Shopinvader 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 | Shopinvader | Vendure |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 60 · Good | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | HTML | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 135 | ★ 8,468 |
| First released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Shopify Plus, commercetools | Shopify, commercetools |
What are Shopinvader and Vendure?
Shopinvader
Shopinvader is an open-source headless commerce framework that exposes Odoo product and order data through indexed APIs. It pairs an Odoo backend with a decoupled storefront for fast catalog browsing.
- Odoo-backed catalog
- Elasticsearch indexing
- Decoupled storefront
- REST APIs
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
Shopinvader vs Vendure: key differences
Shopinvader is written in HTML, while Vendure is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Shopinvader versus MIT for Vendure. Vendure is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Shopinvader. Shopinvader is the more established project (first released 2017), while Vendure arrived in 2019. Vendure has the considerably larger community, at 8,468 GitHub stars versus 135.
Why pick each one
Choose Shopinvader if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in HTML
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 Shopinvader or Vendure better?
Vendure is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Shopinvader if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Shopinvader and Vendure free and open-source?
Yes. Shopinvader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Vendure under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Shopinvader and Vendure with Docker?
Shopinvader: yes. Vendure: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Shopinvader or Vendure?
Vendure has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Shopinvader. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.