Django Oscar vs Smartstore
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Django Oscar | Smartstore |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,628 | ★ 1,521 |
| First released | 2011 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Shopify, Magento | Shopify, Magento |
What are Django Oscar and Smartstore?
Django Oscar
Oscar is an open-source e-commerce framework for Django. Rather than a turnkey store, it provides flexible building blocks that can be overridden to model complex commerce domains.
- Highly customizable models
- Class-based override pattern
- Strong catalog and pricing
- Django ecosystem integration
Smartstore
Smartstore is a free, open-source e-commerce platform built on ASP.NET Core. It provides a modern responsive storefront, modular plugin system, and a powerful admin for managing stores.
- Modern ASP.NET Core stack
- Modular architecture
- Responsive Bootstrap theme
- Built-in CMS pages
Django Oscar vs Smartstore: key differences
Django Oscar is written in Python, while Smartstore is built with C#. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Django Oscar versus AGPL-3.0 for Smartstore. Django Oscar has the considerably larger community, at 6,628 GitHub stars versus 1,521. Smartstore lists first-class Docker deployment; Django Oscar does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Django Oscar if…
- Extremely flexible
- Good for complex domains
Watch out for
- Requires Django expertise
- Not a ready-made store
Choose Smartstore if…
- Polished modern UI
- Good plugin model
Watch out for
- Requires .NET hosting
- Smaller community than competitors
Frequently asked questions
Is Django Oscar or Smartstore better?
Neither is universally better. Django Oscar has the larger community, while Smartstore is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Django Oscar and Smartstore free and open-source?
Yes. Django Oscar is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Smartstore under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Django Oscar and Smartstore with Docker?
Django Oscar: check the project docs for container support. Smartstore: yes.