Bagisto vs Medusa
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
Medusa
Composable commerce engine for developers
| Feature | Bagisto | Medusa |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 97 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,163 | ★ 36,440 |
| First released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify, commercetools |
What are Bagisto and Medusa?
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
Medusa
Medusa is a headless, open-source commerce platform written in JavaScript. It provides modular building blocks for building custom online stores, marketplaces, and B2B commerce experiences with a powerful admin and API.
- Headless commerce architecture
- Modular plugin system
- Built-in admin dashboard
- Multi-region and multi-currency
Bagisto vs Medusa: key differences
Bagisto is written in PHP, while Medusa is built with TypeScript. Bagisto is the more established project (first released 2018), while Medusa arrived in 2021.
Why pick each one
Choose Bagisto if…
- Modern Laravel stack
- Active development
Watch out for
- Smaller extension ecosystem
- Documentation gaps in places
Choose Medusa if…
- Highly customizable for developers
- Modern TypeScript codebase
Watch out for
- Requires development effort for storefront
- Less turnkey than hosted platforms
Frequently asked questions
Is Bagisto or Medusa better?
Neither is universally better. Medusa has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bagisto and Medusa free and open-source?
Yes. Bagisto is licensed under MIT and Medusa under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bagisto and Medusa with Docker?
Bagisto: yes. Medusa: yes.