European Alternatives to WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin owned by Automattic (US). While the plugin itself is open-source, Automattic's cloud services (WooCommerce Payments, Jetpack) process data on US servers. The WooCommerce ecosystem encourages dependency on US-hosted services for payments, analytics, and hosting.
Why Switch from WooCommerce?
- ⚠Owned by Automattic (San Francisco) — WooCommerce Payments routes data to US servers
- ⚠Jetpack and other ecosystem services collect store data on US infrastructure
- ⚠WordPress.com integration pushes data to Automattic's US cloud
- ⚠Plugin marketplace increasingly dependent on US-hosted services
1 European Alternative
Sorted by privacy score
Medusa
Open-source composable e-commerce engine from Denmark. Self-hostable, developer-first WooCommerce alternative.
| Tool | Score | Privacy | Pricing | OSS | EU Data | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1Medusa Open-source composable e-commerce engine from Denmark. Self-hostable, developer-first WooCommerce alternative. Verified | 81 | 88 | Free | ✓ | ✓ | 🌍 |
Open-source composable e-commerce engine from Denmark. Self-hostable, developer-first WooCommerce alternative.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best European alternative to WooCommerce?
PrestaShop (France) is the most widely-deployed European open-source e-commerce platform, powering 300,000+ stores. Shopware (Germany) is the leading enterprise option. Both run on any EU hosting with full data sovereignty.
Can I self-host PrestaShop on European servers?
Yes — PrestaShop is open-source and runs on any PHP server. You have complete control over hosting location. Pair it with Hetzner, OVHcloud, or IONOS for a fully European stack. No data leaves your chosen EU hosting provider.
Is Shopware suitable for large stores?
Yes — Shopware is used by major European retailers including Intersport, L'Oréal, and MediaMarkt. It supports complex product catalogues, B2B features, multi-currency, and multi-language. The Community Edition is free and self-hostable.
What about payment integration?
Both PrestaShop and Shopware integrate natively with Mollie (Netherlands) for EU payments, as well as Stripe, PayPal, and SEPA direct debit. Mollie is often preferred as it's EU-based and supports local payment methods like iDEAL and Bancontact.