Thelia vs thirty bees
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-commerce platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Thelia | thirty bees |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | OSL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 879 | ★ 767 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Shopify, PrestaShop | Shopify |
What are Thelia and thirty bees?
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
thirty bees
thirty bees is an open-source e-commerce platform forked from PrestaShop with a focus on stability, performance, and merchant-friendly features. It runs traditional online stores and is compatible with many PrestaShop modules.
- PrestaShop module compatibility
- Stability focus
- Multi-store support
- Theme system
Thelia vs thirty bees: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — LGPL-3.0 for Thelia versus OSL-3.0 for thirty bees. Thelia is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for thirty bees. Thelia is the more established project (first released 2013), while thirty bees arrived in 2017. Thirty bees lists first-class Docker deployment; Thelia does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Thelia if…
- Good documentation in French
- Flexible theming
Watch out for
- Limited adoption outside France
- Smaller community
Choose thirty bees if…
- Released under the OSL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Slower release cadence
Frequently asked questions
Is Thelia or thirty bees better?
Neither is universally better. Thelia has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Thelia and thirty bees free and open-source?
Yes. Thelia is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and thirty bees under OSL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Thelia and thirty bees with Docker?
Thelia: check the project docs for container support. thirty bees: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Thelia or thirty bees?
Thelia has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for thirty bees. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.