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E-Commerce · head to head

commercetools vs Medusa

commercetools logo

commercetools

E-Commerce

The Digital Commerce AI Company

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medusa logo

Medusa

E-Commerce

Open source Shopify alternative

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: commercetools no published pricing: customers cannot see costs, tier details, or feature breakdowns before contacting sales; Medusa the managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which commercetools and Medusa actually diverge.

Attributes where commercetools and Medusa differ
AttributecommercetoolsMedusa
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
FoundedUnknown2020

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in commercetools

Nothing recorded that Medusa does not also cover.

Only in Medusa

  • Open source
  • Modular architecture
  • Multi-region support
  • Plugin system
  • Admin dashboard
  • Order management
  • Inventory tracking
  • Payment integrations

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

commercetools

  • Composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailersnot Medusa
  • B2C and B2B commerce API infrastructurenot Medusa
  • Multi-region commerce operationsnot Medusa

Medusa

  • Building a custom ecommerce backend on an open source headless platformnot commercetools
  • Running a self hosted or managed commerce API with a custom storefrontnot commercetools

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

commercetools

  • No published pricing: customers cannot see costs, tier details, or feature breakdowns before contacting sales
  • Order-based pricing opacity: described as 'transparent' but actual fee structure per order is undisclosed
  • Free trial time-gate: 60-day trial does not reveal production pricing for ongoing operations
  • Marketplace distribution unclear: availability on Google Cloud and AWS Marketplaces implies pricing varies by channel without transparency

Medusa

  • The managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • The Develop plan at $29 a month applies a hard limit of 1,000 emails, so it stops rather than bills
  • Compute hours are capped at 600 on Develop and 800 on Launch
  • Edge request overage is $0.3 per million and storage $0.5 per GB month above the plan allowance
  • Background workers and priority support require the Scale plan at $299 a month

Pricing, plan by plan

commercetools

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the commercetools review.

Medusa

$29/month
  • Develop$29/month
    • Base cloud hosting
    • Commerce features included
    • No GMV-tax
  • Launch$99/month
    • Enhanced features
    • No GMV-tax
  • Scale$299/month
    • Advanced features
    • No GMV-tax
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom configuration

Which should you pick?

Choose commercetools if

Nothing in the data separates commercetools from Medusa on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

commercetools review

Choose Medusa if

  • You need open source.
  • You also want modular architecture.
Medusa review

Questions people ask

Is commercetools or Medusa better?
Neither clearly leads. commercetools starts at On request and Medusa at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, commercetools or Medusa?
commercetools starts at On request and Medusa at $29/month.
Does commercetools or Medusa run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is commercetools best used for?
commercetools is most often used for composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailers, b2c and b2b commerce api infrastructure, multi-region commerce operations. Of those, composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailers and b2c and b2b commerce api infrastructure are not what Medusa is typically brought in for.
What can commercetools do that Medusa cannot?
Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

commercetools: Does commercetools publish pricing online?

No. Pricing is not published on their website. Customers must contact sales, start a free 60-day trial, or purchase through Google Cloud or AWS Marketplaces to discuss pricing.

Source
Medusa: What does Medusa charge for additional team members?

Additional seats on the Medusa Cloud development platform cost $30 per seat per month. Unlimited users can access the Medusa Admin Dashboard at no additional cost for commerce operations.

Source
commercetools: What is the pricing model for commercetools?

commercetools uses order-based pricing (not Gross Merchandise Value dependent) described as 'transparent and growth-friendly' with 'no hidden fees or penalties for scaling,' but exact per-order costs are disclosed only through sales consultation.

Source
Medusa: Are there usage-based charges beyond the base Medusa plan price?

Yes. Beyond base plan costs, Medusa charges for edge request overages at $0.30 per 1M requests, email overages at $0.70 per 1,000 emails, data transfer at $0.125 per GB, and database storage at $0.50 per GB-month.

Source
commercetools: Does commercetools offer a free trial?

Yes. A 60-day free trial includes full access to production-ready infrastructure, APIs, tools, and preloaded sample B2C/B2B data, with the option to move MVP to production without setup costs.

Source
Medusa: Can I cancel my Medusa subscription at any time?

Yes, users can cancel their Medusa subscription anytime. Plans are billed monthly in advance, with flex usage charges from the previous month added to the next invoice.

Source
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