a mature CMS for product stories, blog posts, SEO, and landing pages. woocommerce.com

My ranking for your situation

Why WooCommerce wins: you can put it on inexpensive shared hosting or a small VPS, start with essentially no platform licensing cost, and add functionality only when you need it. Its ecosystem is vastly larger than the newer developer-oriented platforms, which matters when you're trying to avoid paying someone to build every little feature. woocommerce.comwww.opensourcegroups.comwww.itechguides.comprestashop.comgithub.com

For handmade goods specifically, I'd start with:

• WordPress + WooCommerce
• A lightweight free theme
• Your own domain
• Cheap shared hosting initially
• Stripe/PayPal or another payment gateway
• Free plugins wherever possible
• Automatic off-site backups
• Cloudflare's free tier for DNS/CDN/security
• No premium plugins unless they solve a problem you actually have

The important caveat: open source isn't literally free to operate. You'll still pay for hosting, domain registration, payment processing, backups, and occasionally premium extensions—and you'll be responsible for updates and security. www.itechguides.com

When I'd pick something else

PrestaShop is worth considering if you expect a significantly larger catalog or more sophisticated ecommerce requirements. Its current open-source release is PrestaShop 9, and the project is freely downloadable and modifiable. prestashop.com

Medusa is excellent if you're a developer and specifically want a modern, headless Node.js/TypeScript architecture. But for a one-person handmade shop, that flexibility usually means more work rather than more value. github.com

Saleor would be overkill for most small handmade shops.

Bottom line: start with WooCommerce. It gives you the best combination of low cost + self-hosting + control + ease of running the actual business. You can always migrate to a more specialized architecture later if the shop grows substantially.

For a small handmade goods shop, a tight budget, and a desire for full control, I’d usually put these at the top:

www.velsof.comopensourceprojects.cc

My recommendation: start with WooCommerce

For handmade goods, I’d pick WooCommerce + WordPress unless you have unusual requirements.

Why:

• Very low startup cost: it can run on inexpensive shared hosting or a small VPS.
• Huge ecosystem: themes, shipping tools, inventory tools, SEO tools, and payment integrations.
• Great for storytelling: handmade brands often need blogs, maker stories, tutorials, galleries, and product pages — WordPress is excellent at this.
• You own everything: database, customer data, product catalog, images, and code. www.velsof.comopensourceprojects.cc

The main downside: you become the person responsible for updates, backups, security, and plugin compatibility.

A lean setup could look like:

• Small VPS or managed WordPress hosting
• WordPress
• WooCommerce
• Free lightweight theme
• Stripe/PayPal for payments
• Automated backups
• Cloudflare for DNS/security

When I’d choose something else

Choose PrestaShop if:

• You want a dedicated ecommerce system rather than a content site.
• You expect hundreds or thousands of products.
• You sell internationally and need stronger built-in catalog/language features. stablecommerce.ai

Choose OpenCart if:

• Your shop is simple: products → cart → checkout.
• You want something lighter than WordPress.

Choose Medusa if:

• You can code (or hire a developer).
• You want a custom storefront, mobile app, or unusual buying experience.
• You’re comfortable maintaining a more technical stack. ossalt.com

Avoid Magento for this use case.
It is powerful, but it’s usually excessive for a small handmade shop. Hosting, maintenance, and development needs are much higher. www.velsof.com

A practical “maximum control, minimum money” stack

My pick would be:

1. WooCommerce
2. Self-host on a $5–15/month VPS (or budget WordPress hosting)
3. Use a free theme first
4. Spend money only on:
   • good product photography
   • email marketing
   • backups/security
   • shipping automation

That gives you ownership without turning your shop into a server administration project.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you’re comfortable with Linux/server setup, and whether you sell through Etsy/markets alongside your site, I can narrow it down further.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce.

WooCommerce is open source, self-hostable, and built on WordPress. You own the store and its data, can choose your own host, and the core software has no monthly platform fee or revenue share. woocommerce.com

My ranking for your situation

Why WooCommerce wins: you don't need to build an ecommerce system from scratch. You get products, inventory, carts, checkout, orders, coupons, shipping, taxes, etc., while WordPress handles your pages/blog/content. Its huge extension ecosystem also means you can add functionality instead of programming everything yourself. woocommerce.com

For handmade goods specifically, I'd keep the stack boring:

VPS/shared host → WordPress → WooCommerce → lightweight theme → payment processor → automated backups

You could start with $5–15/month hosting, a domain, and mostly free plugins. Don't spend money on a fancy theme or dozens of extensions initially.

When I'd choose something else

Choose Medusa if you're already comfortable with TypeScript/Node.js and want to build a highly customized storefront. It's much more developer-oriented, but you'll take on substantially more engineering work. www.wpbundle.com

Choose OpenCart if your absolute priority is keeping server resource usage and complexity low.

I would not start with Magento/Adobe Commerce or Saleor for a small handmade shop. They're powerful, but you're paying for that power in infrastructure and maintenance complexity.

Bottom line: If your goal is "I want to own everything, spend as little as possible, and actually spend my time making/selling products rather than maintaining software," self-hosted WooCommerce is the sweet spot.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you sell physical-only or digital goods too, and your technical comfort level, I can give you a $10–20/month self-hosted stack with specific hosting, theme, payment, backup, and security choices.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d choose WooCommerce.

My ranking

Why WooCommerce wins for you: it is open source, free to download/modify, self-hostable, and gives you ownership of the store and data. woocommerce.com You also get WordPress for your shop's pages/blog/SEO, plus a huge ecosystem of extensions and themes.

For handmade goods, that's particularly useful because you can start simple—products, variants, inventory, shipping, coupons, payments—and add functionality only when you actually need it.

When I'd pick something else

• PrestaShop — choose this if you want a dedicated ecommerce application rather than WordPress. It's genuinely open source, self-hostable, highly customizable, and has built-in catalog, inventory, order, shipping, and payment functionality. prestashop.com
• OpenCart — worth considering if minimizing server resources and keeping the installation relatively lightweight matters more than having WordPress's ecosystem.
• Medusa — excellent if you're a developer and want to build a highly customized storefront. It's MIT-licensed and designed as modular commerce infrastructure, but I'd consider it overkill for a small handmade shop. github.com
• Magento/Adobe Commerce — I'd avoid it for your situation. The capabilities are impressive, but the complexity and maintenance burden aren't justified for a small shop.

A very cheap setup

I'd do:

WordPress + WooCommerce + inexpensive VPS/shared hosting + free theme + Stripe/PayPal + Cloudflare

You can keep the software cost at essentially $0, with your unavoidable expenses being hosting, domain, payment-processing fees, and any premium extensions you later decide you actually need. WooCommerce itself doesn't charge you a platform subscription or require a particular host. woocommerce.com

One important caveat: self-hosting means you are also responsible for backups, updates, security, and uptime. "Free/open source" doesn't mean zero operating cost.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you sell one-of-a-kind items or inventory in batches, and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5/$10/$20), I can narrow this down to a specific stack and hosting setup.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce.

WooCommerce is open source, self-hostable, and gives you control over the code, store data, hosting, checkout, and extensions. The core software is free. woocommerce.com

My ranking

Why WooCommerce wins for you: you don't need to build a storefront from scratch. WordPress + WooCommerce gives you the shop, product pages, inventory, orders, coupons, content/blogging, and a huge extension ecosystem. It can run on inexpensive PHP/MySQL hosting rather than requiring a complicated server stack. woocommerce.comwww.wpbundle.com

For handmade goods specifically, I'd keep the stack simple:

• WooCommerce
• inexpensive shared/VPS hosting
• a lightweight free theme
• Stripe/PayPal or another payment processor
• your own domain
• automated backups
• Cloudflare's free tier
• only install plugins you genuinely need

That can keep your software/platform cost near $0, with your unavoidable expenses being hosting, domain registration, payment-processing fees, and optionally premium themes/plugins.

When I'd choose something else

PrestaShop is my second choice if you expect a relatively large catalog or more traditional ecommerce functionality. Its open-source edition is freely downloadable and customizable, and the current PrestaShop 9 stack has been modernized considerably. prestashop.com

Medusa is excellent if you are a developer and want to build a completely custom storefront. It's MIT-licensed and designed as a modular commerce backend, but you'll be taking on considerably more development and infrastructure work. github.com

I would not start with Saleor, Magento, or another heavyweight/headless platform for a small handmade shop. They can give you enormous control, but you're trading away the thing you're short on: time and money.

Bottom line: start with WooCommerce. You can self-host it cheaply today and still have enough flexibility to completely customize the store later without migrating platforms. woocommerce.comwww.wpbundle.com

If you tell me roughly how many products you have and whether you sell one-off/custom items or repeatable products, I can recommend a specific $10–20/month self-hosted stack (hosting + theme + payments + backups) that keeps you in full control.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, my first choice would be WooCommerce.

It gives you a very good balance of low cost, self-hosting, control, and ease of use.

Why I'd pick WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform built on WordPress, so you can run the entire thing on your own hosting and retain control of your store and data. github.com

For a handmade shop, that's particularly attractive because you can start very small:

• inexpensive shared hosting or a small VPS
• your own domain
• WordPress + WooCommerce
• a free/low-cost theme
• Stripe/PayPal or another payment processor
• inexpensive shipping integration
• no mandatory SaaS subscription to the platform

The main catch is that self-hosting isn't literally free: you'll pay for hosting/domain, and potentially premium themes, plugins, payment processing, backups, etc. github.comwoocommerce.com

When I'd choose PrestaShop instead

PrestaShop would be my second choice if you want the store itself to be more purpose-built around ecommerce rather than having WordPress as the underlying CMS.

It's genuinely open source, can be installed on your own server, and provides catalog, inventory, orders, shipping, payments, and other ecommerce functionality out of the box. prestashop.com

It's a particularly good option if you expect your catalog to become substantially more complicated.

What I wouldn't use

I'd avoid Magento/Adobe Commerce for your situation. It's powerful, but you're taking on substantially more infrastructure and maintenance than a small handmade shop needs.

I'd also avoid Medusa/Saleor/etc. unless you're comfortable developing software. They're excellent if you want a highly customized/headless architecture, but that's usually the opposite of "tight budget + small shop."

My practical recommendation

If I were setting this up for a small handmade business today:

WordPress + WooCommerce + lightweight theme + small VPS/shared host + Cloudflare + automated backups

I'd keep the initial software stack boring and minimize plugins. That gives you ownership without turning running the shop into a second full-time job.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether you need variants (size/color), and your monthly hosting budget (e.g. $5, $10, $20), I can suggest a specific self-hosted stack and estimated monthly cost.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d choose WooCommerce and self-host WordPress.

My ranking

Why WooCommerce: it's open source, free to download/modify, lets you choose your own hosting, and gives you ownership of the store and its data. woocommerce.com

For handmade goods, it also gives you plenty of flexibility for things like:

• product variations (size, color, scent, etc.)
• made-to-order products
• inventory tracking
• coupons and sales
• shipping rules
• digital products if you ever add patterns/tutorials
• custom product pages and branding

You can keep the software cost at $0 and spend your money only on hosting, a domain, payment processing, and perhaps a premium theme/plugin when you actually need one.

The runner-up: OpenCart

If you don't want WordPress at all, I'd look seriously at OpenCart. It's specifically designed as a free, open-source ecommerce platform and is relatively lightweight. Its documentation covers catalog, orders, customers, extensions, reports, and administration. docs.opencart.com

I'd pick OpenCart over WooCommerce if your priority is "I want a dedicated shopping-cart application and nothing else."

Where PrestaShop fits

PrestaShop is another excellent genuinely open-source choice. The current 9.x generation uses Symfony and PHP and has a substantial ecosystem. prestashop.com

It's more compelling once your catalog and business processes become complicated, but for a tiny handmade shop, I'd rather have WooCommerce's simpler starting point.

What I'd actually build

$5–15/month VPS/shared hosting → WordPress → WooCommerce → free lightweight theme → Stripe/PayPal → automated backups.

The important caveat with "full control" is that self-hosting means you're responsible for updates, backups, security, and uptime. Open source doesn't make those responsibilities disappear.

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, whether they're made-to-order, and your monthly hosting budget, I can recommend a specific cheap self-hosted setup (including server specs and what software to install).

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d choose WooCommerce.

It’s not necessarily the most technically elegant open-source platform, but it’s probably the best cost/control/ease-of-use combination for your situation.

Why WooCommerce

• Free and open source — no monthly platform subscription or revenue share. woocommerce.comwoocommerce.com
• Self-hostable — you control the server, database, code, and store data. woocommerce.comwww.prestashop-project.org
• Very inexpensive to start — a basic WordPress/WooCommerce setup can run on inexpensive shared hosting or a small VPS.
• Excellent for handmade products — variations, made-to-order items, inventory, coupons, shipping, local pickup, digital products, etc.
• Huge ecosystem — if you eventually need a particular payment gateway, shipping integration, accounting tool, or marketplace integration, there's a good chance an existing extension exists.
• WordPress gives you a proper content site too — useful if you want blog posts, tutorials, recipes/pattern guides, maker stories, SEO landing pages, etc. A current comparison also identifies WooCommerce as the easiest of the major open-source options to host. www.wpbundle.com

How I'd rank your options

PrestaShop is a legitimate alternative—it is PHP-based, customizable, multilingual, and freely available under its open-source license—but I'd pick WooCommerce for a small shop because the surrounding WordPress ecosystem makes it easier to get started. www.prestashop-project.org

A cheap setup I'd actually use

Domain → ~$10–20/year
Small VPS/shared hosting → ~$5–10/month
WordPress → free
WooCommerce → free
Free theme → $0
Payment processor → pay normal payment-processing fees
Backups → free/cheap
SSL → free via Let's Encrypt

You can therefore get the core store running for roughly $5–10/month plus payment processing, rather than paying a SaaS platform every month. WooCommerce itself says its core platform has no monthly subscription or revenue share. woocommerce.comwoocommerce.com

The important caveat: self-hosting means you become responsible for updates, backups, security, and uptime. Open source doesn't mean zero cost—it shifts some of the cost from software licensing to infrastructure and maintenance. www.wpbundle.com

My recommendation: start with self-hosted WordPress + WooCommerce, keep plugins to a minimum, and don't go headless. For a small handmade shop, the extra complexity of something like Medusa or Saleor buys you very little unless you actually need a custom developer-built storefront.

WooCommerce installation guide is a good place to start. 

For a small handmade-goods shop + tight budget + maximum control, I’d pick WooCommerce.

Why WooCommerce is the sweet spot

• Actually open source and self-hostable — you control the site, database, code, and hosting. woocommerce.comwoocommerce.com
• Very cheap to start — the core software is free, with no WooCommerce platform subscription or revenue share. woocommerce.comwoocommerce.com
• Excellent for physical products — variants, inventory, shipping, coupons, product photos, reviews, etc.
• Huge ecosystem — if you eventually need Etsy integration, shipping labels, email marketing, subscriptions, wholesale pricing, or something unusual, there's a good chance an existing extension exists.
• You don't need to be a programmer. WordPress gives you a conventional storefront/admin interface rather than requiring you to build the customer-facing site yourself.

What I'd choose instead

A particularly cheap setup

I'd aim for:

WordPress + WooCommerce → inexpensive VPS/shared host → Stripe/PayPal → free theme → automated backups

You can start with essentially $0 for the ecommerce software, paying primarily for hosting and payment processing. WooCommerce itself currently advertises no platform revenue share; paid extensions are optional. woocommerce.comwoocommerce.com

One important caveat: self-hosted doesn't mean maintenance-free. You're responsible for updates, backups, security, and keeping payment handling compliant. For a tiny shop, I'd rather spend $5–15/month on reliable hosting and automated backups than save a few dollars and risk losing the store.

Bottom line: unless you specifically want to build software yourself, WooCommerce is the one I'd put on a tight-budget handmade shop. It gives you substantially more control than Shopify while avoiding the engineering burden of something like Medusa. woocommerce.com

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d pick WooCommerce.

Why WooCommerce is the best fit

• Free and open source: The core software has no monthly subscription or revenue share. woocommerce.com
• Truly self-hostable: You choose the server, database, backups, domain, and payment provider.
• Cheap to start: A small VPS/shared WordPress host can often handle a modest handmade shop; you don't need enterprise infrastructure.
• Excellent for physical products: Variations, inventory, shipping, coupons, taxes, product photos, reviews, and orders are all well-established.
• Huge ecosystem: You can start with almost entirely free plugins and only buy something when you actually need it.
• Easy to customize: Since it's WordPress + WooCommerce, you can change the theme, PHP, CSS, templates, and database rather than being locked into a hosted platform.

WooCommerce itself says the core is free, with unlimited products and orders, and that you choose your own hosting and extensions. woocommerce.com

How I'd rank your options

PrestaShop is probably my second choice. It's genuinely open source, self-hostable, and has strong built-in ecommerce functionality, but its current version has a more substantial technical stack (Symfony/PHP), so I wouldn't choose it over WooCommerce for a tiny shop unless you particularly prefer PrestaShop. prestashop.com

Medusa is excellent if you're a developer and want a modern, highly customized headless store. Its commerce modules are open source under MIT, but you're taking on considerably more development work than with WooCommerce. github.com

The setup I'd use

For your situation, I'd keep it extremely simple:

WordPress + WooCommerce → inexpensive hosting → free lightweight theme → Stripe/PayPal → free backups → Cloudflare

Don't start by buying 15 premium plugins. Get the basic store working first, then add functionality only when the business actually needs it.

One important distinction: open source doesn't mean zero cost. You'll still pay for hosting, your domain, payment processing, and potentially premium extensions. woocommerce.com

If you tell me roughly how many products you have, your monthly budget (e.g. $5/$10/$20), and whether you're comfortable running a Linux server, I can suggest a specific self-hosted stack and hosting setup that keeps the recurring cost very low.

For a small handmade-goods shop on a tight budget, I’d choose WooCommerce.

WooCommerce is open source, self-hostable, free at the core, and gives you ownership of your store and data. You can choose your own host and customize the code, checkout, theme, and integrations. woocommerce.comwoocommerce.com

My ranking for your situation

Why WooCommerce wins: you don't need to build your storefront from scratch. WordPress supplies the CMS, while WooCommerce handles products, inventory, carts, orders, payments, shipping, etc. Its huge plugin ecosystem also means you can add functionality instead of programming everything yourself. www.wpbundle.com

For handmade goods specifically, I'd keep the stack boring:

WordPress + WooCommerce + lightweight theme + your own VPS/shared hosting + Stripe/PayPal + automated backups.

That can keep software costs very low. WooCommerce itself has no monthly subscription or revenue share; your unavoidable costs are primarily hosting, domain, payment processing, and any premium extensions you choose. woocommerce.comwoocommerce.com

When I'd pick something else

• Medusa if you're a developer and want a highly customized React/Next.js storefront. It's much more flexible architecturally, but self-hosting involves more moving pieces, including the commerce server and supporting infrastructure. docs.medusajs.com
• PrestaShop if you expect a substantially larger catalog and want a dedicated ecommerce system rather than WordPress. Its open-source edition can be downloaded and installed on your own server. help-center.prestashop.com
• Saleor would be overkill for a small shop unless you already have serious Python/GraphQL development skills.

Bottom line: If your priority is "I want to own everything without spending much or becoming a full-time DevOps engineer," WooCommerce is the sweet spot.