Django Shop vs Smartstore
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Django Shop | Smartstore |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 23 · At risk | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,317 | ★ 1,521 |
| First released | 2011 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify, Magento |
What are Django Shop and Smartstore?
Django Shop
django SHOP is an open-source e-commerce framework for building online stores on top of Django. It provides a flexible product model, cart, and checkout that developers extend for custom shops.
- Django e-commerce framework
- Flexible product model
- Cart and checkout
- Highly extensible
Smartstore
Smartstore is a free, open-source e-commerce platform built on ASP.NET Core. It provides a modern responsive storefront, modular plugin system, and a powerful admin for managing stores.
- Modern ASP.NET Core stack
- Modular architecture
- Responsive Bootstrap theme
- Built-in CMS pages
Django Shop vs Smartstore: key differences
Django Shop is written in Python, while Smartstore is built with C#. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Django Shop versus AGPL-3.0 for Smartstore. Django Shop is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Smartstore. Django Shop has the considerably larger community, at 3,317 GitHub stars versus 1,521.
Why pick each one
Choose Django Shop if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Choose Smartstore if…
- Polished modern UI
- Good plugin model
Watch out for
- Requires .NET hosting
- Smaller community than competitors
Frequently asked questions
Is Django Shop or Smartstore better?
Neither is universally better. Django Shop has the larger community, while Smartstore is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Django Shop and Smartstore free and open-source?
Yes. Django Shop is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Smartstore under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Django Shop and Smartstore with Docker?
Django Shop: yes. Smartstore: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Django Shop or Smartstore?
Django Shop has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Smartstore. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.