Thelia vs Alokai
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?
Thelia
Open-source e-commerce CMS built with Symfony
VS
Alokai
Frontend platform for headless commerce stores
| Feature | Thelia | Alokai |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 877 | ★ 10,937 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Shopify, PrestaShop | Shopify Hydrogen, BigCommerce |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Thelia or Alokai better?
Neither is universally better. Alokai has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Thelia and Alokai free and open-source?
Yes. Thelia is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Alokai under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Thelia and Alokai with Docker?
Thelia: check the project docs for container support. Alokai: yes.