In a previous article, we explained the difference between the different versions of Magento available for businesses to operate their eCommerce: Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce, now Adobe Commerce. Each one offers a different set of features at a different pricing point.
To evaluate which edition is best for your business, we highlighted the key differences between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce on various parameters such as business size, cost, features and support. After reading this comparison, you will clearly understand what you will get as an eCommerce platform, whether you choose Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce.
Magento Open Source VS Commerce comparison:
Magento & Adobe Commerce pricing
When trying to choose between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce, the cost factor is inevitably what merchants look at. So what is the price of Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce?
Magento Open Source is free to download and can be customized as you like. Merchants will only pay for the development and hosting fees as the platform itself doesn’t cost anything.
When it comes to Adobe Commerce and Adobe Commerce Cloud, both versions charge an annual license fee based on the company’s Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) and Average Order Value (AOV). For Adobe Commerce, the price starts at $22,000 up to $125,000 per year. The license for Adobe Commerce Cloud starts at $40,000 up to $190,000 per year.
There’s quite a big difference between the Open Source and the Commerce version, but what you will get will be worth every penny. While with higher costs, Adobe Commerce offers much more advanced features your business might need while growing and scaling than its free version. We will cover more about these features later on.
Business size
Magento Open Source is a great option to start with if you are a small business or a start-up that needs more options out of its eCommerce platform but can’t afford to pay upfront the license and implementation fee. The platform has a basic set of features that allow merchants to start a small online store and test Magento’s functionalities before upgrading. However, if you want to add additional features or do custom development, you must consider that this will quickly increase the cost. In this case, you might consider Adobe Commerce.
On the other hand, if you are a larger organization or operate in a B2B model, Adobe Commerce is more suited for your business. It provides more advanced functionalities, enhanced security and is packed with additional integrated capabilities to accelerate sales. In addition, the platform is built to handle large amounts of traffic and transactions and will be able to scale as your business grows.
At first, Magento Open Source might seem tempting with its free license and useful features. Still, medium and larger organizations run the risk of a false economy in a long-term perspective. So be sure to factor into your decision that down the road, your business might outgrow the Magento Open Source platform and will be facing an upgrade plan to Adobe Commerce.
Functional differences between Magento Open Source and Commerce
While Magento Open Source provides many features that are the same as Adobe Commerce, there is a reason why many of the most successful companies choose to go with Adobe Commerce. To give you a better idea of how Adobe Commerce holds up against Magento Open source, here are the main functionalities you will only get with the Commerce edition.
Native B2B / wholesale functionality
One of the many features that win merchants over to the Commerce edition is the native B2B functionality that offers a complete suite of B2B capabilities such as:
- RFP, price quoting, and negotiation
- User roles, purchasing limits and permissions
- Customer-specific pricing, catalogs and payment options
- Credit limits
- Quick checkout options
- Fast ordering by SKU or CSV upload
- Support for quick purchase lists
B2B merchants have all they need to handle their specific requirements. However, with Adobe Commerce, they get more than just a website that allows them to streamline and automate their sales process.
Drag-and-drop CMS with Page Builder
With Adobe Commerce, you can manage content and templates far more easily by using Page Builder, its built-in drag-and-drop CMS. You get access to powerful content creation tools that enable you to create and customize best-in-class shopping experiences. With Page Builder, you can save on time and resources by removing the need for developer support.
Elasticsearch for improved on-site search capabilities
Offering the ability to your clients to quickly filter and search what they are looking for on your website is possible with Elasticsearch. Some benefits of this native tool that comes only with the Commerce edition are that it can support real-time data and analysis and multiple languages. In addition, it can be used as a document-oriented data store and act as applications in frameworks beyond search, including reporting, personalization, performance, and storage.
Advanced marketing tools
Adobe Commerce offers an incredible array of marketing features that you can start using right away to improve your sales. Some of the most interesting ones include advanced customer segmentation, targeted content, reward points, abandoned cart emails, gift registries, store credits. However, if you decide to choose Magento Open Source, you will forego the opportunity to leverage the available marketing tools to create opportunities for customer engagement.
Content staging
An exciting feature that is only available in Adobe Commerce is Content Staging which gives you the ability to easily create, preview and schedule a wide range of content updates and tasks for your store. For example, rather than thinking in terms of a static page, consider a page to be a collection of different elements that can be turned on or off according to schedule. You can use Content Staging to create a page that changes automatically throughout the year on schedule.
Visual Merchandiser
Compared to other platforms, Adobe Commerce offers the Visual Merchandiser feature, which is a set of advanced tools that allows you to position products and apply conditions that determine which products appear in the category listing. The result can be a dynamic selection of products that adjusts to changes in the catalog to help improve the user experience.
Advanced security
When building an eCommerce store, security should be your priority as you exchange critical customer information. Adobe Commerce edition has advanced security patches making it a much more stable and secure version than Magento Open Source.
Also, with the Commerce edition, there is less manual work and maintenance to ensure optimal security. Some peace of mind features include PCI compliance, credit card tokenization, user data encryption, and file system ownership to grant user permission levels.
24/7 help & support
Each second of downtime on your eCommerce website costs you lost revenue. Considering this, if you choose to go with the Open Source edition, you are totally responsible for any error on your website. However, when you choose the Commerce edition, you get superior service with a dedicated account manager and 24/7 technical support.
Here is a side-by-side table comparison to give you a better overview of what both editions have to offer.
In conclusion, which version of Magento is best for your business?
While similarly adaptable to the Open Source version, Adobe Commerce includes additional features that enhance reliability and security. The platform grows as you do, offering flexibility at the front-end, which allows delivering consistent brand experiences and reducing site maintenance. It is great for B2B businesses, medium-sized businesses, and large market players who experience high-load traffic and high sales turnover, are looking to scale and control their website and customer experience without limitations.
However, there are times when Magento Open Source is a better option. Such as for a smaller scale merchant that wants to benefit from all the free essential functionalities that make a good eCommerce platform without paying upfront the licencing fees. They can start with Open Source, test it and once they are more stable and see continuous revenue growth, they can consider upgrading to Adobe Commerce.
The decision as to whether to go for Magento Open Source or Commerce is dependent on your business requirements and your budget. Of course, every business has different needs regarding its website, but the key to success when implementing a solution strategically is to consider every business individually.
Everything considered both editions can offer retailers and manufacturers the power and functionality they need to keep an edge over competitors on other platforms. If you need any help choosing which version best suits your business, feel free to contact us.
