Saleor
Swell
| Feature | Saleor | Swell |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $300/mo | Free / from $299/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | developer-teams, enterprise-ecommerce, multi-channel-retailers, graphql-enthusiasts | developers, subscription-businesses, custom-ecommerce, b2b-commerce |
| Founded | 2018 | 2016 |
| Graphql Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Channel | ✓ | ✗ |
| Dashboard | ✓ | ✗ |
| Webhooks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Apps System | ✓ | ✗ |
| Warehouse Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Promotions Engine | ✓ | ✗ |
| Headless Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Subscriptions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Currency | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Models | ✗ | ✓ |
| Admin Dashboard | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Saleor Pros
- GraphQL API-first architecture for modern frontends
- Enterprise features in free open-source edition
- Strong multi-channel commerce capabilities
- Built-in dashboard with excellent UX
✗ Saleor Cons
- Cloud hosting is expensive for startups
- Smaller community than Shopify/WooCommerce
- Self-hosting requires Python/Django expertise
✓ Swell Pros
- Extremely flexible API
- Built-in subscription support
- Good for unique business models
- Developer-friendly
✗ Swell Cons
- Requires development resources
- Expensive for small stores
- Smaller ecosystem
The Verdict
Saleor is built for developer teams and enterprise ecommerce, with a focus on graphql-api and multi-channel. Swell targets developers and subscription businesses and leads with headless-api and subscriptions.
Pricing is close: Swell starts at $299/mo versus $300/mo for Saleor — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Saleor offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Swell takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.