PrestaShop vs Reaction Commerce
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
PrestaShop
Open-source online store builder
VS
Reaction Commerce
Headless GraphQL commerce microservices platform
| Feature | PrestaShop | Reaction Commerce |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 58 · Fair |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | OSL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, kubernetes, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,217 | ★ 12,401 |
| First released | 2007 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Shopify, BigCommerce | Shopify, commercetools |
What are PrestaShop and Reaction Commerce?
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is a free, open-source e-commerce solution written in PHP. It offers a feature-rich back office, themes, and a marketplace of modules for building and managing online stores of any size.
- Full-featured admin back office
- Large module marketplace
- Multi-store support
- Multilingual catalog
Reaction Commerce
Reaction Commerce (Open Commerce) is an API-first, headless commerce platform built with Node.js and GraphQL. It uses a microservices architecture suited to flexible, custom storefront builds.
- GraphQL-first API
- Microservices architecture
- Real-time inventory
- Plugin-based extensibility
PrestaShop vs Reaction Commerce: key differences
PrestaShop is written in PHP, while Reaction Commerce is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — OSL-3.0 for PrestaShop versus Apache-2.0 for Reaction Commerce. PrestaShop is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Reaction Commerce. PrestaShop is the more established project (first released 2007), while Reaction Commerce arrived in 2013.
Why pick each one
Choose PrestaShop if…
- Mature and well-documented
- No license fees for core
Watch out for
- Paid modules can be expensive
- Upgrades can be tricky
Choose Reaction Commerce if…
- Cloud-native design
- Highly scalable
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Development paused upstream
Frequently asked questions
Is PrestaShop or Reaction Commerce better?
Neither is universally better. Reaction Commerce has the larger community, while PrestaShop is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are PrestaShop and Reaction Commerce free and open-source?
Yes. PrestaShop is licensed under OSL-3.0 and Reaction Commerce under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PrestaShop and Reaction Commerce with Docker?
PrestaShop: yes. Reaction Commerce: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PrestaShop or Reaction Commerce?
PrestaShop has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Reaction Commerce. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.