PrestaShop vs Alokai
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
Alokai
Frontend platform for headless commerce stores
| Feature | PrestaShop | Alokai |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 73 · Good |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | OSL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,217 | ★ 10,952 |
| First released | 2007 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Shopify, BigCommerce | Shopify Hydrogen, BigCommerce |
What are PrestaShop and Alokai?
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
Alokai
Alokai, formerly Vue Storefront, is an open-source frontend framework for building fast, headless commerce storefronts. It connects to backends like Magento, commercetools, and others through integrations.
- PWA storefront framework
- Backend-agnostic integrations
- Fast progressive web app
- Composable UI library
PrestaShop vs Alokai: key differences
PrestaShop is written in PHP, while Alokai is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — OSL-3.0 for PrestaShop versus MIT for Alokai. PrestaShop is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Alokai. PrestaShop is the more established project (first released 2007), while Alokai arrived in 2017.
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 Alokai if…
- Great storefront performance
- Works with many backends
Watch out for
- Frontend only, needs a backend
- Integration setup required
Frequently asked questions
Is PrestaShop or Alokai better?
Neither is universally better. Alokai has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are PrestaShop and Alokai free and open-source?
Yes. PrestaShop is licensed under OSL-3.0 and Alokai under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PrestaShop and Alokai with Docker?
PrestaShop: yes. Alokai: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PrestaShop or Alokai?
PrestaShop has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Alokai. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.