What is the difference between Medusa and Saleor?

Medusa is best for Developers wanting a headless, open-source Shopify alternative, while Saleor is best for Teams wanting GraphQL-first headless e-commerce. Medusa starts at Free and Saleor starts at Free.

Is Medusa or Saleor cheaper?

Medusa starts at Free and is free. Saleor starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Saleor?

Both Medusa and Saleor offer free tiers.

Medusa vs Saleor (2026) — notanothertool

At a glance

	Medusa	Saleor
Best for	Developers wanting a headless, open-source Shopify alternative	Teams wanting GraphQL-first headless e-commerce
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	✓
Dashboard	—	✓
GraphQL	—	✓
Headless	✓	✓
Multi-Channel	—	✓
Node.js	✓	—
Open Source	✓	—
Plugins	✓	—

Medusa

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes Headless as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Developer-oriented tooling may not suit non-technical team members
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in e-commerce

Try Medusa → Full review

Saleor

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes GraphQL as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in e-commerce

Try Saleor → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Medusa and Saleor are free, so this decision comes down to features and philosophy rather than budget.

Feature gaps: Medusa offers Node.js, Open Source and Plugins that Saleor lacks. Saleor brings Dashboard, GraphQL and Multi-Channel that Medusa does not have. Both share Headless.

Team fit: Medusa is geared toward small teams teams, while Saleor is aimed at mid-size teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Both Medusa and Saleor are open source, so self-hosting and code audits are on the table with either choice.

Where each tool shines: Medusa's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes headless as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows. Saleor's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes graphql as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows.

Watch out for: With Medusa, users commonly note that may lack some advanced features. With Saleor, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Medusa if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: developers wanting a headless, open-source shopify alternative
You specifically need Node.js and Open Source
You care about includes headless as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Medusa is designed for

Choose Saleor if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting graphql-first headless e-commerce
You specifically need Dashboard and GraphQL
You care about includes graphql as a core feature, purpose-built for e-commerce workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Saleor is designed for