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E-Commerce · head to head

Medusa vs Wish

Medusa logo

Medusa

E-Commerce

Open source Shopify alternative

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wish logo

Wish

E-Commerce

Discount marketplace connecting buyers to low-cost goods from mostly Chinese sellers, now owned by Qoo10

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Wish 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; Wish the US Federal Trade Commission previously took action against Wish over deceptive claims about product origin, shipping times and reference pricing, and the platform operated for years under the practices that prompted that action.
  • They diverge on capability: Medusa covers Open source, Wish covers Discount marketplace.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medusa and Wish actually diverge.

Attributes where Medusa and Wish differ
AttributeMedusaWish
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionFree to browse and use; pay per order
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 Wish

  • Discount marketplace
  • Personalised discovery feed
  • Wish Local pickup (select markets)
  • Price-drop and clearance sections
  • Buyer protection programme
  • Seller ratings

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

Wish

  • A budget shopper who already has a Wish account from its earlier growth period and wants to compare it against Temunot Medusa
  • Someone in a market with Wish Local pickup wanting to avoid a residential delivery waitnot Medusa
  • A buyer purchasing low-value novelty or accessory items where slow shipping and limited recourse are acceptable trade-offsnot Medusa
  • A shopper comparing seller ratings and buyer protection terms across discount marketplaces before orderingnot 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

Wish

  • The US Federal Trade Commission previously took action against Wish over deceptive claims about product origin, shipping times and reference pricing, and the platform operated for years under the practices that prompted that action.
  • Wish shrank substantially from its mid-2010s peak user base as Temu and Shein captured the same low-cost cross-border shopping demand with more aggressive marketing and larger catalogues.
  • The platform changed ownership in 2024 when ContextLogic sold it to Qoo10, so long-time users are now dealing with a different operating company than the one that built the original reputation, good or bad.
  • As with comparable ultra-low-cost marketplaces, individual sellers vary widely in reliability, and product safety and authenticity cannot be verified by the buyer before an item ships from overseas.
  • Shipping times remain long relative to domestic retailers, commonly one to three weeks, and buyer recourse for delayed or missing orders depends on the buyer protection programme actually being honoured.

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

Wish

Free
  • Pay per orderFree
    • Individual item prices frequently low, similar to Temu and Shein
    • Shipping times commonly one to three weeks
    • Customs duties may apply depending on destination country and order value

Which should you pick?

Choose Medusa if

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

Choose Wish if

  • You need discount marketplace.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want personalised discovery feed.
Wish review

Questions people ask

Is Medusa or Wish better?
Neither clearly leads. Medusa starts at $29/month and Wish at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medusa or Wish?
Wish has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Medusa and Free for Wish.
Does Medusa or Wish run on more platforms?
Medusa runs on Web. Wish runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Wish for free?
Yes. Wish 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 Wish is typically brought in for.
What can Medusa do that Wish cannot?
Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system. Wish covers Discount marketplace, Personalised discovery feed, Wish Local pickup (select markets), Price-drop and clearance sections.

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
Wish: Is Wish still owned by the company that built it?

No. ContextLogic sold the Wish platform and brand to Qoo10, a Singapore and Korea-based e-commerce group, in a deal completed in 2024.

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
Wish: Did Wish face regulatory action over its practices?

Yes, the US FTC previously took action against Wish over misleading claims regarding shipping times, product origin and pricing, requiring clearer disclosures.

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
Wish: How does Wish compare to Temu today?

Wish is considerably smaller in scale and marketing spend than Temu, though both offer a similar low-cost, long-shipping-time cross-border model.

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