Shopware vs Solidus
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Shopware
Flexible open-source commerce for growing brands
VS
Solidus
Free open-source Rails commerce platform
| Feature | Shopware | Solidus |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,430 | ★ 5,333 |
| First released | 2010 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Shopify, Magento | Shopify, Magento |
What are Shopware and Solidus?
Shopware
Shopware is an open-source e-commerce platform from Germany built with Symfony and Vue.js. The community edition offers a modern admin, headless API, and a rich extension ecosystem.
- Modern Vue.js admin
- Headless API capabilities
- Rule-based merchandising
- Strong extension store
Solidus
Solidus is a free, open-source e-commerce platform built with Ruby on Rails. It is a community-maintained fork of Spree focused on stability, security, and customization for high-volume stores.
- Stable Rails engine architecture
- Strong upgrade path
- Highly customizable
- Active community governance
Shopware vs Solidus: key differences
Shopware is written in PHP, while Solidus is built with Ruby. Licensing differs — MIT for Shopware versus BSD-3-Clause for Solidus. Solidus is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Shopware. Shopware is the more established project (first released 2010), while Solidus arrived in 2015.
Why pick each one
Choose Shopware if…
- Polished merchant experience
- Powerful B2B suite available
Watch out for
- Heavy resource needs
- Complex for small shops
Choose Solidus if…
- Reliable for high-volume stores
- Good security focus
Watch out for
- Rails knowledge required
- No managed hosting option
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopware or Solidus better?
Neither is universally better. Solidus has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Shopware and Solidus free and open-source?
Yes. Shopware is licensed under MIT and Solidus under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Shopware and Solidus with Docker?
Shopware: yes. Solidus: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Shopware or Solidus?
Solidus has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Shopware. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.