Open-Source Shopify Alternatives: Medusa.js and Others (2026)

Four open-source Shopify alternatives worth evaluating

1. Medusa.js: headless, TypeScript, MIT licence. Suits growing D2C and B2B stores that need real customisation.
2. Saleor: GraphQL-first, Python and React, BSD licence. Suits developer-heavy teams that want fine control.
3. WooCommerce: a WordPress plugin, GPL licence. Suits content-led sites already on WordPress.
4. PrestaShop: a PHP platform, OSL licence. Suits stores with existing PrestaShop skills.

Shopify is easy to start on. It charges a monthly plan fee and, unless you use Shopify Payments, a transaction fee on every sale; you never own the platform. An open-source alternative runs on infrastructure you choose, with no per-sale platform fee and full control of your data and design.

Honest take: Medusa.js suits teams that have, or can hire, a developer. It removes platform fees, but it is a developer tool, not a no-code sign-up. I am Manoj, at MithTech, a team of Frappe specialists in Bengaluru who also build on Medusa and move brands off Shopify. This guide covers when an owned store makes sense and when it doesn't.

Which open-source Shopify alternatives are there?

The main one is Medusa.js, a commerce platform built in TypeScript. It gives you products, carts, orders, payments and inventory as modules, with an admin dashboard and APIs you build any storefront on. It has no licence fee and takes no cut of your sales. WooCommerce is the simpler route if you already run WordPress.

Medusa is the more flexible of the two open-source options; WooCommerce is simpler inside WordPress. Both remove Shopify's per-sale platform fee. See what a Medusa build involves on the Medusa platform page.

Skimmable summary: Medusa.js is MIT-licensed and self-hosted, with no platform fee and full customisation; WooCommerce suits WordPress users. Both remove Shopify's per-sale cut.

How much can you save with an open-source Shopify alternative?

You drop the monthly plan and the per-sale platform fee. Shopify charges a subscription plus a transaction fee on every sale paid through a third-party gateway, and in India every sale is, because Shopify Payments isn't available there. Medusa has no licence fee and no platform cut: you pay for hosting and your gateway.

Shopify figures from shopify.com/in/pricing, checked 12 October 2026.

The saving grows with revenue. At low volume Shopify's fee is small and its convenience wins. On the Basic plan, every ₹10 lakh of sales pays ₹20,000 to Shopify before the gateway's own fee. Once that, plus apps, is more than a developer and hosting cost you, owning the store pays for itself.

Skimmable summary: open-source commerce removes Shopify's plan fee and its per-sale fee (plus India's unavoidable gateway). Medusa costs hosting and your gateway. The saving is small at low volume and grows with revenue.

Is Medusa.js a real, production-ready Shopify alternative?

Yes, but it is a developer platform, not a no-code product. Medusa v2 is stable and MIT-licensed, with over 36,000 stars on GitHub (October 2026). It provides the commerce engine (products, carts, orders, payments, inventory) and an admin dashboard. It does not provide a hosted, drag-and-drop storefront: you build the storefront and deploy the backend.

That is the trade. Shopify sells convenience; Medusa sells control. A team with Node.js and TypeScript skills, or an outside team that builds on Medusa, can run it well. A founder with no developer will struggle to match Shopify's out-of-the-box experience. Medusa needs Postgres, Redis in production, and ongoing maintenance. For the B2B side, see the Medusa.js vs Shopify Plus comparison.

Skimmable summary: Medusa.js v2 is production-ready, but it is a developer platform: you build the storefront and run the backend on Postgres and Redis.

Does an open-source Shopify alternative work for India?

Yes, and often better than Shopify does. Shopify Payments isn't available in India, so Shopify merchants use a gateway like Razorpay and pay Shopify's transaction fee on top. On Medusa you pay only the gateway: Stripe has a payment provider from Medusa itself, and Razorpay has community plugins. You also control GST invoicing and where your data lives.

Indian D2C and B2B brands gain most from owning the stack. Customer and order data stay on infrastructure you choose, invoicing can follow GST rules, and the store can post into ERPNext for stock and accounts. The trade-off stays the same: you need developer capacity, in-house or outside.

Skimmable summary: open-source commerce fits India well: no platform cut on top of the gateway, and you control GST invoicing, data residency and the ERPNext link.

When should you just use Shopify instead?

When you want to launch fast with no developer, value convenience over ownership, and accept the platform fees. For a small team, a first store, or a business that wants no infrastructure to manage, Shopify's hosted, no-code setup is worth its cost: no servers, no security patching, no storefront build.

If you have no developer and no plan to hire one, Shopify is the practical choice, and open source would slow you down. Move to Medusa when the platform fees on your sales become significant, when you need customisation Shopify can't do, or when owning the data is a hard requirement. Owned commerce rewards scale and control, not speed of first launch. If you do move, the Shopify to Medusa migration guide covers what exports and what breaks.

Skimmable summary: use Shopify for a fast, no-code launch without a developer. Move to Medusa when per-sale fees grow large, you need deep customisation, or data ownership is a hard requirement.

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