Alokai vs Zen Cart
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?
Alokai
Frontend platform for headless commerce stores
VS
Zen Cart
Veteran open-source online store software
| Feature | Alokai | Zen Cart |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce Platforms | E-commerce Platforms |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,937 | ★ 425 |
| First released | 2017 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Shopify Hydrogen, BigCommerce | Shopify, osCommerce |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Alokai or Zen Cart 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 Alokai and Zen Cart free and open-source?
Yes. Alokai is licensed under MIT and Zen Cart under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Alokai and Zen Cart with Docker?
Alokai: yes. Zen Cart: check the project docs for container support.