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E-Commerce · head to head

FastSpring vs Medusa

FastSpring logo

FastSpring

E-Commerce

Merchant-of-record commerce platform for global payments, subscriptions, and tax compliance

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: FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.; Medusa the managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • They diverge on capability: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Medusa covers Open source.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FastSpring and Medusa actually diverge.

Attributes where FastSpring and Medusa differ
AttributeFastSpringMedusa
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modeltransactionsubscription
Platformsweb, apiWeb
Founded20062020

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 FastSpring

  • Global online payments
  • Subscription billing
  • Branded checkout
  • Tax compliance
  • Fraud prevention
  • Digital invoicing and quotes

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.

FastSpring

  • Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot Medusa
  • B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot Medusa
  • Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot Medusa
  • Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot Medusa

Medusa

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

Where each one falls short

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

FastSpring

  • Pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
  • As a merchant-of-record, FastSpring takes on more control of the checkout and payment relationship than a pure payment gateway like Stripe.
  • Revenue share pricing can become more expensive than flat per-transaction gateway fees at very high volumes.
  • Primarily targeted at software/digital goods sellers, so it is less suited to physical product e-commerce.

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

FastSpring

On request
  • Custom$undefined/mo
    • All-in-one transaction-based pricing based on sales volume
    • No subscription fees or per-feature charges
    • Discounted rates for ACH and wire transfers

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 FastSpring if

  • You need global online payments.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want subscription billing.
FastSpring review

Choose Medusa if

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

Questions people ask

Is FastSpring or Medusa better?
Neither clearly leads. FastSpring 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, FastSpring or Medusa?
FastSpring starts at On request and Medusa at $29/month.
Does FastSpring or Medusa run on more platforms?
FastSpring runs on web, api. Medusa runs on Web.
What is FastSpring best used for?
FastSpring is most often used for selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity, b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals, recurring subscription billing for digital products, reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchases. Of those, selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity and b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals are not what Medusa is typically brought in for.
What can FastSpring do that Medusa cannot?
FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance. Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FastSpring: What does FastSpring cost?

FastSpring uses flat-rate, all-in-one pricing based on transaction volume, with fees withheld from payouts. There is no minimum volume or subscription fee, and pricing is typically quoted based on expected sales volume after contacting their sales team.

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
FastSpring: Is there a free plan?

FastSpring does not offer a free plan; instead pricing is transaction-based with no upfront subscription cost, and merchants only pay a commission on completed sales.

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
FastSpring: What does FastSpring integrate with or include compared to a payment gateway like Stripe?

FastSpring bundles international payments, subscription management, tax compliance, fraud prevention, reporting, and B2B invoicing into one price, whereas gateways like Stripe charge separately for many of these features.

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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