Reaction Commerce vs Zen Cart
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Reaction Commerce
Headless GraphQL commerce microservices platform
VS
Zen Cart
Veteran open-source online store software
| Feature | Reaction Commerce | Zen Cart |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,400 | ★ 425 |
| First released | 2013 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify, osCommerce |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Reaction Commerce or Zen Cart better?
Neither is universally better. Reaction Commerce has the larger community, while Zen Cart is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Reaction Commerce and Zen Cart free and open-source?
Yes. Reaction Commerce is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zen Cart under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Reaction Commerce and Zen Cart with Docker?
Reaction Commerce: yes. Zen Cart: check the project docs for container support.