Nexternal vs. Zen Cart
Are you spending time trouble shooting Zen Cart when you should be focusing on marketing? To learn more about what differentiates Nexternal From Zen Cart, please fill out this form:
| Criteria | Nexternal | Zen Cart |
| Customer Service | Yes. Dedicated Customer Service Rep. Unlimited support. | No phone or email support. Online knowledge base & forums only. |
| Setup / Installation | Turnkey. | Highly technical. |
| Security | Managed by Nexternal. | Responsibility of Merchant. |
| Backups | Managed by Nexternal. | Responsibility of Merchant or Web Host. |
| Reliability | Nexternal hosts and maintains the application with 24/7 monitoring. | Zen Cart is hosted by a third party. Reliability varies. |
| Load Balancing | Yes. | No, software sits on a single server. |
| Software Updates | Automatic and frequent. | Merchant must download and install. |
| Always On Screen Shopping Cart | Yes. | No. |
| Direct Checkout | Yes. | No. |
| Integrated Shipping | Yes. Real-time rates, label creation, and tracking with all major carriers. | Add on module with rates only. |
| Marketplace Feeds | Automated - run daily. | Must manually create and submit data files. |
| Dashboard | Yes. | No. |
| Drop-Ship Module | Yes. | No. |
| Batch Order Processing | Yes. | No. |
| Affiliate Program | Included. | Add on module |
| Multiple Ship To Address | Yes. | No. |
| Preferred Delivery Date Selection | Yes. | No. |
| Inventory Kits/Product Bundles | Supported | Not supported. |
| McAfee SECURE | Yes. Scanned daily. Merchants can display badge. | Not included with Zen Cart. |
| Security Certificate | Included. | Separate charge. |
| Multiple Admin Access Levels | Yes. 7 different access levels. | Not standard. Need to install add-on module. |
| Storage Limits | None. | Depends on host. |
| Product Limits | No. | Varies depending upon hosting. |
Zen Cart is a Trademark of Zen Ventures, LLC.
This comparison is produced and hosted by Nexternal Solutions.
The information on this page was believed to be correct as of 11/21/2008. To report an error or discrepancy, please email
"Nexternal lets us define the user experience in our store. It's very important for us to make the customer feel comfortable, and by allowing us design flexibility, our customers still feel right at home, like they've never left the Ibis site."
Scot Nicol
Ibis Cycles
Aptos, CA