osCommerce (“open source commerce”) is a free, self-hosted e-commerce platform. It provides the foundational software for running an online store, including a shopping cart, catalog, admin backend, and extensibility via add-ons and integrations. It’s written in PHP and uses a MySQL/MariaDB database.
osCommerce makes it possible to start selling online without subscription fees or licensing costs. You control the store, the code, and where it runs. Because it’s open-source, you can customize almost anything — from store behavior to design. This appeals to developers, small businesses, and anyone who wants full control over their ecommerce platform with no platform-take-rate.
You download osCommerce and deploy it on a web server with PHP and MySQL/MariaDB. It runs a storefront (front end) and administration area (back end). From there you set up products, payment modules, shipping, taxes, and more. You can extend functionality via an App Shop of free and paid modules and themes. Look out for the need to manage your own hosting, security, backups, and updates — this is not a SaaS where everything is managed for you.
