Saleor 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?
Saleor
GraphQL-first headless commerce platform
VS
Zen Cart
Veteran open-source online store software
| Feature | Saleor | Zen Cart |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,190 | ★ 425 |
| First released | 2016 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify, osCommerce |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Saleor or Zen Cart better?
Neither is universally better. Saleor 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 Saleor and Zen Cart free and open-source?
Yes. Saleor is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Zen Cart under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Saleor and Zen Cart with Docker?
Saleor: yes. Zen Cart: check the project docs for container support.