Volusion vs. 3DCart

Rounding out the “big three” ecommerce shopping cart service providers, after BigCommerce, are Volusion and 3DCart. While both have been around since the late 1990s, Volusion and 3DCart represent slightly different approaches to shopping cart service which result in end products that may appeal to different types of users. So, which one is right for you?

Overview

The 3DCart service is available at a number of different price points. These include the $19.99 US per month Mini plan (50 products, 1GB of bandwidth, 1GB of storage), the $35.99 per month Starter plan (100 products, 2GB of bandwidth, 2GB of storage), the $65.99 per month Professional plan (5000 products, 4GB of bandwidth, unlimited storage), the $99.99 per month (other) Professional plan (unlimited products, 15GB of bandwidth, unlimited storage), and the $199.99 per month Premium plan (unlimited products, 60GB of bandwidth, unlimited storage). These are all subject to a one-time setup fee, which is currently discounted to $49.99 ($149 for the Premium plan), and the more expensive plans include some bonus features, such as QuickBooks integration.

Volusion, similarly, offers a few different options for users. These include the $29 per month Steel plan (100 products, 2GB of data transfer), the $39 per month Bronze plan (500 products, 3GB of data transfer), the $79 per month Silver plan (1000 products, 5GB of data transfer), the $99 per month Gold plan (5000 products, 15GB of data transfer), and the $179 per month Platinum plan (unlimited products, 25GB of data transfer). Volusion’s start up fee is $49 for all plans.

The Features

In most areas, Volusion is a solid service, not really outdoing the field in any particular way, but providing features that are more or less in line with what users expect. These features include several payment gateway options, including the popular PayPal and Google Checkout services as well as direct credit card payment for merchant account holders, some automated search engine optimization, and some added shipping integration capabilities (Canada Post and DHL WorldWide service in addition to US standards like USPS and FedEx).

In virtually every area, though, 3DCart does a little bit more. They offer some unusual additional payment gateway options, such as Bank of America and Merchant-Accounts.ca; their SEO and inventory management features are slightly more advanced than most of those offered by Volusion. Additionally, 3DCart makes it easier for users to receive direct credit card payments by including McAfee Secure, which automates almost every aspect of PCI compliance.

Ease of Use

3DCart is also, overall, somewhat easier to use from the perspective of the average user. Day-to-day management is simplified to a degree, largely thanks to the inclusion of the aforementioned McAfee Secure. Storefront design is also easier to manage with 3DCart, as they allow users to easily rotate different design templates, which is useful for promoting seasonal specials and the like.

Both Volusion and 3DCart are poorly suited to the needs of users who want to customize the look and feel of their stores, at least compared to services like Shopify and FoxyCart. 3DCart gets the edge in this area because, at least, their preset storefront templates are reasonably attractive, whereas Volusion’s templates are really lacking.

Conclusion

In most ways, 3DCart offers a more robust service than Volusion. The only exception is for users whose stores will come in at close to 100 products, in which case Volusion’s Steel plan is much more affordable over the course of a year than 3DCart’s Starter plan. That being said, some users may find that, even in this case, 3DCart’s superior service justifies the added cost.