Reaction Commerce vs Shuup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Reaction Commerce | Shuup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 58 · Fair | 18 · At risk |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,401 | ★ 2,401 |
| First released | 2013 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify, Magento |
What are Reaction Commerce and Shuup?
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
Shuup
Shuup is an open-source e-commerce platform built with Python and Django. It supports single and multi-vendor marketplaces with a modular addon system.
- Single and multi-vendor modes
- Django-based architecture
- Addon system
- Theming support
Reaction Commerce vs Shuup: key differences
Reaction Commerce is written in JavaScript, while Shuup is built with Python. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Reaction Commerce versus AGPL-3.0 for Shuup. Shuup is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Reaction Commerce. Reaction Commerce is the more established project (first released 2013), while Shuup arrived in 2016. Reaction Commerce has the considerably larger community, at 12,401 GitHub stars versus 2,401.
Why pick each one
Choose Reaction Commerce if…
- Cloud-native design
- Highly scalable
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Development paused upstream
Choose Shuup if…
- Good for marketplace builds
- Pythonic codebase
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Less active development
Frequently asked questions
Is Reaction Commerce or Shuup better?
Neither is universally better. Reaction Commerce has the larger community, while Shuup is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Reaction Commerce and Shuup free and open-source?
Yes. Reaction Commerce is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Shuup under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Reaction Commerce and Shuup with Docker?
Reaction Commerce: yes. Shuup: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Reaction Commerce or Shuup?
Shuup has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Reaction Commerce. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.