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E-Commerce · head to head

Medusa vs Vinted

Medusa logo

Medusa

E-Commerce

Open source Shopify alternative

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vinted logo

Vinted

E-Commerce

Lithuania-founded secondhand fashion marketplace that charges the buyer, not the seller, a platform fee

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Vinted 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; Vinted the Buyer Protection fee is not shown in the browsable item price, so comparing a listing price across Vinted and a commission-based competitor understates Vinted's true checkout cost unless the buyer manually adds the fee.
  • They diverge on capability: Medusa covers Open source, Vinted covers No seller commission.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medusa and Vinted actually diverge.

Attributes where Medusa and Vinted differ
AttributeMedusaVinted
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionFree for sellers, no commission; buyer pays a variable Buyer Protection fee at checkout
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS, Android, Web
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Medusa

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

Only in Vinted

  • No seller commission
  • Buyer Protection fee
  • Direct shipping via carrier partners
  • Item verification service
  • Bundle discounts
  • In-app messaging and offers

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 Vinted
  • Running a self hosted or managed commerce API with a custom storefrontnot Vinted

Vinted

  • A seller who wants to keep the full listed price of an item rather than losing a percentage to platform commissionnot Medusa
  • A buyer comparing item prices across marketplaces who understands the checkout total includes a protection fee not shown on the listingnot Medusa
  • Someone selling many low-value items where a commission-based platform fee would eat disproportionately into returnsnot Medusa
  • A shopper in a European market where Vinted has deep local inventory and established shipping partnershipsnot 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

Vinted

  • The Buyer Protection fee is not shown in the browsable item price, so comparing a listing price across Vinted and a commission-based competitor understates Vinted's true checkout cost unless the buyer manually adds the fee.
  • The fee is proportionally larger on cheap items, so buying several low-value pieces separately costs more in fees relative to item price than buying one higher-value item.
  • Sellers keeping the full sale price shifts cost to buyers rather than removing it, so the platform is not free to use overall, only free for the seller side of a transaction.
  • Item authentication is optional and limited to eligible higher-value categories, so counterfeit risk on everyday clothing items rests mostly on buyer judgement of listing photos and seller history.
  • Market strength is concentrated in Europe, and inventory depth, shipping partnerships and buyer volume are considerably thinner in markets outside its established base.

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

Vinted

Free
  • SellingFree
    • No commission deducted from the sale price
    • Seller receives the full listed amount
    • Shipping label cost typically passed to the buyer or built into price
  • BuyingFree
    • Buyer Protection fee calculated from item price, added at checkout
    • Covers refund if item does not arrive or does not match description
    • Fee is proportionally larger on lower-priced items

Which should you pick?

Choose Medusa if

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

Choose Vinted if

  • You need no seller commission.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want buyer protection fee.
Vinted review

Questions people ask

Is Medusa or Vinted better?
Neither clearly leads. Medusa starts at $29/month and Vinted at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medusa or Vinted?
Vinted has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Medusa and Free for Vinted.
Does Medusa or Vinted run on more platforms?
Medusa runs on Web. Vinted runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Vinted for free?
Yes. Vinted 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 Vinted is typically brought in for.
What can Medusa do that Vinted cannot?
Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system. Vinted covers No seller commission, Buyer Protection fee, Direct shipping via carrier partners, Item verification service.

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
Vinted: Does Vinted charge sellers a commission?

No, sellers receive the full listed sale price with no percentage taken by the platform.

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
Vinted: So how does Vinted make money?

From a Buyer Protection fee added at checkout, calculated from the item price, which the buyer pays on top of the listed amount and shipping.

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
Vinted: Is the buyer protection fee shown on the item listing?

No, it is calculated and added at checkout, so the browsable listing price does not reflect the final total a buyer pays.

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