Magento Open Source vs Sylius
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Magento Open Source | Sylius |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | OSL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,199 | ★ 8,542 |
| First released | 2008 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Shopify Plus, BigCommerce | Magento, Shopify Plus |
What are Magento Open Source and Sylius?
Magento Open Source
Magento Open Source (Adobe Commerce community edition) is a powerful PHP e-commerce platform for medium to large stores. It offers advanced catalog management, promotions, and a flexible architecture for complex commerce needs.
- Advanced catalog and promotions
- Multi-store and multi-website
- Extensive extension marketplace
- Highly scalable architecture
Sylius
Sylius is an open-source e-commerce platform built on the Symfony framework. It targets mid-market and enterprise stores that need a fully customizable, API-first commerce solution.
- Built on Symfony components
- API-first architecture
- Behavior-driven testing baked in
- Highly customizable codebase
Magento Open Source vs Sylius: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — OSL-3.0 for Magento Open Source versus MIT for Sylius. Sylius is the lighter option, starting around 2,048 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Magento Open Source. Magento Open Source is the more established project (first released 2008), while Sylius arrived in 2011.
Why pick each one
Choose Magento Open Source if…
- Powerful for large catalogs
- Robust enterprise features
Watch out for
- Resource-heavy and complex
- Steep operational overhead
Choose Sylius if…
- Clean, modern PHP codebase
- Strong testing culture
Watch out for
- Requires Symfony knowledge
- Steeper learning curve
Frequently asked questions
Is Magento Open Source or Sylius better?
Neither is universally better. Magento Open Source has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Magento Open Source and Sylius free and open-source?
Yes. Magento Open Source is licensed under OSL-3.0 and Sylius under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Magento Open Source and Sylius with Docker?
Magento Open Source: yes. Sylius: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Magento Open Source or Sylius?
Sylius has the smaller minimum footprint at 2,048 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Magento Open Source. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.