The ecommerce landscape evolved rapidly after the pandemic. It’s now easier than ever to launch an ecommerce business and start earning online.
With so many multi vendor marketplaces available, you can have a store of your own built without any need for coding or getting a developer or designer to assist you. Sure, you may need technical support when building complex ecommerce functionalities. But most stores are just fine without them.
Are you an ecommerce enthusiast looking to launch your own store? Or someone looking to switch platforms? We’ve got you covered. This article will cover multi vendor marketplaces and list some top options for you to explore.
Ready? Let’s go!
What Is a Multi Vendor Marketplace?
What’s essentially a multi vendor marketplace platform? Take an ecommerce store, for example; it comprises products of a vendor and a shopping cart pertaining to those products. A Multi vendor marketplace is a large-scale ecommerce store where multiple vendors can sell their products and services.
So what makes a good ecommerce marketplace platform or a multi vendor marketplace platform? I’ll help you save time searching for these multi vendor platform plugins and extensions. Before we start, you should be asking yourself the following questions when selecting a platform for your multi vendor store.
- Is it easy to register?
- Does it have an elastic search to cater to today’s consumer behavior?
- Is the process of adding reviews simple, quick, and device compatible?
- Is it easy to set up a payment mechanism?
- How many platform features actually fit your requirements?
When it comes to selecting an ecommerce platform, you’ll want to first zero-in on the platform. I’ll be providing a brief account of the following multi vendor ecommerce marketplaces for each platform.
Benefits of Multi Vendor Market Places
Typically, there are 2 types of marketplaces – single vendor and multi vendor. Multi vendor marketplaces have some top-tiered benefits that make them a reasonably better option than the first one.
Here are some benefits of running multi vendor marketplaces.
- Increased variety: Unless you sell something exclusive, people will want choices. And you can easily offer that on your store if you source products from multiple vendors rather than just one.
- Lower Dependency on Single Vendor: Product sourcing is a serious problem for online stores. And that magnifies when a store depends on just a single vendor for all their product needs. When you have multiple vendors, your store can function well even if one or two vendors slack with their product deliveries.
- Diverse revenue streams: Depending on a single vendor for all your needs will keep your income stream limited. Plus, you’ll have limited margins to haggle over prices. With multiple vendors, you’ll have a diverse stream and better opportunities to decide on the profit margins.
- Wider Customer base: In the same vein as diversifying your income stream, when you offer several products, you have a wider customer base which is more dependable as opposed to a niched-down customer base which can go away if the demand for a single product dies down.
- Easy to experiment: When you have different product categories, it’s easier to experiment with new product lines without damaging your store much. With single vendor stores, the risks of damage due to experiments become much higher.
You can see some of the best ecommerce marketplaces out there are multi vendor. Some of the top multi vendor marketplaces include Amazon, Etsy, Swiggy, Foodpanda, and Ubereats.
List of Best Multi Vendor Marketplace Platforms
Using a multi vendor marketplaces is a great way to manage all aspects of the website. You can manage products, vendors, and commissions right from the dashboard without involving your developer or every minor adjustment. Now, let’s take at the best platforms for multi vendor ecommerce marketplaces in detail:
1. Shipturtle: Marketplace Creator
Pricing Plans:
- 14 Days Free Trial
- Startup Plan: $29
- Enterprise Plan: $149
Description:
Shipturtle is a Shopify app that can convert any website into a marketplace by modifying both the front end and back end. Acting as the Order Management System (OMS) for both Merchant and Vendors, it offers features like Order Routing, 200+ Shipping Integrations, Invoicing, Payments/Commission Management, Shipper Automation, and Inventory Management.
What Sets Us Apart?
User-Friendly and Multifunctional:
ShipTurtle is praised for its simplicity and versatility, serving as a CMS, IMS, OMS, and LMS for single and multi-vendor platforms. Its easy deployment and integration support a rapid go-to-market strategy for new businesses.
Vendor Management and Control:
The platform allows seamless order splitting and provides vendors with inventory and order management control, saving substantial time for businesses and allowing them to focus on growth.
Support and Customization:
Shipturtle’s team is known for its responsive support and willingness to address specific requests promptly. During integration, they efficiently handled special requests, such as cargo privatization and commission calculations.
Key features:
- Vendor Dashboards
- 200+ Shipper Integrations
- Commission Automation – 4 level Rules
- Vendor Website Sync
2. Dokan WooCommerce Plugin
Pricing Plans:
- Basic: Free
- Starter: $149/Year
- Professional: $249/Year
- Business: $499/Year
- Enterprise: $999/Year
Description:
Dokan is a popular WooCommerce multi vendor plugin that’s optimized and ready to launch your online ecommerce store. It offers features like front-end and product dashboards. You also get the added advantage of having a vendor rating feedback system that’s similar to the style used by eBay.
Key features:
- Vendor Dashboarding
- Easy commission systems
- Intuitive surface
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3. Mayosis WordPress Marketplace
Pricing Plan:
- Free Trial
- Regular Plan: $69/Year
- Extended Plan: $1990/Year
Description:
If you’re looking to sell items such as arts, templates, music, ebooks, stock photographs/footage, themes, plugins, codes, or software this is a great place to start with. Mayosis WordPress marketplace helps create a unique user experience with the latitude to customize, organize, and sell the products/services that are aligned with your business goal.
Key features:
- Responsive design
- Easy digital downloads integration
- Advanced search and filtering options
4. Yith WooCommerce Multi Vendor Extension
Pricing Plans:
$149.99/Year
Description:
YITH WooCommerce multi vendor extension lets you elect a registered user to manage an online store. After doing that, vendors can sell their own products and edit their product inventory based on the permissions the admin sets. The extension is compatible with WordPress 5.3 and WooCommerce 3.8. Your vendors can also integrate their online stores in different languages (Dutch, English, Italian, and Spanish).
Key features:
- Vendor-specific Commission Rates
- Frontend Vendor Registration
- Vendor Store Management
5. Bagisto Multi Vendor Marketplace – Webkul
Pricing Plans:
- Free and Open-source
Description:
Bagisto is among the multi vendor marketplaces that are powered by Laravel. It transforms a Bagisto store into a marketplace. Through a dedicated dashboard, your vendors can now create, update, and track their products and orders. As the admin, you can set global and individual seller commissions.
Key features:
- Customizable Vendor Dashboard
- Commission Management
- Easy Order Management
6. Magento 2 Multi-vendor Marketplace – CedCommerce
Basic: $60
Platinum: $299
Custom: $60
Description:
Magento 2 multi-vendor marketplace solution by CedCommerce is a suitable option for entrepreneurs looking to build a multi-vendor online marketplace. This would enable the coming together of vendors on a common platform to market their products, showcase their vendor profile, manage orders from their dedicated vendor dashboard and view sales reports.
The multi Vendor marketplace solution for Magento offers a multitude of features for transforming your Magento ecommerce website into a workable and feature-rich multi vendor stores such as Amazon and eBay. With the help of various Magento multi vendor modules, vendors owning Magento 2 stores can create a website tailor-made to their specific business requirements.
Key features:
- Vendor Product Management
- Order and Transaction Management
- Separate Vendor Profile
7. Magento 2 Marketplace Extension – LandofCoder
Pricing Plans:
- Basic: $299
- Essential: $599
- Pro: $999
Description:
The Magento marketplace extension helps convert ecommerce stores into completely active multi vendor marketplaces. The marketplace extension is compatible with Magento 2.0 to 2.3, so you don’t have to worry about upgrading your Magento web app when using this extension.
Key features:
- Vendor Vacation Settings
- Review and Rating System
- Advanced Report System
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8. Marketplace Multi Vendor Module for Magento 2 – Webkul
Pricing Plans:
- $349/Year
Description:
This multi vendor Marketplace extension can convert your existing ecommerce store (on Magento 2) into a complete online shopping mall. You can add multiple vendors to this marketplace and allow them to manage their inventory, shipments, and more. Each vendor has the option to add different types of products that can be shipped via FedEx, USPS, DHL, PayPal, Stripe, and Aramex. This marketplace extension is responsive; thus you can access your ecommerce store on any smart device with complete ease.
Key features:
- Separate Seller Profile
- Commission Management
- Feedback and Review System
9. Multiple Vendors Extension – Magenest
Pricing Plan:
- $249/Year
Description:
Multiple Vendors Extension is a popular Magento 2 Multi Vendor ecommerce extension that offers many features. With this extension, you can manage vendors and their orders, set commissions, and even set up a question area where vendors can ask you questions about the marketplace.
Key features:
- Vendor Verification System
- Vendor Social Media Integration
- Auto Approve Product Feature
10. Multi Vendor Marketplace Module – CMSMart
Pricing Plans:
- From $239
Description:
If you want to manage your marketplace vendors effortlessly, Multivendor Module For Magento 2 from Cmsmart is the extension you should go for. You’ll get access to an intuitive admin panel that will allow you to auto-approve products, orders, and even allow vendors to up-sell their products. You can set different commission rates based on types of vendors.
Key features:
- Product Comparison Feature
- Vendor Transaction History
- Vendor Messaging System
11. Growcer Multi Vendor Grocery Marketplace
Pricing Plans:
- Custom Pricing
Description:
Growcer is a multi-vendor grocery marketplace solution that empowers individuals, SMBs, and large enterprises to start their hyperlocal multi-vendor grocery business in any part of the world. It can be customized according to your “Order to Cash” process. All the modules i.e admin, vendors, buyers, and delivery staff are equipped with the market and technology-oriented features. For a seamless ordering and delivery, the solution is also integrated with buyer and delivery staff apps.
Key features:
- One-Click Product Import
- Delivery Management System
- Multiple Payment Gateways
- Geolocation-based Store Selection
12. Advanced Multi Vendor Marketplace Module – Webkul
Pricing Plans:
- €139.99/Year
Description:
Advance Multi Vendor Marketplace Module helps in automating the vendor registration process so your developer doesn’t have to create the form time and time again. You can also translate the page to multiple languages based on the support of this module and add custom CSS to personalize your marketplace. Managing multiple vendors at the same time becomes easier while you – as the admin – also have the freedom to enable and disable specific vendor’s commissions.
Key features:
- Shipping Method Management
- Catalog Rule Management
- Custom Shipping Rates for Vendors
13. Multi Vendor Marketplace Module – Knowband
Pricing Plan:
- €139.99/Year
Description:
With Knowband Multi Vendor Module you have the option to simplify the customer’s experience in creating a seller profile, adding privacy, set up shipping process, and adding a simple return policy. Furthermore, customers can post reviews of specific products so as to help sellers get recommendations. The best thing about this module is that customers of your marketplace get to see products of all your sellers in one place.
Key features:
- Multi-Lingual Compatibility
- Vendor Review and Rating System
- Customizable Commission Rates
14. Marketplace Pro Module – FME Modules
Pricing Plan:
- €139.99/Year
Description:
If you want to have a powerful dashboard to monitor revenue in graphical form, Marketplace Pro Module is great to use. Also, you can set a minimum withdrawal amount for sellers, holding time for payments, and even set a percentage seller fee for orders.
Key features:
- Customizable Vendor Dashboard Theme
- Product Q&A Section on Vendor Pages
- Vendor-Specific Coupons and Discounts
15. Yo!Kart Multi Vendor Marketplace Platform
Pricing Plan:
- GoQuick: $1249 (lifetime ownership)
- GoQuickBoost: $2499 (lifetime ownership)
- GoCustom: $6249 (lifetime ownership)
- GoCustom Prime: Request Quote
Description:
Yo!Kart is a dedicated multi-vendor platform for building online ecommerce marketplaces. It is a license-based turnkey solution that comes with a plethora of in-built features such as product catalog, separate vendor storefronts, multi-lingual, abandoned cart recovery, etc. Yo!Kart offers unmatchable UI/UX design to ensure your customer experience is flawless. The platform is completely customizable according to the needs of the business.
Key features:
- Easy customer management, multiple languages, and multiple currency options
- Abandoned Cart Reminder
- Mobile App Builder Integration
- Bulk Product Import/Export
- Multiple payment gateways and easy tax management
How to Start a Multi Vendor Marketplace?
Now that you know the available platforms, let’s see how to start a multi vendor marketplace. Here’s a step-by-step process to do it:
- Choose the business niche. That’s the first step. Do some research and see what interests you the best. Also, look for the profit margins in your preferred niches before choosing one.
- Look for competition: Getting into highly competitive niches can be tough. Your ideal starting point should be something that’s mild to low competition. But if you think you can handle high competition, go for it. See what your competitors are doing to have an idea of how you should proceed.
- Set up a store: Get a domain, choose the platform, and set up your store. Once that’s done, it’s time to host your store. Ensure that you have the optimized ecommerce hosting solution so that your store is secure and fast.
- Search for vendors: Simultaneously, you should start searching for vendors as well so that you can make your store operational as soon as it’s launched.
- Set up delivery mechanisms: Thorough delivery mechanisms sit at the heart of any ecommerce business. Ensure that you have a well-planned delivery and return system in place.
- Market your business: Once the store is online, make sure you market it on the platforms where your audience exists. You can explore several free and paid marketing options, such as SEO, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, etc.
That’s pretty much it. You are ready to set up and run the store. Obviously, there’ll be new processes and challenges that you’ll encounter as your store grows.
Which Platforms or Multi vendor Marketplaces Are Right for You?
You’re probably wondering what marketplace platform you should go for. With many choices available, it’s often difficult to decide which platform to opt for. We’ve listed different platforms with their respective features.
It’s up to you to choose the one that goes best with your business model. It’s always better to consult some ecommerce expert before making the choice. Especially if you want to consider pricey options with Magento which can easily cost you above $5000.
Also, look for developer support and community size when choosing the platform. Lots of unpopular platforms die out and that can make your store suffer.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article about multi vendor marketplaces and found the extensions useful. If you think we missed out on any of the extensions that are worth mentioning, feel free to drop them in the comments section, and we’ll be sure to add them in our next round-up!
Shahzeb Ahmed
Shahzeb is a Digital Marketer with a Software Engineering background, works as a Community Manager — PHP Community at Cloudways. He is growth ambitious and aims to learn & share information about PHP & Laravel Development through practice and experimentation. He loves to travel and explore new ideas whenever he finds time. Get in touch with him at [email protected]