Looking for the best side cart plugin for WooCommerce? Two popular options are Caddy by Tribe Interactive and XT Floating Cart by XplodedThemes. Both add an AJAX-powered sliding cart to your store, but they take very different approaches to architecture, pricing, and long-term value. This comparison breaks down the real differences so you can make an informed decision.
TL;DR
Caddy delivers a significantly more feature-rich free version, runs on modern WooCommerce architecture (Interactivity API + Store API), and is actively maintained. XT Floating Cart locks most useful features behind its Pro tier, relies on legacy jQuery, and shows signs of infrequent updates.
Best for:
- Caddy: Store owners who want a powerful free cart out of the box, with optional Pro upgrades for analytics, automation, and abandoned cart recovery.
- XT Floating Cart: Store owners who specifically want a lifetime pricing option and value Customizer-based live preview during setup.
Overview
Caddy is a smart side cart plugin built by Tribe Interactive, a WooCommerce-focused development studio. With 4,000+ active installs and a ground-up 3.0 rebuild, Caddy is designed to increase average order value through in-cart recommendations, a free shipping meter, rewards tracking, and save-for-later functionality, all available in the free version. The Pro tier adds analytics, automation workflows, and abandoned cart tracking.
XT Floating Cart is a floating cart plugin by XplodedThemes. It has been around longer, with 5,000+ active installs and 438,000+ total downloads. On the surface those numbers look strong, but the gap between total downloads and active installs tells a story: the vast majority of users who downloaded XT Floating Cart are no longer using it. Its free version is quite limited, with most meaningful features reserved for Pro. More concerning, the plugin shows signs of infrequent updates. Check the WordPress.org listing for the latest update date.
Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | Caddy (Free) | Caddy (Pro) | XT Floating Cart (Free) | XT Floating Cart (Pro) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJAX Side Cart | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free Shipping Meter | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Product Recommendations | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Save for Later | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Rewards Meter | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Coupon Field in Cart | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Announcement Bar | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Cart Bubble Icon | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Menu Widgets/Shortcodes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Custom CSS | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fly-to-Cart Animation | No | No | No | Yes |
| Customizer Live Preview | No | No | No | Yes |
| Analytics Dashboard | No | Yes | No | No |
| Workflow Automation | No | Yes | No | No |
| Abandoned Cart Tracking | No | Yes | No | No |
| Free Gifts / Offers | No | Yes | No | No |
| Advanced Display Rules | No | Yes | No | No |
| Cart Session Monitoring | No | Yes | No | No |
| Express Checkout | No | No | No | Yes (iframe) |
| HPOS Support | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown |
| Block Theme Compatible | Yes | Yes | Unknown | Unknown |
Free Version Comparison
This is where the gap is widest. Caddy’s free version is a full-featured side cart plugin that many stores could run without ever needing to upgrade. You get AJAX cart functionality, a free shipping progress bar, in-cart product recommendations, save for later, a rewards meter, coupon support, an announcement bar, a customizable cart bubble, and widget/shortcode support.
XT Floating Cart’s free version gives you a floating cart icon with basic AJAX add-to-cart, quantity updates, and a remove-with-undo feature. That is essentially it. There is no coupon field, no cart totals display, no checkout access, no animations, no suggested products, no free shipping bar, no RTL support, and very limited customization. It is more of a demo than a usable product.
If you are evaluating free options, this is not a close comparison. Caddy’s free version does what XT Floating Cart charges for.
Pro Version Comparison
Both plugins offer paid tiers, but the value propositions are different.
Caddy Pro focuses on intelligence and automation. The analytics dashboard tracks revenue attribution, conversion rates, and cart abandonment so you can see what is actually working. Workflow automation lets you set up rules for free gifts, conditional offers, and display logic. Abandoned cart tracking gives you data on where customers are dropping off. These are features that help you make more money from the traffic you already have.
XT Floating Cart Pro focuses on filling in the features missing from its free tier. You get the free shipping bar, suggested products, coupon support, Google Fonts, and a full customizer with live preview. The standout Pro feature is express checkout, which embeds a checkout form directly in the side cart. However, this checkout is rendered inside an iframe, which creates real usability concerns. Iframe-based checkout is difficult to style consistently, can behave unpredictably across themes, and creates a disconnected experience for the customer. It is a shortcut, not a proper integration.
Caddy Pro gives you tools to grow revenue. XT Floating Cart Pro gives you the features that arguably should have been in the free version.
Performance and Architecture
This matters more than most store owners realize. The plugin that renders your cart fires on every page load. If it is bloated or poorly built, it slows down your entire store.
Caddy 3.0 is built on the WordPress Interactivity API and WooCommerce Store API. These are the modern, officially supported frameworks for building interactive WooCommerce experiences. The Interactivity API handles reactive UI updates without shipping a heavy JavaScript framework, and the Store API provides a standardized, performant way to read and write cart data. This architecture is lightweight, future-proof, and built to work seamlessly with WooCommerce’s direction.
XT Floating Cart uses traditional AJAX calls with jQuery. This was the standard approach five years ago, but it means shipping jQuery as a dependency (if your theme does not already load it), and it relies on WooCommerce’s legacy AJAX endpoints. jQuery-based cart plugins tend to be heavier, more prone to conflicts with caching plugins, and less performant on mobile. They also face increasing compatibility risk as WooCommerce continues moving toward its block-based architecture.
Both plugins will work today. But Caddy’s architecture is aligned with where WordPress and WooCommerce are heading. XT Floating Cart’s architecture is anchored to where they have been.
Pricing Comparison
| Tier | Caddy Pro | XT Floating Cart Pro |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Site | $99/year | $59/year |
| Multi-Site | $199/year (5 sites) | $109/year (3 sites) |
| Agency/Unlimited | $399/year (unlimited) | $329/year (30 sites) |
| Lifetime Option | No | Yes ($199 / $369 / $899) |
At first glance, XT Floating Cart appears cheaper. But pricing needs context.
XT Floating Cart Pro charges you to unlock features that Caddy gives away for free: free shipping bar, coupon field, suggested products, and basic customization. When you compare what each Pro tier actually adds beyond the free version, Caddy Pro’s price reflects genuine premium functionality (analytics, automation, abandoned cart tracking) rather than paywalled basics.
XT Floating Cart does offer lifetime pricing, which is a legitimate advantage if you prefer a one-time payment. The $199 lifetime single-site license could make sense for a store that plans to use the plugin long-term. However, lifetime licenses on a plugin that shows signs of infrequent updates carry real risk. If development stalls, that lifetime license buys you a plugin that slowly falls behind WooCommerce updates.
Caddy Pro includes a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Update Frequency and Maintenance
This is the biggest red flag in this comparison.
Caddy is actively maintained. Version 3.0 represents a ground-up rebuild on modern architecture. The plugin receives regular updates, and the development team (Tribe Interactive) is actively building new features and maintaining compatibility with the latest WordPress and WooCommerce releases.
XT Floating Cart has not been updated recently. Check the WordPress.org listing for the latest update date. In the WordPress ecosystem, long gaps between updates are a warning sign. WooCommerce ships major releases roughly every quarter. WordPress itself ships several updates per year. A plugin that is not keeping pace with those releases is accumulating compatibility debt. It may work fine today, but every WooCommerce update is a roll of the dice.
The download numbers reinforce this concern. XT Floating Cart has 438,000+ total downloads but only 5,000 active installs. That gap between downloads and active installs suggests a very low retention rate. Low retention can happen for many reasons, but a ratio that lopsided suggests users are consistently finding that the plugin does not meet expectations.
Compatibility
Caddy is tested and compatible with WooCommerce Subscriptions, Product Bundles, Elementor, Divi, GeneratePress, Flatsome, Astra, Kadence, OceanWP, and Storefront. It supports WooCommerce HPOS (High-Performance Order Storage) and works with block themes. These are not theoretical claims; they are confirmed by the development team and user base.
XT Floating Cart lists broad compatibility, but several support threads on WordPress.org mention styling conflicts, particularly with the iframe-based express checkout in Pro. The lack of confirmed HPOS support and block theme compatibility is notable given how aggressively WooCommerce is pushing stores toward both.
Use Case Fit
Choose Caddy if:
- You want a genuinely useful free cart plugin without being forced to upgrade for basics
- You care about modern architecture and long-term WooCommerce compatibility
- You want Pro features that actually drive revenue (analytics, automation, abandoned cart data)
- Active development and regular updates matter to you
- You run a store on a modern block theme or plan to migrate to one
- You use WooCommerce Subscriptions, Product Bundles, or other extensions
Choose XT Floating Cart if:
- You specifically want a one-time lifetime license payment
- Customizer-based live preview during setup is a priority for your workflow
- You want the fly-to-cart animation (a nice visual touch Caddy does not offer)
- You are comfortable with the maintenance risk of a plugin with infrequent updates
Final Verdict
XT Floating Cart has been a known name in the WooCommerce cart plugin space for years, and its lifetime pricing is a legitimate differentiator. The fly-to-cart animation is a polished touch, and the Customizer integration makes initial setup visually intuitive.
But the numbers do not lie. The churn rate on downloads is extraordinary. Long gaps between updates in a fast-moving ecosystem are concerning. An iframe-based checkout is a technical shortcut that creates real UX problems. And a free version that withholds basic features like coupons and a shipping bar pushes users toward a paid upgrade for functionality they can get elsewhere at no cost.
Caddy 3.0 is the stronger choice for most WooCommerce stores. The free version alone outperforms XT Floating Cart Pro in several areas. The modern architecture (Interactivity API + Store API) means better performance, fewer conflicts, and alignment with WooCommerce’s roadmap. And when you are ready for Pro, you are paying for features that generate measurable revenue impact, not unlocking features that should have been free.
Get Started with Caddy
Start free: Download Caddy on WordPress.org and get a feature-rich side cart running on your store in minutes. No credit card, no upsell walls, no catch.
Ready for more? Explore Caddy Pro for analytics, automation, abandoned cart tracking, and advanced display rules. Plans start at $99/year with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
