PrestaShop is an e-commerce solution which is free for the basic kernel and open source. However, it requires expensive add-ons to make it fully functional and can end up costing more than comparable solutions. For example, the Authorize.net payment gateway module alone costs $322.00 USD. It is available under the Open Software License and officially launched in August 2007 for small to medium-sized businesses. The software, which is based on the Smarty template engine, has approximately 24,000 active stores as of August 2009.

The software PrestaShop was founded in Paris, France by Igor Schlumberger and Bruno Lévêque. Over 40 languages are available to varying degrees, with only English and French having full support in all release versions. While official support is not provided, many answered questions are available on the official forum. The software makes extensive use of AJAX in the admin panel, while module blocks can be easily added to the store to provide extra functionality; these are normally provided free of charge by independent developers. The makers of PrestaShop have an official marketplace for priced modules and themes entitled PrestaStore.