Cartridge vs Spree Commerce

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?
FeatureCartridgeSpree Commerce
CategoryE-commerce PlatformsE-commerce Platforms
LicenseBSD-2-ClauseBSD-3-Clause
LanguagePythonRuby
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 712★ 15,607
First released20102008
ReplacesShopify, WooCommerceShopify, BigCommerce

Why pick each one

Choose Cartridge if…

  • Simple and minimal
  • Good for content-driven shops
Cartridge details

Choose Spree Commerce if…

  • Mature and battle-tested
  • Flexible Rails ecosystem
Spree Commerce details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cartridge or Spree Commerce better?

Neither is universally better. Spree Commerce has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Cartridge and Spree Commerce free and open-source?

Yes. Cartridge is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Spree Commerce under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cartridge and Spree Commerce with Docker?

Cartridge: check the project docs for container support. Spree Commerce: yes.

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