Saleor Storefront 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.
| Feature | Saleor Storefront | Alokai |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 81 · Excellent | 73 · Good |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,616 | ★ 10,952 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Shopify Hydrogen | Shopify Hydrogen, BigCommerce |
What are Saleor Storefront and Alokai?
Saleor Storefront
The Saleor Storefront is an open-source, production-ready e-commerce storefront built with Next.js and React. It connects to the Saleor GraphQL API to provide a fast, modern shopping experience.
- Next.js App Router storefront
- Connects to Saleor GraphQL
- Server-side rendering
- Checkout flow included
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
Saleor Storefront vs Alokai: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Saleor Storefront is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Alokai. Alokai is the more established project (first released 2017), while Saleor Storefront arrived in 2021. Alokai has the considerably larger community, at 10,952 GitHub stars versus 1,616.
Why pick each one
Choose Saleor Storefront if…
- Modern React stack
- Good Saleor starting point
Watch out for
- Tied to Saleor backend
- Requires customization for production
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 Saleor Storefront 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 Saleor Storefront and Alokai free and open-source?
Yes. Saleor Storefront is licensed under MIT and Alokai under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Saleor Storefront and Alokai with Docker?
Saleor Storefront: yes. Alokai: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Saleor Storefront or Alokai?
Saleor Storefront 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.