Why Headless Commerce Matters
Traditional platforms (Shopify standard, WooCommerce, Magento) bundle everything together: product catalog, shopping cart, checkout, customer accounts, and storefront all in a single codebase. The constraints:- Frontend limited to platform's templating system
- Customization requires fighting the platform's opinions
- Performance bottlenecked by server-rendered pages
- Mobile apps require duplicating business logic
- Omnichannel experiences become maintenance nightmares
- Build custom shopping experiences without platform constraints
- Same product catalog powers multiple channels
- Performance optimized per channel
- Choose best-in-class services for each component
The Three Platforms: Quick Overview
1. Shopify Hydrogen 2.0
Shopify's official React-based framework for building custom storefronts that connect to Shopify's backend via the Storefront API. Target customer: Existing Shopify Plus merchants who've outgrown theme limitations but want to keep Shopify's backend. Pricing: Shopify Plus subscription ($2,000+/month) plus Oxygen hosting ($20 to $500+/month).2. Medusa.js
Open-source headless commerce engine built on Node.js, offering complete control over your eCommerce backend. Target customer: Developers and companies wanting maximum customization without monthly platform fees. Pricing: Free (open source). Costs are infrastructure only (hosting, database, CDN).3. Saleor
Open-source GraphQL-first commerce platform with strong multi-channel and internationalization support. Target customer: International brands, multi-market sellers, companies with complex catalog requirements. Pricing: Open source core. Saleor Cloud available for managed hosting ($500+/month).Head-to-Head Comparison
Developer Experience and Speed to Market
| Platform | Learning Curve | Time to MVP | Documentation Quality |
| Shopify Hydrogen 2.0 | Medium | 4-6 weeks | Excellent |
| Medusa.js | Medium | 6-8 weeks | Good |
| Saleor | Steep | 8-10 weeks | Excellent |
Performance and Scalability
| Metric | Shopify Hydrogen | Medusa.js | Saleor |
| Product page TTFB | 180ms | 120ms | 210ms |
| Collection page load | 1.2s | 0.9s | 1.4s |
| Lighthouse score | 92 | 95 | 89 |
Feature Completeness
Shopify Hydrogen 2.0:- Checkout, payments, fraud detection, tax calculation, shipping, admin dashboard, inventory management, analytics (all included)
- Subscriptions, B2B features, advanced promotions (requires apps or custom code)
- Product catalog, cart, checkout, order management, customer accounts, multi-currency, sales channels
- Payment processing, shipping calculation, tax calculation, fraud detection, advanced inventory (requires plugins or custom code)
- Multi-currency, multi-language, warehouse management, order workflows, discounts, tax rules, payment gateways, shipping zones
- Admin dashboard UI (you build your own), subscriptions, advanced B2B (custom implementation)
Customization Depth
Shopify Hydrogen: Full frontend control with React. Backend customization limited to Shopify's APIs, Functions, and custom apps. Medusa.js: Full-stack customization. Modify core functionality, add custom entities, create custom APIs. Everything is code you control. Saleor: Extensibility via apps and webhooks. Add custom fields, modify checkout behavior, integrate external systems through GraphQL. Example: A B2B client needed approval workflows (employee orders require manager approval before fulfillment). Shopify would require complex app development. Medusa's architecture made this straightforward to implement in the backend code.Total Cost of Ownership: 5-Year Projection
For a mid-market business doing $5M annual revenue, 50K orders/year, 5K SKUs:Annual Costs
| Platform | Platform Fees | Hosting | Development | Total Annual |
| Shopify Hydrogen | $24K-$40K | $2.4K-$6K | $12K-$24K | $42K-$97K |
| Medusa.js | $0 | $3.6K-$8.4K | $24K-$48K | $28.8K-$60K |
| Saleor | $0 | $6K-$12K | $30K-$60K | $37.2K-$75.6K |
Five-Year TCO
- Shopify Hydrogen: $210,000 to $485,000
- Medusa.js: $144,000 to $300,000
- Saleor: $186,000 to $378,000
When to Choose Each Platform
Choose Shopify Hydrogen 2.0 If:
- You're already on Shopify Plus and need better frontend performance
- Speed to market is critical (launching in 4-8 weeks)
- You want proven checkout conversion (Shopify's checkout converts better than most custom builds)
- Limited technical resources (Shopify handles infrastructure, PCI compliance, fraud)
- Black Friday readiness matters (Shopify's infrastructure handles massive spikes)
Choose Medusa.js If:
- You want zero platform fees (only infrastructure costs)
- Custom business logic is central (unique pricing, fulfillment workflows)
- You have strong Node.js expertise on your team
- Multi-tenant or marketplace needs
- Data ownership is critical (everything in your database)
Choose Saleor If:
- International expansion is core to strategy (multi-currency, multi-language out of the box)
- Complex product catalogs (configurable products, unlimited variants)
- GraphQL expertise on team
- Multi-channel commerce (web, mobile, marketplaces, social)
- You need enterprise features without enterprise pricing
Performance Under Load: Real Production Data
We stress-tested all three platforms under Black Friday conditions (10x normal traffic). Test scenario: 500 concurrent users (normal) spiking to 5,000 concurrent users for 60 minutes.| Platform | Avg Response (Normal) | Avg Response (Spike) | Error Rate | Checkout Success |
| Shopify Hydrogen | 340ms | 480ms | 0.02% | 99.8% |
| Medusa.js | 280ms | 920ms | 1.2% | 98.1% |
| Saleor | 410ms | 550ms | 0.08% | 99.6% |
Integration Ecosystem
Shopify Hydrogen
Shopify App Store has 8,000+ apps. Key integrations: Shopify Payments, Stripe, PayPal, Afterpay, Klarna (payments), Algolia, Searchspring (search), Yotpo, Stamped (reviews), Klaviyo, Mailchimp (email), Recharge, Bold (subscriptions).Medusa.js
Official plugins for Stripe, PayPal, Klarna (payments), Shippo, SendCloud (fulfillment), Algolia, Meilisearch (search), SendGrid, Mailchimp (email), S3, MinIO (file storage). Event system makes custom integrations straightforward.Saleor
Apps available for Stripe, Adyen, Braintree (payments), Algolia (search), SendGrid, Mailgun (email), Contentful, Strapi (CMS integration), Avalara, TaxJar (tax). GraphQL-first approach makes integrations type-safe. Verdict: Shopify's ecosystem is largest. Medusa and Saleor require more implementation work but offer deeper integration possibilities.Developer Happiness
We surveyed our engineering team (12 developers who've worked on all three platforms). Which platform would you choose for your next project?- Shopify Hydrogen: 5 votes (42%) - "Checkout just works", "Documentation is excellent"
- Medusa.js: 4 votes (33%) - "Total control", "No vendor lock-in"
- Saleor: 3 votes (25%) - "GraphQL is elegant", "Multi-currency saved us weeks"
| Task | Shopify Hydrogen | Medusa.js | Saleor |
| Add new product type | 2 hours | 4 hours | 3 hours |
| Custom discount logic | 6 hours | 3 hours | 4 hours |
| Add payment provider | 1 hour | 8 hours | 6 hours |
| Set up multi-currency | 2 hours | 12 hours | 1 hour |
Migration Complexity
From Shopify Standard to Shopify Hydrogen
Complexity: Low to Medium Timeline: 4-8 weeks Process: Keep existing Shopify backend, build new React frontend, deploy to Oxygen, point domain. No data migration needed. Risk: Low (can roll back easily)From Magento/WooCommerce to Medusa.js
Complexity: High Timeline: 12-20 weeks Process: Set up Medusa backend, export and transform product data, rebuild frontend, migrate customers, configure payments/shipping/tax, extensive testing. Risk: Medium to High (requires thorough testing and cutover planning)From Shopify to Saleor
Complexity: High Timeline: 16-24 weeks Process: Set up Saleor, export Shopify data, transform and import, rebuild admin workflows, build frontend, reconfigure integrations, staff training. Risk: High (significant operational change) Why migrate despite complexity: Cost savings ($40K/year Shopify Plus to $8K/year Saleor Cloud) plus feature flexibility.Key Takeaways
- Shopify Hydrogen delivers fastest time to market with proven checkout and infrastructure
- Medusa.js offers maximum flexibility and lowest total cost (if technical team can handle complexity)
- Saleor excels for international commerce and complex catalogs
- All three perform well at scale when properly implemented
- Total cost over 5 years varies by $100K to $200K (factor in engineering time)
- Migration from legacy platforms takes 3-6 months (budget accordingly)
How Askan Technologies Can Help
As an ISO-9001 certified development partner with 200+ successful projects across US, UK, Australia, and Canada, we've built production eCommerce systems on all three platforms. Our Headless Commerce Services:- Platform Selection Consulting: 2-week evaluation to recommend the optimal platform
- Architecture Design: System design for performance and scalability
- Full-Stack Implementation: Backend setup, API development, frontend build
- Migration Services: Move from legacy platforms to modern headless architecture
- Integration Development: Connect payments, shipping, ERPs, marketing tools
- Performance Optimization: Ensure sub-2-second page loads and 99.9% uptime
- B2B industrial supply on Medusa.js (custom pricing, quote workflows)
- Fashion brand on Shopify Hydrogen (40% conversion improvement)
- Multi-market electronics on Saleor (3 regions, 5 currencies)
Shopify Hydrogen 2.0 vs Medusa.js vs Saleor: The 2026 Headless Commerce Showdown
The eCommerce landscape is splitting into two distinct camps. On one side, traditional monolithic platforms...
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