3dcart e-commerce review

Keven Chang

Last updated: Apr 21, 2020

This feature-heavy provider hosts online stores with hundreds of available integrations.

3dcart is an e-commerce software provider that helps businesses build online storefronts. It offers a variety of service tiers bundled for businesses large or small, but some merchants complain of lackluster tech support.

Choose this provider if you want access to a fully hosted online store builder.

Consider something else if you want more control over website design with a self-hosted e-commerce solution.

Try 3dcart with a 15-day trial without entering a credit card.

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3dcart’s services

Build an online storefront from the ground up with 3dcart’s feature-rich services:

Online store builder. Select from hundreds of website themes and e-commerce integrations to customise your online store.
Shopping cart. Add as many products as you’d like with unlimited bandwidth, built-in SEO features and PCI-compliant shopping cart software.
Order management. Track orders and print shipping labels from your customer management dashboard.
Inventory management. Manage online store inventory with bulk import and export tools, stock counts and product reports.
Marketing software. Build a free blog, advertise on social media, integrate with Google Shopping and launch targeted email campaigns.
Mobile e-commerce. Extend your reach with mobile-ready themes equipped with Google AMP, AJAX coding and Shift4Shop online store management integration.

3dcart’s pricing and fees

Please note all prices are expressed in US Dollars on the 3dcart website.

3dcart service tiers run from $19 to $200 monthly, and comes with a 15-day trial — without entering a credit card. If you’re impressed with its offerings, you can select one of its paid plans.

If you’re just starting out in e-commerce or plan on running a small- to medium-sized store, pick one of the small business plans: Startup or Basic. If you’re looking for more features, the Plus or Pro plans might be a better fit.

Each plan offers:

Unlimited products and bandwidth
API and FTP access
Real-time shipping
Inventory management
Bulk quantity discounts
Sales reports and dashboards
Product reviews
SEO tools

Blog
Gift certificates, coupons and discounts
Mobile store
Facebook and Google Shop integration
24/7 tech support
More than 100 payment gateways
No setup or transaction fees

For a detailed comparison of features, visit 3dcart’s pricing page.

Startup and Basic plans

At $19 per month, the Startup plan could be a good option for businesses processing less than $50,000 annually. It allows you to add one staff user and two email accounts, so it’s ideal if you run a small store.

If your business processes up to $100,000 annually, the Basic plan comes in at $29 per month. It allows two staff users, up to five email accounts and provides 24-hour phone support.

The Basic plan builds on the offerings of the Startup plan with affiliate programs eBay integration, Amazon order sync and the following features:
- Customer relationship manager. Keeps a record of customer interactions, helps answer customer questions and organises customer contacts.
- 3dFeedback. Receive ratings and feedback from customers.
- Daily deals. Display a discounted item for 24 hours on your homepage with a countdown timer.
- Group deals. Discounted item that requires a set number of purchases within a specific time.

Plus plan

At $79 per month, the mid-tier Plus plan allows you to add up to five staff users and 10 email accounts. It’s best suited to businesses processing up to $250,000 annually.

In addition to all of the Startup and Basic plan features, the Plus plan offers:
- Customer groups. Target specific customer segments with special pricing, marketing, promotions and more.
- Make-an-Offer. 3dcart’s price-negotiation tool.
- Store credits. Issue store credits to customers as you see fit and add credits for returned items.
- Abandoned cart saver. Create email campaigns for customers who have unpurchased items in their cart, encouraging them to come back to complete the sale.
- Email marketing newsletters. Email your customers about special sales and promotions through this built-in feature.
- Email accounts. Hosted email accounts for you and your staff that can be accessed through the 3dcart dashboard.
- Product comparison. Allow customers to compare product specs side by side.
- Gift registry. Customers can create a complete gift registry that shows only products from your store.
- Product Q&A. Similar to the Q&A section on Amazon, this allows customers to ask and answer questions about your products right on the product page.
- Reward loyalty program. Encourage customers to register an account on your site by allowing them to earn rewards for purchases.
- Facebook dynamic ads. Connect your 3dcart store to Facebook to take advantage of Facebook’s targeted ad campaigns.

Pro plan

At $229 per month, the Pro plan allows for 15 staff users and 30 email accounts. This account is best suited to those businesses processing up to $1 million annually.

In addition to the features in the lower-tier plans, Pro offers:
- Autoresponder campaigns. Send personalised automated emails to your customers, including thank you notes and exclusive coupons.
- Autoship recurring orders. Set up a subscription service for frequently ordered items.
- Houzz order import. Sync your orders and inventory between your 3dcart store and your Houzz account to centralise your business.
- Preorders. Allow your customers to preorder upcoming products.
- Sales rep management. Track sales, leads and commissions of your sales team.
- Delivery estimate preview. Your customers receives an estimate of when their product will arrive.

Enterprise platform

If you’re an online store that annually processes more than $1 million, you may want to look into 3dcart’s scalable Enterprise platform, that can handle high-volume sales and traffic.

You’re allowed unlimited staff users with the Enterprise plan and will receive a dedicated team of support, server admins and developers to protect the performance and security of your online store.
Prices for the Enterprise platform range from $499 to $999 monthly and include the following features:
Unlimited disk space
Unlimited staff users
Unlimited email hosting
Monthly upgrades for functionality
FTP access to files
Daily backups
DDOS protection
24/7 priority support

3dcart’s Agency Program

If you run an agency that sets up e-commerce stores for clients, you can use 3dcart as a white-label solution. 3dcart promotes your agency to over 20,000 businesses and you’ll gain access to a dedicated agency newsletter as well as sandbox accounts for your developer team.

How much technical experience do I need?

3dcart offers secure hosting with Cloudflare integration and unlimited disk space for products and images. Data is backed up daily and there’s nothing to install — all you need is an Internet connection.

3dcart’s themes are mobile-ready and don’t require programming knowledge. In fact, the 3dcart rep we spoke with suggested most merchants can get their store up and running in a few days. Should you get stuck, you can download a free Building an Online Store ebook from 3dcart’s website or hire an e-commerce website designer from 3dcart’s expert forum.

What design options does it have?

3dcart offers access to a comprehensive library of both free and paid themes to choose from. It has more than 100 free themes and its paid theme prices range from $149 to $199. Themes are grouped by industry so you can start building your website quickly.

Here are some of the free themes you can choose from:

‹ ›

Pros and cons

Pros

Feature-rich service. Even 3dcart’s Startup and Basic plans come loaded with practical features.
Hundreds of integrations. 3dcart offers flexibility and customization with the ability to integrate with hundreds of payment processors and third-party software providers.
Fully hosted. Enjoy secure Level 1 PCI hosting with no software downloads required.
Transparent pricing. 3dcart’s website lists its service prices alongside what features you can expect to receive in each service tier.
Preferred processing rates. 3dcart doesn’t charge transaction fees, but it offers preferred processing rates with its partners starting at 2.9% plus $0.30 for each transaction.

Cons

No processing. 3dcart doesn’t provide payment processing, so you’ll need to connect with a third-party processor before you can start accepting payments.
Poorly reviewed support. While 3dcart’s technical support is available 24/7, some customers report long wait times and inexperienced support staff.

The 3dcart signup process begins on its website:

Enter your email address and click Create your store now.
Enter your full name and phone number. Click Create your store now.
Select your business industry and tell 3dcart which of its services you’re interested in.
Enter your estimated annual revenue. Click Start Building My Store.

From here, you’ll enter the online store builder, where you’ll have access to all the tools you need to start creating your website.

What other products will I need?

3dcart has plenty of e-commerce features to offer, but lacks several components of the processing equation:

Payment processor. 3dcart integrates with more than 100 payment gateways, including Stripe, Square, PayPal, Bitpay and WorldPay.
Merchant account. If your selected payment processor doesn’t provide merchant accounts, be prepared to source one from a third-party.
Checking account. Before you can process payments, you’ll need to connect a business checking account.

What is 3dcart?

3dcart is an e-commerce software provider headquartered in Tamarac, Florida. It was founded in 1997 and now services over 22,000 merchants across the US.

Bottom line

3dcart is a solid platform for small businesses or merchants looking to start an online store. But it doesn’t offer its own payment processor, which means micro merchants and side-gig stores may prefer the ease of an all-in-one platform.

Head to 3dcart’s site if you’re ready to sign up, or compare other e-commerce platforms to find the right fit.

Frequently asked questions

Am I locked into a contract when I sign up for 3dcart?

No, 3dcart’s service is available month-to-month with no termination fees.

Do I need my own web hosting when I sign up for 3dcart?

No, 3dcart provides web hosting when you sign up for a plan. You can, however, host a 3dcart store on your own website.

Shannon Terrell

Shannon Terrell is a writer for Finder who studied communications and English literature at the University of Toronto. On any given day, you can find her researching everything from equine financing and business loans to student debt refinancing and how to start a trust. She loves hot coffee, the smell of fresh books and discovering new ways to save her pennies.

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