OXID eShop vs Smartstore
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | OXID eShop | Smartstore |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 70 · Good | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 237 | ★ 1,521 |
| First released | 2003 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Magento | Shopify, Magento |
What are OXID eShop and Smartstore?
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
Smartstore
Smartstore is a free, open-source e-commerce platform built on ASP.NET Core. It provides a modern responsive storefront, modular plugin system, and a powerful admin for managing stores.
- Modern ASP.NET Core stack
- Modular architecture
- Responsive Bootstrap theme
- Built-in CMS pages
OXID eShop vs Smartstore: key differences
OXID eShop is written in PHP, while Smartstore is built with C#. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for OXID eShop versus AGPL-3.0 for Smartstore. Smartstore is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for OXID eShop. OXID eShop is the more established project (first released 2003), while Smartstore arrived in 2010. Smartstore has the considerably larger community, at 1,521 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 Smartstore if…
- Polished modern UI
- Good plugin model
Watch out for
- Requires .NET hosting
- Smaller community than competitors
Frequently asked questions
Is OXID eShop or Smartstore better?
Smartstore is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OXID eShop if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are OXID eShop and Smartstore free and open-source?
Yes. OXID eShop is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Smartstore under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OXID eShop and Smartstore with Docker?
OXID eShop: yes. Smartstore: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OXID eShop or Smartstore?
Smartstore has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for OXID eShop. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.