Shopware vs Thelia
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
Thelia
Open-source e-commerce CMS built with Symfony
| Feature | Shopware | Thelia |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | LGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,430 | ★ 879 |
| First released | 2010 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Shopify, Magento | Shopify, PrestaShop |
What are Shopware and Thelia?
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
Thelia
Thelia is a free, open-source e-commerce and content management solution built on Symfony components. It is popular in France and offers a template-based theming system and module marketplace.
- Symfony-based core
- Smarty template engine
- Module marketplace
- Multi-domain support
Shopware vs Thelia: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Shopware versus LGPL-3.0 for Thelia. Thelia is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Shopware. Shopware is the more established project (first released 2010), while Thelia arrived in 2013. Shopware has the considerably larger community, at 3,430 GitHub stars versus 879. Shopware lists first-class Docker deployment; Thelia does not.
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 Thelia if…
- Good documentation in French
- Flexible theming
Watch out for
- Limited adoption outside France
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopware or Thelia better?
Neither is universally better. Shopware has the larger community, while Thelia is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Shopware and Thelia free and open-source?
Yes. Shopware is licensed under MIT and Thelia under LGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Shopware and Thelia with Docker?
Shopware: yes. Thelia: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Shopware or Thelia?
Thelia has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Shopware. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.