Medusa vs Alokai Storefront UI
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?
Medusa
Composable commerce engine for developers
VS
Alokai Storefront UI
Open-source design system for e-commerce frontends
| Feature | Medusa | Alokai Storefront UI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 35,640 | ★ 2,505 |
| First released | 2021 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify Polaris, commercetools UI Kit |
Why pick each one
Choose Alokai Storefront UI if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Medusa or Alokai Storefront UI better?
Neither is universally better. Medusa has the larger community, while Alokai Storefront UI is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Medusa and Alokai Storefront UI free and open-source?
Yes. Medusa is licensed under MIT and Alokai Storefront UI under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Medusa and Alokai Storefront UI with Docker?
Medusa: yes. Alokai Storefront UI: check the project docs for container support.