GrandNode vs thirty bees
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | GrandNode | thirty bees |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 70 · Good | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | OSL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,329 | ★ 767 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Shopify, Magento | Shopify |
What are GrandNode and thirty bees?
GrandNode
GrandNode is an open-source, multi-store e-commerce platform built with ASP.NET Core and MongoDB. It supports B2B and B2C scenarios with a flexible catalog, multi-language and multi-currency, and a plugin architecture.
- ASP.NET Core based
- MongoDB storage
- Multi-store support
- Plugin architecture
thirty bees
thirty bees is an open-source e-commerce platform forked from PrestaShop with a focus on stability, performance, and merchant-friendly features. It runs traditional online stores and is compatible with many PrestaShop modules.
- PrestaShop module compatibility
- Stability focus
- Multi-store support
- Theme system
GrandNode vs thirty bees: key differences
GrandNode is written in C#, while thirty bees is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for GrandNode versus OSL-3.0 for thirty bees. Thirty bees is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for GrandNode.
Why pick each one
Choose GrandNode if…
- Scalable architecture
- B2B and B2C ready
Watch out for
- .NET hosting knowledge needed
- Heavier resource footprint
Choose thirty bees if…
- Released under the OSL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Slower release cadence
Frequently asked questions
Is GrandNode or thirty bees better?
Neither is universally better. GrandNode has the larger community, while thirty bees is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are GrandNode and thirty bees free and open-source?
Yes. GrandNode is licensed under GPL-3.0 and thirty bees under OSL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GrandNode and thirty bees with Docker?
GrandNode: yes. thirty bees: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, GrandNode or thirty bees?
thirty bees has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for GrandNode. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.