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This is a plain overview for store owners and managers deciding whether nopCommerce fits their business: what it is, what it includes, what it really costs and where it falls short. The facts are taken from the nopCommerce 5.00 source code and licence, not from marketing pages.
nopCommerce at a glance
| What it is | A free, self-hosted eCommerce platform: storefront, admin area and database in one application |
|---|---|
| First released | 2008 |
| Latest version | 5.00, released 27 October 2026 |
| Technology | C#, ASP.NET Core, .NET 10 (5.00) or .NET 9 (4.80 and 4.90) |
| Databases | SQL Server, MySQL or PostgreSQL |
| Hosting | Your own server or cloud: Windows with IIS, Linux, Docker or Azure |
| Licence | nopCommerce Public License 4.0 (GNU AGPL v3.0 plus a “powered by nopCommerce” link) |
| Source code | Public on GitHub (nopSolutions/nopCommerce) |
| Extensions | Plugins and themes, free and paid, on the nopCommerce Marketplace |
The project started in 2008 and is developed by the nopCommerce team, with the code, issues and release milestones in public on GitHub (opens in a new tab). Releases come roughly once a year, with patch releases in between.
How nopCommerce works
nopCommerce is a single ASP.NET Core web application that you install on your own server or cloud account. Unlike Shopify, nobody hosts it for you, and unlike WooCommerce, it is not an add-on to a content system: the shop is the whole application.
- Storefront: the public shop, rendered from Razor views in a theme. nopCommerce ships with one theme, DefaultClean.
- Admin area: at
/admin, where staff manage the catalog, orders, customers, promotions, content and settings. - Database: SQL Server, MySQL or PostgreSQL, chosen at installation. Upgrades update the database automatically on first start.
- Plugins: payments, shipping, tax, widgets, integrations and custom features are plugins, installed from the admin area without changing the core code.
That plugin model is the main reason businesses choose nopCommerce. A custom pricing rule or ERP connection lives in its own plugin, so the store can still be upgraded to the next release.
What’s included out of the box
nopCommerce includes more than most platforms before you add anything. These are the main areas in 5.00:
Catalog
- Simple, grouped and bundled products
- Attributes and attribute combinations with their own SKU, stock and price
- Specification attributes for filtering
- Downloadable, rental, recurring and gift card products
- Stock by warehouse, backorders and low-stock alerts
Selling and checkout
- One-page or multi-step checkout, with guest checkout
- Discounts, coupon codes, reward points and gift cards
- Multiple currencies, languages and tax rules
- Shipping by weight or total, UPS rates and pickup points
- Order, return and shipment management in the admin area
B2B and large catalogs
- Customer roles with their own prices, catalogs and payment methods
- Tier prices and, in 5.00, price lists
- Request for quote and PunchOut plugins included in 5.00
- Access control by customer role and store
- Several stores, and multiple vendors, on one installation
Marketing and SEO
- Editable URLs, titles and meta descriptions
- sitemap.xml, robots.txt and canonical URLs
- Product reviews, related products and recently viewed
- Newsletter, campaigns and message templates
- Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel plugins included
Plugins bundled with nopCommerce 5.00
The download includes 29 working plugins, plus 6 placeholders whose settings page links to one of nopCommerce’s paid official plugins. You install the ones you need from Configuration → Local plugins.
| Area | Plugins |
|---|---|
| Payments | PayPal Commerce, Check / money order |
| Shipping | Fixed or by weight or total, UPS, Pickup in store |
| Tax | Fixed or by country, state and ZIP; Avalara |
| Marketing | Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Brevo, Omnisend, ChatGPT shopping feed |
| AI | AI product recommendations with Google AI |
| B2B | Request for quote, PunchOut, discount rules by customer role |
| Content | Forums, News, Polls (moved from the core into plugins in 5.00), Swiper slider, Jotform |
| Integrations | Zettle point of sale, Azure Blob storage, Cloudflare Images |
| Security | Google Authenticator two-factor sign-in, Facebook sign-in |
| Links to paid plugins | Web API, Lucene full-text search, Dynamics 365, Power BI, EU Omnibus Directive, mobile app: placeholders that point to nopCommerce’s paid official plugins |
Anything else, such as Stripe, Klarna, a Google Shopping feed or a marketplace connector, comes from the nopCommerce Marketplace (opens in a new tab) or is built as a custom plugin. Our guide to nopCommerce plugins covers what to add and how to install it. For everything that changed in the latest release, read what’s new in nopCommerce 5.0.
What nopCommerce costs
The software is free, and nopCommerce takes no monthly or per-order fee. The cost of a nopCommerce store is everything around the software:
| Item | What to expect |
|---|---|
| nopCommerce itself | Free to download and use, including for commercial stores. |
| Hosting | A Windows or Linux server, or a cloud service, that can run .NET 10 and your database. Shared hosting is possible for small stores; most production stores use a VPS or cloud plan. |
| Domain and SSL | The same as for any website. Free certificates from Let’s Encrypt work. |
| Theme | The DefaultClean theme is free. Paid themes are a one-time purchase; a custom theme is development work. |
| Plugins | Many are free. Paid plugins are usually a one-time fee per store, sometimes with yearly updates. |
| Copyright removal key | Optional. A paid key from nopCommerce if you want to remove the “powered by nopCommerce” link. |
| Development | Setup, theme changes, custom plugins and integrations. Usually the largest cost. |
| Maintenance | Patch updates, major upgrades every year or two, backups and monitoring. |
Compared with a hosted platform, nopCommerce usually costs more to launch, because setup and hosting are your responsibility, and less over time, because there are no platform or transaction fees growing with your sales. Payment providers such as PayPal or Stripe still charge their own fees, as they do everywhere.
The nopCommerce licence in plain words
nopCommerce 5.00 is released under the nopCommerce Public License 4.0. According to the licence file in the source, it is the GNU AGPL v3.0 with one extra term: every page must show a visible “powered by nopCommerce” text that links to nopcommerce.com, in the same position on every screen.
- You can use it for free, for a commercial store, and change the code.
- You must keep the “powered by nopCommerce” link, unless you buy a copyright removal key from nopCommerce. See how to remove it.
- The AGPL part means that if you distribute a modified version, or let people use a modified version over a network, its source must be available under the same licence. Plugins and custom code you deliver to a client normally go with the store’s source anyway; if this matters for your business, check it with a lawyer.
- Software vendors who embed nopCommerce in a closed product can buy a commercial licence instead.
nopCommerce pros and cons
Pros
- No monthly platform fee and no transaction fee from nopCommerce
- You own the code and the data, and choose where it is hosted
- Strong out-of-the-box features for B2B, multi-store and multi-vendor selling
- A clean plugin system: custom features don’t need edits to the core
- Built on .NET, which suits companies that already run Microsoft systems
- Public source code and an active forum, so problems can be traced
Cons
- You are responsible for hosting, security updates, backups and upgrades
- Customisation needs .NET developers, who are harder to find than PHP or Liquid developers
- A smaller marketplace than Shopify or WooCommerce
- Major upgrades need every plugin and the theme to support the new version
- The “powered by nopCommerce” link stays unless you buy a removal key
Who nopCommerce is for
A good fit when:
- You sell B2B, with customer-specific prices, quotes, approval steps or purchase from procurement systems.
- You run several stores, brands or countries, or a marketplace with vendors, and want one admin area. See what goes into a multi-vendor marketplace on nopCommerce.
- You need integrations with an ERP, CRM or warehouse system, especially Microsoft-based ones.
- You want to own the code and data, and avoid fees that grow with sales.
- Your team or agency works in .NET.
Probably not the right choice when:
- You are a small shop that wants to launch quickly without any technical help.
- You depend on a specific app ecosystem, such as Shopify’s, for your marketing tools.
- Nobody will look after hosting, updates and backups.
Comparing platforms? Read nopCommerce vs Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce. Already on another platform and considering a move? Our nopCommerce migration guide covers data, passwords and redirects.
How to get started with nopCommerce
- Choose a version. Start new stores on 5.00. If a plugin you need has no 5.00 build yet, 4.90 is the safe choice and upgrades to 5.00 later.
- Prepare the server. Install the ASP.NET Core runtime 10.0.12 or later (the Hosting Bundle on Windows with IIS) and a database server: SQL Server, MySQL or PostgreSQL.
- Download and deploy. Download the no-source package from nopcommerce.com, or the source from GitHub if you will develop on it. Docker users can start from the docker-compose files in the repository.
- Run the installation wizard. Open the site in a browser, enter the admin email and password, choose the database and connection, and tick “Create sample data” if you want demo products to explore.
- Configure the store. Set the store URL, currency, tax, shipping and payment methods, and email account, then add your products and choose a theme.
For server setup on IIS, Linux or Docker, read our nopCommerce hosting guide.
To try it without installing anything, the official nopCommerce demo store (opens in a new tab) shows the storefront and admin area with sample data. Before going live, work through our nopCommerce SEO checklist, because several SEO settings are off after installation.
Frequently asked questions
Is nopCommerce free?
Yes. The software is free to download and use, including for commercial stores. You still pay for hosting, a domain and SSL certificate, any paid themes or plugins, and the development work. Removing the “powered by nopCommerce” link needs a paid copyright removal key from nopCommerce.
Is nopCommerce open source?
The full source code is public on GitHub under the nopCommerce Public License 4.0. That licence is the GNU AGPL v3.0 with one added term: every page must show a “powered by nopCommerce” link. Because of that extra term it is often described as source-available rather than strictly open source.
Is nopCommerce good?
It is a good fit for stores that need their own business rules, B2B features, several stores or vendors, or integration with .NET systems, and that have access to .NET developers. It is a poor fit for a small shop that wants to launch this week without a developer; a hosted platform such as Shopify is simpler there.
What programming language is nopCommerce written in?
C# on ASP.NET Core. nopCommerce 5.00 runs on .NET 10, and 4.80 and 4.90 run on .NET 9. Themes use Razor views, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Which databases does nopCommerce support?
Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL. You choose one in the installation wizard. SQL Server is the most widely used and tested in practice.
Does nopCommerce run on Linux?
Yes. Because it is an ASP.NET Core application it runs on Windows with IIS, on Linux behind nginx or Apache, and in Docker. The repository includes a Dockerfile and docker-compose files for SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Is nopCommerce still maintained?
Yes. nopCommerce 5.00 was released on 27 October 2026, following 4.90 in October 2025, with patch releases in between. Development happens in public on GitHub.
Do I need a developer to use nopCommerce?
Not to run it day to day: products, orders, customers, discounts and content are all managed in the admin area. You do need technical help to host and update it, and a .NET developer for anything that needs code, such as a custom plugin or a theme change beyond settings.
Next steps
If nopCommerce looks like a fit, the next question is how much of your store it covers out of the box and what needs custom work. Send us a short description of what you sell, who you sell to and the systems you use, and we will tell you honestly whether nopCommerce is the right platform.