Reaction Commerce vs Vendure
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 | Vendure |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 58 · Fair | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,401 | ★ 8,468 |
| First released | 2013 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify, commercetools |
What are Reaction Commerce and Vendure?
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
Vendure
Vendure is an open-source, headless commerce framework written in TypeScript on top of NestJS and GraphQL. It is designed to be highly extensible for building custom B2B and B2C storefronts.
- GraphQL-based headless API
- Plugin-driven extensibility
- Admin UI included
- Multi-vendor marketplace support
Reaction Commerce vs Vendure: key differences
Reaction Commerce is written in JavaScript, while Vendure is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Reaction Commerce versus MIT for Vendure. Vendure 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 Vendure arrived in 2019.
Why pick each one
Choose Reaction Commerce if…
- Cloud-native design
- Highly scalable
Watch out for
- Complex to operate
- Development paused upstream
Choose Vendure if…
- Strong TypeScript developer experience
- Well-documented plugin system
Watch out for
- Requires building your own storefront
- Less out-of-the-box than hosted SaaS
Frequently asked questions
Is Reaction Commerce or Vendure better?
Neither is universally better. Reaction Commerce has the larger community, while Vendure is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Reaction Commerce and Vendure free and open-source?
Yes. Reaction Commerce is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Vendure under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Reaction Commerce and Vendure with Docker?
Reaction Commerce: yes. Vendure: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Reaction Commerce or Vendure?
Vendure 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.