Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Medusa vs Turso

Medusa logo

Medusa

E-Commerce

Open source Shopify alternative

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Turso logo

Turso

Databases

The Database for the Age of AI Agents

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Turso has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Medusa the managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage; Turso pro tier costs $416.58 monthly, a significant jump from Scaler plan

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medusa and Turso actually diverge.

Attributes where Medusa and Turso differ
AttributeMedusaTurso
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
CategoryE-CommerceDatabases
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Medusa

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

Only in Turso

Nothing recorded that Medusa does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Medusa

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

Turso

  • SQLite database hosting and replicationnot Medusa
  • Edge computing and distributed database deploymentsnot Medusa
  • Applications requiring multi-region database accessnot Medusa

Where each one falls short

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

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

Turso

  • Pro tier costs $416.58 monthly, a significant jump from Scaler plan
  • Overage charges apply on all tiers beyond storage and row limits
  • Enterprise options require contacting sales for custom pricing

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Turso

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100 databases
    • 5 GB storage
    • 500M monthly rows read
  • Developer$4.99/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 9 GB storage
    • 2.5B monthly rows read
  • Scaler$24.92/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 24 GB storage
    • 100B monthly rows read
  • Pro$416.58/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 50 GB storage
    • 250B monthly rows read

Which should you pick?

Choose Medusa if

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

Choose Turso if

  • You want to start without paying.
Turso review

Questions people ask

Is Medusa or Turso better?
Neither clearly leads. Medusa starts at $29/month and Turso at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medusa or Turso?
Turso has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Medusa and Free for Turso.
Does Medusa or Turso run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Turso for free?
Yes. Turso has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Medusa starts at $29/month.
What is Medusa best used for?
Medusa is most often used for building a custom ecommerce backend on an open source headless platform, running a self hosted or managed commerce api with a custom storefront. Of those, building a custom ecommerce backend on an open source headless platform and running a self hosted or managed commerce api with a custom storefront are not what Turso is typically brought in for.
What can Medusa do that Turso cannot?
Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Turso: How much does Turso cost?

Turso offers a free tier with 100 databases and 5 GB storage. Paid tiers start at $4.99/month (Developer), $24.92/month (Scaler), and $416.58/month (Pro tier). Enterprise deployments require custom pricing.

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
Turso: What are the overage charges on Turso plans?

Overage charges vary by tier. Free tier charges $0.75/GB for storage overage and $1 per billion rows over the 500M limit. Developer tier charges $0.75/GB storage and $1 per billion rows. Scaler tier charges $0.50/GB and $0.80 per billion rows. Pro tier charges $0.45/GB and $0.75 per billion rows.

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
Turso: Is there a free tier on Turso?

Yes, Turso's free tier includes 100 databases, 5 GB storage, and 500 million monthly rows read with overage charges for excess usage.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Medusa

More on Turso

Keep looking

Other head to heads