Comparison

Medusa vs Shopify

On the evidence we track, Shopify leads this comparison with a composite score of 84/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Medusa full profile →Shopify full profile →

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Medusa65

★Shopify84

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Medusa	ShopifyLeader
vioscaleAI score	65 / 100high · 76%	84 / 100medium · 72%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	mid	low
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	$29	-
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	28	21,000
Security
Certificationssecurity.certifications	SOC 2	-
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	-	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	✓
Pcisecurity.pci	-	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	5.7	-
Soc2security.soc2	✓	✓
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	https://medusajs.com/privacy-policy/	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40medusajs%2Fmedusa&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	-
Reliability
Sla pctreliability.sla_pct	99.99	99.9
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	397	-
Github starsadoption.github_stars	36,728	-
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	188,278	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	100	-
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	7	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	-
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	TypeScript	-
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · Popular in US	Available worldwide · Popular in GB
Content
Faqcontent.faq	7 items	7 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

Medusa65 / 100high · 76%

Shopify84 / 100medium · 72%

Pricing

Free tier

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Model

Medusafreemium

Shopifyfreemium

Price level

Medusamid

Shopifylow

Starting price

Medusa$29

Shopify–

Transparent

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Integrations

Count

Medusa28

Shopify21,000

Security

Certifications

MedusaSOC 2

Shopify–

Disclosure policy

Medusa–

Shopify✓

Gdpr

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Pci

Medusa–

Shopify✓

Scorecard

Medusa5.7

Shopify–

Soc2

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Trust center

Medusahttps://medusajs.com/privacy-policy/

Shopify–

Vulnerabilities

MedusaCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40medusajs%2Fmedusa&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Shopify–

Reliability

Sla pct

Medusa99.99

Shopify99.9

Status page

Medusa–

Shopify✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Medusa397

Shopify–

Github stars

Medusa36,728

Shopify–

Package downloads weekly

Medusa188,278

Shopify–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Medusa100

Shopify–

Release

Cadence days

Medusa7

Shopify–

History

Medusa20 items

Shopify–

License

Spdx

MedusaSEE LICENSE IN LICENSE

Shopify–

Language

Primary

MedusaTypeScript

Shopify–

Market

Availability

MedusaAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

ShopifyAvailable worldwide · Popular in GB

Content

Faq

Medusa7 items

Shopify7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for e-commerce platforms. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for E-commerce Platforms
Capability	Medusa	Shopify
Core
Platform type	Headless / composable	Hosted all-in-one SaaS
Licensing
Open-source	✓	✗
Deployment
Self-hostable	✓	✓
Pricing
Free / open tier	✓	✓
Transaction fees beyond plan	✗	✓
Payments
Payments model	Built-in + BYO gateway	Built-in payments
Architecture
Headless / API-first storefront	✓	✓
Compliance
PCI-DSS compliance provided	-	✓
Reach
Multi-currency / multi-language	✓	✓
Selling
B2B / wholesale features	✓	✓
POS / omnichannel	✓	✓
Extensibility
App / extension ecosystem size	Modular architecture with Workflows, custom modules, API routes, and UI extensio	21,000+ commerce apps available in Shopify App Store

Core

Platform type

MedusaHeadless / composable

ShopifyHosted all-in-one SaaS

Licensing

Open-source

Medusa✓

Shopify✗

Deployment

Self-hostable

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Pricing

Free / open tier

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Transaction fees beyond plan

Medusa✗

Shopify✓

Payments

Payments model

MedusaBuilt-in + BYO gateway

ShopifyBuilt-in payments

Architecture

Headless / API-first storefront

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Compliance

PCI-DSS compliance provided

Medusa-

Shopify✓

Reach

Multi-currency / multi-language

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Selling

B2B / wholesale features

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

POS / omnichannel

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Extensibility

App / extension ecosystem size

MedusaModular architecture with Workflows, custom modules, API routes, and UI extensio

Shopify21,000+ commerce apps available in Shopify App Store

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Medusa

An open-source commerce platform that enables developers to create fully customized e-commerce applications with built-in commerce primitives and agent-driven automation.

Independently observed

Shopify

Leader

A comprehensive toolkit that enables entrepreneurs and business owners to create, operate, and expand their online sales channels with integrated management tools.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Medusa

from $29/moSubscriptionFree tier

From $29/month. Free trial included. Zero platform fees on commerce transactions.

Develop$29/month
- Storefront and backend hosting
- Medusa MCP and Cloud CLI
- Search and email services
- Pre-configured cache
Launch$99/month
- All Develop features
- Autoscaling infrastructure
- Custom storefront domains
- Automatic backups
- Webhook events
- +2 more
Scale$299/month
- All Launch features
- Background workers
- Priority Cloud support
- Semantic search
- Extended backup retention
EnterpriseContact sales
- Custom licensing
- 24/7 support
- SLA-backed response times
- RBAC, SSO, audit logs
- Dedicated support engineer
- +3 more

as of 2026-10-13verify ↗

Shopify

Leader

HybridFree tier

Monthly subscription from 3.9% per transaction. Free trial available: 3 months at £1/month.

ShopifyMonthly subscription with 3.9% payment processing fee (variable by card type and issuer)
Shopify PlusContact sales
- Fully customizable checkout
- Unlimited staff accounts
- Enhanced automation
- Priority support
Shopify EnterpriseContact sales
- Higher platform limits
- Deep control and customization
- Dedicated account management
- Committed service levels

as of 2026-09-04verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Medusa	Shopify
WebPlatforms	✓	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✗
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✗
HybridDeployment	✓	✗

Platforms

Web

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

CLI

Medusa✓

Shopify✗

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Medusa✓

Shopify✓

Self-hosted

Medusa✓

Shopify✗

Hybrid

Medusa✓

Shopify✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)

Slack

Medusa

30 total - 29 not shared

Stripe
Google Analytics
PayPal
Braintree
Authorize.net
Mercadopago
Mollie
MakePay
Resend
Klaviyo
Postal
ShipStation
Apiship
InPost
Packeta
Algolia
Contentful
Strapi
Tolgee
Storyblok
PostHog
Odoo
1C
PunchCommerce
+5 more

Independently observed

Shopify

Leader

11 total - 10 not shared

Adyen
Manhattan
Vercel
Hydrogen
Salesforce
Xero
QuickBooks
Shop app
Dropshipping apps
Print-on-demand apps

Independently observed

Still deciding?

Medusa or Shopify: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.