OXID eShop vs Shopware
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Shopware
Flexible open-source commerce for growing brands
| Feature | OXID eShop | Shopware |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 70 · Good | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 237 | ★ 3,430 |
| First released | 2003 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Magento | Shopify, Magento |
What are OXID eShop and Shopware?
OXID eShop
OXID eShop is an open-source e-commerce platform written in PHP, popular among mid-sized retailers especially in Europe. Its community edition provides catalog, checkout, and order management with a modular architecture for extensions.
- Modular architecture
- Catalog and order management
- Multi-language stores
- GraphQL API
Shopware
Shopware is an open-source e-commerce platform from Germany built with Symfony and Vue.js. The community edition offers a modern admin, headless API, and a rich extension ecosystem.
- Modern Vue.js admin
- Headless API capabilities
- Rule-based merchandising
- Strong extension store
OXID eShop vs Shopware: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for OXID eShop versus MIT for Shopware. OXID eShop is the more established project (first released 2003), while Shopware arrived in 2010. Shopware has the considerably larger community, at 3,430 GitHub stars versus 237.
Why pick each one
Choose OXID eShop if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Enterprise-oriented
Choose Shopware if…
- Polished merchant experience
- Powerful B2B suite available
Watch out for
- Heavy resource needs
- Complex for small shops
Frequently asked questions
Is OXID eShop or Shopware better?
Neither is universally better. Shopware has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OXID eShop and Shopware free and open-source?
Yes. OXID eShop is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Shopware under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OXID eShop and Shopware with Docker?
OXID eShop: yes. Shopware: yes.