Crystallize vs Vendure (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Crystallize and Vendure share a 1.8 GPA, both have a free plan, and Vendure starts cheaper, at about $222.32 a month against $949 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Crystallize grades higher on platforms. Vendure grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Crystallize
Headless commerce, product information and content in one GraphQL API
Vendure
Open-source B2B commerce framework with paid plans
Which one is for you
Pick Crystallize if
- Fits if you have developers and want your own front end
- Makes sense if product data has to feed several channels
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a ready-made storefront, as none ships
- Tight if you stay on the free plan: 25 orders and 100 items a month
- Pricey if you grow, with $949 a month per tenant plus overages
- Watch out: SAML/SSO and invoice billing need the sales-quoted Crystal plan, and prices can change on 12 months' notice
Pick Vendure if
- Fits if you have TypeScript developers building B2B commerce
- Makes sense if you start on the free framework and add B2B plans later
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want paid plans, as Starter is EUR 199 a month on a 12-month term
- Skip it if you want hosting included, because plans exclude it and Vendure Cloud is a closed beta
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and the no-commitment monthly rate is higher than the term price
- Not for you if you have no developers, as it is a code framework
- Watch out: self-serve signup is not available in some countries, including Switzerland and Ukraine
How we grade them
| 1.8GPACrystallizeWeak | 1.8GPAVendureWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DAtom is $949 a month per tenant, in the category's dearest tenth, plus metered orders, items, bandwidth and API calls. | DStarter is EUR 199 a month on a 12-month term, against $29 in the middle of the category. Growth is EUR 599 and Scale EUR 2,499. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free Particle plan allows 25 orders, 100 items and 25,000 API calls a month. A real shop passes that quickly. | BThe framework is free under GPLv3 to self-host, and Starter and Growth have a 30-day trial with no card. |
| Features | CProduct information, commerce, content and subscriptions in one API. There's no storefront, so the front end is yours to build. | CCompany accounts, quotes, contract pricing, approvals and audit log are on the plans. Hosting is not included, and Vendure Cloud is a closed beta. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. It's a developer tool: you build against GraphQL APIs. | DNo rating on record. It is a framework needing developers and self-hosting. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb API platform that fits Next.js, Astro, Remix, Nuxt and other frameworks. No phone or desktop apps. | CWeb only, with a plugin model and one named integration, Typesense. |
| Best for | developers building headless stores on a GraphQL API | B2B commerce on an open-source TypeScript framework |
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: Crystallize and Vendure. How we grade
Price against what you get
Crystallize starts at $949 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vendure starts at about $222.32 a month and scores 1.7.
Crystallize scores higher, and starts $726.68 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other online store builders on the chart, 32 score higher than Crystallize for less, and 36 score higher than Vendure for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Vendure is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Crystallize also covers inventory.
- Vendure also covers quotes and estimates.
At a glance
| Crystallize | Vendure | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $949 per month, plus metered usage | €199 per month, 12-month term billed monthly, excl. VAT (Starter) |
| Free plan | Particle plan: free base price, 25 orders, 100 items, 5 GB bandwidth and 25,000 API calls a month, then metered. | Vendure Framework: open source under GPLv3, free to self-host, with catalog, orders, customers, payments and a plugin model. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of Starter and Growth, no card required. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Crystallize AS | Elevantiq GmbH |
| Price read from | crystallize.com | vendure.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Crystallize
- There is no ready-made storefront; a developer has to build the front end.
- The $949 Atom base price is per tenant, with overages for orders, items, bandwidth and API calls beyond the included amounts.
- SAML/SSO, tenant cloning and invoice billing are limited to the sales-quoted Crystal plan.
- Prices can change on 12 months' notice; Particle and Atom can be ended at any time, with that month's usage billed.
Vendure
- Plans do not include hosting yet; Vendure Cloud is a closed beta and usage above included resources will be billed separately.
- Prices exclude VAT. A no-commitment monthly rate is higher than the 12-month-term price shown, and its amount was not readable.
- Self-serve signup is not available in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Ukraine or sanctioned countries.
- The prices were read in euros; the page offers a USD view that could not be read.
Key features
Crystallize
- PIM, commerce and CMS together
- Product information, orders and rich content live in one data model, which Crystallize describes as breaking down the usual silos between three tools.
- GraphQL APIs
- Content and catalog are delivered through GraphQL APIs, with guides for Next.js, Astro, Remix, Svelte, React, TanStack and Nuxt storefronts.
- Subscription and bookable commerce
- The product pages cover recurring subscription products and selling time or access slots, alongside standard physical products.
- AI and MCP tooling
- Pages cover AI commerce and an MCP server; Crystal plans meter AI tokens used by Flare, the platform's AI assistant.
- Multi-tenant environments
- Crystal includes three tenants for production, staging and development, with a copy-tenant utility; Particle and Atom allow one tenant per project.
Vendure
- Company accounts
- One account per customer business with tax ID validation, and on Growth and above an organization hierarchy of branches and departments.
- Quotes and reordering
- Buyers can request quotes, paste SKUs into quick order, reorder, and keep personal or shared shopping lists and shared carts.
- Contract pricing
- Scale adds prices set per customer, with volume breaks, so each company sees its own negotiated price instead of the list price.
- Approvals and audit log
- Orders over a buyer's limit go to an approver before they are placed, and an audit log records changes. Both are on the Scale plan.
- No revenue-based fees
- Each plan is a flat monthly price with no fee on revenue, orders or users, and a commercial licence is included.
- Self-host or Vendure Cloud
- You can run Vendure on any cloud or your own hardware. Vendure Cloud is in closed beta, with general availability planned for Q1 2027.
Plans
Crystallize
Particle$0
One tenant per project, unlimited users and languages, full features. Extra orders $2.50, items $0.10 each.
Atom$949
per month, plus metered usage
Per tenant; includes 500 orders, 5,000 items, 50 GB and 500,000 API calls. Extra orders $1.00, items $0.02.
CrystalCustom
3 tenants, SAML/SSO, tenant cloning, invoice billing, enterprise SLA and a dedicated engineering Slack channel.
Vendure
Vendure Framework$0
The open-source GPLv3 framework every plan builds on. You host it yourself and your engineers build the store.
Starter€199
per month, 12-month term billed monthly, excl. VAT
Company accounts with tax ID validation, quotes, quick order and reorder, and catalog search. Community support.
Growth€599
per month, 12-month term billed monthly, excl. VAT
Adds company branches and departments, selling by unit, box or pallet, and shared shopping lists. Direct support from Vendure.
Scale€2,499
per month, 12-month term billed monthly, excl. VAT
Adds order approvals, an audit log, contract prices per customer and a ready-made B2B storefront. Priority support.
Enterprise€60,000
per year and up, on contract, excl. VAT
All 32 capabilities, including PunchOut, quote negotiation and the product configurator, plus custom-built features. Sold through sales.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Crystallize or Vendure?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Vendure is cheaper to start with: about $222.32 a month, against $949 a month for Crystallize. Crystallize starts at $949 per month, plus metered usage, and Vendure starts at €199 per month, 12-month term billed monthly, excl. VAT (Starter).
Which has a free plan, Crystallize or Vendure?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Crystallize and Vendure 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.