BoxCart
Free vs Pro
BoxCart ships in two builds. The free build on WordPress.org is a complete, working click & collect store for a single pickup location. Pro unlocks multi-location, advanced product options, and the features most growing shops want.
The Two Builds
| Build | Where to Get It | Price |
|---|---|---|
| BoxCart (Free) | WordPress.org plugin directory | Free forever |
| BoxCart Pro | boxcart.dev/pricing (processed via Freemius) | Annual licence, tiered by site count |
Upgrading is non-destructive: the Pro zip drops in on top of a Free install and all your products, orders, locations, and settings carry across. See Migrating Free → Pro.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Store | ||
| Unlimited products and categories | ✓ | ✓ |
| Card-view storefront | ✓ | ✓ |
| Table-view storefront (compact list with inline add-to-basket) | — | ✓ |
| Customer favourites / wishlist | — | ✓ |
| Mini basket & sidecart | ✓ | ✓ |
| Up-front customer registration (register before ordering) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Members-only pricing (hide prices & add-to-cart from logged-out visitors) | — | ✓ |
| Products | ||
| Single or multiple quantity types per product (e.g. "each", per-gram, per-half, per-kilo) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Simple stock management | ✓ | ✓ |
| CSV import / export | — | ✓ |
| Locations & Collection | ||
| Pickup locations | 1 | Unlimited |
| Opening hours & time slots | ✓ | ✓ |
| Holiday / scheduled closures | — | ✓ |
| Per-date capacity overrides | — | ✓ |
| Payments | ||
| Cash on collection | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bank transfer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stripe card payments (Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, Klarna, PayPal, Afterpay) | — | ✓ |
| Orders & Customer Experience | ||
| Admin order management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Printable pick lists & packing slips (for staff fulfilment) | — | ✓ |
| Customer accounts & order history | ✓ | ✓ |
| One-click reorder from order history | — | ✓ |
| Two-way messaging between customer and shop on an order | — | ✓ |
| Customer-side order modification window (amend quantities after checkout) | — | ✓ |
| Sales reports & analytics (revenue by location, top-selling products, interactive charts) | — | ✓ |
| Email confirmations (customer + admin) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Developer & Theming | ||
| Gutenberg blocks & shortcodes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Action & filter hooks | ✓ | ✓ |
| REST + AJAX endpoints | ✓ | ✓ |
| CSS custom properties for theming | ✓ | ✓ |
| Support & Updates | ||
| Updates via wp.org | ✓ | — |
| Automatic in-plugin updates | — | ✓ |
| Community support (wp.org forum) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority email support | — | ✓ |
When to Upgrade
You should stay on the free build if your shop is a single location that takes bank transfer or cash-on-collection and doesn't need advanced quantity options.
You should upgrade to Pro if any of the following apply:
- You run more than one pickup location.
- You want to accept card payments via Stripe.
- Your products are sold by weight or multi-unit (e.g. half-kilo, whole-kilo, per-gram) and you need multiple quantity types on one product.
- You want customers to use favourites, table view, or message you directly on their order.
- You want customers to be able to amend their own orders for a window after checkout.
- You want holiday closures and per-date capacity overrides.
The free build is a full click & collect platform, not a demo or crippled trial. It's genuinely useful on day one. Upgrade when you hit a limit that matters for your shop; everything transfers across with no data loss.
Next Steps
- Getting Started: install the plugin and create your first location.
- Activating Pro: already have a licence? Activate it.
- Migrating Free → Pro: step-by-step upgrade path.