EC CUBE
Shopping cart software
E-commerce software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
Take the quiz to check if EC CUBE and its alternatives fit your requirements.
Completely free
Free Trial unavailable
Free version
Small
Medium
Large
-
What is EC CUBE
EC-CUBE is an open-source e-commerce platform used to build and operate online stores, with core capabilities for product catalog management, shopping cart and checkout, order management, and customer accounts. It is primarily used by organizations in Japan that want to self-host and customize their storefront and back-office workflows. The product is PHP-based and is commonly extended through plugins and custom development rather than relying only on built-in features.
Open-source and self-hosted
EC-CUBE can be deployed on a customer-managed server, which supports data residency and infrastructure control requirements. Organizations can modify the source code to fit bespoke checkout, pricing, or fulfillment processes. This model can be preferable for teams that want to avoid platform lock-in associated with fully hosted offerings.
High customization via extensions
The platform supports customization through plugins and custom development, enabling tailored storefront and operational workflows. This is useful for merchants with non-standard product types, tax rules, or order processing steps. Compared with more turnkey products in the space, EC-CUBE typically offers more flexibility at the code level.
Strong Japan-focused ecosystem
EC-CUBE has long-standing adoption in Japan, which supports availability of local implementation partners and Japan-specific know-how. This can reduce risk for Japanese-language teams that need local payment, shipping, and compliance considerations. Documentation and community resources are also oriented toward Japanese users.
Requires technical operations
Because EC-CUBE is commonly self-hosted, teams must manage hosting, security patching, backups, and performance tuning. This increases ongoing operational responsibility compared with SaaS-first platforms. Total cost of ownership can rise if an organization needs managed services or a dedicated engineering team.
Ecosystem less global
The product’s community, documentation, and partner network are primarily Japan-centric. International merchants may find fewer ready-made integrations, fewer implementation partners, and less English-language support than with more globally oriented platforms. This can slow deployment for multi-country rollouts.
Complex upgrades with custom code
Heavily customized deployments can make version upgrades and security updates more time-consuming. Plugin compatibility and bespoke modifications may require regression testing and refactoring during upgrades. This can delay adoption of new features and increase maintenance effort over time.
Plan & Pricing
Cloud (ec-cube.co)
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | ¥6,800 per month (base); if monthly sales exceed ¥500,000: ¥6,800 + 1.3% of the excess | Initial fee: ¥0; unlimited product registration; SSL, independent domain support, security patching. (Prices shown tax-excluded; new registrations currently suspended on official site). |
| Standard | ¥49,800 per month (base) — up to ¥84,800 (price steps). If monthly sales exceed ¥3,000,000: ¥49,800 + 0.5% of the excess; if monthly sales exceed ¥10,000,000 price becomes ¥84,800. | Initial fee: ¥70,000; includes Lite features plus Git management/edit history, customization directory access, staging environment, error log retrieval. (Prices tax-excluded; new registrations currently suspended on official site). |
Download (self-hosted / open-source)
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Download (self-hosted) | Free (GPL open-source) | EC-CUBE is available for free download; self-hosting requires the user to provide/manage server, domain, SSL, payment integrations. EC-CUBE uses a dual-license model (GPL and optional commercial license). |
Commercial (paid) license — EC-CUBE commercial license (one-time)
Pricing model: Fixed one-time license fee per site Price: ¥264,000 per site (including tax) — volume discounts available (per-official pricing: 3-pack, 4–9 pack, 10+ pack reduced per-license prices). See official license page for exact tiers and notes. Notes: Commercial license allows use without complying with GPL's source-distribution requirements (official site explanation).
EC-CUBE official payment service (EC-CUBE Payment Plus)
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | ¥2,980 per month (tax-excluded) + card processing fees (example: 3.6% listed) | Supports credit card + convenience store payments; some features/options free; initial/setup and (some) processing fees may be described as free on the payment service page. |
| Standard | ¥5,980 per month (tax-excluded) + card processing fees (variable: 2.99–3.6% shown) | More payment methods (PayPay, GMO後払い, virtual accounts, etc.). |
| Premium | ¥9,980 per month (tax-excluded) + card processing fees (2.79–3.19% shown) | Highest-tier payment options/lowest card rates at scale. |
| Notes: Processing fees vary by plan and monthly sales thresholds (refer to official payment service page for the full fee table). All payment service prices shown on official site (tax-excluded in plan list). |
Additional notes:
- Official site explicitly states the download (self-hosted) edition is free and that EC-CUBE uses a dual-license (GPL + optional commercial license).
- The cloud offering ec-cube.co shows the listed Lite and Standard pricing on the official product page but also notes “new registrations currently suspended” (official site).
- An official EC-CUBE article on the vendor site references a 2-week free trial for the cloud offering (ec-cube.co) in guidance content (but the cloud product page currently indicates new registrations are suspended).
Seller details
EC-CUBE CO.,LTD.
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
2006
Private
https://www.ec-cube.net/
https://x.com/eccube
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ec-cube
