Open Source Ecommerce
An online store is one of the few apps where downtime and lock-in cost measurable revenue, so the decision that matters is not the launch feature list but how far you can bend checkout, pricing, and fulfillment before the platform fights you. The field splits along one line: traditional storefronts that bundle catalog, cart, checkout, and templates in a single application, and headless engines that expose commerce through an API and leave the frontend to you. Open source options here ship as code you own outright, in the language your team already runs, so the storefront, the cart, and the order data live in systems you can extend, self-host, and migrate without paying a percentage of every sale.
Medusa
Open-source commerce platform with a customization framework for building custom stores
Bagisto
Open source Laravel ecommerce platform for stores, marketplaces, B2B, and headless commerce
Saleor
GraphQL-first headless commerce platform for API-only, composable storefronts
Spree
Open-source headless ecommerce with REST API, TypeScript SDK, Next.js storefront, and no platform fees
Magento Open Source
Open source ecommerce software for building an online store from the ground up
WooCommerce
Open-source ecommerce platform for WordPress with full control of your store, data, and costs
EverShop
TypeScript-first ecommerce platform built with GraphQL and React for custom stores
nopCommerce
Free, open-source ASP.NET Core ecommerce platform powering 60,000 stores worldwide
PrestaShop
Open-source ecommerce platform for building a customizable online store
Our picks
These range from single-application storefronts to API-first engines, so match the pick to your stack and how much you need to customize.
Composable commerce framework for developers: Medusa Ships commerce primitives - products, carts, orders, payments - as modules on a shared framework, so teams extend or replace logic instead of working around a fixed system. The same foundation backs B2B, DTC, marketplaces, and point of sale. Built in TypeScript on Node, it self-hosts from the public modules or runs on Medusa Cloud.
Marketplace and B2B out of the box: Bagisto A Laravel platform with catalog, cart, checkout, and orders, plus the pieces most stores add later: B2B company purchasing with quotes, a multi-vendor marketplace with commissions, multi-tenant storefronts, and a built-in point of sale. A Next.js headless storefront and a Flutter app extend it to other channels.
Store built on top of WordPress: WooCommerce Turns an existing WordPress site into a store you fully own, with catalog, cart, checkout, orders, configurable shipping and tax, and provider-agnostic payments. Thousands of extensions and a developer API adapt it, which makes it the path of least resistance when your content already lives in WordPress.
API-first headless commerce: Saleor A GraphQL-native, API-only backend where every part is configured through the API, keeping custom logic separate from the platform. Native multichannel support handles per-channel pricing, currencies, and stock, alongside multi-warehouse, promotions, and payment orchestration across gateways. Run it self-hosted with Docker or on Saleor Cloud.
Weighing monolith against headless commerce
A catalog that looks trivial in a demo, a few products at one price each, hides the questions that actually decide the platform. The first is architecture. Traditional storefronts like Magento Open Source, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, and Bagisto bundle catalog, cart, checkout, and templates in one application that is faster to launch, while headless engines like Medusa, Saleor, Vendure, and Spree expose commerce through an API and leave the storefront to you, which pays off when you need multiple frontends or heavy checkout customization. The second question is your stack, since maintaining a Ruby, PHP, .NET, or Node codebase is a multi-year commitment your team has to actually own.
Test the commerce model against your real business, not the happy path. Configurable products, subscriptions, bundles, B2B pricing, and marketplaces narrow the field fast: Bagisto ships B2B purchasing, a multi-vendor marketplace, and point of sale out of the box, while Medusa gives you primitives to extend or replace rather than a fixed system. Run the awkward cases through the admin - split shipments, partial refunds, backorders, gift cards, customer-specific pricing - because that is exactly where a weak data model shows.
Treat checkout and payments as a risk decision. Provider-agnostic payment sessions, as in Spree and WooCommerce, and tokenized gateways keep raw card data off your server and shrink PCI scope, so avoid custom card handling unless a team already understands the obligations. Before you theme anything, confirm you can export products, orders, customers, and discounts in usable form, because a platform that is easy to enter and hard to leave gets expensive the moment operations change.
Related categories
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose a monolithic storefront or a headless commerce engine?+
A monolith like WooCommerce, PrestaShop, or Magento keeps catalog, cart, checkout, and templates in one application, which is simpler to launch and run. Headless engines like Saleor, Vendure, and Medusa expose commerce through an API and leave the frontend to you, which helps when you need multiple channels, a separate CMS, or full control of the storefront. Pick headless for a real channel need, not architecture fashion.
Which of these handle B2B, marketplaces, or subscriptions?+
Bagisto ships B2B company purchasing with quote negotiation, a multi-vendor marketplace, multi-tenant storefronts, and point of sale out of the box. Spree adds B2B price lists, customer groups, and gated storefronts. Medusa provides primitives you extend into B2B, marketplaces, or subscriptions. Test these flows in the admin with real examples, since depth varies more than the marketing pages suggest.
How do payments and PCI compliance work with these platforms?+
Most reduce PCI scope by using tokenized gateways or hosted payment fields, so raw card data never touches your server. Spree and WooCommerce keep payments provider-agnostic, and Saleor orchestrates multiple gateways. You still need HTTPS, access controls, audit logs, and timely patching. Avoid custom card handling unless your team already understands PCI DSS obligations, because that is where the real burden lives.
Does the platform's programming language matter?+
It matters as much as the features, because you inherit maintenance. WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, and Bagisto are PHP; Spree and Solidus are Ruby on Rails; nopCommerce is .NET; Medusa, Vendure, and EverShop are TypeScript on Node; Saleor is Python. Choosing a stack your team can already read, debug, and deploy is worth more than a slightly longer feature list on an unfamiliar one.
Can I keep my current frontend and use just the commerce backend?+
That is the point of the headless options. Saleor is API-only over GraphQL, Vendure exposes a GraphQL backend, and Medusa ships commerce modules behind a framework, all serving any frontend you build. Spree adds a REST API and TypeScript SDK. The trade-off is integration work: routing, preview, checkout handoff, and analytics become your responsibility instead of the platform's.
How much does open source ecommerce really cost to run?+
The license is only one line item. Budget for hosting, implementation, design, payment gateway fees, security work, upgrades, backups, and support. These platforms tend to pay off when you need control over checkout, catalog logic, or integrations. For a simple store with standard workflows, a hosted builder can still cost less in staff time, so weigh the whole picture, not just the software price.
What should I test before migrating my existing store?+
Run a test import well before setting a launch date. Product data usually needs the most cleanup because attributes and variants rarely map one to one. Order history can often be imported for reference, but payment tokens, customer passwords, and app-specific metadata may not transfer. Confirm how redirects, images, and discount rules move too, so old SEO and links survive the switch.