Open source by industry / E-commerce & retail
Medusa
A commerce backend and admin for developers, written in TypeScript; you build the storefront or start from the official Next.js starter.
Does it fit your team?
- Consider it if
- You have developers who work in TypeScript and want to build your own storefront and business flows on a ready backend and admin.
- Look elsewhere if
- You have no developers, or you need staff roles and single sign-on: both require an Enterprise agreement with MedusaJS, Inc.
- Can you use it commercially?
- Yes, for the core
MIT. Commercial use, modification and closed-source use are all allowed; keep the copyright notice. The exception is the Enterprise Edition material identified in the repository (role-based access control and single sign-on), which is not under MIT; see the caveat below.
- Is it still maintained?
- Active
Last push on 2026-10-10. The repository is not archived.
- How hard is it to deploy?
- Moderate
You scaffold a project with the create-medusa-app command, which can also install the official Next.js storefront starter. Locally it needs an LTS Node.js at 20.19 or 22.12 or later, Git and a running PostgreSQL. In production you deploy four things: PostgreSQL, Redis, the application in server mode and the application in worker mode.
- What does it cost?
- Low
The software is free. The deployment guide asks for a host with at least 2 GB of RAM, plus PostgreSQL and Redis. The managed Medusa Cloud has plans from $29, $99 and $299 a month, with no fee on sales volume.
- What to watch out for
- Staff roles and single sign-on need the Enterprise license
The project is open core: the code for role-based access control (RBAC) and single sign-on (SSO) sits in the same repository but under a separate Enterprise license, and cannot be used without a commercial agreement with MedusaJS, Inc. The license states that enabling an Enterprise feature flag is a representation that you hold such an agreement. On the pricing page both appear only in the Enterprise tier, priced on request. It is also a developer’s engine: the storefront is yours to build.
Last checked: .
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