Reaction Commerce 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 | Reaction Commerce | Solidus |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 58 · Fair | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | JavaScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,401 | ★ 5,333 |
| First released | 2013 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify, Magento |
What are Reaction Commerce and Solidus?
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
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
Reaction Commerce vs Solidus: key differences
Reaction Commerce is written in JavaScript, while Solidus is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Reaction Commerce versus BSD-3-Clause for Solidus. Solidus 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 Solidus arrived in 2015. Reaction Commerce has the considerably larger community, at 12,401 GitHub stars versus 5,333.
Why pick each one
Choose Reaction Commerce if…
- Cloud-native design
- Highly scalable
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Development paused upstream
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 Reaction Commerce or Solidus better?
Neither is universally better. Reaction Commerce has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Reaction Commerce and Solidus free and open-source?
Yes. Reaction Commerce is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Solidus under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Reaction Commerce and Solidus with Docker?
Reaction Commerce: yes. Solidus: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Reaction Commerce or Solidus?
Solidus 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.