Medusa vs OpenCart
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Medusa | OpenCart |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,440 | ★ 8,201 |
| First released | 2021 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify, Wix Stores |
What are Medusa and OpenCart?
Medusa
Medusa is a headless, open-source commerce platform written in JavaScript. It provides modular building blocks for building custom online stores, marketplaces, and B2B commerce experiences with a powerful admin and API.
- Headless commerce architecture
- Modular plugin system
- Built-in admin dashboard
- Multi-region and multi-currency
OpenCart
OpenCart is a free, open-source online store management system built in PHP. It is lightweight and easy to set up, with a marketplace of extensions and themes for small to mid-sized retailers.
- Lightweight and quick to install
- Multi-store from one admin
- Extension marketplace
- Multilingual and multi-currency
Medusa vs OpenCart: key differences
Medusa is written in TypeScript, while OpenCart is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Medusa versus GPL-3.0 for OpenCart. OpenCart is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Medusa. OpenCart is the more established project (first released 2009), while Medusa arrived in 2021. Medusa has the considerably larger community, at 36,440 GitHub stars versus 8,201.
Why pick each one
Choose Medusa if…
- Highly customizable for developers
- Modern TypeScript codebase
Watch out for
- Requires development effort for storefront
- Less turnkey than hosted platforms
Choose OpenCart if…
- Low resource requirements
- Beginner-friendly setup
Watch out for
- Smaller community than competitors
- Limited advanced features
Frequently asked questions
Is Medusa or OpenCart better?
Neither is universally better. Medusa has the larger community, while OpenCart is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Medusa and OpenCart free and open-source?
Yes. Medusa is licensed under MIT and OpenCart under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Medusa and OpenCart with Docker?
Medusa: yes. OpenCart: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Medusa or OpenCart?
OpenCart has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Medusa. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.