Medusa, Saleor, and Vendure are the three open-source commerce engines a serious headless build usually comes down to. All three are self-hosted, take nothing on transactions, and sit behind a custom Next.js storefront. The differences that matter are underneath: what language your team writes, how you extend the engine, and what the API looks like.
The one-line version of each
The comparison that matters
| Kryeo | Saleor / Vendure | |
|---|---|---|
| Core language | Medusa: TypeScript (Node.js) | Saleor: Python/Django · Vendure: TypeScript (Node.js) |
| Primary API | Medusa: REST + JS SDK (GraphQL optional) | Both: GraphQL-first |
| Extension model | Medusa: modules + workflows, in-codebase | Saleor: external apps + webhooks · Vendure: in-codebase plugins |
| Best fit team | Medusa: full-stack TypeScript | Saleor: Python-comfortable / platform-style · Vendure: TypeScript, GraphQL-first |
| Custom commerce logic | Medusa: written directly in modules/workflows | Saleor: in apps alongside the core · Vendure: in plugins |
| Hosted option | Medusa: self-host; partners for managed | Saleor: Saleor Cloud · Vendure: self-host; managed via partners |
How to choose
Choose Medusa if your team is full-stack TypeScript and you want commerce logic (pricing engines, bundling, subscriptions, B2B flows) written as modules and workflows in the same codebase and language as the rest of your stack. This is the most common fit for the teams we work with, and it is what we build on.
Choose Saleor if you want a more platform-shaped experience with a large built-in feature set, your team is comfortable in Python, and you are happy extending via external apps and webhooks rather than editing the core. The GraphQL API is mature and the Cloud option removes the hosting question.
Choose Vendure if your team is TypeScript and GraphQL-first, and you like a formal plugin architecture with a strict admin/shop API split. It is a clean, well-typed framework and a strong choice when GraphQL is non-negotiable but you still want to write extensions in-codebase.
Weighing these for a real project?
Tell us your team's stack, your commerce logic, and your API preference. We'll recommend one, and say so if a hosted platform is actually the better call.
Ask us →What does not decide it
- Feature checklists. All three cover the commerce fundamentals: catalogue, pricing, carts, orders, fulfilment, payments, multi-region. Anything missing is a build on any of them.
- Popularity. Community size affects how many questions are already answered on the internet, not whether the engine fits your project.
- Storefront work. Nearly identical across all three: a Next.js app calling a commerce API. Your choice here barely touches the front end.
The rule
Start from your team and your API: TypeScript team, REST-friendly, logic-in- codebase → Medusa. Python-comfortable, platform-style, apps-and-webhooks → Saleor. TypeScript team, GraphQL-first, plugin architecture → Vendure. Then sanity-check against your two or three hardest commerce requirements by sketching how each engine's extension model would handle them.
For a fuller treatment of the hosted-vs-self-hosted trade-off, see Medusa vs. Shopify for headless commerce.