Medusa vs Shopify: when Medusa makes more sense

Type: Concept
Applies to: Medusa v2.x
Updated: 2 Nov 2026

Short answer

Shopify is the better choice for non-technical teams with standard catalogs who want to launch fast. Medusa makes more sense when you have TypeScript developers and need custom product or business logic, full checkout control, owned data, or no app fee creep. Medusa is open source, and Medusa Cloud starts at $29/month with a 0% GMV fee.

How Medusa and Shopify differ

Shopify is a hosted SaaS commerce platform: you configure a store in Shopify's admin, pick a theme, and add features through apps. Medusa is an open-source commerce platform with a built-in framework for customization. Developers write TypeScript modules, workflows, and API routes in the same codebase as the commerce engine.

Medusa's core is MIT licensed, except for role-based access control (RBAC) and single sign-on (SSO), which are proprietary Enterprise Edition features. Medusa runs on Node.js and PostgreSQL, exposes REST APIs (the Store API and Admin API), and ships an admin dashboard. You self-host it or run it on Medusa Cloud.

In short: Shopify sells you a finished store you configure. Medusa gives you commerce modules you build on.

Medusa vs Shopify comparison table

Shopify prices are list prices from Shopify's pricing page as of November 2026, in USD. Medusa Cloud prices are from Medusa's pricing page.

Factor	Shopify	Medusa
Pricing model	Monthly plan: Basic $39, Grow $105, Advanced $399 (monthly billing), Plus from $2,300. Plus paid apps.	Free to self-host. Medusa Cloud: Develop from $29, Launch from $99, Scale from $299 per month.
Fee on sales	2% third-party transaction fee on Basic if you don't use Shopify Payments; lower on higher plans	0% GMV fee on every Medusa Cloud plan
Customization	Themes, apps, and app extensions inside a fixed admin and backend	Custom modules, workflows, API routes, subscribers, scheduled jobs, and admin widgets in TypeScript
Checkout control	Checkout customization is "Limited" below Plus; Plus lists a fully customizable checkout	You build the checkout on the Store API and choose payment providers
B2B	B2B on Basic and above; non-Plus plans are capped at 3 active catalogs, and per-company catalogs need Plus	Native price lists, customer groups, tiered pricing, and draft orders; the open-source B2B Starter adds companies, approvals, and quotes
Subscriptions	Free Shopify Subscriptions app, or paid apps such as Recharge with monthly and per-transaction fees	No built-in subscription module; an official Subscriptions guide builds one as a custom module
AI and agent support	Shopify publishes agent tooling and an Agentic plan for selling in AI channels	Official guide for OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP); Agent Skills and a Docs MCP server for coding agents; Google's UCP and AP2 are custom today
Hosting	Hosted by Shopify	Self-host on your own infrastructure, or Medusa Cloud
Data and code ownership	Data in Shopify; code limited to themes and apps	You own the code and database

When Shopify is the better choice

Shopify is the right call for many stores. Choose Shopify if most of these are true:

No one on the team writes code, and you don't plan to hire a developer.
Your catalog and checkout are standard: physical products, fixed prices, normal shipping.
Launch speed matters more than control.
The apps you need are free or cheap, and none of them charge a percentage of revenue.

A Medusa build costs developer time before the first order, which is usually better spent on product while you validate demand.

When Medusa makes more sense than Shopify

Medusa makes more sense when the business depends on logic Shopify doesn't model, or when app and plan fees grow faster than the business:

Custom product or business logic. Configurators, rentals, bundles, tickets, or marketplace flows. Medusa has official how-to tutorials for many of these, built as custom modules linked to core products, carts, and orders.
Ownership of data and stack. The code and PostgreSQL database are yours, whether self-hosted or on Medusa Cloud.
No app fee stack creep. Subscriptions, B2B pricing, and loyalty are code you write once, not monthly app subscriptions with revenue share.
Checkout control below Plus pricing. You build the checkout on the Store API instead of paying for Shopify Plus to customize it.
AI and agentic features. Custom API routes and workflows can serve AI shopping agents, and Medusa has an official ACP guide.
TypeScript teams. Backend, admin extensions, and a Next.js storefront share one language.

What it costs to move from Shopify to Medusa

Moving from Shopify to Medusa means trading platform and app fees for developer time. Medusa's Docs MCP server has a Shopify migration tool that gives a coding agent a plan to import products, variants, prices, images, inventory levels, collections, and categories.

You still rebuild the storefront, reconnect payment and shipping providers, recreate app features as code, and add 301 redirects. Plan the customer and order history import separately from the catalog.

Medusa vs Shopify Plus

Teams usually compare Medusa against Shopify Plus, not Basic. Plus starts at $2,300 per month and adds checkout customization, unlimited B2B catalogs, and custom apps with Shopify Functions. Medusa Cloud Scale is $299 per month with a 0% GMV fee. The difference pays for developer time, which is the main cost of running Medusa. The knowledgebase entry Should I use Shopify or build a custom store? covers the founder-level decision and a 3-year cost model.

Common questions

Is Medusa cheaper than Shopify?

Medusa's platform cost is lower at most sizes: it is free to self-host, and Medusa Cloud starts at $29 per month with a 0% GMV fee. Shopify can still be cheaper in total for a small, standard store because Medusa needs developer time to build and maintain.

Can a non-technical merchant run a Medusa store?

A merchant can manage products, orders, and customers in Medusa Admin day to day. Building, customizing, and deploying a Medusa store still needs a developer or an AI coding agent that someone supervises.

Does Medusa have an app store like Shopify?

No. Medusa is extended with code: custom modules, workflows, API routes, and admin widgets, plus plugins and integration guides in the Medusa docs. Features that are Shopify apps are usually code you own in Medusa.

Can I use Shopify and Medusa together?

Yes. Some teams migrate in phases, for example keeping existing subscriptions or fulfillment on Shopify while new checkout and catalog run on Medusa. Medusa's Shopify migration tool imports catalog data so both can run during the transition.

Which is better for AI shopping agents, Medusa or Shopify?

Shopify offers agent tooling and channels managed for its merchants. Medusa fits teams that want to build their own agent endpoints: it has an official guide for OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol, and UCP and AP2 support is custom work today.