thirty bees
thirty bees operates an open-source e-commerce platform forked from PrestaShop 1.6, serving small and medium-sized merchants globally with over 500 built-in features. It monetizes through membership tiers, a marketplace for modules and themes, and partner agency agreements, with no venture capital backing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersBrentwood, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What thirty bees does
thirty bees is an open-source e-commerce platform forked from PrestaShop 1.6 and operated by Thirty Bees B.V., a Netherlands-domiciled private limited company with a US copyright entity (thirty development llc). The platform is built on a Bootstrap-based modular architecture supporting PHP 8.0/8.1 and MySQL, with over 500 built-in features spanning responsive design, one-page checkout, multi-site management, multi-currency (including cryptocurrency), multi-language support, SEO tooling, and a native module bundle covering PayPal, Stripe, MailChimp, Google Analytics, Piwik/Matomo, Elasticsearch, tawk.to, and Google Optimize. Core development is led by a small team (1-10 employees) anchored by team members Petr and Chiel V, with contributions from a global community and a roster of partner agencies across Europe (Italy, Denmark, Russia, France, Bulgaria, Switzerland) and North America.
The platform is distributed free of charge via direct download and through a one-click deployment partnership with CloudWays; merchants can also acquire themes, modules, and services through the thirty bees marketplace. Commercial revenue is generated through four channels: a tiered forum-based membership program (Ivory $5/month through Platinum $100/month), a Premium Module Offer subscription launched in 2023, paid support and custom development services, and partner agency agreements. The primary customer segment is small to medium-sized merchants, including those migrating from PrestaShop, with named examples in sports equipment (TwigHockey, Canada), bicycles (AlibaBike, France), general retail (Mikasa, Bulgaria), and games (Spielezar, Switzerland).
The company has no external venture capital, no parent company, and no disclosed revenue, relying on community support, donations, and the revenue streams above. Major version releases occur roughly every 6-12 months (v1.3 in October 2021, v1.4 in November 2022, v1.5 in October 2023, v1.6 in November 2024), with version 1.4 marking the transition to full PHP 8 support and the deprecation of PHP 5.6. The legal entity is headquartered in Middelburg, Netherlands, while the firmographic record lists a Brentwood, US address and a US toll-free contact number, indicating a cross-Atlantic operating footprint managed by a very small core team.
thirty bees firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- thirty bees
- Legal name
- Thirty Bees B.V.
- Website
- https://thirtybees.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- thirty bees operates an open-source e-commerce platform forked from PrestaShop 1.6, serving small and medium-sized merchants globally with over 500 built-in features. It monetizes through membership tiers, a marketplace for modules and themes, and partner agency agreements, with no venture capital backing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where thirty bees is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brentwood
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
thirty bees business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Membership/Supporter Program: Monthly subscription tiers providing tiered support access, premium modules, and support minutes. Ivory ($5/month), Silver ($15/month), Gold ($55/month), Platinum ($100/month).
- Marketplace Modules and Themes: Paid modules and themes sold through the thirty bees marketplace.
- Partner Agency Agreements: Revenue from partner agency partnerships - the only commercial revenue channel. Partners include agencies, hosting partners, service partners, and training partners.
- Paid Support Services: Custom development, support, and consulting services offered through the platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Ivory Member - Basic community support access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Silver Member - Premium modules access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Gold Member - Premium modules plus support |
| Subscription | Monthly | Platinum Member - Maximum support tier |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
thirty bees product offering
Product offeringCore offering
thirty bees distributes a free, open source e-commerce platform forked from PrestaShop 1.6, delivered with 500+ built-in features, modular extensions, multi-currency (including crypto) and multi-language support, and a marketplace for paid themes and modules. Commercial revenue comes from tiered membership subscriptions, premium module subscriptions, paid support/services, and partner agency agreements.
Product overview
Thirty Bees is an open source ecommerce platform offering a unified core product with a modular architecture. The platform includes over 500 built-in features covering responsive design, one-page checkout, multi-currency/crypto support, SEO tools, and secure out-of-the-box functionality. The platform provides native modules for PayPal, Stripe, MailChimp, Google Analytics, Elasticsearch, and more. Additional capabilities are extended through the Marketplace offering paid and free modules, themes, and services. Premium functionality is available through a subscription model ($15-100/month) providing access to advanced modules for warehouse management, support ticketing, and payment processing. The platform is actively maintained with version releases approximately every 6-12 months, with version 1.6 released November 2024.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Thirty Bees Core E-commerce Platform Free, open source e-commerce platform forked from PrestaShop 1.6 that lets merchants quickly set up and scale online shops with over 500 built-in features, responsive Bootstrap design, one-page checkout, multi-currency (including crypto), multi-language support, SEO tools and modular extensions.
- Core Updater Module Git-based updater module for thirty bees that delivers quick, low-friction version upgrades with error tracking, reducing the operational cost of keeping the platform current.
- Premium Module Subscription Subscription-based access to premium thirty bees modules covering warehouse management, Mollie payments, support ticketing, FAQ snippets and similar advanced capabilities on a recurring fee.
- Thirty Bees Marketplace Online marketplace at store.thirtybees.com distributing paid and free third-party themes, modules and services for the thirty bees e-commerce platform.
- Paid Support and Custom Development Services Custom development, support and consulting services for thirty bees merchants, delivered through partner agencies or directly via the marketplace.
Companies that use thirty bees
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
thirty bees technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Feature6 records
thirty bees partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ModuleZcoreRussian-based module developer and marketplace since 2009. Brings over 50 modules to thirty bees platform. Specializes in custom data integrations including popular 1C Enterprise integration, migrations, upgrades, and support.
- FuturE-ShopcoreWeb agency from Northern Italy founded in 2009. PrestaShop certified partner for 5 years. Specializes in eBay template design, ecommerce solutions, marketplace synchronization (eBay, Amazon, ePrice), migrations from PrestaShop, custom module development, SEO, SEM, and website optimization.
- dh42coreDesign and development agency providing PrestaShop support, development, and ecommerce SEO services. Operated by Lesley Paone, owner active in the ecommerce community for almost a decade.
- Nemo's PostscriptumminorPartner agency offering thirty bees services.
- BulldesignminorPartner agency providing thirty bees design and development services.
- PrestaRockminorPartner agency offering thirty bees services.
- INNERCODEminorPartner agency providing thirty bees services.
- PrestaliaminorPartner agency offering thirty bees services.
- idnovateminorPartner agency providing thirty bees services.
- Modified SolutionscoreFull service design and development agency located in Denmark. Large team of designers and developers with over 7 years ecommerce experience. Notable clients include Pricerunner, bSocial Cloud, and SkoBox. Offers design, development, hosting, and training in site packages.
- CloudWayscoreCloud hosting partner offering one-click thirty bees launch on their platform.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
thirty bees competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- PrestaShop: The upstream open-source e-commerce platform from which thirty bees was forked in 2017. Directly competes for the same SMB merchant base, with thirty bees positioning specifically as a PrestaShop 1.6-compatible alternative.
- WooCommerce: Dominant open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress, targeting the same SMB and small-merchant segment. Competes on free core, large extension marketplace, and community-driven development.
- OpenCart: Open-source PHP-based e-commerce platform with a free core and marketplace of paid extensions. Directly comparable on technology stack, business model, and target SMB merchants.
- osCommerce: Long-standing open-source online store software distributed for free. Comparable on PHP/LAMP stack, free download model, and SMB merchant focus, though smaller active community.
- Shopware: Open-source e-commerce platform with a community (free) edition, primarily serving European SMB and mid-market merchants. Comparable on open-core model and SMB target segment.
Broad incumbents
- Magento Open Source (Adobe Commerce): Open-source e-commerce platform owned by Adobe, overlapping with thirty bees on free self-hosted deployments but skewed upmarket in installed base and feature depth.
- Shopify: Leading SaaS e-commerce platform targeting SMBs globally. Competes with thirty bees for the same merchant persona but via a hosted, paid model versus thirty bees' free open-source distribution.
Emerging players
- Sylius: Open-source headless e-commerce framework built on Symfony. Comparable as an open-source commerce option but skews toward developers and mid-market customization versus thirty bees' turnkey SMB positioning.
- Saleor: Open-source GraphQL-first e-commerce platform. Comparable on open-source distribution and developer-led growth, though positioned more for API-driven and headless commerce use cases.
- Bagisto: Open-source e-commerce platform built on Laravel. Comparable on free open-source core and SMB merchant focus, particularly in emerging markets, but smaller ecosystem than thirty bees.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
thirty bees social profiles
Digital presencethirty bees financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
thirty bees leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
thirty bees funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
thirty bees M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about thirty bees
What does thirty bees do?
thirty bees distributes a free, open source e-commerce platform forked from PrestaShop 1.6, delivered with 500+ built-in features, modular extensions, multi-currency (including crypto) and multi-language support, and a marketplace for paid themes and modules. Commercial revenue comes from tiered membership subscriptions, premium module subscriptions, paid support/services, and partner agency agreements.
Is thirty bees a public or private company?
thirty bees is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was thirty bees founded?
thirty bees was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is thirty bees based?
thirty bees is headquartered in Brentwood, United States, in the North America region.
How does thirty bees make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership/Supporter Program is the primary driver. The others are marketplace Modules and Themes, partner Agency Agreements and paid Support Services.
Who are thirty bees's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are PrestaShop, WooCommerce, OpenCart, osCommerce and Shopware. Broad incumbents are Magento Open Source (Adobe Commerce) and Shopify. Emerging players are Sylius, Saleor and Bagisto.
Does thirty bees have an API?
No public API is recorded for thirty bees.