Magento (Adobe Commerce) vs. Shopify: Complete 2026 eCommerce Platform Comparison

You probably started on the price pages. Shopify lists its plans by the month. Magento Open Source, the free edition of Magento, costs nothing to download, and Adobe Commerce, the paid edition Adobe sells, doesn’t publish a price at all. None of those pages tells you what your store will cost to run over three years, or which platform can handle your catalog, your B2B buyers and the changes your team asks for every week.

In a Shopify vs. Magento decision, the bigger difference is who runs the store. Shopify is a hosted service, so Shopify runs the servers, security and updates for you. Magento is software that you or your agency host and maintain, which gives you full control of the code along with the bills for running it. We build and support stores on both platforms, so this comparison doesn’t lean toward either one.

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.

• 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 processed $378 billion in GMV in 2025, while Magento (Adobe Commerce) runs on roughly 130,000 live stores, a count that is falling about 11% a year.
• Realistic annual TCO: Magento Open Source $30,000–$80,000+ (hosting + developer + security), versus Shopify standard plans at $5,000–$15,000/year.
• B2B is no longer a Shopify Plus feature only: since April 2026, the Basic, Grow and Advanced plans include native B2B with up to three catalogs, while Adobe Commerce still covers more of the B2B workflow, such as negotiated quotes and approval chains.
• 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:

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 size of each add-on store: the Adobe Commerce Marketplace lists over 3,500 extensions, while third-party trackers count more than 13,000 apps in the Shopify App Store.

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.

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 as Magento Open Source, while Adobe Commerce is licensed by GMV at an estimated $22,000 to $125,000+ a year. 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. Teams building on or migrating from Magento can work with our Adobe Commerce (Magento) development team. If you are weighing the free edition specifically, our Magento Open Source vs. Shopify comparison goes deeper.

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 charges an extra fee when a store uses a third-party payment provider (2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus) and waives it for merchants using Shopify Payments, available in 20+ countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of Europe. Shopify Magic, the 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 $29–$299 a month billed yearly, or $39–$399 billed monthly, with hosting, security and PCI compliance 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. 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.

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 is licensed by GMV at an estimated $22,000 to $125,000+ a year on your own servers and $40,000 to $190,000+ on Adobe Commerce Cloud. Adobe doesn’t publish these prices, and our Magento pricing breakdown shows the GMV bands. 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. The Basic, Grow and Advanced plans cost $29, $79 and $299 a month billed yearly, or $39, $105 and $399 billed monthly, so yearly billing saves about 25%.

For businesses requiring enterprise functionality, Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 a month on a three-year term ($2,500 on a one-year term), and Shopify adds a revenue-based fee at high volume that it doesn’t publish. Shopify Plus includes Shopify Flow no-code automation, checkout customization via Shopify Functions, B2B with unlimited catalogs, 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.

Shopify vs. Magento total cost of ownership over three years

For a store selling about $8 million a year online, three-year total cost of ownership comes to roughly $280,000 on Magento Open Source, $430,000 on Adobe Commerce and $230,000 to $400,000 on Shopify Plus, before card fees. The Adobe license, the Shopify app stack and the size of the build move the total most.

The example store has a customized frontend, one ERP integration and about 15 paid extensions or apps. Magento figures come from the worked example in our Magento pricing guide. Shopify Plus figures use Shopify’s published Plus price, the $30,000–$200,000+ build range from our Shopify Plus guide, app subscriptions at $100–$200 a month each, and $10,000–$20,000 a year of theme and feature work, since Shopify handles patching and upgrades. They are planning figures, not quotes.

Card processing is left out because it depends on your contract, yet it is the biggest line for this store on any platform. At Shopify’s list rate for Plus of 2.25% + 30¢ per online card payment, $8 million in card sales costs about $180,000 a year before the per-order fee, and a Plus store that keeps a third-party payment provider pays Shopify a 0.2% surcharge on top, about $16,000 a year. Magento adds no platform fee, so you pay only your provider’s rate, which stores of this size negotiate.

The license line is why Adobe Commerce lands highest. On Shopify, the app line grows over time, because extensions bought once on Magento often turn into monthly subscriptions. For a store selling under about $1 million a year, the picture is simpler: Shopify’s standard plans at $5,000–$15,000 a year all-in are hard to match with any Magento build. If you are pricing a move rather than a new build, our guide to Magento to Shopify migration costs covers the one-time project.

Design and customization

Design and customization matter when building an online store, as they help create a favorable first impression and show 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 its large app store, and Shopify Functions (2023+) now allow developers to extend core checkout, discount and shipping logic, narrowing the customization gap with Magento. For complex Shopify vs. Magento B2B use cases, Adobe Commerce’s native B2B module, covering company accounts, purchase order approvals and quote requests, is still the stronger choice. 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.

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. Magento (Adobe Commerce) 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.

Is Magento slower than Shopify?

Out of the box, usually yes. In HTTP Archive data for September 2026, 23% of Magento sites had a good time to first byte (TTFB), the server’s response time, against 84% of Shopify sites on mobile and 93% on desktop. Our fastest eCommerce platform research compares 12 platforms on the same data. The gap comes from how each platform is set up and run.

Shopify runs every store on the same managed infrastructure, so speed comes with the plan. Magento (Adobe Commerce) leaves those choices to you: the hosting, the caching setup, the theme and the code that builds each page all decide how fast the store loads. Two Magento stores on the same version can load at very different speeds.

In our experience, most of the gap closes with two changes. A Hyvä theme cuts the JavaScript the browser has to load: in HTTP Archive data for September 2026, 66% of Hyvä stores passed Core Web Vitals on mobile, against 45% of all Magento stores. Hyvä leaves the server’s response time where it was, though, since Hyvä stores had a good TTFB as often as Magento overall (23%).

On the server side, Expedio, scandiweb’s open-source module, makes Magento 2 build each page at least 2x faster without a replatform, and the same server handles 3x the traffic before response times start to rise. Our guide on how to speed up Magento covers the other fixes, layer by layer.

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.

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 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 extra fee for third-party payment providers, from 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus, 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, including sitemaps, canonical tags and 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.

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. On Adobe Commerce, Live Search and Product Recommendations, Adobe’s AI services once branded Adobe Sensei, are part of the license, but Magento Open Source can’t use them.

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.

AI tools: Shopify Sidekick vs. AI agents for Magento

Shopify includes an AI assistant in every store admin. Shopify Sidekick, rebuilt on October 28, 2026, answers questions about store data, writes content and code, and asks the merchant to approve each change it makes. Magento has no built-in equivalent, so Magento stores add AI assistants and agents from third parties.

Adobe’s AI for commerce is aimed at search and developers. On Adobe Commerce, Live Search and Product Recommendations use Adobe’s AI, and the Commerce Developer Agent, generally available since September 25, 2026, turns a written requirement into App Builder code that developers approve. Adobe offers these to Adobe Commerce customers only, so Magento Open Source stores can’t use them. Our breakdown of Adobe Commerce AI features lists what each edition gets.

Magento stores fill the gap with three kinds of tools. Admin chat extensions read and edit store data inside the Magento admin. MCP connectors, which use the Model Context Protocol, let an assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude work with that data. AI agents change the store itself, including code, themes and extensions. Our guide to AI agents for Magento compares the products in each group.

The third kind matters most if slow, expensive changes are the reason you are looking at Shopify. You can keep Magento with an AI agent and change how the work gets done. Ari, the AI agent for Magento and Adobe Commerce built by scandiweb, takes a request in chat, such as a new promo banner or an extension install, builds it on a copy of the store with customer data removed, and a person approves it before it goes live. Plans start at €99 a month per 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.

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 vs. Magento for B2B

Shopify vs. Magento for B2B now depends on how complex your buyers are. Since April 2026, every Shopify plan from Basic up includes native B2B with company accounts, net payment terms and up to three catalogs. Adobe Commerce adds negotiated quotes, requisition lists and purchase approval chains, while Magento Open Source needs extensions for all of it.

Shopify’s B2B handles a wholesale channel run alongside a retail store well: trade buyers log in, see their own prices and pay on terms. It runs out at the edges, mainly negotiation in the storefront, buyer-side approval chains, credit control and catalogs owned by an ERP, where Shopify stores add apps or custom work. Our guide to Shopify B2B covers each limit and its workaround.

Choose Adobe Commerce when buyers negotiate quotes, companies need their own roles and approval chains, or you need company credit inside the platform. The B2B module comes with Adobe Commerce only, and our comparison of Adobe Commerce vs. Magento Open Source shows what the free edition is missing.

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), licensed by GMV from an estimated $22,000 a 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.

Also read: Magento vs Oracle Commerce Cloud.

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 with unlimited catalogs, catalogs per company location, deposits and partial payments, 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. We have 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 you 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 most 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 on Adobe Commerce today and your maintenance costs are outpacing revenue, our Adobe and Magento migration team can scope an SEO-safe move to Shopify Plus, or harden your existing Magento build if staying put is the right call. 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, Shopify is the better choice for most businesses – faster setup, lower total cost of ownership, managed reliability, and bundled AI tools via Shopify Magic and Sidekick. Magento (Adobe Commerce) is better for the smaller group 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, a change Adobe announced in April 2021. The open-source community edition is still available as Magento Open Source and remains free. The enterprise product is Adobe Commerce, licensed by GMV at an estimated $22,000 to $125,000+ a year. 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, 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.

Is Adobe Commerce like Shopify?

Both are platforms for running an online store, and they work in different ways. Shopify is a hosted service with monthly plans, and Shopify runs the servers, security and updates. Adobe Commerce is the paid edition of Magento, licensed by GMV, which you run on your own servers or on Adobe Commerce Cloud, with full access to the code. Adobe Commerce suits complex B2B and large catalogs, and Shopify suits brands that want less to run.

How much does Shopify take from a $100 sale?

On Shopify’s US plans with Shopify Payments, a $100 online card sale costs $3.20 on Basic (2.9% + 30¢), $3.00 on Grow (2.7% + 30¢) and $2.80 on Advanced (2.5% + 30¢). If you use a third-party payment provider instead, Shopify adds 2%, 1% or 0.6% on those plans, on top of the provider’s own fee. The monthly plan fee is separate.

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.