Axnify vs Medusa

Open-source flex vs ship-today SaaS.

Medusa is the modular open-source commerce engine for teams who want to build everything. Axnify is the same surface area as a managed SaaS with a default storefront and admin.

TL;DR

Medusa is excellent if you have a TypeScript team, want to own your commerce stack end-to-end, and have weeks to build the storefront. Axnify is excellent if you want a working store today and an API for the bits you do want to customise.

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Axnify

Managed SaaS with API.

Pricing

Free · £19 · £59 · £299

Best for

Teams who don't want to maintain a commerce engine.

Where it shines

Built-in storefront and admin
REST API for customisation
53 features included — reviews, loyalty, B2B
Stripe Direct Charges, multi-currency, multi-language

Medusa

Modular open-source commerce.

Pricing

Free (self-hosted) · Medusa Cloud private

Best for

Engineering teams committed to a fully owned commerce stack.

Where it shines

Open-source MIT licence
Node.js / TypeScript-native
Modular plugin architecture
Active community + Next.js starter

Feature comparison

Built-in (yes) vs not available (no) vs limited (caveat) vs paid add-on (price shown). Prices reflect typical published pricing.

Feature	Axnify	Medusa
What's already done for you
Production-ready storefront		Starter; needs work
Admin UI
Hosted infrastructure
Reviews / loyalty / referrals
Multi-currency / multi-language
Subscriptions		Plugin / DIY
B2B quotations		Plugin / DIY

Cost to ship a real store

Medusa self-hosted is free of licence cost. The actual cost is engineering hours.

Axnify

Total

£19/month

Axnify Pro — ready to sell same day
£19

Medusa stack

Total

≈ £20,000+ to ship

Medusa licence
£0
Storefront build (Next.js)
£10,000+
Hosting + DevOps setup
£3,000+
Custom plugin development (reviews, loyalty)
£7,000+

Honest section

Where Medusa wins

We're not pretending we're the right tool for every store. Here's where the alternative is genuinely stronger.

Code ownership

Medusa is MIT-licensed. You own the entire stack and can self-host on any infrastructure.

Node.js native

If your team is fluent in Node, working inside the Medusa modules is faster than working through our REST API.

Custom commerce models

Medusa's module system supports unusual commerce models (auctions, marketplaces, peer-to-peer) more easily than an opinionated SaaS.

Why merchants move to Axnify

Spent 4 weeks on the Medusa storefront before launch
Wanted features (reviews, loyalty) without writing plugins
Didn't want to operate a Node.js + Postgres + Redis stack
Migrated to Axnify and shipped in a day

Medusa → Axnify

1
Export products via Medusa Admin API
2
Customer + order migration via API mapping
3
Storefront — either rebuild via our editor or repoint a custom Next.js frontend at our REST API

Frequently asked

Can I run Medusa for my custom logic and Axnify for the storefront?

Not natively — they're separate platforms with their own data models. You'd need to sync products via API, which is doable but adds operational complexity.

What's the equivalent of Medusa's module system in Axnify?

Our outbound webhooks + REST API. We don't have an in-platform plugin system; custom logic runs in your own services and talks to ours via API.

Can you help me move my data from another platform?

Absolutely. Email support@axnify.com with the export file from your current platform — we accept Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Squarespace, Big Cartel, Gumroad, Sellfy and most other common formats. Our team handles the migration of your products, variants, customers and orders end-to-end, free of charge for standard imports.