What instead of PrestaShop in 2026? Analysis of real alternatives

The beginning of 2026 has brought more questions than answers in the PrestaShop world. The latest ownership decisions, changes in communication, and growing doubts around the platform’s development model have led many companies – including those that have successfully built sales on Presta for years – to seriously consider a migration scenario. Not in a mode of “technology panic”, but with a cold calculation of risks: licensing dependencies, closed module ecosystems, architectural constraints, and long-term maintenance costs. More and more often, the question is no longer “if”, but “where” – and not at the IT level, but at the level of the entire business strategy.
In this context, the conversation about alternatives to PrestaShop stops being a theoretical comparison of features and becomes an analysis of real scenarios for the coming years. Migration is no longer a whim or a trend, but an answer to the need for greater control, predictability, and scalability. And it is precisely from this perspective that it is worth looking at the e-commerce platforms available today – without marketing slogans, but with an understanding of how they really behave in mature organizations, with complex processes and growing business requirements.
Choosing the right e-commerce platform is, for many companies, almost like the decision to choose a life partner. The market offers a whole range of solutions – from light and easy-to-use ones to extensive “machines” for the most demanding. In the article below, in a narrative form, we will go through the key e-commerce platforms, dedicating a separate section to each. We will look at their strengths, target audience, and subtle nuances that often only become visible in practice. All of this with a professional eye, but with a touch of irony – because, as with industry comparisons, everyone sometimes tends to favor “their” horse. We begin our journey with the platform that authors of similar rankings usually describe in superlatives (not without reason, of course).

Shopware – a flexible player for everyone

Shopware opens our list like a versatile hero who can find their place in any role. It is a German open-source platform (founded in 2000) with powerful capabilities, valued by both small stores and e-commerce giants. What sets Shopware apart? Above all, its scalability flexibility – it is presented as the only platform able to serve, with equal success, a tiny startup and a huge enterprise. Experts confirm it: “From startup to large enterprises, Shopware scales with your growth.” In other words, whether we are selling handmade jewelry from a garage or managing a catalog of thousands of products across multiple markets, Shopware can handle the task.
On paper, it looks impressive. Shopware offers a fully modular API-first architecture, which makes integrations and extensions (and there are more than 4,000 of them) easy to plug in. The platform has a built-in CMS system (creating attractive product pages with drag-and-drop) and a rich set of marketing and SEO tools, allowing you to build engaging shopping experiences without the need for external software. Different editions are available – from the free Community Edition, through cloud SaaS/PaaS, to the Enterprise Edition with full support. Thanks to this, a small company can start practically from zero (Community) and, as it grows, migrate to more advanced versions without pain, without changing the platform itself. Large brands such as Aston Martin or M&M’s have already trusted Shopware, which adds credibility to its enterprise-level capabilities.
From the perspective of the narrator of our journey, Shopware appears to be a sure thing – a solution for years that grows together with the business. Of course, as a favorite, it can be forgiven a lot. In the free version, certain functions are limited, and official technical support must be paid for separately. However, in comparisons created by enthusiasts of this platform, these minor drawbacks pale against its advantages. Is that justified? We will find out by comparing Shopware with the next players.

Sylius – a flexible alternative for mid-sized and large businesses

If Shopware is the Swiss Army knife of e-commerce, then Sylius is like a solidly forged saber – particularly attractive for mid-sized and large businesses looking for tailor-made cuts. Sylius is an open-source solution based on Symfony (yes, a Polish accent in the global top tier!), which has won developers’ recognition thanks to its modular design and clean architecture. Its creators emphasize flexibility and infinite scalability – and indeed, “flexibility and virtually infinite scalability make it an ideal option for mid-sized and large companies and enterprise.” It sounds like the definition of a strong, flexible alternative to the biggest players – exactly as we want to present it here.
Unlike more “mass” platforms, Sylius does not impose ready-made templates or solutions upfront. Instead, we get an e-commerce framework from which developers can build a store tailored to very specific requirements. Sylius works great where the business needs non-standard functions and integrations – because it can be relatively easily extended with custom modules. For this reason, it is often pointed to as an alternative to Magento in projects where something lighter is needed, but still powerful. Moreover, there is a Sylius Plus version with additional enterprise-class features (e.g., a multi-vendor module, advanced discounts, or SLA support), which shows the platform’s ambitions in the larger-store segment.
Of course, such freedom has its price: to fully benefit from Sylius, it is worth having an experienced development team. For small stores without an IT backbone, this platform can be like a grand piano for a beginner musician – a beautiful instrument, but hard to master. However, mid-sized and large companies that have the resources to appreciate the craftsmanship of this “saber” will find in Sylius a worthy, flexible ally. In our narrative e-commerce landscape, Sylius thus appears as a strong knight who may not be as heavily advertised as the leaders, but can face them on their own turf.

Adobe Commerce (Magento) – heavy caliber for enterprise

If e-commerce platforms held a knightly tournament, Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) would ride into the arena on the biggest horse, in full plate armor. It is a true veteran and heavy caliber – long known for enormous capabilities and… equally enormous requirements. Magento used to be synonymous with flexibility for developers, and after being acquired by Adobe it became part of the corporate Experience Cloud ecosystem. Today, Adobe Commerce is practically only an option for enterprise – a behemoth designed for the largest implementations, where budgets are counted in hundreds of thousands.
Let’s start with the advantages: Adobe Commerce/Magento is powerful, scalable, and incredibly configurable. More than 250,000 enterprise-scale stores worldwide use this software, including corporations such as HP. In the Magento ecosystem, we find thousands of extensions (the official marketplace is bursting at the seams), extensive API, built-in SEO features, analytics, and practically everything an “e-commerce team on steroids” could dream of. The possibilities are unlimited – provided we have a team of developers ready to tame them. And here comes the other side of the coin: “Adobe Commerce requires advanced technical skills.” In other words, the platform is famous for the fact that its full potential only reveals itself in the hands of experienced code wizards.
Why do we say it is an option only for enterprise? First, costs. There is indeed Magento Open Source (formerly Community Edition) available for free, but it has limited support and features. The full Adobe Commerce version is a licensed corporate-class product – pricing is available only on request, which usually means a very high price tier. On top of that come infrastructure costs (Magento is resource-intensive), DevOps specialists, and developers familiar with this considerable platform. Second, complexity: implementing and maintaining Magento can be as difficult as managing a medieval castle. It is no coincidence that many mid-sized companies that were tempted by Magento end up looking for lighter alternatives after years of operating it.
In summary, Adobe Commerce (Magento) is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it offers enormous power and freedom; on the other, it requires the strength to maintain it. In the narrative of our blog, it plays the role of an older general: it commands respect and can be the best choice for great empires of commerce, but for an average knight it may prove too demanding and too expensive to maintain.

Moving slightly down from enterprise solutions, we reach PrestaShop – a platform often described as a golden mean for mid-sized businesses, especially in the European market. Formally, it is an open-source system based on Symfony (although in practice more loosely than Shopware or Sylius), lighter and more accessible than Magento, while offering greater flexibility than typical SaaS solutions.
PrestaShop’s philosophy has been based on modularity for years. The system core is relatively simple, and key functionalities are added through modules. The add-on ecosystem is very broad – more than 5,000 modules are available covering payments, marketing, logistics, integrations, or cross-border sales. It is worth noting, however, that the vast majority of truly useful extensions are paid. As a result, although the PrestaShop engine itself is “free”, the cost of developing and maintaining a store quickly stops being symbolic.
An important element that increasingly appears in discussions about PrestaShop’s future is its licensing model. The platform core is based on the OSL-3.0 license, and many modules operate under AFL-3.0-type licenses. In practice, this means significant limitations in terms of forking, creating alternative distributions, or building full-fledged SaaS models. Although PrestaShop is still often described as open source, it is rather “controlled” open source – the user has access to the code, but real influence over the platform’s development direction and distribution is limited.
For this reason, PrestaShop increasingly functions as a system in which key business logic sits outside the core – in modules, integrations, and external layers. This is an important change in perspective: maintaining PrestaShop in 2026 does not have to mean sticking with legacy, but it requires a conscious architectural approach and acceptance of the fact that the platform is no longer a neutral base for any technological experiments.
PrestaShop is considered a solution well suited for mid-sized stores, and it is hard to dispute the scale of this claim. It is estimated that more than 300,000 stores worldwide run on this platform. Well-known brands such as Zippo Lighters or Fashion Stork use PrestaShop in their e-commerce projects, which confirms that the system can handle quite complex sales operations. At the same time, the range of features available natively in the core – around 600 basic capabilities – usually suffices to launch and run a solid store, but may be insufficient for more advanced business scenarios.
Limitations become visible especially in integrations and process scalability. PrestaShop does not natively support many popular ERP-, PIM-, or WMS-class systems, and integrations are often implemented via dedicated modules available only within the platform’s ecosystem. In practice, this leads to a situation where store development increasingly depends on the availability and quality of specific add-ons rather than on the system architecture itself.
Narratively, PrestaShop indeed stands somewhere in the middle of the road. For many companies it will be sufficient for a long time – especially if their ambitions end at a stable, mid-sized e-commerce business. It is relatively quick to implement, has an accessible administration panel, and a large user community. However, if an organization begins to grow dynamically, expand sales channels, integrate many systems, and optimize processes across the entire organization, PrestaShop increasingly requires “wrapping” with more modules and intermediate solutions.
Then the key strategic question arises: should the platform be further developed by adding more layers, or should PrestaShop be treated as a transitional stage and a migration planned to a solution designed for greater scale, flexibility, and architectural control. And it is precisely here that the next chapter of this story begins.

OpenCart – light competition with limitations

The next stop is OpenCart, which in the world of e-commerce platforms often appears as a proposal for small and mid-sized businesses with a limited budget and strong ambitions for hands-on tinkering. OpenCart is an open-source project known for its simplicity – both the positive kind (an intuitive panel, easy installation) and the less favorable kind (it is not the most advanced system on the market). You can imagine it as a light merchant cart: it will deliver goods from point A to point B, though perhaps not as fast and impressively as the competitors’ sports carriage.
What does OpenCart offer? Quite a lot for its class. It boasts more than 13,000 extensions and add-ons available in the official marketplace – so expansion possibilities are broad. Out of the box, you get features such as multi-store (managing multiple stores from one panel), support for multiple languages and currencies, basic reports, discount coupons, and even a mobile app for store management. It is an impressive list for a free solution, so it is no surprise that OpenCart has attracted more than 400,000 store owners worldwide. The British Red Cross runs on it, which shows that even organizations can trust this engine.
Unfortunately, OpenCart’s lightness comes with certain limitations. The platform has a reputation for being somewhat outdated in terms of SEO and marketing tools – while basic sales functions exist, more refined promotional methods can be difficult. Experts directly point out that OpenCart has limited SEO/marketing capabilities out of the box, which can hinder sales scaling. In addition, OpenCart users must be ready for a certain level of self-reliance: the lack of official support means that in case of trouble we are left with the community’s help (fortunately, a fairly active one). You also need basic technical knowledge to get more out of OpenCart – it is not a plug-and-play SaaS platform, but rather something for someone who is not afraid of editing configuration files.
In our story, OpenCart plays the role of a likable craftsman: it will do what it should, it will not ruin your wallet, but do not expect fireworks. For companies that need a simple online store and value independence (and are ready to accept certain gaps, possibly adding missing blocks on their own), OpenCart can be just right. However, in a clash with more “loaded” competitors, it often turns out that this merchant cart cannot keep up – especially when competitors run on platforms with marketing turbocharging.

Saleor – a new headless wave for the ambitious

Now we move into a slightly different reality – the world of headless platforms and composable commerce, where modern technologies and a developer-first approach lead the way. In this category, the star named Saleor shines brightly. For the uninitiated: Saleor is an open-source e-commerce platform that focuses on headless architecture (frontend separated from backend) and first-class API (GraphQL-first). In practice, this means that Saleor is more of a transaction engine than a complete “store with shelves” – ideal for those who want to build their store their way, using modern frontend frameworks and custom interfaces.
Saleor has gained enormous popularity in developer circles – you can encounter opinions that it is currently the “#1 e-commerce platform on GitHub”, which reflects strong community interest and recognition of the technology. The creators claim that it is the most future-proof strategy for companies focused on modernity, extensibility, and code openness. Indeed, Saleor tempts with a modern technology stack: a backend based on Python/Django, GraphQL communication, ready integration with a Progressive Web App (PWA) on the frontend, and a friendly admin panel out of the box. This combination provides “unmatched flexibility, scalability, and speed”, making Saleor an excellent choice for businesses that must meet dynamic e-commerce market requirements.
Who is Saleor for? Looking at case studies – for ambitious mid-sized and large companies that have a strong IT team or focus on unique online shopping experiences. An example is the British cosmetics brand Lush, which chose Saleor to support global commerce, praising its performance at millions in turnover. Saleor works where standard platforms begin to constrain growth – it offers composable commerce, i.e., the ability to assemble a store ecosystem from many independent components best suited to needs. Want to replace the frontend with a completely different one? Sure – headless lets you do it without touching the sales engine. Need custom promotion logic or product management? Saleor, as a “commerce as code” platform, allows developers to add their own modules and extend virtually every element.
Of course, this freedom means that Saleor is not a simple click-and-go tool for everyone. It is a platform by developers for developers – businesses using it typically invest in dedicated development. For a small company without a technical backbone, Saleor would be overkill. But let’s not forget that there is also Saleor Cloud – a cloud offer that makes implementation easier, slightly lowering the entry barrier for those who would like to use Saleor without building the entire infrastructure themselves.
In narrative terms, Saleor is a young, talented player – a bit like an e-commerce startup founder from Silicon Valley who may not have a lineage going back to the year 2000, but impresses with modernity. For companies ready to move with the times (and having the means to do so), Saleor can be a bullseye. And we move on to meet another representative of the new wave.

OroCommerce – a serious B2B specialist

If so far we have focused mainly on platforms for classic retail (B2C), it is time to meet OroCommerce – a specialized representative of the B2B e-commerce world. OroCommerce was created for manufacturers, wholesalers, and suppliers – in short, for business-to-business sales, which follow slightly different rules than consumer sales. Interestingly, the platform is backed by, among others, Yoav Kutner, co-founder of Magento, who decided to build a “Magento for B2B” – and Oro is indeed sometimes called that.
OroCommerce comes in two editions: Community (free, open-source) and Enterprise (commercial). The Enterprise version is promoted as “the most powerful B2B platform, ideal for mid-sized and large enterprises”, offering an out-of-the-box set of advanced features typical for this sector. What can you expect? A rich set of B2B tools: an RFQ (request for quote) configurator, large-scale order handling, multi-step purchasing approval workflows, integrations with ERP/CRM systems (Oro even has its own CRM module), and, for example, multiple independent websites and warehouses within one instance. This is an answer to realities where one company may run different sales channels for different industries or markets. OroCommerce even has a dynamic pricing engine, allowing automatic calculation of prices or discounts based on defined business rules – ideal when selling to diverse wholesale clients under individual arrangements.
In comparisons, OroCommerce is often set against the aforementioned Magento and Shopify, noting that those platforms focused on B2C, while Oro has targeted B2B from the beginning. This translates into product philosophy: fewer marketing fireworks, more hard business mechanisms. For example, a typical OroCommerce client may need separate sales portals for different customer groups (e.g., a separate catalog and prices for the medical sector, others for gastronomy – this is an authentic case mentioned by Oro’s CEO). The platform is ready for such scenarios almost immediately, while B2C platforms would require significant custom development or expensive plugins.
So who is OroCommerce for? In short: for mid-sized and large B2B companies that want to digitize wholesale or corporate sales. If our business is, for example, a component manufacturer, a large equipment distributor, or a multi-industry wholesaler, OroCommerce will provide features tailored precisely to such needs. Of course, specialization brings challenges – implementing OroCommerce is a serious IT project, more for integrators than for DIY tinkering. In addition, the Enterprise version is an enterprise-class product also in terms of price (though there is the Community Edition for smaller players). In the narrative pantheon of our platforms, OroCommerce is like a specialized B2B advisor: you may not hear about it at every marketing conference, but in its field it knows its craft like few others.

MedusaJS – a modular base for developers

On the horizon, we see another representative of the new generation – MedusaJS. This is a platform that has recently become loud in the world of web developers, often presented as “the world’s most flexible commerce platform.” Big words, but Medusa indeed draws attention with its modular, headless architecture and a “do it yourself, but we’ll give you a framework” philosophy. MedusaJS is built on Node.js, which immediately places it in a somewhat different ecosystem than the platforms discussed so far (most were based on PHP or Python). For companies with a foundation in JavaScript/TypeScript technologies, this can be a major advantage.
What does it mean that Medusa is “a platform with a built-in framework for customization”? It means that every element of Medusa – from product management, through cart, orders, payments – has been designed so that it can be easily modified and replaced with your own solution if needed. The creators encourage: “Use Medusa as a foundation and focus on building those custom features that will truly differentiate your business.” In other words, Medusa is meant to provide all typical base e-commerce services, and everything else (frontend, integrations, unique logic) is written by developers as they see fit. Thanks to headless architecture, the frontend can be anything (React, Vue, Angular – full freedom), while Medusa provides a ready admin dashboard for management and a set of SDK/API.
Comparing Medusa to the previously mentioned Saleor, interesting differences emerge: Saleor focuses on the Python/GraphQL stack, while Medusa is Node.js. Both emphasize modularity and lack of lock-in, but Saleor offers a refined PWA frontend and an extensive panel out of the box, while Medusa provides a somewhat “looser” set of building blocks. This makes Medusa sometimes perceived as slightly lighter, more developer-friendly in its approach – like Lego for e-commerce programmers. It even has ready project “starters”, thanks to which a basic store (DTC or B2B) can be launched in a few minutes, and then adapted as needed.
Who is MedusaJS for? Definitely for technical teams looking for maximum control over their e-commerce and appreciating the modern JavaScript ecosystem. Tech startups building their own products based on e-commerce, companies that want to free themselves from the limitations of ready-made platforms – these could be Medusa’s audiences. It is worth mentioning that Medusa claims to be “the most popular open-source platform for commerce”, which suggests a large community and popularity on GitHub. This is therefore a living project that is developing dynamically.
From the point of view of our story, MedusaJS is an interesting newcomer: it may not yet have proven its value in thousands of large implementations (it is still a young project), but it tempts with the promise of great flexibility. It can be treated as a foundation on which we will build exactly the store we want – provided, of course, that we have the appropriate team capacity. Compared to giants like Shopware or Magento, Medusa represents a different paradigm: instead of “click everything in the panel”, it offers “build whatever you need in code.” For some this is an advantage, for others – a barrier. Nevertheless, it fits perfectly into the composable commerce trend and deserves attention as a young, capable player.

Shopify – an easy start, a limited horizon

No list of e-commerce platforms would be complete without Shopify – probably the most recognizable store platform in the world. Shopify is often the first choice for beginner sellers, and it is easy to see why: it offers a SaaS (software as a service) model, where essentially everything is ready in the cloud. Ease of use is the key word – launching a Shopify store is fast and requires no coding skills. In our narrative, Shopify plays the role of a friendly guide for novices: it allows you to start selling online literally in one day, leading the user by the hand through the configuration process.
Shopify is often called a platform “for everyone”, although in practice it works best for small companies and startups that need to appear quickly in e-commerce. In the subscription price, you get hosting, security, continuous updates, ready-made templates, and the entire infrastructure (including Shopify’s own payment gateway, Shopify Payments). This means no technical hassles – SaaS “handles” maintenance, security, and server scaling for us. What’s more, Shopify tempts with a rich App Store with plugins and 24/7 support, and even its own logistics centers (Shopify Fulfillment) or POS for in-store sales. Everything is great, so where is the catch?
The limitations appear when we try to go beyond the frames set by Shopify. The platform is closed, so we do not have access to the source code – we can only use what the vendor provides and what is available in apps. This means that atypical requirements can be difficult to implement. While simple integrations or visual changes are possible (Shopify allows editing templates in its Liquid language and using APIs), attempts to make Shopify into something highly non-standard can become a fight against limitations. An example can be restrictions like the 100-variant limit per product – for most sellers it is enough, but in some industries it is a barrier. Another issue is scaling costs: the basic Shopify plan is relatively cheap, but as business grows, it quickly turns out that we need a more expensive plan (Advanced or even Shopify Plus) to get better transaction rates or features for larger companies. It is said that in the long run the cost of the entire Shopify ecosystem can exceed self-hosted solutions – although Shopify’s own research suggests that their users still spend about 32% less on technology than those using WooCommerce. However, that is a comparison with WooCommerce (which itself has additional costs), not with a fully proprietary solution.
In summary, Shopify is a great vehicle to start with, but with a certain ceiling. In our blog comparison, it appears as a platform that delivers quick results and simplicity, which is a huge advantage at the beginning of the journey. But the deeper in the forest (the bigger and more complex the business), the more we may feel the lack of full freedom – something for something. For a small store with unique handicrafts, Shopify will be a blessing. For a growing brand that suddenly needs a very specific function or integration, there may come a decision moment: stay and live with the limitation, or move to a more flexible platform. It is worth remembering this when being impressed by how easy it is to start e-commerce on Shopify.

WooCommerce – the king of plugins and patching

We saved for the end a platform about which one could write a separate satire – WooCommerce. This e-commerce chameleon is essentially a plugin for WordPress, the most popular blogging system in the world. Yes, you read that right: WooCommerce originally arose to add online store functions to a WordPress-based site, and WordPress started as a blogging platform. As a result, we got something like an “over-controller”: we turn WordPress, designed for content management, into a sales machine. Sounds risky? Well, statistics show the concept caught on – WooCommerce powers nearly 29% of top online stores worldwide, more than Shopify (about 21%). So we can say we are dealing with a phenomenon.
WooCommerce is loved for a free start and unlimited customization possibilities (after all, open source). Without license fees, we get full control over the store and access to thousands of WordPress themes and plugins, which allows building a unique look and functions. The problem is that “unlimited” often in practice means endless buying of more plugins. WooCommerce itself provides basic store functionality – products, cart, orders, payments, shipping basics. But if we want more (and we almost always do: e.g., an advanced checkout form, courier integration, marketing automation, upselling, etc.), we end up in an ocean of plugins. Many are paid, and it happens that the final cost of building a professional WooCommerce store approaches the cost of platforms like Shopify. As Shopify itself noted, WooCommerce users often have to pay for various extensions, while Shopify includes certain things in the package – resulting in a statistically higher total technology “stack” cost by about 32% compared to Shopify’s.
Another issue is performance and reliability. WordPress is known to be “patchy”, meaning it can be prone to performance drops and security problems if updates are not managed carefully. Adding WooCommerce and several (or a dozen) plugins is often compared to building additional floors onto an already complex construction. As a result, a WooCommerce store can run slower unless we invest in strong hosting and optimization. Then there is security: the more plugins, the greater the risk that one vulnerable extension becomes a gateway for an attack (XSS or SQLi attacks on WooCommerce plugins have happened and will happen, hence the need for continuous updates). You could say WooCommerce is a ship that requires constant supervision and sealing, otherwise it will take on water.
This all sounds critical, but remember – WooCommerce is still incredibly popular and has its place. For whom? Primarily for WordPress site owners who want to add a store at a low cost. If we already know WP, have our themes, content, SEO – adding WooCommerce is a natural step. For small shops where traffic is not huge and budget is minimal, WooCommerce can be a perfect fit. Besides, the WordPress community offers countless tutorials, code snippets, and support – often you can solve problems yourself, if you have some technical ability (or enthusiasm for reading forums). In our comparison, WooCommerce is a somewhat comic character, but one that evokes sympathy – a tinkerer who constantly tightens and fixes something in their store, sometimes grumbling about another plugin update, but in the end sells and can achieve success. A bit leaky, a bit inefficient, but its popularity proves that for many it is good enough – especially if the alternative would be nothing.

Summary

Our journey through the land of e-commerce platforms comes to an end. As in a good story, each hero turned out to have a unique character and purpose. Shopware shone with versatility, showing that it can accompany a company from its garage beginnings all the way to international expansion – not without reason did we present it as a favorite capable of serving both startup and enterprise. Sylius presented itself as a strong, flexible competitor for large projects, a quiet favorite of developers who value code cleanliness and freedom. Adobe Commerce (Magento) reminded us that for the biggest players, heavy artillery matters – powerful, but expensive and demanding. PrestaShop showed the golden mean for mid-sized businesses, tempting with a balance between capabilities and simplicity. OpenCart proved that there is room in e-commerce for lightness and DIY, albeit with certain limitations.
In turn, Saleor and MedusaJS introduced a breath of freshness – headless, composable commerce for those who look to the future and are not afraid of technological novelties. OroCommerce reminded us that e-commerce is not only B2C, and that specialized B2B needs also have their master. Shopify charmed with ease of starting, though with a somewhat limited horizon for further travel. And finally WooCommerce – it showed the pros and cons of turning a blog into a store, being both a warning and proof that online success can be achieved in different ways.
Parodying classic comparisons a bit, it is easy to notice a certain pattern: usually in such a list, the last word – and often the highest praise – goes to the platform the author has a special fondness for. In our text, Shopware played that role, which surely did not escape readers’ attention. However, let’s put irony and preferences aside – ultimately, the best platform is the one that best matches the specific needs of a given business. Each of the solutions described has its place in the market and a community of satisfied users.
It is no coincidence that we deliberately included platforms like Saleor or MedusaJS – to show modern approaches such as headless and composable commerce. We also added OroCommerce, because B2B is a huge part of the market, with its own rules. And just when it might seem that Shopware is left behind – a small twist occurs.
Because although Shopware in its basic version uses classic HTML rendering (Twig on the server side, like Presta or Magento), inside it has a store API that fully supports a headless approach. And if someone wants a next-generation frontend – Shopware AG develops its own framework, Shopware Frontends, based on an older version of Vue Storefront. So yes – you can have PWA. You can have composable. You can have everything – like in our new stars, such as Saleor and MedusaJS, only without having to glue everything together from scratch.
And what about B2B? Yes – OroCommerce is a specialist. But Shopware in its paid versions offers an extensive B2B module that allows configuring user permissions, building customer hierarchies, individual price lists, purchasing workflows, and much more – all modularly, in the spirit of composable commerce. And the example that Oro’s CEO gave as a unique use case? Sales channels in Shopware allow exactly the same – separate catalogs and offers depending on customer groups, regions, or marketing strategy.
So: we had a reason to put Shopware on a pedestal at the beginning. But we deliberately held back. We really tried. We added other platforms, showed alternatives, kept the narrator’s calm. And yet – Shopware still returns to the throne. Because it is a platform that not only keeps up with trends, but can integrate them into a coherent, scalable, and mature product.
And if anything in this list deserves the title of king of e-commerce, it is definitely not only because we think so – but because it is really hard to rationally dispute it.
Regardless of which path you choose for your store, the key is to make the decision consciously – and the rest is the next chapter of your own e-commerce adventure. Good luck!