Django Shop vs Vendure
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 | Vendure |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 23 · At risk | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,317 | ★ 8,468 |
| First released | 2011 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify, commercetools |
What are Django Shop and Vendure?
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
Vendure
Vendure is an open-source, headless commerce framework written in TypeScript on top of NestJS and GraphQL. It is designed to be highly extensible for building custom B2B and B2C storefronts.
- GraphQL-based headless API
- Plugin-driven extensibility
- Admin UI included
- Multi-vendor marketplace support
Django Shop vs Vendure: key differences
Django Shop is written in Python, while Vendure is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Django Shop versus MIT for Vendure. Django Shop is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Vendure. Django Shop is the more established project (first released 2011), while Vendure arrived in 2019. Vendure has the considerably larger community, at 8,468 GitHub stars versus 3,317.
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 Vendure if…
- Strong TypeScript developer experience
- Well-documented plugin system
Watch out for
- Requires building your own storefront
- Less out-of-the-box than hosted SaaS
Frequently asked questions
Is Django Shop or Vendure better?
Vendure is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Django Shop if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Django Shop and Vendure free and open-source?
Yes. Django Shop is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Vendure under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Django Shop and Vendure with Docker?
Django Shop: yes. Vendure: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Django Shop or Vendure?
Django Shop has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Vendure. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.