Medusa vs Shopinvader
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Medusa
Composable commerce engine for developers
VS
Shopinvader
Headless e-commerce framework powered by Odoo
| Feature | Medusa | Shopinvader |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 60 · Good |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,440 | ★ 135 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify Plus, commercetools |
What are Medusa and Shopinvader?
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
Shopinvader
Shopinvader is an open-source headless commerce framework that exposes Odoo product and order data through indexed APIs. It pairs an Odoo backend with a decoupled storefront for fast catalog browsing.
- Odoo-backed catalog
- Elasticsearch indexing
- Decoupled storefront
- REST APIs
Medusa vs Shopinvader: key differences
Medusa is written in TypeScript, while Shopinvader is built with HTML. Licensing differs — MIT for Medusa versus AGPL-3.0 for Shopinvader. Medusa is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Shopinvader. Shopinvader is the more established project (first released 2017), while Medusa arrived in 2021. Medusa has the considerably larger community, at 36,440 GitHub stars versus 135.
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 Shopinvader if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in HTML
Frequently asked questions
Is Medusa or Shopinvader better?
Medusa is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Shopinvader if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Medusa and Shopinvader free and open-source?
Yes. Medusa is licensed under MIT and Shopinvader under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Medusa and Shopinvader with Docker?
Medusa: yes. Shopinvader: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Medusa or Shopinvader?
Medusa has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Shopinvader. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.