DevVersus

Medusa vs Saleor(2026)

Medusa is better for teams that need open source and self-hostable. Saleor is the stronger choice if fully headless graphql api. Medusa is free and Saleor is open-source (from $500/month (Saleor Cloud)).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

By Bikram Nath

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Medusa logo

Medusa

free

Medusa is an open-source headless commerce engine that gives developers full control over their ecommerce stack.

Visit Medusa
Saleor logo

Saleor

open-source

Saleor is a high-performance open source headless e-commerce platform built with Django and GraphQL for custom storefronts.

Starting at $500/month (Saleor Cloud)

Visit Saleor

How Do Medusa and Saleor Compare on Features?

FeatureMedusaSaleor
Pricing modelfreeopen-source
Starting priceFree$500/month (Saleor Cloud)
Headless commerce✓—
REST + GraphQL APIs✓—
Multi-region✓—
Multi-currency✓✓
Customizable workflows✓—
Plugin system✓✓
GraphQL API—✓
Multi-channel—✓
Warehouse management—✓
Headless-first—✓

Medusa Pros and Cons vs Saleor

M

Medusa

+Open source and self-hostable
+Full developer control
+Node.js/TypeScript native
+No vendor lock-in
−Requires engineering resources
−Smaller ecosystem than Shopify
−No hosted option for free
S

Saleor

+Fully headless GraphQL API
+Open source (self-host free)
+Multi-currency & channel
+Developer-first
−Complex self-hosting
−Requires developer to set up
−Cloud pricing is expensive

Should You Use Medusa or Saleor?

For most teams, Medusa is the better default: it offers open source and self-hostable and is free. Choose Saleor instead if fully headless graphql api matters more than requires engineering resources. There is no universal winner — the right pick depends on your budget, team size, and whether you value open source and self-hostable or fully headless graphql api more.

Choose Medusa if…

  • •Open source and self-hostable
  • •Full developer control
  • •Node.js/TypeScript native

Choose Saleor if…

  • •Fully headless GraphQL API
  • •Open source (self-host free)
  • •Multi-currency & channel

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