Bagisto vs Cartridge
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Bagisto
Laravel-based open-source e-commerce platform
VS
Cartridge
Django shopping cart for the Mezzanine CMS
| Feature | Bagisto | Cartridge |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 97 · Excellent | 12 · At risk |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,163 | ★ 710 |
| First released | 2018 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify, WooCommerce |
What are Bagisto and Cartridge?
Bagisto
Bagisto is a free, open-source e-commerce framework built on Laravel and Vue.js. It offers multi-warehouse inventory, a modular admin, and headless capabilities for building modern online stores.
- Built on Laravel framework
- Multi-warehouse inventory
- Headless GraphQL API
- Multi-channel and multi-locale
Cartridge
Cartridge is a lightweight, open-source shopping cart application built on the Mezzanine CMS for Django. It adds e-commerce capabilities such as products, orders, and discounts to a content site.
- Integrates with Mezzanine CMS
- Product variations and discounts
- Lightweight footprint
- Django admin management
Bagisto vs Cartridge: key differences
Bagisto is written in PHP, while Cartridge is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Bagisto versus BSD-2-Clause for Cartridge. Cartridge is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Bagisto. Cartridge is the more established project (first released 2010), while Bagisto arrived in 2018. Bagisto has the considerably larger community, at 28,163 GitHub stars versus 710. Bagisto lists first-class Docker deployment; Cartridge does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Bagisto if…
- Modern Laravel stack
- Active development
Watch out for
- Smaller extension ecosystem
- Documentation gaps in places
Choose Cartridge if…
- Simple and minimal
- Good for content-driven shops
Watch out for
- Limited active maintenance
- Niche ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is Bagisto or Cartridge better?
Neither is universally better. Bagisto has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bagisto and Cartridge free and open-source?
Yes. Bagisto is licensed under MIT and Cartridge under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bagisto and Cartridge with Docker?
Bagisto: yes. Cartridge: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Bagisto or Cartridge?
Cartridge has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Bagisto. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.