Choosing between Magento vs. Shopify comes down to one core question: do you need to own your infrastructure, or do you need to get out of the infrastructure business? Magento (Adobe Commerce) is a self-hosted, open-source eCommerce platform suited to enterprises with complex B2B workflows, large custom catalogs, or multi-store requirements. Shopify is a fully hosted SaaS platform and the better choice for the majority of growing businesses – faster setup, predictable costs, and no server management required. This guide covers the key differences across pricing, customization, scalability, SEO, B2B features, and total cost of ownership to help you decide.
🚀 Quick takeaway
Shopify wins for roughly 80% of merchants in 2026 – faster setup, predictable all-in costs, and no servers to manage. Magento (Adobe Commerce) is the right call for the other 20%: complex B2B pricing, catalogs above 50,000 SKUs, multi-store setups, or full source-code ownership. The dominant 2025-2026 migration direction is Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus, driven by rising total cost of ownership and shrinking Magento developer supply.
Magento vs. Shopify: key differences
Shopify is the better choice for most growing businesses in 2026 – faster setup, predictable costs, and zero server management required. Magento (Adobe Commerce) is right when you need custom B2B workflows, proprietary checkout logic, complex catalogs, or full infrastructure ownership. The magento vs. shopify pros and cons below summarize the key trade-offs. The dominant migration direction in 2025-2026 is Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus, driven by rising total cost of ownership and Magento developer talent scarcity.
- Magento (Adobe Commerce) is open-source and fully customizable, while Shopify is a fully managed SaaS platform where infrastructure, security and updates are Shopify’s responsibility.
- Shopify powered 4.8M+ active stores and processed $378 billion GMV in 2025, while Adobe Commerce facilitates approximately $173 billion annual GMV at approximately 8% global market share.
- Realistic annual TCO: Magento Open Source $30,000-$80,000+ (hosting + developer + security), versus Shopify standard plans at $5,000-$15,000/year.
- In 2025-2026, the dominant migration direction is Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus – rising TCO, Magento developer scarcity, and Shopify’s expanding enterprise feature set are driving the change.
Magento vs. Shopify: platform overview
Magento and Shopify consistently emerge as the top contenders for eCommerce businesses. The magento vs. shopify comparison table below covers the key differences at a glance:
| Category | Magento (Adobe Commerce) | Shopify |
| Platform type | Open-source / self-hosted | Fully hosted SaaS |
| Monthly cost | Free OS + $100-500/mo hosting, ~$30K+/yr Adobe | $39-$399/mo (Plus ~$2,300/mo) |
| Technical skill | High – dedicated dev team required | Low – no coding needed |
| Customization | Unlimited (full source code access) | Moderate (apps + Liquid + Shopify Functions) |
| Security | Self-managed (owner’s responsibility) | Managed (PCI DSS L1 included) |
| B2B features | Native B2B module (company accounts, RFQ, custom pricing) | B2B on Shopify Plus only |
| Best for | Complex enterprise, B2B, 50K+ SKU catalogs | SMBs to fast-growing mid-market |
Here are some further key differences between the two platforms:
- Magento is an open-source solution, giving users full autonomy over their site and offering almost unlimited customization capabilities for larger enterprises with complex requirements.
- Shopify, on the other hand, has an intuitive interface and pre-designed themes, catering to small and medium-sized businesses and making it easy for merchants to set up their online store.
- One notable difference is the availability of extensions and apps: Magento boasts over 3,500 extensions, while Shopify offers 7,000+ apps in its marketplace.
When it comes to functionality, Magento takes the lead by offering features such as multilingual capabilities and advanced sales tools. Shopify is competitive too, with built-in Google Analytics integration and a good app market. Taking these fundamental differences into account, we will further examine the distinct aspects of both platforms to aid your choice of the right online business platform.
What sets Magento apart?
Magento’s strength lies in its customization capabilities, scalability, and advanced features, making it the go-to platform for larger businesses with detailed requirements. This eCommerce solution allows businesses to:
- Create a truly unique online store that reflects their brand identity
- Cater to their target audience
- Use popular extensions such as Mageplaza and Magezon
- Access countless design and theme options for experienced users
With Magento, no two stores look alike.
Since its acquisition by Adobe, Magento is now officially Adobe Commerce – the open-source community edition remains free, while Adobe Commerce (enterprise) starts at approximately $30,000/year, scaling with GMV. With the deep features of Magento (Adobe Commerce), Shopify can’t quite match it on customization depth. Moreover, Magento’s Adobe Commerce Marketplace offers 3,500+ extensions, with many more available through third-party marketplaces including Mageplaza and Magezon.
For Magento, you may need a web hosting provider to handle PCI compliance, which keeps credit card data processing secure. scandiweb offers dedicated Adobe Commerce (Magento) development services for teams building on or migrating from Magento.
Shopify’s edge in eCommerce
Shopify is designed with small to medium-sized businesses in mind, offering an easy-to-use interface, themes, and a good selection of apps. Its ease of use and broad toolset are particularly useful for first-time entrepreneurs and businesses with limited budgets. Shopify’s all-in-one website builder provides a straightforward way to create a basic eCommerce site without coding knowledge. This, however, can create certain constraints.
One of the standout features of Shopify is its compatibility with more than 100 payment gateways, making it accessible to businesses worldwide. Shopify waives its 0.5-2% third-party gateway transaction fee entirely for merchants using Shopify Payments, available in 20+ countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of Europe. Shopify Magic – built-in AI tools for product descriptions, email content and customer analytics – is bundled at no extra cost across all Shopify plans. Overall, Shopify is an ideal choice for an easier and more user-friendly approach to eCommerce.
Magento vs. Shopify pricing and total cost of ownership

Shopify plans cost $39-$399/month all-inclusive – hosting, security and PCI compliance are bundled. Magento Open Source is free but realistic annual costs run $30,000-$80,000+ when hosting ($100-500/mo), developer time ($80-200/hr, minimum 10-20 hrs/month), and annual upgrade costs are factored in. Adobe Commerce enterprise licenses commonly run $22,000 to $125,000+ per year depending on GMV, while Magento Open Source is free to download but typically costs $5,000 to $90,000+ annually once hosting, development, and maintenance are included (Magefan, 2026). On a Shopify vs. Magento total cost of ownership basis, Shopify is far lower for most merchants. When selecting an eCommerce platform, pricing is a critical factor. Magento’s open-source software model requires separate costs for hosting, security, and extensions, which can greatly affect the overall cost of running an online store. In contrast, Shopify provides a subscription-based model, offering three main pricing tiers, with hosting, security, and additional features included in the monthly plans.
Considering the costs of themes and extensions, Magento’s options can be quite expensive, with some extensions costing thousands of dollars. Shopify’s themes, on the other hand, have a more affordable price range.
We will further look at the design and customization options offered by both platforms.
Understanding Magento’s pricing model
Magento’s open-source software model entails additional costs for hosting, security, and extensions, making it a more expensive option for businesses with limited budgets. The cost of hosting for a Magento store can vary widely, depending on the hosting plan and the scope of the store.
It’s worth noting the distinction between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce. The open-source edition is free, while Adobe Commerce (enterprise) starts at approximately $30,000/year, scaling with GMV. Adobe Commerce Cloud – Magento’s fully managed cloud hosting option on Adobe infrastructure – removes the server management burden at additional cost. A typical Magento Open Source store with one in-house developer costs $30,000-$80,000/year: hosting $100-500/mo, developer at $80-200/hr for 10-20 hours/month minimum, and annual security and version upgrades $2,500-$4,000 each.
If you’ve decided on Magento as your preferred eCommerce platform, it’s important to explore the differences between Magento editions and select the one that aligns with your specific requirements.
Exploring Shopify plans
Shopify provides a more predictable and straightforward pricing structure. Plans are $39/$105/$399 per month on annual billing, or $49/$132/$499 billed monthly – annual billing saves approximately 20%.
For businesses requiring enterprise functionality, Shopify Plus is available from approximately $2,300/month (or 0.25% of monthly revenue above $800K). Shopify Plus includes Shopify Flow no-code automation, customizable checkout scripting via Shopify Functions, B2B company accounts with buyer hierarchies and net payment terms, and a dedicated merchant success manager. With Shopify’s pricing plans, merchants can easily determine their monthly expenses, making it an attractive option for those looking for a more budget-friendly eCommerce solution.
Design and customization
Design and customization matter when building an online store, as they help create a favorable first impression and showcase your brand’s personality. Magento and Shopify both offer a range of design options and customization capabilities, allowing businesses to create unique and visually appealing storefronts. However, the process and difficulty of achieving this differ greatly between the two platforms.
Magento is known for its extensive customization options and theme choices, catering to businesses with detailed requirements and a desire for a truly unique online store. Shopify focuses on ease of use and a more streamlined design process, offering a range of customizable themes that suit small and medium-sized businesses.
Tailoring your online store with Magento
Magento offers businesses a high degree of customization and flexibility, allowing them to create a truly unique online store tailored to their brand. With popular extensions such as Mageplaza and Magezon, Magento provides a wide range of design and theme options for experienced users, ensuring that no two stores look alike. The Magento Marketplace also supports a diverse range of product types and sources, as well as managing inventory across different warehouse locations.
The level of customization in Magento often requires the skills of a professional developer, especially for custom themes and advanced features. This can be a barrier for those with limited resources or technical skills. Notable cases exist, such as Läderach receiving the Design Curve Award during the 2023 Meet Magento NYC event.
Customizing Shopify themes
In 2026, Shopify’s library includes 220+ themes. The Dawn theme – built on Shopify’s Online Store 2.0 architecture – delivers strong Core Web Vitals scores out of the box, reducing the need for post-launch performance optimization. Shopify simplifies the design process, making it more accessible and user-friendly. It offers a variety of customizable themes designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. With its straightforward drag-and-drop builder, merchants can create and customize their online store without any coding knowledge. This is particularly useful for those without a background in web development, as it lets them focus on the creative side of their store rather than the technical details.
Shopify’s themes are also designed to be mobile-responsive, giving customers a smooth shopping experience across all devices. This matters because more and more consumers shop on smartphones and tablets, and Shopify has made it a priority to ensure themes look and function well everywhere.
Shopify offers a variety of themes to suit different industries and styles. There’s a Shopify theme suited to your business, whether you’re selling handmade crafts, digital products, or high-end fashion. This lets you build a store that looks attractive and reflects your brand identity, appealing to your specific target audience, as shown by Mil-Coffee.
Functionality and scalability: Magento vs. Shopify

Magento (Adobe Commerce) leads for complex enterprise requirements: catalogs with 50,000+ SKUs and custom attributes, proprietary B2B pricing logic, multi-store architectures managed from one admin, and custom checkout flows. Shopify scales well for most merchants via managed infrastructure and 8,000+ apps – and Shopify Functions (2023+) now allow developers to extend core checkout, discount and shipping logic, narrowing the customization gap with Magento. For Shopify vs. Magento B2B use cases, Magento’s native B2B module – covering company accounts, purchase order approval, and RFQ workflows – is still the stronger choice. The functionality and scalability of an eCommerce platform are critical when considering the growth and expansion of your business. Magento is known for its strong features and extensive customization, allowing it to work for businesses with complex requirements and growth plans. In contrast, Shopify offers a range of apps and features designed to support business expansion.
The following sections cover the specific functionality and scalability features of both Magento and Shopify, showing how each platform can support your business’s growth and development.
Expanding with Magento
Magento’s scalability and flexibility make it a good choice for businesses with complex needs and ambitious growth plans. Its open-source nature allows for deep customization, while its features cater to businesses of all sizes. Magento’s ability to run multiple websites and stores from a single backend system also makes it a strong tool for those looking to expand into new markets or diversify their product range.
With Magento’s advanced inventory management features and detailed reporting capabilities, large businesses with complex needs can manage their operations and gain useful insights into their performance. Adobe Commerce facilitates approximately $173 billion in annual GMV globally and powers roughly 130,000 live stores, though store counts are declining about 11% year over year (Store Leads, 2026), with particular strength in B2B, multi-brand retail, and complex product catalog scenarios. The Magento developer talent pool is contracting – the community is shifting toward JavaScript ecosystems and Shopify’s larger app-based development model. For the full picture, see our data-backed look at whether Magento is dying. Factor talent availability and retention cost into any long-term Magento platform decision.
Growing with Shopify
Shopify offers a more straightforward approach to growth, with a range of apps and features designed to support business expansion. Its platform lets merchants create and customize their online stores, while its built-in marketing suite makes it easy to promote products and reach a wider audience. For businesses requiring more advanced features, Shopify Plus offers tailored solutions for high-growth companies.
Shopify processed $378 billion in GMV in 2025, up roughly 30% year over year (Digital Commerce 360) – more than triple the $119 billion it processed in 2020, confirming the platform handles enterprise-scale traffic reliably. Shopify Functions (2023+) allow developers to extend Shopify’s core business logic, including checkout rules, discount algorithms and shipping calculations, closing a meaningful gap with Magento. With Shopify’s user-friendly inventory tools and basic reporting features, small to medium-sized businesses can manage their operations and gain useful insights into their Shopify store performance. While it may not offer the same level of customization and scalability as Magento, Shopify’s ease of use and broad toolset make it an attractive option for businesses looking for a more straightforward solution. For expert help implementing or growing a Shopify store, explore scandiweb’s Shopify eCommerce development services.
Payment solutions and checkout experience
The payment solutions and checkout experience offered by an eCommerce platform play a key role in a smooth and satisfying customer journey. Both Magento and Shopify provide a variety of payment gateway options and transaction fee structures, catering to the needs of businesses and their customers.
Let’s review the specific payment solutions and checkout experiences offered by Magento and Shopify. This will help you make a well-informed decision on the platform that best fits your business requirements.
Magento’s payment flexibility
Magento offers a wide range of payment gateways and flexibility, helping international merchants and various currency users. Magento’s compatibility with popular payment gateways such as PayPal, Braintree, and Authorize.net gives customers worldwide a smooth checkout experience. Magento supports over 120 currencies and various payment methods, giving international merchants the flexibility they need.
Despite offering a wide array of payment options, unlike Shopify, Magento does not have its own payment processor. Businesses must rely on third-party payment gateways – and crucially, Magento charges no platform-level transaction fees whatsoever. Merchants pay only the payment processor’s own standard rate, regardless of which gateway they use.
Shopify payments and external gateways
Shopify Payments provides a smooth checkout experience for customers, with easy integration for credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal. By managing payments directly within the Shopify dashboard, merchants can keep the process efficient for both themselves and their customers. Shopify’s 0.5-2% external gateway fee is waived entirely when merchants use Shopify Payments, which supports 20+ countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of Europe.
Shopify’s wide range of supported payment gateways means businesses can cater to their customers’ preferred payment methods, regardless of location. Consider the potential fees that come with external payment gateways and balance these costs with the convenience and accessibility they offer.
Is Shopify or Magento Better for SEO?

Magento (Adobe Commerce) gives more granular technical SEO control – full URL structure freedom, unrestricted robots.txt configuration, and deep schema markup customization with no enforced path prefixes. Shopify automates core SEO tasks well – sitemaps, canonical tags, mobile-responsive themes – but cannot remove the mandatory /products/ URL prefix. For most product-focused stores, the practical ranking difference between platforms is small on a Shopify vs. Magento SEO comparison basis. Content quality, site speed, and backlink profile matter more than platform choice. Effective marketing tools and search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities are essential for driving traffic and sales to your eCommerce store. Both Magento and Shopify offer a range of built-in features and third-party extensions to help businesses optimize their online presence and reach their target audience.
There is a lot to explore when talking about the marketing tools and SEO capabilities of Magento and Shopify.
Magento’s SEO features and marketing extensions
Magento is known for its advanced SEO features, letting businesses optimize their online store for search engines. Some of the SEO features offered by Magento include:
- Customizable anchor text for navigation links
- H1 tags
- Canonical tags
- Robots.txt file
- Sitemap.xml
With these SEO tools, businesses can improve their search engine rankings and drive more traffic to their store.
In addition to its built-in SEO features, Magento offers a range of marketing extensions to further support your store’s online presence. Some popular extensions include:
- Omnisend
- Klaviyo
- Metrilo
- HubSpot
- SendInBlue
- MailChimp
These Magento extensions provide features for email marketing, sales reports, customer insights, and more. By using Magento’s SEO features and marketing extensions, businesses can target their audience and improve sales. Adobe Sensei – Adobe Commerce’s native AI layer – provides predictive analytics and personalized product recommendations for enterprise merchants, built directly into the commerce platform without a third-party app.
Shopify’s integrated marketing suite
Shopify provides an integrated marketing suite that makes it easy for merchants to:
- Promote their products
- Reach a wider audience
- Integrate with social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest
- Advertise and sell directly through these channels
- Increase brand visibility and customer reach
Shopify also offers a range of third-party marketing tools and Shopify apps available in the Shopify App Store, such as Klaviyo, Buffer, Automizely, Carro, AdRoll, Vimeo, Tidio, and Postscript. These tools support various marketing campaigns and strategies. Shopify Magic generates SEO-optimized product descriptions, email subject lines and blog content directly in the Shopify admin at no extra cost – bundled with all plans from Basic upward. With its user-friendly interface and broad toolset, Shopify is an ideal choice for businesses looking to organize their marketing efforts and drive sales.
Support and community resources
When choosing an eCommerce platform, the availability of support and community resources is key to a smooth and successful experience. Both Magento and Shopify offer a range of support options, including customer care, online resources, and active communities, to help users navigate the challenges of building and managing an online store.
Looking at the support and community resources available for Magento and Shopify users points out the advantages and disadvantages of each platform’s approach to customer service.
Assistance for Magento users
While Magento offers user guides and support tools, it lacks a dedicated support team, which can be a drawback for businesses with limited resources or technical skills. Magento users rely on the knowledge base, community forum, and third-party support services for assistance, which can mean slower response times and a lack of personalized support for individual issues.
Despite this, Magento’s community is active and engaged, offering a wealth of knowledge and resources for users to learn from and share experiences. This collaborative approach can be useful for businesses looking to tap into a broader pool of knowledge.
Shopify’s customer care approach
Shopify provides dedicated customer support, with a focus on user-friendly resources and an active community. Shopify offers 24/7 support through phone, email, and live chat, so users can get help whenever they need it. The Shopify Help Center, user forums, and social media channels also offer plenty of information and resources for users to learn from and share experiences.
Shopify’s customer care is particularly useful for businesses with limited technical skills, as it provides a more accessible and supportive environment for users to navigate the challenges of building and managing an online store.
Inventory management and analytics insights

Inventory management and analytics insights are critical components of any successful eCommerce business, helping to optimize operations and drive sales.
Magento and Shopify provide features and tools for effective inventory oversight and reporting, letting businesses monitor stock levels, manage backorders, and control multiple stocks.
Inventory oversight with Magento
Magento’s inventory management features and detailed reporting capabilities make it a good choice for large businesses with complex needs. Some of the key features of Magento include:
- Detailed stock management system updated automatically and in real-time
- Ability to manage inventory across different warehouse locations, product types, or sources
- Range of reports related to sales, products, customers, and promotions
These features help businesses gain useful insights into their performance and manage their inventory.
In summary, Magento’s inventory oversight gives businesses the tools and insights needed to manage their operations and optimize their sales performance.
Shopify analytics and inventory tools
Shopify offers the following features for inventory management and reporting:
- User-friendly inventory tools
- Basic reporting features
- Integrated inventory management system
- Ability to monitor inventory levels
- Adjust inventory levels within the Inventory section of the Shopify admin
- Analytics page for detailed data analysis
- Financial reports
- Product analytics
These features cater to the needs of small to medium-sized businesses.
Although Shopify’s reporting features may not be as advanced as those offered by Magento, its user-friendly tools and straightforward approach make it an attractive option for businesses looking for a more accessible eCommerce solution.
Shopify Plus vs. Adobe Commerce: enterprise platform comparison
When comparing Shopify Plus vs. Magento Enterprise – including Shopify Plus vs. Magento 2 (Adobe Commerce) – the key distinction is infrastructure model and B2B capability. Shopify Plus, from approximately $2,300/month, excels at B2C scale, managed infrastructure, and no-code workflow automation via Shopify Flow. Adobe Commerce (Magento enterprise), from approximately $30,000/year, leads for complex B2B workflows (RFQ, custom quoting, ERP-integrated pricing), proprietary checkout logic, true multi-store from one admin, and large catalogs with deep custom product attributes. Choose Shopify Plus if you want predictable costs and managed infrastructure, or Adobe Commerce if you need full source code control or complex B2B functionality that Shopify’s architecture cannot accommodate.
Shopify Plus strengths include Shopify Flow no-code automation for order logic, fraud rules and loyalty workflows, Shopify Functions for extending checkout, discounts and shipping logic in code, B2B company accounts with buyer hierarchies and net payment terms, Shopify Markets for multi-currency, multi-language and per-market pricing from one store, and a dedicated merchant success manager. If you are weighing the jump from standard Shopify to enterprise, our breakdown of Shopify vs. Shopify Plus covers exactly when the upgrade pays off.
Adobe Commerce strengths include EAV (Entity-Attribute-Value) product architecture that handles 50+ custom attributes per SKU and vehicle compatibility matrices, true multi-store management with separate catalogs, currencies, languages and pricing rules from one admin, and a native B2B module covering RFQ, negotiated pricing, company accounts with buyer approval workflows, and custom quoting integrated to ERP and CRM.
In 2025-2026, the dominant platform migration direction is Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus, driven by rising Magento total cost of ownership, developer talent scarcity, and Shopify’s expanding enterprise feature set. scandiweb has guided brands across Europe and the US through complex replatforming projects on both platforms. For a concrete example, see how we handled a luxury jewelry brand migration without losing search rankings.
Which enterprise platform should uou choose: Shopify Plus or Adobe Commerce?
Choose Shopify Plus if you want predictable pricing, managed infrastructure, and fast time-to-market – particularly for B2C and direct-to-consumer retail. Choose Adobe Commerce if you have complex B2B pricing workflows, a catalog exceeding 50,000 SKUs with custom attributes, proprietary checkout logic, or a business requirement for full source code ownership. If you are on Adobe Commerce today and your maintenance costs are growing faster than your revenue, the migration calculus is likely shifting in Shopify Plus’s favor.
Magento vs. Shopify: which platform should you choose?
Choose Shopify if you want fast setup, predictable monthly costs, managed security and infrastructure, and access to bundled AI tools – it is the right choice for approximately 80% of eCommerce businesses in 2026. Choose Magento (Adobe Commerce) if you have complex B2B pricing requirements, a product catalog exceeding 50,000 SKUs with custom attributes, multi-store operations requiring separate catalogs and languages, or a business requirement for full source code ownership. If you are currently on Adobe Commerce and your annual maintenance costs exceed $50,000, a migration to Shopify Plus is worth evaluating seriously. If you are on Adobe Commerce today and your maintenance costs are outpacing revenue, scandiweb’s Adobe and Magento migration team can scope a SEO-safe move to Shopify Plus – or harden your existing Magento build if staying put is the right call. Both Magento and Shopify offer advantages that suit different types of businesses and their specific needs. Magento is ideal for larger enterprises with complex requirements, offering extensive customization, scalability, and specific features. Shopify caters to small and medium-sized businesses with its user-friendly interface, pre-designed themes, and a wide range of apps. Already on Magento and thinking about switching? Our step-by-step Magento to Shopify migration guide covers data export, URL mapping, and SEO-safe redirect setup from start to finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Magento better than Shopify?
In 2026, for approximately 80% of businesses Shopify is the better choice – faster setup, lower total cost of ownership, managed reliability, and bundled AI tools via Shopify Magic. Magento (Adobe Commerce) is better for the approximately 20% with genuinely complex enterprise needs: complex B2B pricing, catalogs exceeding 50,000 SKUs with custom attributes, multi-store architectures, or proprietary business logic that Shopify’s architecture cannot accommodate. For most growing merchants in the Magento vs Shopify decision, Shopify is the stronger starting point.
Is Magento the same as Adobe Commerce?
Magento, now Adobe Commerce, is part of the Adobe Experience Cloud – this change was announced by Adobe in April 2021. The open-source community edition is still available as Magento Open Source and remains free. The enterprise product is Adobe Commerce, starting at approximately $30,000/year, scaling with GMV. Adobe Commerce Cloud adds fully managed hosting on Adobe infrastructure at additional cost, removing the server management burden from the merchant’s team.
Is Magento cheaper than Shopify?
Magento Open Source is free to download, but it is rarely cheaper to run than Shopify in practice. Realistic annual costs for a Magento store with a solo developer run $30,000-$80,000+, including hosting, developer time, and annual upgrades. Shopify’s standard plans cost $5,000-$15,000 per year all-inclusive. For technically capable teams managing their own hosting stack, Magento can be cost-competitive – but only if internal developer costs are low.
Can I migrate from Magento to Shopify?
Yes. Migrating from Magento to Shopify involves exporting your product catalog, customer data and order history from Magento, then importing to Shopify via migration tools or a specialist agency. The critical SEO step is mapping all existing Magento URLs to their new Shopify equivalents and implementing 301 redirects to protect search rankings. Most mid-size stores complete a full Magento to Shopify migration in 6-12 weeks without data loss. For full step-by-step guidance, see our Magento to Shopify migration guide.
What are the disadvantages of Magento (Adobe Commerce)?
The main disadvantages of Magento (Adobe Commerce) are cost and technical overhead. A Magento store needs dedicated hosting, regular security patching, and a skilled developer or agency, which pushes realistic annual costs to $30,000-$80,000+ for Open Source and well above that for Adobe Commerce enterprise. The platform has a steep learning curve, there is no built-in support team for Open Source users, and the developer talent pool is shrinking, which makes hiring and retention harder. For merchants without complex B2B or large-catalog requirements, that overhead is hard to justify against a fully managed SaaS platform.
Do people still use Magento?
Yes. Magento (Adobe Commerce) still powers roughly 130,000 live stores and facilitates approximately $173 billion in annual GMV, though active store counts are declining about 11% year over year (Store Leads, 2026). It remains a common choice for large enterprises, B2B sellers, and brands that need full source-code control or multi-store setups. The trend is toward SaaS platforms like Shopify for most new builds, but Magento is far from obsolete for the businesses whose requirements actually need it.
Still weighing which platform fits your roadmap – or whether a migration is the right next move? book a platform consultation with scandiweb and we’ll map the decision to your catalog, your B2B needs, and your total cost of ownership, regardless of the platform you land on.


Share on: