Frontastic alternative for Norce and Shopware teams
Frontastic was acquired by commercetools in 2021 and now ships as commercetools Frontend. The backend-neutral product positioning effectively ended at acquisition. For merchants not committed to commercetools, here is the honest alternative.
Frontastic was a composable frontend platform until commercetools acquired it in November 2021. The product still ships, now as commercetools Frontend, but the standalone backend-neutral positioning is gone. This page is for merchants on Frontastic or evaluating it today — covering what changed, what the migration options actually are, and where Frntkey fits.
- Backend-neutral, not commercetools-locked
- Vue and Nuxt stack
- Norce and Shopware native
- Implementation included
Benefits
Frontastic is now commercetools Frontend
Frontastic as a standalone product is effectively dormant. It was absorbed into the commercetools platform after the November 2021 acquisition and now ships as commercetools Frontend. The roadmap follows commercetools, not the original Frontastic vision.
Norce and Shopware-native, not commercetools-shaped
Frntkey is built around Norce Commerce and Shopware as the primary backends. The original Frontastic appeal was backend-neutrality. If your commerce engine is not commercetools, a backend-aligned alternative beats inheriting a commercetools-shaped frontend.
Vue and Nuxt instead of React
Frntkey is built on Vue and Nuxt with Tailwind. Frontastic and commercetools Frontend center on a React studio model. The framework choice shapes hiring, maintenance, and the long-term cost of ownership.
Implementation included, not separate
Frntkey is sold with implementation by Nordic Web Team included. You get a product license plus a team that has shipped dozens of headless storefronts. commercetools Frontend is a product license alone — delivery is handled separately.
Where Frontastic actually went
Frontastic launched in 2017 in Münster, Germany, as a composable frontend platform. It paired an API hub, developer tooling, and a visual Studio for marketing teams. The pitch was straightforward: a backend-neutral frontend layer for headless commerce, with a content composition tool that non-developers could actually use.
commercetools acquired Frontastic in November 2021. The product was renamed commercetools Frontend and folded into the commercetools platform. The original backend-neutral positioning narrowed. The Studio model continues, but it now sits inside the commercetools product family rather than as a standalone composable frontend that any commerce backend can plug into.
The practical implication for anyone evaluating Frontastic today: the product is alive, but it is a commercetools product. If your commerce engine is something else, you are choosing a frontend whose integration depth, roadmap, and pricing follow commercetools priorities.
If you are on Frontastic today
Merchants currently running Frontastic typically fall into one of three migration paths:
- Stay on commercetools and adopt commercetools Frontend. If the commerce engine is commercetools and the existing Studio workflow works for the business team, this is the least disruptive path. The product is the same with a new name.
- Move the frontend to Alokai while staying on commercetools. Alokai is the leading backend-neutral alternative for commercetools-backed projects. The framework approach is closer to the original Frontastic philosophy of a frontend independent from the commerce engine.
- Move both backend and frontend. Merchants who are reconsidering commercetools entirely have a wider range of options. Norce Commerce and Shopware are the two backends where Frntkey is the natural frontend choice. This is the path Frntkey is built for.
The right migration depends almost entirely on the backend decision. Frontastic was a frontend product, but its successor is a backend-coupled frontend product. The conversation has shifted from "which frontend" to "which commerce backend, and which frontend that backend pairs with."
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | commercetools Frontend (Frontastic) | Frntkey |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Active as part of the commercetools platform. Standalone Frontastic brand discontinued. | Active product, regularly updated |
| Backend orientation | commercetools first. Other backends supported but not the focus. | Norce and Shopware native. Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce project-based. |
| Frontend framework | React-based, with Studio composition layer | Nuxt.js, Vue.js, Tailwind CSS |
| CMS | commercetools Studio for content composition | Storyblok bundled |
| Delivery model | Product license. Delivery handled by separate systems integrator. | Product + implementation by Nordic Web Team included |
| Pricing model | Enterprise license, typically negotiated as part of broader commercetools contract | Monthly SaaS subscription + fixed setup project |
| Typical timeline | Depends on systems integrator scope, typically multiple months | 6 to 12 weeks to launch |
| B2B features | Available through commercetools B2B. Separate evaluation. | Price lists, order history, quickorder, invoice payment ship in baseline |
When commercetools Frontend is the right pick
commercetools Frontend is the right answer when:
- The commerce engine is commercetools and is staying that way. First-party integration is real and matters at scale.
- The Studio-driven visual composition model is genuinely useful to the business team. Some teams love it; others find it gets in the way. If yours uses it well, do not give it up.
- The procurement preference is a single vendor for backend and frontend. This is common in enterprise organizations and is a legitimate basis for the decision.
- The team is React-native and the hiring market for React engineers is the right one for the merchant's location.
When Frntkey is the right pick
Frntkey is the better fit when:
- The commerce backend is or is moving to Norce or Shopware. Frntkey is built natively for both, with B2B features included in baseline.
- The team prefers Vue and Nuxt over React. This is a long-horizon decision: framework choice shapes hiring and maintenance cost over the next five years.
- Time to market matters. A productized SaaS frontend with implementation included reaches production faster than a commercetools Frontend project delivered through a separate systems integrator.
- The merchant wants a CMS (Storyblok) included in the product rather than evaluated as a separate purchase.
The honest summary
Frontastic was a strong composable frontend. After the commercetools acquisition the standalone product effectively ended, and the successor is a commercetools-aligned frontend that follows the commercetools roadmap. The right comparison today is not Frntkey vs Frontastic. It is Frntkey vs commercetools Frontend, and the decision is mostly about which commerce backend you are committing to.
For Norce and Shopware merchants, Frntkey is the natural answer. For commercetools merchants who want to stay on the platform, commercetools Frontend or Alokai are the natural answers. For merchants migrating off commercetools entirely, the backend decision should come first; the frontend follows.
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