Spree Commerce Version Comparison: Community Edition vs Enterprise Edition
Spree Commerce is an open-source eCommerce platform giving you full control and customizability. Spree is being used by thousands of businesses around the world. Spree also comes as an Enterprise Edition with more features, more security, more integrations enabling you to go live faster and get all the latest improvements first. So what sets both versions apart?
To help you pick the right solution for your project we’ll shortly summarize the key differences between the Community Edition (free license & open-source) and the Enterprise Edition (paid license & source-available) of Spree Commerce.
Feel free to review this tabular Community Edition vs Enterprise Edition comparison as well.
Spree gives you freedom
Spree is a free, open-source eCommerce solution with almost 13 thousand stars on Github and over 6 thousand members on Slack. It is the foundation for thousands of eCommerce websites and several multi-tenant SaaS platforms.
Spree comes at no cost but requires you to take your time and apply your skills to build what you need by yourself and with no official support.
Once you’ve developed what you need, you’ll need to take your time to maintain it with bug fixes, security fixes, Ruby and Rails upgrades and any other updates required. Indefinitely.
That’s why we call it the Community Edition as it’s best suited for small or hobby projects using only free open-source software. This Spree version gives you the freedom to develop anything you need and self-host it using a provider of your choosing but at a cost of your own time.
Vendo saves you time
Vendo is a source-available eCommerce solution based on Spree. Vendo has been built over the years for demanding eCommerce and Retail businesses and comes with many features pre-built as well as support & training services.
Vendo comes at a monthly or annual license cost. Since its source code is available to paying customers, Vendo is fully customizable to any and all complex use cases. As a Vendo customer, you may count not only on regular updates, new improved features and integrations, but also email and slack support from the team behind both Spree and Vendo.
That’s why we call it the Enterprise Edition as it is the preferred solution for medium to large projects. It shortens time-to-market, reduces project delivery risks and cuts the internal costs of ownership – maintenance, upgrades, feature and integration development.
Vendo may be self-hosted by your in-house team or in a private cloud managed by the Vendo team. We’ve been able to scale Vendo installations to 15 thousand concurrent customers on checkout and over 1 million products.
We’ve found that many businesses prefer to start quick and easy with setup or customizations delivered by the Vendo team to later transition to their in-house dev and devops teams once the project is up and running.
What features and use cases is Vendo good for?
Vendo is a feature-rich, fully customizable, source-available, self-hosted eCommerce platform designed for demanding customers who simply can’t use a SaaS solution like Shopify or BigCommerce and don’t necessarily have the time, the necessary experience, or the in-house resources to deliver what they need on top of Spree Community Edition.
Vendo is particularly well-suited for customers with complex use cases such as:
- B2B eCommerce / Wholesale: Vendo supports multi-step sales processes, B2B payment methods, long-term and demanding post-purchase interactions, and numerous ERP or CRM integrations. This makes it ideal for businesses dealing with complex B2B transactions and relationships.
- Multi-vendor marketplaces: Vendo facilitates easy vendor onboarding, two-way & real-time inventory sync as well as order sync. It also provides easy marketplace merchandising, automated payment splitting, vendor payouts, marketplace taxes, and efficient handling of returns and refunds.
- Shoppable editorial content: Vendo allows you to embed shoppable products into editorial content, enabling customers to add products to their cart directly from listicles or product review articles without leaving the blog post. This feature enhances the user experience and increases conversion rates.
- Multi-tenant eCommerce / white-label eCommerce SaaS: Vendo excels in creating multi-tenant eCommerce platforms, allowing businesses to manage multiple stores for their customers, dealers or resellers, or business lines. Some example use cases include:
- Manufacturing businesses working with a local dealer or reseller network
- Franchise businesses managing multiple locations
- Companies offering eCommerce as a service to their clients
- Multi-store eCommerce: Vendo supports complex multi-store setups, allowing businesses to manage multiple storefronts with different domains, currencies, and languages from a single backend. This is ideal for:
- International businesses operating in multiple countries
- Companies with distinct brands or product lines requiring separate storefronts
- Businesses wanting to test different markets or customer segments with tailored storefronts
- Multi-currency and multi-language eCommerce: Vendo provides robust support for multi-currency and multi-language operations, making it perfect for businesses expanding globally. This includes:
- Multi-currency sales
- Language-specific content management
- Localized checkout processes
- Region-specific payment methods and shipping options
Feel free to review this tabular Community Edition vs Enterprise Edition comparison.
Can I use Spree Community Edition for the above use cases?
In all of these use cases, using Spree Community Edition as a foundation is certainly possible. Vendo itself has been built by the Spree core team on top of Spree open-source over the years. So it’s a living proof that it can be done.
The question, however, is do you have the time, the necessary experience, or the in-house resources to deliver what you need on top of Spree Community Edition. Building complex eCommerce solutions on top of open-source software requires:
- Skilled eCommerce developers with expertise in Ruby on Rails and eCommerce
- UX/UI designers to create intuitive user interfaces
- DevOps engineers for deployment and infrastructure management
- QA specialists to ensure robust, bug-free operations
- Project managers to coordinate development efforts
- Significant time investment, starting at 6-12 months for complex projects
- Ongoing maintenance and support resources
More importantly, once you’ve delivered what you need on top of Spree open-source, you’d need to keep it alive with ongoing:
- Bug fixes
- Security fixes
- Ruby and Rails upgrades
- Any other updates required
Having the freedom to develop your own custom app on top of Spree open-source comes with a trade-off of having to finance and manage its further development and maintenance often leading to:
- Tech debt
- Customer-facing issues
- Business continuity issues
- Unsustainable projects: low conversions, lost sales, no hope of improvement in sight
Going it alone, in time, doesn’t make much sense given the cheaper and more convenient alternatives.
By choosing Vendo, you can leverage pre-built features, ongoing support, and regular updates, allowing you to focus on your core business rather than eCommerce platform development and maintenance.
Why Vendo and not a popular SaaS platform?
In the era of Shopify, customizing source code or self-hosting may seem counterintuitive. However, for many businesses, particularly B2B/wholesale operations, VC-funded or fundraising startups, and enterprise eCommerce projects, a source-available and self-hosted solution like Vendo offers compelling advantages compared to SaaS platforms, which might be too limiting for their needs.
SaaS platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce offer convenience and quick setup but often fall short when it comes to complex, customized eCommerce needs. They typically have limitations on customization (eg. checkout), integration capabilities, and scalability that can hinder growth for businesses with unique requirements.
Vendo goes beyond the constraints of typical SaaS platforms, offering:
- Access to source code: Allows for deep customization and integration possibilities that SaaS platforms simply can’t match.
- Full customization capabilities: Tailor every aspect of your eCommerce platform to your exact business needs and processes.
- Self-hosting options for complete control: Maintain full control over your data, security, and infrastructure.
- Scalability to meet growing business needs: Unlike SaaS platforms with tiered pricing and feature limitations, Vendo can scale nicely to meet your business growth.
- Bespoke integration flexibility beyond any SaaS limitations: Integrate seamlessly with any existing systems or third-party services without the constraints imposed by SaaS platforms.
- Stability not achievable with SaaS solutions: SaaS platforms are ever-evolving and transforming, which can disrupt your business processes. With Vendo, you control when and how your platform changes.
Take aways
Whichever is the right solution for your project, the Community Edition (free & open-source) or the Enterprise Edition (paid license & source-available) of Spree Commerce, you may count on full customizability, total control and ownership unlike with other eCommerce platforms.
Spree Commerce offers the flexibility and power to create truly unique and tailored eCommerce experiences. Whether you choose the Community Edition for its open-source freedom or the Enterprise Edition (Vendo) for its time-saving features and support, you’re investing in a platform that can grow and adapt with your business needs.
Remember, Spree gives you freedom, and Vendo saves you time. Choose the version that aligns best with your resources, timeline, and long-term eCommerce goals.
