Vendure vs Shopware
Shopware's B2B Components stop at single-step approvals, and its plans are priced on GMV. This comparison covers the B2B buying process past that, and what it costs as revenue grows.
The short answer
Choose Vendure when
- You need punchout or multi-level approval chains
- You want a platform price that does not move with GMV
- You are going headless with React
- Your team writes TypeScript and React, not PHP and Vue
What you leave behind on Shopware
- Plans priced on GMV, with no fixed overage rate
- Single-step approvals and no punchout in any plan today
- Plugin updates required at major releases
- B2B Suite unsupported from Shopware 6.8, so a migration
Where Shopware's B2B Components stop
Approval chains and punchout past B2B Components
Shopware's B2B Components stop at single-step threshold approvals, punchout is not in any Shopware plan today, and the B2B Suite is no longer supported from Shopware 6.8. Vendure ships contract pricing and single-level order approvals at Scale, and multi-level approvals with timeouts and delegation, negotiation, access policy, Configurator and PunchOut over cXML at Enterprise, each plan inheriting the one below.
Flat plan fees where Shopware prices on GMV
Shopware prices its plans on GMV, Community is free only under €1M, and there is no fixed overage rate, so growth past a plan means an upgrade. Vendure Framework is free, the plans are a flat monthly fee and Enterprise a flat annual one.
Headless in React, with plugins beside the Framework
Major releases (6.5, 6.6, 6.7) required plugin updates, per Shopware's upgrade guides, and going headless leaves the plugin ecosystem behind, with Nuxt and Vue as the only official headless kit. Vendure customisations are TypeScript plugins beside the Framework, on a stack your existing developers already read.
How they compare
Six dimensions, the same six on every Vendure comparison page. Every claim about Shopware is sourced at the foot of this page.
| Dimension | Vendure | Shopware |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | ShopwarePHP and Symfony with a Vue admin and Twig storefront. MIT core plus the closed SwagCommercial plugin. Major releases (6.5, 6.6, 6.7) required plugin updates, per Shopware's upgrade guides. |
| 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. | ShopwarePriced on GMV: Community free under €1M, Rise from €600, Evolve from €2,400 a month, Beyond custom. No fixed overage rate. |
| 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. | ShopwareB2B Components from Evolve at €2,400 a month: employees and roles, single-step threshold approvals, quotes, org units, budgets. No punchout or multi-level approvals in any plan today; punchout is listed on Shopware's roadmap. The B2B Suite is no longer supported from Shopware 6.8. |
| 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. | ShopwareSelf-hosted, SaaS or PaaS. For large catalogues and high order volumes, Shopware recommends Elasticsearch or OpenSearch and Redis. |
| Ecosystem and talent | VendureMainstream TypeScript, Node and GraphQL. No proprietary skill silo. | Shopware1,200+ certified DACH agencies. Headless kit is Nuxt and Vue, with no official React path. |
| Migration effort | VendureCatalogue, customer and order history import out of MySQL. Twig themes and PHP plugins are rewritten as TypeScript plugins. | ShopwareNot 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.
Moments a Shopware team reopens the platform
For a Shopware merchant, the platform question opens at a plan upgrade, a B2B Suite migration or a major release. At each of these, staying costs about as much as moving.
Growth pushes you into the next plan
with no fixed overage rate to plan around, so growth gets expensive on a schedule you do not set
A buyer asks for punchout
punchout is on Shopware's roadmap, but neither punchout nor multi-level approvals is in any Shopware plan today
B2B Suite end of life
support ends with Shopware 6.8, which forces a move to B2B Components and is a natural moment to re-evaluate rather than rebuild in place
The headless decision
where moving headless leaves the plugin ecosystem behind and the official kit is Nuxt and Vue with no React path
A major-version upgrade window
since major releases have required plugin updates and a rewrite is being funded anyway
Migration runs in three phases: catalogue and customer import, storefront rebuild, then integration cutover. We scope the effort against what is actually in production rather than quoting a band.
Moving off Shopware?
The catalogue moves through the Admin API, customers and orders move as finished records with their passwords, and rule prices and Rule Builder logic are rebuilt as code. The migration guide, from a reference migration checked value by value against Shopware, covers each part and the traps.
Teams building complex commerce with Vendure
Vendure and Shopware, answered
Yes, when the buying process runs past what Shopware packages, such as punchout or multi-level approval chains, or when GMV-based pricing makes growth expensive on a schedule you do not set.
Shopware's approval rules each go to one reviewer role, and punchout is not in any Shopware plan today. Vendure ships 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.
Yes, 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.
Yes. PunchOut over cXML ships with the Enterprise plan, alongside negotiation, access policy and the Configurator. It is a licensed capability rather than a custom integration project, which matters when a procurement system on the buyer's side is a condition of the deal. On Shopware, punchout is listed on the product roadmap and is not in any plan today.
Plugins live beside the Framework, so there is no fork to reconcile. Breaking changes come only in major versions and are listed in the changelog.
Sources (10) · claims last checked 2026
- Shopware pricing: the Community Fair Use limit, Rise, Evolve and Beyond plans, and the GMV basis · shopware.com/pricing
- Shopware documentation on B2B Components: employees and roles, order approvals, quotes, organisation units, budgets and quick order · docs.shopware.com
- Shopware B2B Components order approval: approval rules on order value, currency or role, each assigned to one reviewer role · developer.shopware.com
- Shopware B2B Suite migration: the B2B Suite is no longer supported from Shopware 6.8 and is replaced by B2B Components · developer.shopware.com/docs/products/extensions/b2b-suite-migration
- Shopware product roadmap: punchout listed as coming next · shopware.com/roadmap
- Shopware performance tweaks: Elasticsearch or OpenSearch for large assortments, and Redis for high-throughput number ranges and cache invalidation · developer.shopware.com/docs/guides/hosting/performance
- Shopware upgrade guides: breaking changes per major version and the plugin updates they require · developer.shopware.com
- Shopware Frontends: the official Nuxt and Vue headless kit · frontends.shopware.com
- Shopware partner directory: the certified DACH agency count · shopware.com/partner
- Vendure pricing and plans · vendure.io/pricing
