Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source are two of the most popular e-commerce platforms. Both offer a variety of features and benefits that can help businesses of all sizes grow and succeed online. However, there are also some key differences between the two platforms that potential users need to be aware of.
Contents
- What are the differences between Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source?
- Which platform is right for you?
- Advantages of Adobe Commerce
- Advantages of Magento Open Source
- Additional considerations
- Summary
What are the differences between Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source?
In short, Adobe Commerce is the official licensed version of Magento Open Source. You can license Adobe Commerce either as ‘Cloud’, where Adobe will handle all the hosting for you or as ‘On-Premise’, where you commission the hosting yourself.
All three (Magento Open Source, Adobe Commerce On-Premise and Adobe Commerce Cloud) offer a wide range of features, targeted at merchants that are looking to seriously scale up their operations including:
- The native ability to handle large volumes of traffic and transactions
- Advanced marketing and merchandising tools
- Internationalisation – multi-currency/country
- Robust security and performance
Magento Open Source is the free and self-hosted version of Magento. It is a subset of the Adobe Commerce codebase and therefore is not as feature-rich but is still more than capable of supporting a growing business. Magento Open Source offers many of the same features as Adobe Commerce, but it does not have the same level of scalability, security, or support.
Which platform is right for you?
The best platform for your business will depend on your specific needs and requirements. If you are a large business with a high volume of traffic and transactions, then Adobe Commerce is the best choice. If you are a small business with a limited budget, then Magento Open Source may be a better option. Let’s look at the advantages of each.
Advantages of Adobe Commerce
- It can handle large volumes of traffic and transactions without breaking a sweat. This scalability makes it a great choice for businesses that are expecting to grow rapidly.
- It includes a wide range of advanced features, marketing and merchandising tools, B2B functionality, customer loyalty, system usage audit, advanced targeting and segmentation, AI-driven cross-sell and up-sells, advanced search and robust security. These will help you to quickly take your business to the next level.
- If you opt for the Cloud version with secure hosting from Adobe, it means that you don’t have to worry about the infrastructure or maintenance of the platform. This can save you a lot of time and money more importantly sleepless nights.
Advantages of Magento Open Source
- It’s free to download and use, making it a great option for smaller businesses with a limited budget to invest.
- It’s a highly flexible platform that can be customised to meet your specific needs.
- There is a large and active community of developers which means there is a wealth of resources, plugins and extensions available to help you get started and troubleshoot as you start your journey of growth.
Additional considerations
- Adobe Commerce is a paid platform, while Magento Open Source is free. However, there are additional costs associated with running both platforms, such as hosting, ongoing development, and maintenance – as there are with other e-commerce platforms.
- Adobe Commerce is a more advanced platform than Magento Open Source, and it may require more specific Adobe Commerce technical expertise to set up and manage. (Both are complex and will require that expertise.)
- With Adobe Commerce, it’s important to use a certified partner to ensure that your site is performing well and is bug-free. Adobe SI Partners have the credentials and certifications to develop and configure the platform correctly, which means that your site will be of higher quality, this equals greater stability and speed to market with new features.
- Adobe Commerce (Cloud) includes 24/7 support from Adobe itself, while Magento Open Source only has community support.
Summary
To summarise, Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source are both very powerful e-commerce platforms, that can help businesses of all sizes grow and succeed online.
Remember, the best platform for you will depend on your specific needs and requirements. Consider things like your budget, team technical expertise, and your support needs before making a decision.
If you need help deciding which is the right platform for you, contact us for a conversation about your vision, goals and requirements and we’ll make some recommendations that are tailored to your business as part of your journey of growth.
Read more about Adobe Commerce and Magento here.
