battles / Headless
Medusa vs Solidus
Medusa ($299/mo/mo, vibe code 6/10) vs Solidus (usage-based/mo, vibe code 6/10). Solidus is the easier one to rebuild yourself — here is what you lose either way.
Headless
$299/mo/mo
- MVP
- 2-3 weeks
- Full replacement
- 12-18 months
Platforms
usage-based/mo
- MVP
- 2 weeks
- Full replacement
- 8-14 months
easier to rebuild
get the build prompt →price gap / year
$3,588/mo
running both / year
$3,588/mo
our call
Start with Solidus — highest vibe code, weakest moat.
Medusa
Medusa is an open-source framework, meaning the underlying code is free and already available. Rebuilding a custom headless commerce engine from scratch via AI ignores years of edge-case bug fixes in checkout pipelines, multi-currency engines, and inventory locks.
you can rebuild
- Standard product catalog CRUD and variant management
- Basic cart creation and line-item management
- Simple Stripe payment intent integration
- Admin REST endpoints for order status updates
what you lose
- Access to hundreds of pre-built community plugins (search, payments, ERPs)
- The Medusa Admin dashboard and native Next.js starter storefronts
- Battle-hardened state machines for refunds, partial fulfillments, and split orders
- Managed, autoscaling deployment pipelines provided by Medusa Cloud
- Native TypeScript framework abstractions and extension points
real moats
- Massive open-source plugin ecosystem (Stripe, Algolia, Meilisearch, SendGrid, Contentful)
- Battle-tested workflow engine for complex multi-step cart, checkout, and fulfillment pipelines
- Active global developer ecosystem and plugin marketplace
Solidus
There is no licence to escape. Rebuilding makes sense only if you want to leave Ruby; otherwise you are trading a maintained core for a bespoke one.
you can rebuild
- Catalog, variants and option types
- Cart, checkout and order state machine
- Promotions with basic rules and actions
- Admin interface for orders and products
what you lose
- A maintained upgrade path with a security-conscious core team
- Rails extensions for payments, taxes and reporting
- Free bug fixes from other people's production incidents
real moats
- An active maintainer community absorbing edge cases you have not hit yet
open source escape hatches
- spree/spree BSD-3
- medusajs/medusa MIT
- saleor/saleor BSD-3
Questions people ask
Which is easier to rebuild with AI, Medusa or Solidus?
Solidus. It scores 6/10 on vibe code with a moat of 2/10, so an AI-assisted MVP takes about 2 weeks and a full replacement about 8-14 months.
Which one costs less, Medusa or Solidus?
Solidus at usage-based/mo for a typical mid-market store. The gap between the two is about $3,588/mo a year.
What do I lose if I replace Medusa?
Access to hundreds of pre-built community plugins (search, payments, ERPs) The Medusa Admin dashboard and native Next.js starter storefronts Battle-hardened state machines for refunds, partial fulfillments, and split orders
What do I lose if I replace Solidus?
A maintained upgrade path with a security-conscious core team Rails extensions for payments, taxes and reporting Free bug fixes from other people's production incidents
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