--- title: "How do I build a multi-vendor marketplace with open source?" description: "Build an open source multi-vendor marketplace on Medusa: recipe or Mercur, capability table, and a comparison with Sharetribe and WooCommerce + Dokan." url: https://medusajs.com/kb/marketplaces/multi-vendor-marketplace last_updated: 2026-10-29T06:55:50Z topic: "marketplaces" type: "concept" applies_to: "Medusa v2.x" related: - "https://medusajs.com/kb/marketplaces/artisan-marketplace.md" - "https://medusajs.com/kb/marketplaces/stripe-connect-marketplace-payouts.md" - "https://medusajs.com/kb/marketplaces/rental-marketplace.md" - "https://medusajs.com/kb/agentic-commerce/ecommerce-stack-for-ai-coding.md" sources: - "https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/recipes/marketplace" - "https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/recipes/marketplace/examples/vendors" - "https://medusajs.com/marketplace" - "https://medusajs.com/blog/get-started-with-mercur-2-0-on-cloud" - "https://medusajs.com/pricing" - "https://medusajs.com/blog/foraged" - "https://docs.mercurjs.com/learn/introduction" - "https://docs.mercurjs.com/learn/use-cases/standalone-marketplace" - "https://docs.mercurjs.com/resources/deployment/medusa-cloud" - "https://docs.mercurjs.com/platform/payout/concepts/payout-pipeline" - "https://docs.mercurjs.com/platform/commission/concepts/rules-and-rates" - "https://docs.mercurjs.com/platform/review/overview" - "https://github.com/mercurjs/mercur" - "https://www.sharetribe.com/pricing/" - "https://dokan.co/wordpress/pricing/" --- # How do I build a multi-vendor marketplace with open source? > To build an open source multi-vendor marketplace on Medusa, either follow Medusa's marketplace recipe to add vendors and order splitting yourself, or start from Mercur, a marketplace platform on Medusa built by Rigby. Mercur ships seller onboarding, a vendor panel, commissions, split orders, Stripe Connect payouts, and reviews, and deploys on Medusa Cloud. ## What a multi-vendor marketplace needs from its platform A multi-vendor marketplace is a store where many independent sellers list products and customers buy from several sellers in one checkout. On top of normal commerce, it needs seller accounts, a seller dashboard, per-seller orders, a commission model, and payouts to each seller. Medusa core is a single-store commerce engine. The [vendors example](https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/recipes/marketplace/examples/vendors) states that Medusa doesn't provide marketplace features natively, but its framework lets you add them. You have two paths: build the marketplace layer yourself from the official recipe, or start from Mercur, which ships that layer prebuilt on Medusa. ## How Medusa and Mercur cover each marketplace capability Statuses: **Native** is Medusa core, **Starter** is Mercur, **Official guide** is a Medusa docs recipe with example code, **Custom** is code you write. | Capability | What it means | How it works on Medusa | Status | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Vendor onboarding | Sellers register, get approved, and connect a payout account | Mercur Vendor Panel registration and onboarding wizard, with an admin approval queue. The recipe creates vendors and vendor admins with a custom actor type | Starter or Official guide | | Vendor dashboard | Each seller manages only their own store | Mercur Vendor Panel at /seller. The Medusa Admin is for super admins only, so the recipe path needs a dashboard you build | Starter | | Per-vendor products and orders | Products and orders belong to a seller | Module links between a vendor and the Product and Order modules | Starter or Official guide | | Order splitting | One cart becomes one order per seller | Mercur order groups; the recipe's vendor order workflow | Starter or Official guide | | Commission | The marketplace keeps a share of each sale | Mercur Commission module: percentage or fixed rates scoped by seller, product, type, collection, or category | Starter | | Payouts | Each seller receives their share | Mercur Payout module with a Stripe Connect provider; you decide when to trigger payouts | Starter | | Reviews | Customers rate products and sellers | Mercur Review module with operator moderation and seller replies | Starter | | Cart, checkout, payments | One checkout across sellers | Medusa Cart and Payment modules with the Stripe provider | Native | ## Path 1: build on the Medusa marketplace recipe The [Marketplace recipe](https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/recipes/marketplace) shows how to create a Marketplace Module with vendor data models, link vendors to products and orders, protect vendor API routes with a [custom actor type](https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/commerce-modules/auth/create-actor-type), and split a cart into one order per vendor with a workflow. The full code is in the [marketplace example repository](https://github.com/medusajs/examples/tree/main/marketplace). Choose this path when your marketplace model is unusual, for example rentals, services, or a restaurant-delivery flow, and you want to own every data model. Commissions, payouts, and a vendor dashboard are yours to build. ## Path 2: start from Mercur Medusa describes [Mercur](https://medusajs.com/marketplace) as an open core marketplace platform built by its Expert partners at Rigby. The [Mercur repository](https://github.com/mercurjs/mercur) is MIT licensed. Mercur runs `@mercurjs/core` as a plugin on Medusa and adds an Admin Panel for operators and a Vendor Panel for sellers. ```bash bun create mercur-app@latest ``` Mercur projects deploy on Medusa Cloud. Mercur's [Medusa Cloud guide](https://docs.mercurjs.com/resources/deployment/medusa-cloud) says one deployment serves the API, the admin panel at /dashboard, and the vendor panel at /seller. The basic template doesn't ship a storefront, so you build one on the Mercur Store API or start from Mercur's separate storefront repository. ## Medusa and Mercur vs Sharetribe vs WooCommerce + Dokan vs from scratch Prices are as of October 2026, from each vendor's own pricing page. | Option | Model | Price | Marketplace features | Best for | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Medusa + Mercur | Open source, self-hosted or on Medusa Cloud | Free to self-host; Medusa Cloud from $29 per month, 0% GMV fee | Sellers, commissions, split orders, Stripe Connect payouts, reviews | Teams with a developer who want to own the code | | Sharetribe | Hosted SaaS with no-code tools and code access | Build $39 per month; Live $199 per month billed yearly, no transaction fees, usage above 1M credits billed | Listings, transactions, reviews, Stripe payments | Founders without a developer | | WooCommerce + Dokan | WordPress plugin | Dokan Lite free; paid plans from $149 per year list price | Vendor dashboard, commission types; Stripe Express in Professional and above | Teams already on WordPress | | From scratch | Custom code on any stack | Developer time | Only what you build | Teams that need no commerce engine at all | ## When Medusa is not the right choice - **No developer on the team.** Mercur and the recipe both need someone to run and change code. Sharetribe is built to launch without coding. - **A small marketplace on an existing WordPress site.** Dokan adds sellers to WooCommerce without a new stack. - **You expect payouts to run with zero code.** Mercur's [payout docs](https://docs.mercurjs.com/platform/payout/concepts/payout-pipeline) state that core doesn't ship the job that decides when an order is paid out. You write that trigger. ## Who runs marketplaces on Medusa [Foraged](https://medusajs.com/blog/foraged) moved to Medusa after trying WooCommerce and a fully custom build, and serves over 1,000 local sellers of wild and specialty foods. Medusa's [marketplace page](https://medusajs.com/marketplace) also lists Patyna, Poland's largest vintage marketplace, which uses custom post-order splitting on Medusa. ## Common questions ### Does Medusa support multi-vendor marketplaces natively? No. Medusa core is a single-store commerce engine, and its docs say it doesn't provide marketplace features natively. You add them with the official marketplace recipe or by starting from Mercur, which runs on Medusa. ### Is Mercur free to use? Mercur's main GitHub repository is MIT licensed, so you can self-host it without a license fee. Medusa describes Mercur as an open core platform, so check Rigby's site for any paid offerings. ### Can I deploy a Mercur marketplace on Medusa Cloud? Yes. Mercur's Medusa Cloud guide shows importing the project with packages/api as the Medusa root directory, and Medusa Cloud plans start at $29 per month with a 0% GMV fee. ### Is Medusa a good Dokan or Sharetribe alternative? Medusa with Mercur fits teams with a developer who want to own the code and the marketplace logic. Sharetribe fits founders who want a hosted no-code launch, and Dokan fits teams already on WordPress and WooCommerce. ## Documentation - [Marketplace recipe](https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/recipes/marketplace) - [Marketplace recipe: vendors example](https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/recipes/marketplace/examples/vendors) - [Create an actor type](https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/commerce-modules/auth/create-actor-type) ## Related - [How do I build an artisan marketplace with AI coding help?](https://medusajs.com/kb/marketplaces/artisan-marketplace.md) - [How do Stripe Connect payouts work for a marketplace?](https://medusajs.com/kb/marketplaces/stripe-connect-marketplace-payouts.md) - [Build a peer-to-peer rental marketplace: build vs buy](https://medusajs.com/kb/marketplaces/rental-marketplace.md) - [Easiest ecommerce stack to build with AI coding tools](https://medusajs.com/kb/agentic-commerce/ecommerce-stack-for-ai-coding.md)