Catalyst Storefront vs Alokai
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 | Alokai |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 76 · Good | 73 · Good |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 246 | ★ 10,952 |
| First released | 2024 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Shopify Hydrogen, Vue Storefront | Shopify Hydrogen, BigCommerce |
What are Catalyst Storefront and Alokai?
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
Alokai
Alokai, formerly Vue Storefront, is an open-source frontend framework for building fast, headless commerce storefronts. It connects to backends like Magento, commercetools, and others through integrations.
- PWA storefront framework
- Backend-agnostic integrations
- Fast progressive web app
- Composable UI library
Catalyst Storefront vs Alokai: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Catalyst Storefront is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Alokai. Alokai is the more established project (first released 2017), while Catalyst Storefront arrived in 2024. Alokai has the considerably larger community, at 10,952 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 Alokai if…
- Great storefront performance
- Works with many backends
Watch out for
- Frontend only, needs a backend
- Integration setup required
Frequently asked questions
Is Catalyst Storefront or Alokai better?
Neither is universally better. Alokai has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Catalyst Storefront and Alokai free and open-source?
Yes. Catalyst Storefront is licensed under MIT and Alokai under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Catalyst Storefront and Alokai with Docker?
Catalyst Storefront: yes. Alokai: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Catalyst Storefront or Alokai?
Catalyst Storefront has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Alokai. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.