Medusa and Saleor are both open source headless commerce backends. Each gives you products, orders, customers, pricing and checkout behind an API, with an admin dashboard on top and a storefront you build separately. The biggest difference is the stack. Medusa is written in TypeScript and runs on Node.js. Saleor is written in Python on Django. That choice shapes who can build and maintain the store, how its API works and how you extend it.
We build Medusa stores through our Medusa.js development service, so weigh that. This comparison also says plainly where Saleor is the better tool. Every licence, feature and price below was checked against each project’s own documentation and pricing pages in October 2026.
Short answer: choose Medusa if your team works in TypeScript and wants one language across the stack, with custom commerce logic written as code. Choose Saleor if your team works in Python or wants a GraphQL-first API, with channel-based multi-brand selling and a full dashboard out of the box.
Medusa and Saleor at a Glance
As of October 2026, from each project’s documentation, repository and pricing page:
| Medusa | Saleor | |
|---|---|---|
| Language and framework | TypeScript on Node.js | Python on Django |
| Database | PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL |
| API | REST (Store API and Admin API) | GraphQL only |
| Extension model | Modules, workflows and plugins inside the Medusa application | Apps: separate services that talk to Saleor over webhooks and the API |
| Admin dashboard | Medusa Admin (React, Vite), extended with widgets and new pages | Saleor Dashboard (React, TypeScript, GraphQL-powered) |
| Storefront starter | Next.js starter storefront | Saleor Storefront (Next.js App Router) |
| Multi-market model | Regions (currency, countries, tax) plus Sales Channels | Channels, each with one currency |
| Licence | MIT, except Enterprise Edition materials | BSD-3-Clause |
| Managed hosting | Medusa Cloud, from $29/month | Saleor Cloud, from $1,599/month for commercial use |
| Fee on sales | None on any plan | Saleor Cloud plans add a percentage above a monthly GMV allowance |
Stack and Team Fit
With Medusa, the backend, the admin extensions and a Next.js storefront are all TypeScript. One developer can move between them, and a small team only needs one set of language skills, tooling and deployment habits.
With Saleor, the backend is Python and the storefront is usually JavaScript. That’s common in software and works well, but the store then needs Python skills for backend work and JavaScript skills for the storefront, either in the same people or in separate specialists. If your company already runs Python services, Saleor fits into what you have. If your team is JavaScript-only, the Django side is a new thing to learn, deploy and patch.
This is usually the deciding factor. Pick the platform whose language your developers, or your agency, already work in every day.
REST vs GraphQL
Saleor describes itself as “GraphQL native, API-only”. Every query and change goes through its GraphQL API, and there is no REST alternative. GraphQL lets the storefront ask for exactly the fields a page needs in one request, and the schema documents itself. Teams that already use GraphQL tend to like it.
Medusa exposes REST APIs: a Store API for the storefront and an Admin API for back-office work. REST is familiar to most developers, easy to inspect and simple to call from other services.
Neither approach is better in general. A team that works in GraphQL will find Saleor natural. A team that mostly builds against REST APIs will get started faster on Medusa. If you also want to compare a TypeScript backend that uses GraphQL, see Medusa vs Vendure.
Extending the Platform
This is the clearest architectural difference.
Medusa is extended from inside. Custom data models, business logic and integrations are written as modules and workflows that run in the same application as the core. Plugins package that code for reuse across projects. Everything deploys together, so there are fewer services to run, and custom logic can work directly with commerce data. The trade-off is that extension code shares the application with the core, so it has to be written and tested with care. Our guide to Medusa architecture shows where each piece lives.
Saleor is extended from outside. Its documentation describes Apps as “technology-agnostic clients that communicate with Saleor through webhooks and API”. An App is its own service, written in any language and hosted separately, that subscribes to events and calls the API. That keeps extensions isolated from the core: a failing App doesn’t take the platform down with it. In return, each App is another service to deploy, monitor and secure, and custom logic has to work through the API rather than alongside the core.
Fewer moving parts favours Medusa. Isolation and language freedom favour Saleor.
Admin Dashboards
Both admins are React applications that cover products, orders, customers and discounts.
Saleor Dashboard is “a GraphQL-powered, single-page dashboard application” built in React and TypeScript under the BSD-3-Clause licence. It manages channels, warehouses and Apps alongside the catalog and orders, and it’s a complete back office from day one.
Medusa Admin is built with React and Vite. You extend it with widgets, which add sections to existing pages, and UI routes, which add new pages. Medusa’s documentation is direct about the limit: “You can’t customize the admin dashboard’s layout, design, or the content of the existing pages (aside from injecting widgets)”. If you need a back office that looks or works differently throughout, the option is to build your own on the Admin API.
For most stores, either admin handles daily work. If your staff need custom screens for their own processes, Medusa’s widgets and pages are quick to add. If you want the most complete dashboard without development, Saleor’s is the stronger starting point.
Channels, Regions and International Selling
Both platforms sell across currencies and markets. They model it differently.
Saleor uses channels. According to its documentation, a “Channel belongs to a single currency” and controls product visibility, availability, search and publication date. Checkout is tied to a channel, so it shows that channel’s stock, prices and taxes. A channel can stand for a country, a brand or a separate B2B storefront, and order access can be split by channel when separate legal entities sell through one Saleor instance.
Medusa uses two concepts. Regions set the currency, countries and tax settings for a market; each region has one currency. Sales Channels control which products are available where, link to stock locations and scope carts and orders. A brand, a B2B portal or a marketplace channel can each be a sales channel, with regions handling currency and tax underneath.
The result is similar. Saleor puts it in one model, while Medusa separates market settings from product availability. Our post on Medusa multi-region commerce goes through the Medusa setup in detail.
Storefronts
Both are backend-only, so the customer-facing site is a separate build. Each project publishes a Next.js starting point.
Saleor Storefront uses the Next.js App Router with React, TypeScript, GraphQL and Tailwind. Check its licence before building on it: the storefront is published under FSL-1.1-ALv2, not BSD, and each release converts to Apache 2.0 after two years.
Medusa publishes a Next.js starter storefront wired to its Store API. Most projects start from it or build a custom design against the same API. Our guide to Medusa storefront options compares the approaches.
Payments and Integrations
Saleor handles payments and integrations through Apps. Its official Apps include Stripe, Adyen, Avalara AvaTax, CMS, Search, SMTP, Customer Emails, Twilio Segment and Google Merchant Center.
Medusa handles them through modules and plugins. The Stripe payment provider is installed by default, and other payment providers, fulfilment, tax, search and notification services are added as modules or plugins.
On both platforms, anything without a ready-made integration, such as an ERP, a 3PL or a pricing engine, is custom development. On Saleor that’s usually a new App. On Medusa it’s usually a module and workflow inside the application.
Hosting and Managed Cloud
Both can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure with PostgreSQL. You run the application, workers, database and file storage, and you handle updates and backups. Our guide to Medusa hosting and infrastructure covers what a production Medusa setup needs.
Both also sell managed hosting, and this is where they differ most. Medusa Cloud plans, as of October 2026 (source):
| Plan | Price | Fee on sales |
|---|---|---|
| Develop | from $29/month | None |
| Launch | from $99/month | None |
| Scale | from $299/month | None |
| Enterprise | Custom | None |
Saleor Cloud plans, as of October 2026 (source):
| Plan | Price | Above the GMV allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Sandboxes | Free, non-commercial use | — |
| Select | $1,599/month, up to $200,000 monthly GMV | 0.8% of GMV above it |
| Volume | $3,999/month, up to $1,000,000 monthly GMV | 0.4% of GMV above it |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
Medusa Cloud is billed on servers and compute hours, with no share of sales. Saleor Cloud is billed on a monthly allowance of sales volume, with a percentage on top once you exceed it. For a store planning to use managed hosting, that difference is worth modelling against your expected revenue. Our guide to Medusa implementation cost covers the rest of the Medusa budget.
When Saleor Is the Better Pick
- Your team, or the team that will maintain the store, works in Python and Django.
- Your storefront team works in GraphQL and wants a GraphQL-only API.
- You sell several brands or storefronts and want channels to be the core model.
- You want a complete admin dashboard without building screens.
- You prefer integrations to run as separate services, isolated from the core.
When Medusa Is the Better Pick
- Your team works in TypeScript and wants one language from backend to storefront.
- The store needs custom commerce logic, such as B2B pricing, approval flows or a Medusa marketplace build, written directly in the application.
- You want managed hosting on a flat monthly plan with no fee on sales.
- You’d rather run one application than a core plus a set of separate App services.
If that describes your project, our Medusa.js development service builds stores like this.
When You Don’t Need Either
Headless commerce is worth it when a standard platform can’t express your commerce logic or you need several frontends on one backend. If you sell a standard catalog through a standard checkout, a headless build costs more to create and maintain than it gives back. For many of those stores, WooCommerce development or our Shopify agency is the better fit. See Medusa vs WooCommerce for that comparison, or our open source headless ecommerce comparison for the wider field.
FAQ
Is Saleor open source?
Yes. Saleor’s core is open source under the BSD-3-Clause licence, and so is Saleor Dashboard. Its official Next.js storefront uses a different licence, FSL-1.1-ALv2, which converts to Apache 2.0 after two years. Medusa is MIT-licensed, except for its Enterprise Edition materials.
Does Saleor Cloud charge a GMV fee?
Its plans include a monthly GMV allowance and charge a percentage above it: 0.8% on the Select plan above $200,000 a month and 0.4% on the Volume plan above $1,000,000 a month, as of October 2026. Self-hosted Saleor has no fee. Medusa Cloud charges no fee on sales on any plan.
Is Medusa or Saleor better for a first store?
Usually neither. Both need a storefront built and a developer to maintain them. A first store with a standard catalog is normally better served by WooCommerce or Shopify. Choose Medusa or Saleor when you have commerce requirements those platforms can’t handle and a team to build and run the store.
Does either have subscriptions built in?
Plan to integrate a billing service for recurring orders on either platform. On Medusa that’s custom code in modules and workflows; on Saleor it’s typically an App.
Can I migrate between Medusa and Saleor?
Yes, but it’s a full migration. Products, customers and order history have to be exported and transformed, because the data models differ even though both use PostgreSQL. The storefront also has to be rewired, since one uses REST and the other GraphQL, and any custom extensions need to be rebuilt.
Which admin is easier for non-developers?
Saleor Dashboard covers more out of the box, including channels, warehouses and Apps, so a team without developers can do more without changes. Medusa Admin covers daily store work and can be extended with custom widgets and pages for your own processes, which needs a developer.