Bagisto vs Medusa (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Medusa grades higher than Bagisto: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Medusa grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bagisto
Open-source Laravel ecommerce for B2B, marketplaces and headless
Which one is for you
Pick Bagisto if
- Fits if you have a PHP or Laravel developer and want to own the code
- Makes sense if you want a multi-vendor or B2B shop on a stack you control
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if nobody on your side can run a server, since free means self-hosted
- Tight if you need the marketplace, POS or mobile app, which are separate products
- Watch out: Cloud packs are Starter and Pro with only the $25 start price stated
- Pricey if you need migration help, which is a paid service on both Cloud packs
Pick Medusa if
- Fits if your team writes JavaScript and wants a custom or headless store
- Works for builders who don't want a platform fee on sales
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a store without developers, as setup takes engineering work
- Skip it if you can't host a server, because the free version means doing that yourself
- Watch out: Cloud costs grow with usage, with edge requests past the allowance at $0.30 per 1M
- Watch out: Medusa Cloud can't accept cards issued by banks registered in India
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABagistoFair | 2.4GPAMedusaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree only if you host it yourself, which needs a server, so it sits in the middle. Bagisto Cloud starts at $25 a month, between the category's $20 cheap end and its $29 middle. | BCloud Develop is $29 a month, in the category's cheaper quarter, and the open-source version is free. Higher Cloud tiers are $99 and $299, and costs grow with usage. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe software is free to download with no caps, but you pay for hosting and upkeep. No trial for the Cloud packs is listed. | BThe open-source software is free with no sales-volume fee, but you host it yourself. Cloud has no free plan or trial. |
| Features | CMarketplace, B2B, headless API and the core store tools. Marketplace, POS and mobile app are separate add-on products, so the core job has gaps. | CProducts, carts, orders, payments, regions, multi-warehouse stock and promotions as building blocks. A store takes engineering work to assemble. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. Self-hosting a Laravel app takes technical skills, per the listing. | DNo store rating on record. It is a developer framework, set up with code and a PostgreSQL database. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only. A REST API and extensions exist, but no phone or desktop apps and no integration list. | BWeb, with an admin and a Cloud hosting service, an MCP server and a CLI. No phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | Laravel developers building B2B or marketplace stores | custom stores built in JavaScript |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bagisto and Medusa. How we grade
Where they differ
- Bagisto also covers inventory.
At a glance
| Bagisto | Medusa | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $0 self-hosted; Bagisto Cloud from $25 per month | $29 per month and up, billed monthly (Cloud Develop) |
| Free plan | The open-source software is free to download and host yourself; hosting, upkeep and support are your own cost. | The open-source software is free to self-host; the Cloud plans start at $29 a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Webkul | Medusa |
| Price read from | bagisto.com | medusajs.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bagisto
- The free version needs your own server, upkeep and technical skills.
- Bagisto Cloud lists Starter and Pro packs without prices on the page we read; only the $25 starting price is stated.
- Migration help is listed as a paid service on both cloud packs.
- Marketplace, POS and mobile app add-ons are separate products, and some may carry their own cost.
Medusa
- It is a developer framework: the admin and a starter storefront exist, but a store takes engineering work to set up.
- Cloud prices start at the listed figure and grow with infrastructure and usage; edge requests beyond the allowance cost $0.30 per 1M.
- Cloud development access is billed per seat, and log drains are a $50 per month add-on on some plans.
- Medusa Cloud cannot accept cards issued by banks registered in India.
Key features
Bagisto
- Multi-vendor marketplace
- Turns a store into a marketplace where several sellers list products; sold as a separate module on the site.
- B2B commerce
- Supports bulk orders and catalogs for business buyers, and a B2B marketplace variant.
- Headless and REST API
- An API-driven setup lets teams attach their own front end or mobile app; the cloud comparison lists REST API access.
- Core store tools
- Product, category, inventory and order management, promotions and coupons, multi-store and multi-currency support.
- Themes and extensions
- A marketplace of themes and extensions adds ready-made storefronts, a point-of-sale system and a mobile app.
- AI tools
- Lists Magic AI for generating content and images, an MCP server for AI assistants, and an agent checker for stores.
Medusa
- Commerce building blocks
- Products, carts, orders and payments are provided as primitives inside a framework, so developers customize behavior instead of working around a fixed storefront.
- Sales channels and regions
- Several sales channels with their own rules and products, plus multiple currencies, local tax rules and region-specific shipping and payment settings.
- Inventory and promotions
- Multi-warehouse inventory with order reservations, and a promotion engine for campaigns, free shipping and customer or B2B pricing.
- Medusa Admin
- A merchant dashboard for daily operations. The Cloud FAQ says Admin users are free and unlimited, and only development seats are billed.
- Cloud hosting
- Medusa Cloud deploys from GitHub and hosts the backend, admin and storefront on a CDN, with previews, logs, backups and autoscaling on higher plans.
- AI tooling
- A Medusa MCP server, a development agent and a Cloud CLI are included on every Cloud plan; custom workflow agents are Enterprise only.
Plans
Bagisto
Self-hosted$0
Open-source download that you run on your own infrastructure, with full control over customization.
Bagisto Cloud$25
per month and up
Managed hosting in Starter and Pro packs; the site's banner states the $25 start, and per-pack prices are not shown.
Medusa
Open source$0
The open-source platform from GitHub, which you host and run yourself on your own PostgreSQL database.
Cloud Develop$29
per month and up, billed monthly
Hosted backend, admin and storefront, GitHub deploys, previews on pull requests, Medusa Search and Emails, with 1M edge requests.
Cloud Launch$99
per month and up, billed monthly
Adds autoscaling, custom storefront domains, automatic backups, webhook events, a Redis-backed store and 5M edge requests.
Cloud Scale$299
per month and up, billed monthly
Adds background workers, priority support, semantic search, longer backup retention, a custom backend domain and 10M edge requests.
Cloud EnterpriseCustom
Adds SLA-backed support, RBAC, SSO and audit logs, a dedicated support engineer and a 99.99% uptime guarantee. Sold through sales.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bagisto or Medusa?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bagisto starts at $0 self-hosted; Bagisto Cloud from $25 per month, and Medusa starts at $29 per month and up, billed monthly (Cloud Develop).
Which has a free plan, Bagisto or Medusa?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Bagisto and Medusa have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.