The Best Ways to Start a Free Online Store in Malaysia (2026)
"Free" online store tools come in very different shapes. Some let you open your own branded shop and only charge when you actually make a sale. Some are free to list on, but you're really renting someone else's customers. Some are free software that still needs paid hosting. And a few platforms everyone assumes are free actually start at hundreds of ringgit a month. If you want to buat kedai online percuma without nasty surprises, the trick is matching the tool to your stage. This guide breaks down five honest ways to start selling online in Malaysia in 2026 — what each one really costs, who it suits, and where it bites. Fees and plans were checked against the providers' own pages in June 2026; where a number was unclear, we kept it as a conservative range rather than guess.
1.
JomJual — free own-store, pay only when you sell
Our pick
Best for Malaysian sellers who want their own branded store and native local payments without a monthly bill — and who are comfortable being early adopters of a new platform. · RM0/month, no card to sign up. Flat 2% per successful order only — if you don't sell, you don't pay. Custom domain supported.
JomJual is a Malaysian own-store builder: you get your own storefront (yourstore.jomjual.my or a custom domain), keep your customer data and branding, and pay nothing until an order succeeds — then a flat 2% is withheld from that payout. Setup is no-code and takes about 5 minutes, with a page builder, themes, variants, inventory, vouchers and reviews. The big local win is built-in payments — FPX, Touch 'n Go, GrabPay, Boost, DuitNow QR, cards and COD via Curlec/Razorpay — plus EasyParcel shipping with auto AWB labels and tracking, in BM/EN/ZH/TA. The honest caveat: it's brand-new and founder-led, so there's no long track record, a smaller team, and a smaller app/integration ecosystem than WooCommerce or Shopify.
No monthly fee and no card to start; 2% is charged only on a successful order
Native Malaysian payments built in (FPX, TnG, GrabPay, Boost, DuitNow QR, cards, COD)
EasyParcel shipping with auto AWB labels and real-time tracking included
You own your subdomain/custom domain, customer data and branding
Fast no-code setup; BM/EN/ZH/TA storefront and dashboard
New and pre-traction — no established track record or large user base yet
Small founder-led team and a smaller third-party app/integration ecosystem
The 2% per-sale fee, while only on successful orders, still exists
Malaysia-focused, so less suited to sellers anchored outside MY
Best for Sellers who want buyers from day one and don't yet have an audience — the marketplace's built-in traffic and discovery is the real reason to be here. · Free to list. Shopee charges per-sale fees that stack; Carousell is free to list in most categories with no seller fee on basic chat deals.
Marketplaces are the fastest way to put a product in front of ready-to-buy shoppers without building an audience — that built-in traffic is their genuine strength. Carousell Malaysia is free to list in most categories, with no seller fee on standard chat transactions (quotas and fees apply in Property and Autos). Shopee is free to list but takes a cut on every sale: category commission (roughly 2–6% depending on category), a transaction fee of around 2%, plus a 5% technical support fee introduced in 2026, and any optional programmes you opt into — these stack up. The catch on both: you don't own the customer relationship, branding is limited, and you compete on price next to everyone else.
Built-in buyer traffic and product discovery from day one
Free to list; Carousell has no seller fee on most basic deals
Trusted checkout and logistics that shoppers already know
Good for testing demand before investing in your own store
You rent the customer — limited data, branding and direct relationship
Heavy price competition sitting beside identical listings
Hard to build a defensible brand you fully control
3.
WooCommerce (free plugin + paid hosting)
Best for Sellers who want maximum control and ownership, take no platform cut on sales, and are comfortable with (or will pay for) some technical setup. · Plugin is free and open-source; no platform fee on sales. Real cost is hosting (~US$3–50+/mo) plus a domain (~US$10–20/yr) and any paid extensions/themes.
WooCommerce is the free, open-source store plugin for WordPress — the software itself costs nothing and takes no commission on your sales, which is a real advantage at scale. You get near-total control over design, data and functionality, and a huge ecosystem of plugins. But "free plugin" isn't a free store: you pay for hosting, a domain, an SSL/security setup, a theme, and often paid extensions for things like local payment gateways and shipping. A simple DIY WooCommerce store realistically runs from around US$150/year upward. For Malaysian sellers, expect to install and configure local payment and EasyParcel-style shipping plugins yourself, and to handle updates and maintenance.
Free, open-source core with no platform commission on sales
Full ownership and control of your store, data and design
Massive plugin and theme ecosystem for almost any need
Scales well and avoids per-sale fees as volume grows
Not actually free to run — hosting, domain and extensions cost money
You're responsible for setup, security, updates and maintenance
Local MY payments and shipping need separate plugins/configuration
Steeper learning curve than hosted no-code builders
4.
Google Forms & link-in-bio (Linktree etc.)
Best for Testing an idea or taking a handful of orders this week with zero setup — before you commit to a real store. · Google Forms is genuinely free but has no payments or inventory. Linktree's free tier can sell, but takes a 12% cut on free-plan sales (on top of payment processing).
These are the truly-zero-setup options. A Google Form plus a WhatsApp number is completely free and great for collecting orders manually — but it has no payment collection, no inventory, no automatic stock or tracking, so you chase payment and reconcile everything by hand. Link-in-bio tools like Linktree have a free tier that can sell products directly, but on the free plan Linktree keeps about 12% of each sale (before payment processing), with branding you can't remove and limited customisation. Both are excellent for validating demand fast, but neither gives you a real branded storefront, proper checkout, or the local payment options Malaysian buyers expect. Treat them as a starting point, not a destination.
Fastest possible way to start — minutes, no real setup
Google Forms is genuinely free for collecting orders
No commitment; perfect for validating a product idea
Familiar tools your customers already know how to use
Google Forms has no payments, inventory or order tracking — all manual
Linktree's free plan takes ~12% per sale plus locked branding
No real branded storefront or proper local checkout
Doesn't scale — you outgrow it quickly with real volume
5.
EasyStore & Shopify — the "assumed free" paid platforms
Best for Established sellers who want a polished, fully-featured hosted platform and are happy to pay a monthly subscription for it — just don't expect a free tier. · Not free. EasyStore plans start around RM249/month; Shopify Basic is roughly RM119/month (US$39), plus payment-gateway fees. Free trials only, no permanent free plan.
These get listed in "free online store" searches a lot, so it's worth being clear: they are not free. EasyStore is a strong Malaysia-built hosted platform with local payments and logistics, but its plans start at around RM249/month and run up to roughly RM1,199/month — it does not charge separate transaction/commission fees, but there's no permanent free plan, only trials. Shopify is the global heavyweight with the deepest app ecosystem; Basic is about US$39/month (~RM119), and because Shopify Payments isn't available in Malaysia you'll also pay your chosen gateway's fees. Both are genuinely good products — if your budget supports a monthly subscription, they're worth considering. They just don't belong in the truly-free bucket.
Polished, feature-rich hosted platforms with strong support
EasyStore is Malaysia-built with local payments and logistics
Shopify has the largest app/theme ecosystem in e-commerce
EasyStore charges no separate per-sale transaction fee
Not free — monthly subscription required after any trial
EasyStore starts ~RM249/mo; Shopify Basic ~RM119/mo plus gateway fees
Shopify Payments isn't available in MY, so add a third-party gateway
Ongoing fixed cost even in slow months when you sell little
Questions & answers
Macam mana nak buat kedai online percuma di Malaysia?
Ada beberapa cara percuma untuk mula. Pilihan paling mudah ialah Google Form plus WhatsApp (betul-betul percuma tapi semua manual). Untuk kedai berjenama sendiri tanpa yuran bulanan, platform own-store seperti JomJual membenarkan anda buka kedai percuma dan hanya bayar 2% bila ada jualan berjaya — kalau tak jual, tak bayar. Anda juga boleh jual percuma di marketplace seperti Shopee atau Carousell, tetapi anda 'menyewa' pelanggan platform itu dan bayar yuran setiap jualan. Pilih ikut peringkat perniagaan anda.
Is it really possible to start an online store with zero cost?
Yes, to start. A Google Form is free, marketplaces are free to list on, and own-store platforms like JomJual have no monthly fee and no card to sign up. The honest nuance is in how each makes money later: marketplaces and link-in-bio tools take a cut per sale, WooCommerce needs paid hosting, and platforms like EasyStore and Shopify charge monthly. The closest to 'free until you succeed' is an own-store platform that only charges a small percentage on completed orders.
Are Shopify and EasyStore free?
No. Both offer free trials but no permanent free plan. Shopify's Basic plan is around US$39/month (~RM119), and because Shopify Payments isn't available in Malaysia you'll also pay your payment gateway's fees. EasyStore plans start at roughly RM249/month. They're capable platforms worth paying for if your budget supports a subscription — they just aren't free ways to start.
Marketplace or my own store — which should I choose?
Use both for different jobs. Marketplaces like Shopee give you instant buyer traffic, which is invaluable when you have no audience yet — but you don't own the customer and you pay stacking per-sale fees. Your own store (WooCommerce, JomJual, or a paid platform) gives you branding, customer data and a relationship you control, usually at lower or no per-sale cost. Many Malaysian sellers list on a marketplace to find buyers, then drive repeat customers to their own store to keep margins and the relationship.
Published by JomJual (we're one of the options below — entry 1 — so weigh that, then check our claims against the others'). We compared the realistic ways a Malaysian seller can start an online store today, pulling current pricing and fee structures from each provider's own pricing/help pages in June 2026. Marketplace and platform fees change often; where a figure was ambiguous or unverifiable we state a range or describe how the fees stack rather than cite a precise number. Last updated: June 2026.
5 Best Ways to Start a Free Online Store in Malaysia (2026)