To keep it short and clear two popular solutions can be offered to meet all these requirements: X-Cart and Magento. And here is a short fact review that will help you make a decision which cart is better for your business.
Background
X-Cart - a PHP-based and open source solution. Comes as a licensed paid cart. Can offer flexible pricing so it will suit for any size and type of business. Learn more about X-Cart migrations here. Powers tens of thousands of online stores worldwide.
Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) - a modern PHP versions and Symfony components based platform. It is a leading solution in the world of eCommerce. It powers hundreds of thousands of online businesses and recognized as one of the most flexible and scalable solutions in the world. The platform comes in several options including both free (Open Source) and paid (Commerce) editions.
Common Features
Due to their open source structure both carts share some beneficial common features:
- Product Management. Add unlimited number of products, categories and images. Sell any type of products including physical and virtual goods. Manage your items in categories, add options and attributes, and discover how to create product variants easily.
- Shipping and Payment. Hundreds of options that include virtually all major payment and shipment gateways, such as PayPal, Google Pay, 2Checkout, UPS, DHL, FedEX, etc. If some special option is not available most likely you will find a module that will enable this feature.
- Design. Use one of free templates and customize it the way you like. Or create your own theme. Basically you have no limits since you have a full access to CSS and HTML files, etc. Other great features include multi-store (ability to run several stores via one admin panel), high security standards (PCI compliance), multiple currencies and language support.
Specific Features
Each cart has its own peculiarities and competitive advantages. So, let us check what is the difference between running an X-Cart store and Magento store:
- Usability. Nevertheless, X-Cart is much more user-friendly and intuitive solution than Magento. In case if you don’t have a lot of experience with PHP and HTML programming than X-Cart is definitely an easier platform to go with. For those considering any move, these pre-migration tips can be invaluable.
- Extensions. Magento comes with bigger set of features and has a lot more extensions than X-Cart. If you need any feature which is not there by default simply go to Adobe Commerce Marketplace and you will find it there.
- Speed. Magento is generally known as powerful but very resource consuming solution that may be quite slow if you run it on a hared server. You can speed it up by doing some performance optimization but it will require time and efforts. X-Cart is less resource consuming and can be easily set up at shared server. Moreover, it is fast without any additional optimization.
Definitely both shopping carts can perfectly suit your business if you have enough programming skills or good budget to hire a developer. However, as it was stated, X-Cart is more user-friendly while Magento is more flexible and has better set of default functions. So, before making a final decision try each solution for free. X-Cart offers unlimited trial version and Adobe Commerce provides you with a free Open Source edition.
In case if your store is already powered with another platform try Cart2Cart to move store to Magento or conduct X-Cart migration. This automated and user-friendly service helps you to transfer your products, customer and orders quickly and accurately. To start your migration just register an account and you’ll be on your way to creating a dream store.
Monthly Update – January 2026
As we step into January 2026, the e-commerce landscape continues its rapid evolution, with artificial intelligence (AI) and hyper-personalization emerging as critical drivers for online store success. Businesses are increasingly leveraging AI to analyze vast datasets, predict consumer behavior, and tailor shopping experiences down to individual preferences. This extends beyond simple product recommendations to dynamic content, personalized promotions, and AI-powered customer service, all contributing to a seamless and engaging user journey.
Another significant trend is the growing adoption of headless commerce architectures. This approach decouples the front-end presentation layer from the back-end commerce functionality, offering unparalleled flexibility, speed, and the ability to deliver consistent experiences across multiple touchpoints, from web to mobile apps and IoT devices. For merchants planning a platform migration, selecting a solution that supports robust API integrations and modular design is crucial for capitalizing on these advanced technologies. Embracing these innovations ensures your store remains agile, scalable, and capable of meeting the ever-increasing demands of the modern digital consumer. Future-proofing your e-commerce operations by focusing on adaptability and cutting-edge tech will be key to sustained growth in the coming year.
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