Aimeos vs Shuup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Aimeos | Shuup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 18 · At risk |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,703 | ★ 2,401 |
| First released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Shopify, Magento | Shopify, Magento |
What are Aimeos and Shuup?
Aimeos
Aimeos is an open-source e-commerce package that runs as a Laravel application or extension for TYPO3. It is known for handling very large catalogs and high request volumes efficiently.
- Handles millions of products
- Laravel and TYPO3 integration
- High-performance architecture
- Headless JSON:API
Shuup
Shuup is an open-source e-commerce platform built with Python and Django. It supports single and multi-vendor marketplaces with a modular addon system.
- Single and multi-vendor modes
- Django-based architecture
- Addon system
- Theming support
Aimeos vs Shuup: key differences
Aimeos is written in PHP, while Shuup is built with Python. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for Aimeos versus AGPL-3.0 for Shuup. Aimeos is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Shuup. Aimeos has the considerably larger community, at 8,703 GitHub stars versus 2,401.
Why pick each one
Choose Aimeos if…
- Excellent performance at scale
- Flexible deployment
Watch out for
- Documentation can be sparse
- Requires PHP expertise
Choose Shuup if…
- Good for marketplace builds
- Pythonic codebase
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Less active development
Frequently asked questions
Is Aimeos or Shuup better?
Neither is universally better. Aimeos has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Aimeos and Shuup free and open-source?
Yes. Aimeos is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Shuup under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Aimeos and Shuup with Docker?
Aimeos: yes. Shuup: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Aimeos or Shuup?
Aimeos has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Shuup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.