Django Shop vs Thelia
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 | Thelia |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 23 · At risk | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | LGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,317 | ★ 879 |
| First released | 2011 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify, PrestaShop |
What are Django Shop and Thelia?
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
Thelia
Thelia is a free, open-source e-commerce and content management solution built on Symfony components. It is popular in France and offers a template-based theming system and module marketplace.
- Symfony-based core
- Smarty template engine
- Module marketplace
- Multi-domain support
Django Shop vs Thelia: key differences
Django Shop is written in Python, while Thelia is built with PHP. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Django Shop versus LGPL-3.0 for Thelia. Django Shop is the more established project (first released 2011), while Thelia arrived in 2013. Django Shop has the considerably larger community, at 3,317 GitHub stars versus 879. Django Shop lists first-class Docker deployment; Thelia does not.
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 Thelia if…
- Good documentation in French
- Flexible theming
Watch out for
- Limited adoption outside France
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Django Shop or Thelia better?
Neither is universally better. Django Shop has the larger community, while Thelia is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Django Shop and Thelia free and open-source?
Yes. Django Shop is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Thelia under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Django Shop and Thelia with Docker?
Django Shop: yes. Thelia: check the project docs for container support.