A multi-vendor website is an eCommerce platform where multiple users can sell their products and website owners get a commission from the sales. For example, Amazon.com and eBay.com are the two biggest marketplace websites. Choosing the best multi-vendor plugins is very important to start an online business.
With the dawn of 2014, some popular plugins like Dokan multivendor marketplace, WC Vendors, and WC marketplace came to the market to meet the customers’ requirements. In this article, we’ll cover the best multi-vendor plugins, Dokan vs WC vendors vs WC marketplace.
Set up a website like Amazon or eBay with WordPress
If you want to create a marketplace website like Amazon or eBay, you can head over to WordPress. Because WordPress is comparatively cheaper and doesn’t take too much development cost. Here, we’ll give instructions on how to do it with WordPress.
After successful installation of WordPress, install the free eCommerce plugin WooCommerce. WooCommerce is the most powerful tool to create an eCommerce platform and it is enriched with thousands of add-ons/plugins developed across the world.
Then install any of the plugins-
- Dokan multi-vendor marketplace
- WC Vendors
- or WC marketplace
For your selection, we prepared a comparison chart below.
Dokan vs WC Vendor vs WC Marketplace
| Features | Dokan Multi-Vendor | WC Vendors | WC Marketplace |
| Free Version Available | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Refund Policy | Yes | No | Yes |
| Add and Manage Products | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Product Images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Product Categories and Tags | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Add Variable Products | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Add Downloadable Products | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Run Limited Time Discount | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tax Options | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Update Order Status | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Frontend Order Tracking Module | Yes | Yes | No |
| Frontend Dashboard for Vendors | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| General Shipping Options | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Frontend Product Management | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Back-ordering System | Yes | No | No |
| Stock Management | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Store Header Image | Yes | Yes | No |
| Social Media Links | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Store URL | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Store Specific Ticket System | Yes | No | Yes |
| Store Specific Contact Form | Yes | No | Yes |
| Google Map | Yes | No | No |
| Store SEO Options | Yes | No | Yes |
| WooCommerce Booking Integration | Yes | No | No |
| Withdraw Options | Paypal, Skrill PayPal adaptive and Stripe (paid) | PayPal, PayPal adaptive Stripe (Paid addon) | Paypal Mass Pay, PayPal adaptive |
| Seller Reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Seller Vacation Mode | Yes | No | Yes |
| Coupon Creation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Seller Management UI | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manage Reviews | Yes | No | No |
| Admin Announcements for Seller | Yes | No | Yes |
| Single Product from Multiple Sellers | Yes | No | Yes |
| Seller Verification Systems | Yes | No | No |
| Admin Reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Trusted Sellers | Yes | No | No |
| Individual Vendor Stores | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Order Email Notifications | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Making Announcements | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Storefront Widgets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social Login | Yes | No | No |
| Earning Report | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bookable Products | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fixed Commission for Vendors | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Commission Types | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Product Level Shipping | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Setup Wizard | Yes | No | Yes |
| Tech Support | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
| Free Product Updates | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
| Price | $149 onwards | $149 | $80 onwards |
Best Multi-vendor Plugins 1: Dokan
Dokan is a multi-vendor marketplace and e-commerce plugin for WordPress, providing online entrepreneurs with a platform that lets them create and manage their own online marketplace that caters to multiple vendors from around the world.
With Dokan, users give online vendors a space on the internet where they can set up and run their own store, manage all aspects of their operations, and grow their business. It is the ideal plugin to build a multi-vendor marketplace like Amazon or eBay.
Till now, Dokan has created more than 10,000+ online marketplaces worldwide and has downloaded more than 173,000 times.
Dokan Features
Let’s look at Dokan’s splendid features:
Powerful User-Friendly Dashboard
Dokan has the full WooCommerce options to frontend. Sellers can manage almost everything without touching the WordPress backend. From editing their profile information to managing products, orders, and all other features, vendors can do it directly from the frontend dashboard.
Advanced Product Options
With Dokan sellers can customize advanced product options such as product variations, stock, discounted price, scheduling of discount, SKU, limit quantity per order, allow/disallow back orders, image gallery, etc..
View orders/update order status
In Dokan, sellers can view all orders, and filter orders by date or order status. They can update the order status (such as processing, pending, shipped, etc..)
Percentage-based custom commission system
As an admin, you can set a custom commission per sale, based on the percentage system. You can add a specific commission for a specific seller.
Custom coupons for sellers
Dokan makes things easier by incorporating the coupon system for WooCommerce into the front and sellers can feel free to create their own custom coupons.
Seller verification add-on
In Dokan, there is a seller verification add-on. The Seller verification add-on adds the verification option to your website. If you want to make your website more reliable, you can add a verification system. Verification add-on adds photo ID upload, phone verification and social media site account verification like Twitter, and Facebook.
Fund withdrawal options
Dokan has PayPal and Skrill as withdrawal options. There are also PayPal adaptive and Stripe options but as paid options.
Custom store options
Sellers can add a custom banner to their web store pages, contact forms, social media links, Google maps, etc..
Vacation mode for sellers
Vacation mode for sellers is one of the most important features of a marketplace. If a seller wants to pause their store for some time, they can put their store on hold for a certain period of time. Vacation mode will avoid unwanted orders and their unfortunate cancellation after order placement. This mode helps sellers avoid negative customer feedback.
Sellers can edit customer reviews
As a site admin, you can enable customer review options. After enabling this option sellers can manage their customer reviews.
Support system
Support system is available in Dokan as an add-on. If the site admin enables this add-on, sellers will have a support button on their web store page. Customers can generate support tickets which in turn should be handled by sellers.
Tax Options
Dokan sellers now have options to customize tax on their own.
Best Multi-vendor Plugins 2: WC Vendors
WCVendors is a WooCommerce add-on with the help of which you can start a multivendor marketplace like eBay or Amazon. The beauty of WC Vendors is that it brings everything to the front end.
Your site sellers/vendors get a professional product, orders, profile, and setting management dashboard. On the pro version dashboard, vendors can see their total sales, current commissions, paid commissions, recent orders, and recent products in a very nice look. Vendors can also filter data based on dates and times.
WC Vendors Features
Set up commissions
WCVendors admin lets the administrator specify the type and amount of commission. There are two options to set commissions:
- Percentage + Fee
- Fixed Fee
Instant Payment Options
If you are not selling something whose payment can’t be refunded directly, then you can make your site vendors happy by paying them instantly when someone buys their product.
Frontend products and orders management
WC Vendors sets up a beautiful frontend dashboard for vendors. There they can add, edit products, and manage their orders. Most of the WooCommerce custom product data like downloadable products, affiliate products, grouped products, SKU, Private Listing option, Tax status, tax classes, etc., is editable at the frontend.
Vendors can create custom coupons
WC Vendors lets your site vendors create their own custom coupons and set shipping charges for their products.
Best Multi-vendor Plugins 3: WC Marketplace
WC Marketplace is another WordPress plugin that works with WooCoomerce. It can turn your WordPress site into an online marketplace. The main features of this plugin come free and you can download the plugin from the WordPress repository. However, if you want advanced features like product frontend editing, frontend reporting, etc, you need to buy a WC Marketplace premium add-on.
This plugin has support for Stripe and PayPal instant payment, payment threshold, frontend product editing for vendors, vendor approval function, and custom commission settings for different products. WC Marketplace comes with some more options in the admin control panel like automatic payment scheduling for vendors, PayPal mass pay option, payment on withdrawal request, etc.
Which one is the best WooCommerce multi-vendor plugin?
Hope the detailed list of features will help you to choose the right multi-vendor plugin. It’s now your time to choose the best platform.
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