Catalyst Storefront vs Saleor Storefront
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Catalyst Storefront | Saleor Storefront |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 76 · Good | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 246 | ★ 1,616 |
| First released | 2024 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Shopify Hydrogen, Vue Storefront | Shopify Hydrogen |
What are Catalyst Storefront and Saleor Storefront?
Catalyst Storefront
Catalyst is an open-source composable storefront framework built on Next.js for building fast headless commerce frontends. It ships with cart, checkout, and catalog components ready to connect to a commerce backend.
- Next.js based
- Composable components
- Cart and checkout included
- GraphQL data layer
Saleor Storefront
The Saleor Storefront is an open-source, production-ready e-commerce storefront built with Next.js and React. It connects to the Saleor GraphQL API to provide a fast, modern shopping experience.
- Next.js App Router storefront
- Connects to Saleor GraphQL
- Server-side rendering
- Checkout flow included
Catalyst Storefront vs Saleor Storefront: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Saleor Storefront is the more established project (first released 2021), while Catalyst Storefront arrived in 2024. Saleor Storefront has the considerably larger community, at 1,616 GitHub stars versus 246.
Why pick each one
Choose Catalyst Storefront if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Saleor Storefront if…
- Modern React stack
- Good Saleor starting point
Watch out for
- Tied to Saleor backend
- Requires customization for production
Frequently asked questions
Is Catalyst Storefront or Saleor Storefront better?
Neither is universally better. Saleor Storefront has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Catalyst Storefront and Saleor Storefront free and open-source?
Yes. Catalyst Storefront is licensed under MIT and Saleor Storefront under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Catalyst Storefront and Saleor Storefront with Docker?
Catalyst Storefront: yes. Saleor Storefront: yes.