Saleor vs Vue Storefront: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this document, we will compare the key differences between Saleor and Vue Storefront.

1. Customization: Saleor is an open-source headless e-commerce platform that offers extensive customization capabilities. It allows developers to have full control over their storefront and easily modify the platform according to their specific business needs. On the other hand, Vue Storefront is a standalone PWA (Progressive Web App) storefront that can be customized primarily through configuration files and extensions. While it offers some flexibility, Saleor provides a greater level of freedom for customization.

2. Technology Stack: Saleor is built using Python and Django, two popular technologies for web development. It leverages the scalability, security, and robustness of these frameworks. On the other hand, Vue Storefront is built with Vue.js, a JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. It provides a highly interactive and responsive shopping experience. The difference in technologies used can impact the development process, skill requirements, and performance characteristics of the platforms.

3. API Driven: Saleor is primarily focused on providing a comprehensive, flexible, and well-documented API that can be used to integrate various front-end implementations. It follows a headless architecture, separating the back-end business logic from the front-end presentation layer. On the other hand, Vue Storefront is a standalone PWA storefront that consumes APIs provided by different back-end platforms, including Saleor. It acts as a bridge between the e-commerce platform and the front-end presentation.

4. Modularity: Saleor offers a modular architecture that allows developers to extend and customize various functionalities by adding or removing specific modules. It provides a wide range of plugins and extensions to enhance the platform's capabilities. In comparison, Vue Storefront is also modular and can be extended through modules and extensions. However, it primarily focuses on providing a highly performant and scalable storefront with out-of-the-box features, rather than an extensive ecosystem of modules.

5. Front-end Experience: Saleor provides a basic, fully functional front-end storefront out of the box. It offers a clean and minimalist design that can be easily customized and branded to match the business requirements. On the other hand, Vue Storefront provides a highly customizable and visually impressive front-end experience. It offers various features such as server-side rendering and offline shopping capabilities, making it suitable for creating engaging and user-friendly shopping experiences.

6. Community and Support: Saleor has a strong and active community of developers and contributors, providing continuous updates and support for the platform. It has an extensive documentation library and community forums for assistance. Vue Storefront also has an active community and provides support through forums and GitHub repositories. However, due to its specific focus as a storefront, Saleor offers a broader and more comprehensive community and support ecosystem.

In summary, Saleor and Vue Storefront differ in terms of customization capabilities, technology stack, API-driven architecture, modularity, front-end experience, and community support. While Saleor offers extensive customization and flexibility, Vue Storefront focuses on providing a highly performant and visually impressive front-end storefront.