Vendure vs commercetools
Both platforms are API-first. On commercetools, custom logic runs in services beside the platform and the bill is order-based. On Vendure it runs inside one TypeScript backend, on a flat plan.
The short answer
Choose Vendure when
- PunchOut, Configurator and contract pricing must come in the plan
- The platform bill should not move with order volume
- You want the source code and to self-host in any region
- Custom logic should run inside one TypeScript backend
- You have no permanent platform engineering team
What you leave behind on commercetools
- Order-based pricing with no public rate card
- Advanced B2B APIs and Audit Log Premium sold as add-ons
- No native CPQ or punchout
- A 25 API Extension cap and no source access
Three things commercetools leaves you to assemble
CPQ and punchout arrive as partners and add-ons
commercetools has no native CPQ or punchout, so both come through partner integrations, and its Advanced B2B APIs are a paid add-on. On Vendure, quotes come from Starter, contract pricing and order approvals at Scale, and PunchOut and Configurator at Enterprise, each as part of the plan.
Custom logic without a 25-extension ceiling
commercetools gives no source access and caps API Extensions at 25 per project, so logic that must run inside a request becomes a call out to a service your team hosts and monitors. Vendure plugins are NestJS modules in the same process as the Framework, with custom fields that propagate straight into the GraphQL schema.
No order metering, and the code runs where you choose
commercetools prices on orders through a sales quote, sells extra regions as add-ons and runs only as multi-tenant SaaS. Vendure has no metering on orders, no GMV charge and no fee per user. The GPLv3 Framework cannot be revoked, and your data sits in your own SQL database, on the cloud or hardware you pick.
How they compare
The same six dimensions on every Vendure comparison. Sources for every commercetools claim are at the foot of the page.
| Dimension | Vendure | commercetools |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture and extensibility | VendureTypeScript end to end on NestJS, with GraphQL Shop and Admin APIs. Plugins sit beside the Framework. No forks, no extension cap. | commercetoolsMulti-tenant SaaS, no source access. API Extensions cap at 25 per project, so business logic runs in services beside the platform. |
| Licensing and cost model | VendureFree open-source Vendure Framework under GPLv3. Four flat, cumulative plans from €199 a month on a 12-month term, with Enterprise from €60,000 a year. No GMV, per-order or per-user fees. | commercetoolsSales-quoted, order-based pricing with paid add-ons such as Advanced B2B APIs and additional regions. No public rate card. |
| B2B depth | VendureCompany accounts and quotes from Starter. Organization hierarchy at Growth. Contract pricing, single-level order approvals, the audit log and the Next.js B2B storefront at Scale. PunchOut (cXML), Configurator and multi-level approvals with timeouts and delegation at Enterprise. | commercetoolsBusiness units, associates, quotes and approval flows, partly behind a paid add-on. No native CPQ or punchout (partner integrations exist). |
| Hosting and operations | VendureSelf-host on any cloud or on-premises, in any region. Managed Vendure Cloud is planned for Q1 2027, with a base set of Cloud resources in each paid plan. | commercetoolsMulti-tenant SaaS on GCP and AWS, including EU regions. No self-hosting. Additional regions cost extra. |
| Ecosystem and talent | VendureMainstream TypeScript, Node and GraphQL. No proprietary skill silo. | commercetoolsStandard web skills plus MACH experience, and a team to build and maintain the services that run beside the platform. |
| Migration effort | VendureImport catalogue and customers, rebuild the storefront on the GraphQL API or start from the Next.js one included from Scale, then re-point integrations. | commercetoolsNot applicable. |
Vendure pricing: a free open-source framework, then four flat tiers
Vendure Framework is free under GPLv3. Starter, Growth, Scale and Enterprise add B2B capabilities cumulatively, on a flat fee with no GMV, per-order or per-user charges.
When commercetools renewals reopen the platform question
The CTO or head of digital usually reopens the platform at renewal, when licence, add-ons, frontend and the services built around commercetools add up to one annual number.
Licence renewal
where the licence is only part of the annual run cost: frontend, integrations and Connect apps come on top
B2B gaps found mid-build
CPQ and punchout from partner integrations, and B2B APIs in a paid add-on
Frontend spend that stays in the budget
a frontend your team builds and maintains as a permanent line item
Code ownership and self-hosting
which multi-tenant SaaS cannot offer
Moving off commercetools?
Catalogue and customer import, a storefront rebuilt on the GraphQL API or started from the Next.js B2B storefront included from Scale, then integrations re-pointed. Migration guides are being written; the hub has what exists today.
Teams building complex commerce with Vendure
Vendure and commercetools, answered
Yes, when the B2B rules are the hard part and you would rather license that depth than build it in services beside a platform you cannot see into. Vendure gives you the source, a flat plan price and one TypeScript backend for your own logic.
commercetools sells its Advanced B2B APIs as a paid add-on and has no native CPQ or punchout. On Vendure: company accounts, quotes, lists, quick order and store credit from Starter. Organization hierarchy, managed lists, packaging, gift cards and global search at Growth. Contract pricing, order approvals, the audit log, single sign-on, search analytics and the Next.js B2B storefront at Scale. Negotiation, access policy, advanced approvals, audit governance, Configurator and PunchOut at Enterprise. They are licensed capabilities rather than services you commission.
Vendure Framework is free under GPLv3. Four cumulative paid plans sit on top: Starter at €199, Growth at €599 and Scale at €2,499 a month on a 12-month term, with Enterprise from €60,000 a year. Each plan inherits the one below, and there is no GMV charge, per-order surcharge or per-user fee, so growing revenue does not reprice the platform.
Yes. Vendure Framework is a complete open-source commerce framework under GPLv3, written in TypeScript on Node.js with GraphQL Shop and Admin APIs. It is free to run and self-host, and the licence cannot be revoked or discontinued for you. The commercial B2B capabilities are separately licensed plugins layered on top of the Framework. Every paid plan also includes a commercial licence for Vendure Framework for your project, as an alternative to GPLv3.
You can self-host on any cloud or on-premises, in any region, with your data in your own SQL database. That is what makes EU-mandated and otherwise regulated deployments possible today. Vendure Cloud, our managed hosting, opens as a closed beta for paid plans, with general availability planned for Q1 2027. Each paid plan will include a base set of Cloud resources, and usage above that is billed on top.
No. Vendure is headless by default, with GraphQL Shop and Admin APIs and any frontend you choose, and the Next.js B2B storefront is included from the Scale plan, so a frontend build is a starting point rather than a prerequisite before anything ships.
Usually not. You extend Vendure through plugins that live beside the Framework rather than patching it: strategies, custom fields that propagate straight into the GraphQL schema, custom entities and typed events. There is no cap on how many you write and no fork to reconcile at upgrade time, so your business logic stays first-class TypeScript inside one backend.
Sources (7) · claims last checked 2026
- commercetools API limits: the API Extensions cap, order search indexing window and variant limits · docs.commercetools.com/api/limits
- commercetools B2B documentation: business units, associates, quotes, approval flows and the Advanced B2B APIs add-on · docs.commercetools.com/offering/core-commerce-b2b
- commercetools pricing: sales-quoted, order-based pricing and paid add-ons such as Advanced B2B APIs, Audit Log Premium and additional regions · commercetools.com/pricing
- commercetools API regions: Google Cloud and AWS regions in North America, Europe and Australia · docs.commercetools.com/api/general-concepts#regions
- commercetools technology partners: Shopspray Commerce Punchout, a partner punchout integration · commercetools.com/technology-partners/shopspray
- commercetools Connect documentation: hosted Connect applications · docs.commercetools.com/connect
- Vendure pricing and plans · vendure.io/pricing
