Medusa vs WooCommerce
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
WooCommerce
Open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress
| Feature | Medusa | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 35,640 | ★ 10,451 |
| First released | 2021 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify, BigCommerce |
Why pick each one
Choose WooCommerce if…
- Massive plugin and theme library
- Large community and documentation
Frequently asked questions
Is Medusa or WooCommerce better?
Neither is universally better. Medusa has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Medusa and WooCommerce free and open-source?
Yes. Medusa is licensed under MIT and WooCommerce under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Medusa and WooCommerce with Docker?
Medusa: yes. WooCommerce: yes.