Django Shop 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.
WooCommerce
Open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress
| Feature | Django Shop | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 23 · At risk | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,317 | ★ 10,533 |
| First released | 2011 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Shopify, WooCommerce | Shopify, BigCommerce |
What are Django Shop and WooCommerce?
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
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a customizable, open-source e-commerce platform built on WordPress. It powers millions of online stores worldwide with support for physical products, digital downloads, subscriptions, and extensive third-party extensions.
- Built on WordPress
- Huge extension ecosystem
- Supports digital and physical goods
- REST API for integrations
Django Shop vs WooCommerce: key differences
Django Shop is written in Python, while WooCommerce is built with PHP. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Django Shop versus GPL-3.0 for WooCommerce. WooCommerce has the considerably larger community, at 10,533 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 WooCommerce if…
- Massive plugin and theme library
- Large community and documentation
Watch out for
- Requires WordPress maintenance
- Can get costly with paid extensions
Frequently asked questions
Is Django Shop or WooCommerce better?
WooCommerce 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 WooCommerce free and open-source?
Yes. Django Shop is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and WooCommerce under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Django Shop and WooCommerce with Docker?
Django Shop: yes. WooCommerce: yes.