Cartridge vs Django Shop
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Cartridge | Django Shop |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 12 · At risk | 23 · At risk |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 710 | ★ 3,317 |
| First released | 2010 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify, WooCommerce |
What are Cartridge and Django Shop?
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
Django Shop
django SHOP is an open-source e-commerce framework for building online stores on top of Django. It provides a flexible product model, cart, and checkout that developers extend for custom shops.
- Django e-commerce framework
- Flexible product model
- Cart and checkout
- Highly extensible
Cartridge vs Django Shop: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for Cartridge versus BSD-3-Clause for Django Shop. Cartridge is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Django Shop. Django Shop has the considerably larger community, at 3,317 GitHub stars versus 710. Django Shop lists first-class Docker deployment; Cartridge does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Cartridge if…
- Simple and minimal
- Good for content-driven shops
Watch out for
- Limited active maintenance
- Niche ecosystem
Choose Django Shop if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Cartridge or Django Shop better?
Neither is universally better. Django Shop has the larger community, while Cartridge is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Cartridge and Django Shop free and open-source?
Yes. Cartridge is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Django Shop under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cartridge and Django Shop with Docker?
Cartridge: check the project docs for container support. Django Shop: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Cartridge or Django Shop?
Cartridge has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Django Shop. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.