Vendure vs WooCommerce: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to Shopify. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| Vendure | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce | E-commerce |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| GitHub stars | ~6k | ~9k |
| Tech stack | TypeScript, NestJS, PostgreSQL | PHP, WordPress, MySQL |
| Replaces | Shopify | Shopify |
WooCommerce has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
Vendure
TypeScript ecommerce framework, an alternative to Shopify for devs.
ℹ️ Vendure doesn't publish any official Docker image — vendureio/server doesn't exist on Docker Hub. The documented path is generating your project with @vendure/create and building your own Dockerfile following the official Docker deployment guide.
Pros
- Carefully crafted developer experience (TypeScript end-to-end)
Things to consider
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than the Shopify App Store
- No official Docker image (see note above) — generate the project via @vendure/create
WooCommerce
Ecommerce on WordPress, a free alternative to Shopify.
Pros
- Ideal if your site already runs on WordPress
Things to consider
- Performance depends heavily on the plugins you install
Key features
Vendure
- TypeScript plugin system
- Auto-generated GraphQL API
- Multi-store and multi-channel selling
WooCommerce
- Very wide plugin ecosystem
- Works with any WordPress theme
- Thousands of supported payment gateways
Already know which one you prefer?
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