Vendure vs Alokai Storefront UI
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?
Vendure
Headless commerce framework built on Node.js
VS
Alokai Storefront UI
Open-source design system for e-commerce frontends
| Feature | Vendure | Alokai Storefront UI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,302 | ★ 2,505 |
| First released | 2019 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Shopify, commercetools | Shopify Polaris, commercetools UI Kit |
Why pick each one
Choose Vendure if…
- Strong TypeScript developer experience
- Well-documented plugin system
Choose Alokai Storefront UI if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Vendure or Alokai Storefront UI better?
Neither is universally better. Vendure has the larger community, while Alokai Storefront UI is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Vendure and Alokai Storefront UI free and open-source?
Yes. Vendure is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Alokai Storefront UI under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Vendure and Alokai Storefront UI with Docker?
Vendure: yes. Alokai Storefront UI: check the project docs for container support.