PrestaShop vs Solidus
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | PrestaShop | Solidus |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | OSL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,217 | ★ 5,333 |
| First released | 2007 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Shopify, BigCommerce | Shopify, Magento |
What are PrestaShop and Solidus?
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
Solidus
Solidus is a free, open-source e-commerce platform built with Ruby on Rails. It is a community-maintained fork of Spree focused on stability, security, and customization for high-volume stores.
- Stable Rails engine architecture
- Strong upgrade path
- Highly customizable
- Active community governance
PrestaShop vs Solidus: key differences
PrestaShop is written in PHP, while Solidus is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — OSL-3.0 for PrestaShop versus BSD-3-Clause for Solidus. PrestaShop is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Solidus. PrestaShop is the more established project (first released 2007), while Solidus arrived in 2015.
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 Solidus if…
- Reliable for high-volume stores
- Good security focus
Watch out for
- Rails knowledge required
- No managed hosting option
Frequently asked questions
Is PrestaShop or Solidus better?
PrestaShop is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Solidus if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are PrestaShop and Solidus free and open-source?
Yes. PrestaShop is licensed under OSL-3.0 and Solidus under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PrestaShop and Solidus with Docker?
PrestaShop: yes. Solidus: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PrestaShop or Solidus?
PrestaShop has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Solidus. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.