Umbraco ecommerce means running an online store on Umbraco, an open-source CMS built on Microsoft’s .NET. Umbraco does not sell products on its own. Its official add-on, Umbraco Commerce, adds products, orders, discounts, payments and multiple stores. It suits organisations already committed to .NET and Umbraco. For most other businesses, WooCommerce or Shopify is simpler.
The short answer
Umbraco is a flexible, open-source .NET content management system, and Umbraco Commerce is its official ecommerce add-on, licensed for live sites. It handles orders, discounts, multiple stores, currencies and major payment gateways. It makes sense when your organisation already runs Umbraco or has .NET developers. It is a small ecosystem: W3Techs puts Umbraco on less than 0.1% of websites, so developers and extensions are harder to find than for WordPress or Shopify.
The official Umbraco Commerce add-on is an established route, alongside other integrations and .NET commerce options. Choose the route that fits the existing content model, payment requirements, team and upgrade path rather than assuming the official product is the only supported option.
What is Umbraco?
Umbraco is an open-source content management system built on Microsoft’s .NET platform and written in C#. It is developed by Umbraco HQ, based in Denmark, with a community of developers and partners. It is known for flexible content modelling and an editor interface that developers can tailor closely to each organisation.
Umbraco is not made by Microsoft, although it runs on Microsoft technology and is often hosted on Azure. Organisations choose it when their IT team already works in .NET, or when they want an open-source alternative to commercial .NET platforms such as Sitecore.
How does ecommerce work on Umbraco?
Ecommerce on Umbraco works through Umbraco Commerce, the official add-on built and maintained by Umbraco. It adds product, order and store management to the Umbraco backoffice, including discounts, gift cards, multiple stores, currencies, languages and tax rates. Payment providers such as Stripe, PayPal, Klarna, Mollie and Nets are supported, and custom providers can be added.
According to Umbraco’s Commerce page, local development and testing are unrestricted, and a licence is needed before the store goes live. On 25 October 2026 the page listed one Commerce licence at €2,800 a year, with Stripe, PayPal, Nets, Mollie and Klarna payment providers included. It does not say how many sites one licence covers, so confirm that before you budget. Storefronts are custom-built rather than templated, so expect a developer-led project.
Umbraco Commerce grew out of Vendr, a commerce package Umbraco acquired, which itself replaced the older Tea Commerce. Older packages such as uWebshop are no longer the recommended route.
How does Umbraco compare with WooCommerce and Shopify?
Umbraco Commerce suits .NET organisations that want ecommerce inside a highly customised content platform. WooCommerce suits businesses that want content and commerce together on WordPress with the largest ecosystem. Shopify suits teams that want hosted commerce with minimal maintenance. The right choice depends more on your team and systems than on features.
| Umbraco Commerce | WooCommerce | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built on | .NET (C#) | WordPress (PHP) | Hosted platform |
| Hosting | Your own or Umbraco Cloud | Your own or managed WordPress hosting | Included |
| Commerce licence | Paid licence for live sites | Free core plugin | Subscription |
| Ecosystem size | Small | Very large | Very large |
| Best fit | .NET organisations with custom needs | Content-led stores, custom features | Product-led stores wanting simplicity |
| Developer availability | Specialist | Wide | Wide |
Caption: Umbraco Commerce, WooCommerce and Shopify compared. My assessment, with Umbraco Commerce details from umbraco.com, checked 19 October 2026.
For a broader view of platforms, see my comparison of the best ecommerce platforms.
When should you choose Umbraco for ecommerce?
If there is no existing .NET or Umbraco capability, include the cost and continuity of that expertise in the comparison. A smaller ecosystem does not make every change more expensive; the specific integrations, architecture and available partners decide the work.
Good fits:
- An existing Umbraco website that now needs a shop.
- An in-house .NET team that will own the platform.
- Complex B2B ordering tied to Microsoft-based ERP or CRM systems.
Poor fits:
- A small business that needs a store live quickly.
- A marketing team that wants to add features through plugins without developers.
- A business that may want to change suppliers easily later.
What are the risks of a niche ecommerce platform?
The main risk of a niche ecommerce platform is dependence. With fewer developers, agencies and extensions, you rely heavily on whoever built the store. Upgrades, integrations and new features can take longer and cost more. That risk is manageable with an in-house team and good documentation, and serious without them.
Platform choice is a staffing decision as much as a technical one. Before choosing any platform, ask how many developers in your city could take over the store tomorrow.
Before committing, rehearse one representative product, customer price, tax/shipping combination, payment failure and refund in test mode. Trace the records into the back-office system and record who owns a failed sync. Compare that evidence and the handover plan across the shortlisted platforms; a longer feature list cannot establish the better operating fit.
Supplier continuity deserves its own line in the decision. The existing anonymous migration example involved a different niche CMS, not an Umbraco failure. It illustrates the need for source, accounts, exports and a tested handover; it does not prove Umbraco is unsafe or that WordPress is the answer to every legacy system.
To compare platforms honestly, cost three years, not the launch:
- Licences and hosting for every year, including the commerce licence and any paid payment or search add-ons.
- The integrations. An ERP, CRM or stock sync is often the biggest line, and it needs maintaining every time either side upgrades.
- Allow for the upgrades required by the actual support lifecycle, and name the person or team who will plan and test them.
- Replacement cost. What it would take for a different team to take over if your developer leaves.
If Umbraco still wins on that view, because the .NET team and the integrations already exist, it is a sound choice. If it only wins on features, it usually is not. For what happens when a niche platform is retired outright, see my guide to moving off Business Catalyst.
What to do next
- List the systems your store must connect to: ERP, CRM, payments, shipping.
- Check whether your organisation already has Umbraco or .NET skills.
- Compare the total cost of building and maintaining the store on each platform, not just licences.
- Review what a strong store design needs in my guide to the best ecommerce website design.
- If you are weighing Umbraco against WordPress, book a free call with my team.
Frequently asked questions
Is Umbraco free?
Umbraco CMS is open source and free to download. You pay for hosting, development and any paid add-ons. Umbraco Commerce, the official ecommerce add-on, requires a paid licence for live sites. Umbraco also offers paid cloud hosting and support plans.
Does Umbraco have built-in ecommerce?
No. Umbraco CMS manages content. Ecommerce is added with Umbraco Commerce, the official add-on, or with third-party .NET commerce packages. Umbraco Commerce adds products, orders, discounts, payments and multiple stores to the Umbraco backoffice.
Is Umbraco made by Microsoft?
No. Umbraco is developed by Umbraco HQ and its community. It runs on Microsoft’s .NET platform and is often hosted on Microsoft Azure, which is why it is sometimes mistaken for a Microsoft product.
Is Umbraco better than WordPress?
Umbraco is better for organisations committed to .NET that want a highly tailored editing experience. WordPress is better for most businesses, because it has a far larger ecosystem of developers, plugins and hosting, and WooCommerce adds ecommerce for free. The best choice depends on your team and systems.
Can I migrate from Umbraco to WooCommerce?
Yes. Products, customers and orders can be exported from Umbraco and imported into WooCommerce, and content can be moved into WordPress. Plan redirects for every URL that changes to protect search rankings, and test integrations such as payments and ERP connections before launch.
