SaleorBuild a storefront using commerce APIs for products, checkout and orders.
Core free (BSD)
Business & marketing
Medusa
Free softwareOpen sourceLocal
Build an online store with product, cart and order-management APIs.
What you can use it for
Build an online store with product, cart and order-management APIs.
- Covers the core use case of Shopify without a subscription.
- 36.8k GitHub stars, NOASSERTION, last commit 2026-10-15
Workflow coverage and comparison notes
Open source headless digital commerce platform with modular architecture and zero subscription fee. Free open-source headless commerce platform alternative to BigCommerce. Medusa provides modular Node.js commerce engines covering multi-currency carts, orders, payment provider integrations, and product catalogues without BigCommerce monthly subscription tiers ($39–$399/mo) or GMV revenue cutoffs.
Before you switch
Developer-oriented
Alternatives to these paid apps
Each comparison covers the workflow described above, rather than every paid feature.
More for the same workflow
See alternatives →Saleor