Cartridge vs Magento Open Source
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Cartridge
Django shopping cart for the Mezzanine CMS
VS
Magento Open Source
Enterprise-grade open-source commerce platform
| Feature | Cartridge | Magento Open Source |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | OSL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 712 | ★ 12,164 |
| First released | 2010 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify Plus, BigCommerce |
Why pick each one
Choose Magento Open Source if…
- Powerful for large catalogs
- Robust enterprise features
Frequently asked questions
Is Cartridge or Magento Open Source better?
Neither is universally better. Magento Open Source 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 Magento Open Source free and open-source?
Yes. Cartridge is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Magento Open Source under OSL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Cartridge and Magento Open Source with Docker?
Cartridge: check the project docs for container support. Magento Open Source: yes.