7 Best Open Source Headless eCommerce Platforms in 2026

A headless eCommerce platform runs your catalog, cart, and orders in the backend, while your team builds the storefront with any frontend it likes.

Choosing an open source option means you own the code and the data, so you are never locked into one vendor’s roadmap or pricing.

This guide compares seven open source headless eCommerce platforms by tech stack, API type, license, and the kind of team each one suits.

If you want the short answer, Bagisto is our top pick because it pairs a free Laravel backend with a ready Next.js storefront and GraphQL APIs.

We last updated this guide in September 2026, so that each version number and price matches the official sources.

Use this table to build a quick shortlist, then read the detailed review of each platform further down the page.

Platform	Best For	Tech Stack	API	License
Bagisto (Best Overall)	B2C, B2B, and marketplace stores that want a ready Next.js storefront and AI tools	PHP (Laravel) + Next.js	GraphQL + REST	MIT
Saleor	Python teams that want a GraphQL-only API	Python (Django)	GraphQL	BSD-3-Clause
Medusa	Node.js teams building custom commerce logic	TypeScript (Node.js)	REST	MIT (Enterprise parts excluded)
Vendure	TypeScript teams and B2B projects	TypeScript (NestJS)	GraphQL	GPLv3 or commercial
Shopware 6	Mid-market brands, especially in Europe	PHP (Symfony) + Vue.js	REST (Store API, Admin API)	MIT (Community Edition)
Magento Open Source	Existing Magento stores moving to headless	PHP (Laminas)	GraphQL + REST	OSL-3.0
Sylius	Symfony teams with custom workflows	PHP (Symfony)	REST (API Platform)	MIT

All seven platforms are free to download and self-host, and paid plans only apply when you want managed hosting or extra enterprise features.

Headless eCommerce is an API-first architecture where the storefront is separated from the backend, and the two talk only through APIs.

Because the frontend is decoupled, a design team can rebuild the storefront without touching the checkout logic in the backend.

The same backend can then feed a website, a mobile app, a POS terminal, or a kiosk, which keeps prices and stock consistent on every channel.

Headless vs Traditional eCommerce

In a traditional platform, the theme and the backend ship as one unit, so a storefront change often means editing backend code as well.

• Frontend freedom: build with Next.js, Nuxt, React, or Vue instead of a fixed theme engine
• Faster pages: server-side rendering and static pages cut load times
• Omnichannel selling: one API serves the website, apps, and in-store devices
• Independent releases: frontend and backend teams ship without blocking each other

The trade-off is that you need frontend developers, because most headless backends do not ship a finished storefront.

Why Choose an Open Source Headless Platform?

SaaS headless platforms charge monthly fees or a share of revenue, while an open source backend lets you pay only for hosting and development.

You can also read and change the source code, which matters when checkout, pricing, or B2B rules need logic that no plugin covers.

We only included platforms whose commerce backend is open source, so SaaS products and content-only CMS tools were left out.

Webkul has built eCommerce software since 2010, and our teams work with several of these platforms in real client projects.

What we compared:

• API coverage for storefront and admin tasks (GraphQL, REST, or both)
• Whether a ready frontend starter or storefront kit is available
• License terms and what the paid editions add
• B2B, marketplace, and multi-channel support
• Release activity in 2026 and the size of the developer community

Each review below explains what makes the platform a good headless choice and which kind of team gets the most from it.

Bagisto Headless Commerce pairs a Laravel backend with an open source Next.js storefront, and both are released under the MIT license.

Its GraphQL APIs cover B2C, B2B, marketplace, and POS use cases, so one backend can run several business models at once.

Why We Ranked Bagisto #1:

Most headless backends leave the storefront to you, but Bagisto ships a Next.js storefront that you can deploy on day one.

That saves weeks of frontend work, and the live headless demo shows what you get before you install anything.

Key Headless Features

• Next.js 16 and React 19 storefront with server-side rendering
• GraphQL APIs for catalog, cart, checkout, and customers, plus a REST API
• Headless multi-vendor marketplace, B2B commerce, and POS on one backend
• Multi-channel, multi-currency, and multi-language setup
• A five-minute deployment guide for the headless stack

AI and Agent-Ready Tools

Headless stores are well placed for AI shopping agents, and Bagisto already exposes storefront tools that those agents can call.

• Magic AI drafts product content and images, and it can run on a local Ollama model
• WebMCP lets browser AI agents find products and open the cart, while the shopper still places the order
• Bagisto MCP lets AI assistants read and manage store data
• Agent Skills help coding agents build Bagisto packages the right way

Proven to Scale to 10 Million Products

Bagisto has been tested with 10 million products, and category pages loaded in about 516 ms during that test.

Real brands run it headless too, such as SPM Network, a Greek B2B distributor built on Bagisto and Next.js.

Bagisto Pricing

Bagisto and its Next.js storefront are free (latest release v2.4.12, September 2026), so you only pay for hosting and any paid extensions.

Best for: PHP and Laravel teams that want a complete headless stack for B2C, B2B, or marketplace stores without license fees.

Saleor is an open source eCommerce platform built with Python and Django, and it has been headless from its first release.

Every feature is exposed through a single GraphQL API, so frontend teams request exactly the data a page needs.

Key Features of Saleor

• GraphQL API for both storefront and admin tasks
• Channels for separate currencies, prices, and stock per market
• React admin dashboard and a Next.js storefront starter
• Apps and webhooks to extend Saleor without forking the core

Saleor Pricing

Self-hosting Saleor is free under the BSD-3-Clause license, and the latest release line is 3.23 from September 2026.

Saleor Cloud starts at $1,599/month for up to $200,000 in monthly GMV, which suits funded brands more than small shops.

Best for: Python teams and funded brands that want a pure GraphQL backend and plan to build their own storefront.

Medusa is a TypeScript commerce framework for Node.js, where each area such as cart, pricing, or inventory is a separate module.

Developers can replace or extend any module, which helps when a store needs custom logic that a fixed platform would not allow.

Key Features of Medusa

• REST APIs for the storefront and the admin
• Modular commerce building blocks and custom workflows
• Next.js starter storefront and a built-in admin dashboard
• Regions for multi-currency and multi-market selling

Medusa Pricing

The core is free under MIT, although some Enterprise Edition code in the repository uses a separate license (latest release v2.21, September 2026).

Medusa Cloud hosting starts at $29/month for development, while production plans start at $99/month.

Best for: JavaScript and TypeScript teams that want to write most of their commerce logic themselves.

Vendure is a headless commerce framework built with TypeScript and NestJS, and it offers separate GraphQL APIs for shoppers and admins.

Its plugin system lets developers add features without changing core code, which keeps upgrades simple on long-running projects.

Key Features of Vendure

• Shop API and Admin API, both in GraphQL
• Plugin architecture for custom features and integrations
• Channels for multiple stores, currencies, and languages
• Type-safe TypeScript code from the database to the API

Vendure Pricing

Vendure’s Community Edition is free to self-host under GPLv3, and the latest release is v3.7 from September 2026.

Vendure Platform adds B2B features and a commercial license through a flat annual subscription that is quoted per project.

Best for: TypeScript teams and B2B projects that want a clean GraphQL framework with room for custom plugins.

Shopware 6 is a PHP platform built on Symfony, and it is widely used by mid-sized brands in Germany and across Europe.

It works as a normal store or as a headless backend, because the Store API powers any custom frontend you connect to it.

Key Features of Shopware 6

• Store API for storefronts and Admin API for back-office tasks
• Shopware Frontends, a Vue.js and Nuxt toolkit for headless storefronts
• Rule builder for pricing, shipping, and promotion logic
• An MCP server for connecting AI tools to store data

Shopware Pricing

You can self-host Shopware’s Community Edition for free under MIT, and the latest version is 6.7.14 from September 2026.

Paid Shopware plans start with Rise at €600/month, and they add B2B tools and official support.

Best for: mid-market brands in Europe that want a mature platform they can run either classic or headless.

Magento Open Source is a free PHP platform built for large catalogs, and its latest release is 2.4.9 from May 2026.

Adobe Commerce is the paid edition of the same code, and it adds B2B tools, cloud hosting, and support from Adobe.

Key Features of Magento for Headless

• GraphQL and REST APIs for storefront and admin tasks
• PWA Studio, a React toolkit for headless storefronts
• Multi-store, multi-currency, and multi-language setup in one install
• A large extension marketplace and developer community

Magento Pricing

Magento Open Source is free under OSL-3.0, while Adobe Commerce is licensed through a custom quote from Adobe.

A headless Magento build needs strong hosting and skilled Magento developers, so it costs more to run than lighter platforms.

Best for: retailers already on Magento who want a faster, decoupled storefront without replacing the backend.

Sylius is an open source commerce framework built on Symfony, and it suits projects where the business rules do not fit a standard store.

Its API is built on API Platform, so Symfony developers can add or change endpoints for a headless frontend with tools they already know.

Key Features of Sylius

• REST API for shop and admin, built on API Platform
• Clean Symfony code that is easy to test and extend
• Works as a classic store or as a headless backend
• Ready setups for B2B wholesale and multi-vendor marketplaces

Sylius Pricing

Sylius costs nothing to self-host under the MIT license, and the latest release is v2.3 from September 2026.

The Sylius Plus adds enterprise features such as advanced roles and multi-source inventory, and its price is quoted on request.

Best for: Symfony teams building commerce projects with custom checkout, pricing, or approval workflows.

The software license is usually the smallest cost, because the frontend build and hosting take most of a headless budget.

Platform	Self-Hosted	Paid Option	Ready Storefront
Bagisto	Free	Paid extensions only	Yes (Next.js)
Saleor	Free	Saleor Cloud from $1,599/month	Starter (Next.js)
Medusa	Free	Medusa Cloud from $29/month	Starter (Next.js)
Vendure	Free (GPLv3)	Vendure Platform, quote-based	Starter
Shopware 6	Free	Plans from €600/month	Toolkit (Vue.js/Nuxt)
Magento Open Source	Free	Adobe Commerce, quote-based	Toolkit (PWA Studio)
Sylius	Free	Sylius Plus, quote-based	No

A ready storefront can cut months from a project, which is why it often matters more than the license when you compare total cost.

The best headless commerce platform is the one that matches the language your team already writes and the business model you run.

• Best overall, with a ready storefront → Bagisto
• Python team, GraphQL only → Saleor
• Node.js team writing custom logic → Medusa
• TypeScript and B2B → Vendure
• European mid-market brand → Shopware 6
• Already on Magento → Magento Open Source
• Symfony team with custom workflows → Sylius

Before you commit, build one product page and one checkout on your top two picks, because that shows the real developer effort fast.

What is the best open source headless eCommerce platform?

Bagisto is our top pick for 2026, because it combines a free Laravel backend, GraphQL APIs, and a ready Next.js storefront.

Is headless commerce better than a traditional platform?

Headless gives you more design freedom and faster pages, but it also needs frontend developers, so small stores may be fine with a classic setup.

Should a headless platform use GraphQL or REST?

GraphQL lets the frontend fetch only the fields a page needs, while REST is simpler to cache, and Bagisto and Magento offer both.

Can I use Next.js with an open source eCommerce backend?

You can, and Bagisto, Saleor, and Medusa all provide Next.js storefront starters that connect to their APIs out of the box.

How much does an open source headless store cost?

The software itself is free to self-host, so most of the budget goes to building the frontend and keeping it hosted and maintained.

Which headless platform is best for B2B?

Bagisto includes headless B2B and marketplace options in the same stack, while Vendure and Shopware offer B2B through paid plans.