OpenCart 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.
Not the right match-up?
OpenCart
Free PHP-based shopping cart system
VS
Vendure
Headless commerce framework built on Node.js
| Feature | OpenCart | Vendure |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,174 | ★ 8,302 |
| First released | 2009 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Shopify, Wix Stores | Shopify, commercetools |
Why pick each one
Choose Vendure if…
- Strong TypeScript developer experience
- Well-documented plugin system
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCart or Vendure better?
Neither is universally better. Vendure has the larger community, while OpenCart is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenCart and Vendure free and open-source?
Yes. OpenCart is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Vendure under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenCart and Vendure with Docker?
OpenCart: yes. Vendure: yes.