# Medusa vs Shopify

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Shopify

| Attribute | Medusa | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 65 (76% (high)) | 83.7 (72% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 397 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 36,728 | - |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 188,278 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A modular, extensible commerce platform that enables developers to create custom storefronts, marketplaces, and commerce systems while reusing foundational commerce functionality. Provides comprehensive modules for product management, pricing, inventory, and fulfillment with extensive customization through APIs and workflows. It is indexed under E-commerce Platforms.","source":"https://medusajs.com/pricing-module/","question":"What is Medusa?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Medusa offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $29 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://medusajs.com/pricing-module/","question":"Is Medusa free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Medusa supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://medusajs.com/pricing-module/","question":"What platforms does Medusa support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Medusa can be deployed cloud / SaaS, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://medusajs.com/pricing-module/","question":"Can Medusa be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Medusa. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Medusa not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://medusajs.com/privacy-policy/","question":"What security certifications does Medusa have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Yes. Medusa is published under the SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://www.npmjs.com/package/@medusajs/medusa","question":"Is Medusa open source?","confidence":0.85},{"answer":"Medusa is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://medusajs.com/pricing-module/","question":"Where is Medusa available?","confidence":0.5}]` | `[{"answer":"Shopify is a fully hosted e-commerce platform for building and managing online stores. It provides merchants with payment processing through Shopify Payments, multi-currency support, international market expansion tools, inventory management, and both traditional and headless storefront deployment options. It is indexed under E-commerce Platforms.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"What is Shopify?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Shopify offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans are also available: Shopify Plus and Shopify Enterprise. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"Is Shopify free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Shopify. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"What platforms does Shopify support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Shopify, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"Can Shopify be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 11 integrations for Shopify, including Adyen, Manhattan, Vercel, Hydrogen, Slack, Salesforce, Xero and QuickBooks, plus 3 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"What does Shopify integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and GDPR for Shopify. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Shopify not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/legal/compliance/reports","question":"What security certifications does Shopify have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Shopify is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"Where is Shopify available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source commerce platform that enables developers to create fully customized e-commerce applications with built-in commerce primitives and agent-driven automation. | A comprehensive toolkit that enables entrepreneurs and business owners to create, operate, and expand their online sales channels with integrated management tools. |
| features.capabilities | `{"headless":true,"free_tier":true,"open_source":true,"b2b_features":true,"platform_type":"headless","self_hostable":true,"payments_model":"both","pos_omnichannel":true,"transaction_fees":false,"extension_ecosystem":"Modular architecture with Workflows, custom modules, API routes, and UI extensio","multi_currency_language":true}` | `{"headless":true,"free_tier":true,"open_source":false,"b2b_features":true,"platform_type":"hosted_saas","self_hostable":true,"payments_model":"built_in","pci_compliance":true,"pos_omnichannel":true,"transaction_fees":true,"extension_ecosystem":"21,000+ commerce apps available in Shopify App Store","multi_currency_language":true}` |
| integrations.count | 28 | 21,000 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Stripe"},{"name":"Google Analytics"},{"name":"PayPal","category":"payments"},{"name":"Braintree","category":"payments"},{"name":"Authorize.net","category":"payments"},{"name":"Mercadopago","category":"payments"},{"name":"Mollie","category":"payments"},{"name":"MakePay","category":"payments"},{"name":"Slack","category":"notifications"},{"name":"Resend","category":"email"},{"name":"Klaviyo","category":"marketing"},{"name":"Postal","category":"email"},{"name":"ShipStation","category":"fulfillment"},{"name":"Apiship","category":"fulfillment"},{"name":"InPost","category":"fulfillment"},{"name":"Packeta","category":"fulfillment"},{"name":"Algolia","category":"search"},{"name":"Contentful","category":"cms"},{"name":"Strapi","category":"cms"},{"name":"Tolgee","category":"localization"},{"name":"Storyblok","category":"cms"},{"name":"PostHog","category":"analytics"},{"name":"Odoo","category":"erp"},{"name":"1C","category":"erp"},{"name":"PunchCommerce","category":"erp"},{"name":"Avalara","category":"tax"},{"name":"AWS S3","category":"storage"},{"name":"Cloudflare R2","category":"storage"},{"name":"GCP Cloud Storage","category":"storage"},{"name":"GitHub","native":true,"category":"deployment","direction":"inbound"}]` | `[{"name":"Adyen"},{"name":"Manhattan"},{"name":"Vercel"},{"name":"Hydrogen"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Xero"},{"name":"QuickBooks"},{"name":"Shop app"},{"name":"Dropshipping apps"},{"name":"Print-on-demand apps"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | - |
| license.spdx | SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["GB"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":["GB"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Develop","summary":"$29/month","features":["Storefront and backend hosting","Medusa MCP and Cloud CLI","Search and email services","Pre-configured cache"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Launch","summary":"$99/month","features":["All Develop features","Autoscaling infrastructure","Custom storefront domains","Automatic backups","Webhook events","Redis-backed KV store","Concurrent previews"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Scale","summary":"$299/month","features":["All Launch features","Background workers","Priority Cloud support","Semantic search","Extended backup retention"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":299,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["Custom licensing","24/7 support","SLA-backed response times","RBAC, SSO, audit logs","Dedicated support engineer","Bring-your-own-cloud option","99.99% uptime SLA","Data sovereignty and SOC2 compliance"],"contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Preview Environments","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Storefront Previews","components":[{"per":{"qty":1000000,"unit":"requests"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.3,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Additional Cloud Seats","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"seat","amount":30,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Free-text Search","components":[{"per":{"qty":100000,"unit":"queries"},"kind":"metered","amount":20,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Semantic Search","components":[{"per":{"qty":100000,"unit":"queries"},"kind":"metered","amount":40,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Transactional Emails","components":[{"per":{"qty":1000,"unit":"emails"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.7,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $29/month. Free trial included. Zero platform fees on commerce transactions.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://medusajs.com/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T15:10:22.720Z","startingPrice":{"amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Shopify","summary":"Monthly subscription with 3.9% payment processing fee (variable by card type and issuer)","commitment":"monthly","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":3.9}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Shopify Plus","summary":"Custom pricing with advanced capabilities","features":["Fully customizable checkout","Unlimited staff accounts","Enhanced automation","Priority support"],"commitment":"monthly","description":"Advanced features for high-growth brands","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Shopify Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing and terms","features":["Higher platform limits","Deep control and customization","Dedicated account management","Committed service levels"],"description":"Enterprise-scale platform for complex organizations","contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Shopify Managed Markets","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":3.5}]},{"name":"Shopify Managed Markets (Shopify Plus)","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":3.25}]},{"name":"Currency conversion","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":1.5}]},{"name":"Duties and import tax calculation","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":0.5}]}],"summary":"Monthly subscription from 3.9% per transaction. Free trial available: 3 months at £1/month.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-09-04T15:58:49.403Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":29,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 7 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.21.2","date":"2026-09-28T10:08:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.21.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.21.1","date":"2026-09-22T15:12:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.21.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.21.0","date":"2026-09-11T10:13:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.20.1","date":"2026-09-03T09:41:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.20.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.20.0","date":"2026-09-02T15:34:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.19.0","date":"2026-08-13T13:09:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.18.0","date":"2026-07-23T14:28:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.17.2","date":"2026-07-01T17:17:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.17.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.17.1","date":"2026-06-25T09:49:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.17.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.17.0","date":"2026-06-24T18:47:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.16.0","date":"2026-06-18T12:00:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.15.5","date":"2026-06-01T08:49:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.15.3","date":"2026-05-21T11:25:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.15.2","date":"2026-05-13T13:39:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.15.1","date":"2026-05-11T21:16:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.15.0","date":"2026-05-11T15:02:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.14.2","date":"2026-04-30T16:22:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.14.1","date":"2026-04-24T14:11:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.14.0","date":"2026-04-23T12:17:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/medusajs/medusa/releases/tag/v2.13.6","date":"2026-04-08T09:01:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v2.13.6"}]` | - |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | 99.9 |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"SOC 2","status":"active"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 5.7 | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |
| security.trust_center | https://medusajs.com/privacy-policy/ | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40medusajs%2Fmedusa&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (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 |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:13:02.131Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*