Softwr

E-commerce & Retail · head to head

Etsy vs Medusa

Etsy logo

Etsy

E-commerce & Retail

Global marketplace for handmade, vintage, and unique items

From
$0.2/per-listing
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medusa logo

Medusa

E-commerce & Retail

Open source Shopify alternative

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Medusa has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Etsy etsy charges a $0.20 USD listing fee per item, a 6.5% transaction fee on sale price plus shipping, a 3% plus $0.25 USD payment processing fee, and a 2.5% currency conversion fee when shop and payment currencies differ; Medusa the managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • They diverge on capability: Etsy covers Shop setup, Medusa covers Open source.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Etsy and Medusa actually diverge.

Attributes where Etsy and Medusa differ
AttributeEtsyMedusa
Starting price$0.2/per-listingFree
Pricing modeltransactionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
Founded20052020

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-commerce & Retail).

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 Etsy

  • Shop setup
  • Product listings
  • Payment processing
  • Shop customization
  • Shipping labels
  • Reviews & ratings
  • Shipping protection

Only in Medusa

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

Both cover

  • Order management

What people use each for

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

Etsy

No use cases recorded yet. See the Etsy review.

Medusa

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

Where each one falls short

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

Etsy

  • Etsy charges a $0.20 USD listing fee per item, a 6.5% transaction fee on sale price plus shipping, a 3% plus $0.25 USD payment processing fee, and a 2.5% currency conversion fee when shop and payment currencies differ

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

Etsy

$0.2/per-listing
  • Standard Shop$0.2/per-listing-plus-commission
    • Listing fees
    • Transaction fees
    • Payment processing

Medusa

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full source code
    • Self-hosted
    • Community support
  • Cloud$50/month
    • Managed hosting
    • Automatic updates
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Etsy if

  • You need shop setup.
  • You also want product listings.
Etsy review

Choose Medusa if

  • You need open source.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want modular architecture.
Medusa review

Questions people ask

Is Etsy or Medusa better?
Neither clearly leads. Etsy starts at $0.2/per-listing and Medusa at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Etsy or Medusa?
Medusa has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.2/per-listing for Etsy and Free for Medusa.
Does Etsy or Medusa run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Medusa for free?
Yes. Medusa has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Etsy starts at $0.2/per-listing.
What can Etsy do that Medusa cannot?
Etsy covers Shop setup, Product listings, Payment processing, Shop customization. Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system. Both handle Order management.
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