Omniterra vs PrestaShop: which setup fits your store?

Short answer

PrestaShop is open-source e-commerce software with a long track record in Europe and a large module marketplace. You can run it yourself (Classic, a free download) or let PrestaShop host it for you (PrestaShop Hosted, a monthly plan). Omniterra is a hosted platform with a free plan, paid plans from €29/month, and 0% commission on sales on every plan.

On headline price, PrestaShop Hosted billed yearly is cheaper than our Start plan, and the monthly price is in the same range. The differences are in what comes built in, how many modules you add, and who looks after the software.

At a glance

The Classic details come from PrestaShop's offers page: Classic is a free download based on version 9 of the software, and hosting, domain name and similar costs are not included. The PrestaShop Hosted page lists €29 excl. VAT per month with no commitment, or €24 excl. VAT per month billed yearly (€290 for one year), a 14-day free trial, hosting with 50 GB, installation of the store, and support six days a week. That page also says Hosted is based on PrestaShop version 8.

The three options in practice

PrestaShop Classic: free software, your infrastructure

Classic gives you the full source code. You choose the hosting, install the shop, pick modules and adapt anything you want. PrestaShop says on its offers page that hosting and domain costs are not included, and it provides an Update Assistant to make upgrades easier.

The trade-off is the work around the software. Updates to the core, the theme and every module, backups, server security and performance are your job or your developer's. For a team with technical skills, that is a fair price for full control. For a small team that wants to focus on selling, it is time taken away from the shop.

PrestaShop Hosted: the same software, managed hosting

PrestaShop Hosted takes hosting and installation off your hands. You get the PrestaShop back office you may already know, a guided setup, automatic VAT calculation based on the customer's country, GDPR and cookie management, and support by email, live chat or phone. The page also says you remain the full owner of your store and can recover your e-commerce data if you leave.

At €24 to €29 per month, it is a straightforward offer. What it doesn't change is the module model: anything outside the included features is typically a module you add.

Omniterra: hosted, with Romanian essentials built in

On Omniterra, hosting, updates and security are included on every plan, and so are the features most Romanian stores need from day one. Cash on delivery with rules and an optional fraud-protection add-on, courier AWB tracking links, invoices with CUI, ANPC links, email campaigns, automations and product feeds for Meta, Google, TikTok and Pinterest don't require separate modules.

Modules and what they add up to

The PrestaShop Addons Marketplace is one of PrestaShop's real strengths: there are modules for almost every need, from payment and shipping to marketing and B2B. Many are paid, and prices vary by module and developer, so check the marketplace for the modules you would use.

The practical question is how many you need. A store that only needs the included features will spend little. A store that adds modules for COD rules, courier tracking, invoicing and marketing will add both a cost and more items to keep up to date after each core update. Our guide to what an e-commerce platform really costs shows how to list these costs side by side.

Worked example: 30,000 lei in monthly sales

Take a store with 150 orders a month at 200 lei on average. 60% is cash on delivery, 40% by card: 12,000 lei across 60 orders.

On the card side, Omniterra works with your own Stripe account. Stripe's Romanian pricing page lists 1.5% + 1.00 lei for standard European cards, so 12,000 lei across 60 orders costs 180 + 60 = 240 lei, paid to Stripe, not to us. On PrestaShop, the fees depend on the payment module you choose; the offers include PrestaShop Checkout built with PayPal.

On Omniterra, the 60% paid by cash on delivery carries no platform fee at all. So for this store, the choice comes down to the fixed monthly cost, the modules you would add, and whose time goes into maintenance.

What matters for Romanian stores

• Cash on delivery with rules: enable it by rules, add a COD fee, track "refused at delivery" separately, and protect yourself with a risk score and phone blacklist. See our cash on delivery best practices.
• Romanian couriers: record the AWB and courier (Sameday, FAN Courier, Cargus, DPD, GLS, Poșta Română) and send a tracking link.
• Invoices with VAT and CUI on B2B orders, continuous numbering, PDF; e-Factura through an authorized provider such as SmartBill or Oblio.
• ANPC SAL link and default legal pages, including 14-day returns.
• Admin in Romanian and English.

Where PrestaShop is the better choice

• You want open-source software. With Classic you own the code and can change anything.
• You need a specific module. The Addons marketplace is large, with modules for most needs.
• Your team already knows PrestaShop. Staying on a familiar back office has real value.
• Budget is the first filter. Hosted billed yearly, at €24/month, costs less than our Start plan. If our Free plan's limits (50 orders/month, 250 products) are too tight, that matters.

How to switch from PrestaShop

We don't have a direct PrestaShop import today, so plan the move carefully. Start with a free account and build the catalogue, then map your old URLs to the new ones and set up redirects before you point the domain. The SEO checklist in how to migrate without losing SEO applies here too. Compare our plans, or read Omniterra vs WooCommerce for another self-hosted option.

PrestaShop is a trademark of its owner. Omniterra is not affiliated with it.