Adobe Commerce vs Shopify Plus vs Magento Open Source: Replatforming Decision Guide
If you are considering an ecommerce replatforming, there is a very good chance that you have already come across Adobe Commerce, Shopify Plus, and Magento Open Source but still confused about which one to opt for and what all these platforms are offering in terms of performance, scalability, pricing, features, including sales, and conversions.
And to help you in this process, and before moving towards this end-to-end guide, just to inform you that these are the only three platforms that make it onto the shortlist of most enterprise ecommerce agencies. While each platform has its unique strengths, and none is universally better than the others, their differences become particularly apparent when we compare all 3 at once.
Now without wasting time, read further to explore which one is best for your business goals.
The Platforms Overview
Shopify Plus is a SaaS-based ecommerce platform that requires little to no customization to launch faster. Shopify Plus is a fully hosted solution, meaning that it takes care of all technical maintenance, and security updates in the background. The same goes for the B2B functionality, which is available to Shopify Plus merchants at no additional cost.
Adobe Commerce represents the enterprise-end of the Magento codebase, which means that it powers many of the world’s largest online stores. It comes with native B2B tools, including Adobe Sensei-driven personalization, and can be deployed either via self-hosting or through Adobe’s cloud-based subscription.
Lastly, Magento Open Source is another Magento-based solution that is one of the primary choices for SMB businesses which shares much of its code with Adobe Commerce but still it is a long way behind Adobe Commerce, also lacks commercial features and enterprise-level support. This is a self-hosted platform, which requires technical expertise to maintain and secure.
The overall market size for all three solutions is substantial. Roughly 8% of all digital commerce revenue is generated on websites powered by either Magento or Adobe Commerce. Combined, they control over 130,000 stores. This makes them one of the largest commercial ecosystems on the planet in absolute terms. Shopify Plus, on the other hand, has a significantly lower footprint, but it controls a considerable amount of the mid-tier and enterprise DTC commerce space.
Pricing and Total Cost of Ownership
| Cost Factor | Adobe Commerce | Shopify Plus | Magento Open Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Annual enterprise license based on GMV. | Monthly subscription plus a percentage of GMV. | Free open-source software (no license fee). |
| Starting Cost | Starts around $22,000/year (license). Cloud version starts around $30,000/year. | Starts at $2,300/month for eligible merchants. | No software licensing cost. |
| High-End Pricing | Can exceed $125,000/year for licensing and $150,000+/year for Cloud subscriptions. | Monthly subscription increases based on business growth and GMV. | Hosting and infrastructure costs increase with business scale. |
| Hosting Included? | ❌ No. Hosting and infrastructure are additional expenses (unless using Adobe Commerce Cloud). | ✅ Yes. Fully hosted SaaS platform with hosting included. | ❌ No. Requires separate cloud hosting. |
| Infrastructure Costs | Typically add 150–200% of the initial software licensing cost. | Included in the subscription fee. | Cloud hosting typically ranges from $400–$3,000+ per month. |
| Technical Maintenance | Managed by the merchant or implementation partner. | Fully managed by Shopify. | Fully managed by the merchant or development team. |
| Built-in Features | Extensive enterprise and B2B features included. | Includes many built-in B2B and ecommerce features, reducing additional costs. | Most advanced features require custom development or third-party extensions. |
| Development Costs | Moderate to high, depending on customization needs. | Lower for standard stores; increases for advanced customizations. | High, as most functionality requires custom development. |
| Support Included | Enterprise support included with licensing. | Shopify support included with subscription. | No official support or warranty included. |
| Cost Predictability | Medium. Infrastructure, maintenance, and customization can significantly increase costs. | High. Fixed monthly pricing makes budgeting easier. | Low. Costs vary depending on hosting, maintenance, and development needs. |
| Best Value For | Enterprises needing extensive customization and advanced capabilities. | Businesses seeking predictable expenses and lower operational overhead. | Businesses with an experienced in-house Magento development team. |
B2B Capabilities, and Features
| Feature / Criteria | Adobe Commerce | Shopify Plus | Magento Open Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall B2B Capability | Most comprehensive native B2B platform with advanced built-in features. | Strong and rapidly improving B2B functionality, suitable for many businesses. | No built-in B2B features; requires custom development or extensions. |
| Company Accounts | Highly customizable company accounts with flexible configurations. | Supports standard wholesale/company accounts. | Not available natively. |
| Custom Catalogs | Fully customizable catalogs for different customers or organizations. | Basic catalog management available but less advanced. | Requires custom development or third-party extensions. |
| Pricing Management | Virtually unlimited pricing tiers for different customers and account types. | Supports pricing tiers, but with limited flexibility. | Requires custom coding or extensions. |
| Personalized Recommendations | Built-in personalized product recommendations. | Limited native capabilities. | Not available by default. |
| Approval Workflows | Advanced approval workflows with extensive flexibility. | Supports approvals with up to 10 approval levels per account. | Requires custom development. |
| Account Hierarchies | Supports complex organizational structures and multiple user roles. | Basic hierarchy support available. | Not available natively. |
| Requisition Lists | Native support for requisition lists for repeat purchases. | Limited or unavailable without customization. | Requires extensions or custom coding. |
| ERP Integration | Native order import/export capabilities for ERP systems. | Possible through apps and integrations, but less comprehensive. | Requires custom integrations. |
| Quote-to-Order Workflow | Fully supported with advanced capabilities. | Available but comparatively limited. | Requires custom development. |
| Catalog Management | Highly mature and feature-rich. | Functional but less sophisticated than Adobe Commerce. | Requires custom development. |
| Pricing Rules | Advanced pricing rules with extensive customization. | Basic pricing rules only. | Requires custom development. |
| Complex B2B Use Cases | Excellent choice for large enterprises, distributors, and manufacturers with complex requirements. | Suitable for simple to moderately complex B2B operations. Complex workflows require additional customization. | Not recommended unless significant development resources are available. |
| Need for Custom Development | Minimal, as most B2B features are built in. | Moderate, depending on business complexity. | High, since almost all B2B functionality must be built or purchased. |
| Best For | Large B2B enterprises, manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors needing extensive native functionality. | Growing B2B businesses that want ease of use with decent built-in B2B capabilities. | Businesses with experienced development teams willing to build a custom B2B solution. |
Performance and Scale
| Performance | Shopify Plus | Adobe Commerce | Magento Open Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page Load (Typical) | 1.5 to 3 seconds | 2 to 4 seconds self-hosted, 1.5 to 3 seconds on Cloud | 2 to 4+ seconds, entirely dependent on your own hosting and tuning |
| Orders per Minute (Peak) | 10,000+ on Shopify’s infrastructure | Depends on hosting tier | Depends on hosting tier, with no Adobe-tuned baseline to fall back on |
| Catalog Size Limit | 100K+ SKUs handled well | Tens of millions of SKUs | Same underlying limit, but reaching it needs more manual indexing and optimization work |
| Flash Sale Tested | Black Friday grade | Yes, with proper Varnish and Redis tuning | Yes, same Varnish and Redis stack, but configuring it is fully on your team |
| Multi-Region Scaling | Shopify Markets, native | Custom architecture | Custom architecture, with no managed Cloud tier to lean on |
Headless and Composable Capability
| Headless | Shopify Plus | Adobe Commerce | Magento Open Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native Headless Framework | Hydrogen, Shopify’s React framework | PWA Studio, Adobe’s React framework | PWA Studio, same framework, included at no extra license cost |
| Custom Framework Support | Next.js, Remix, Nuxt, Astro | Next.js, custom | Next.js, custom |
| Storefront API Maturity | Storefront API plus GraphQL | REST plus GraphQL | REST plus GraphQL, identical API layer |
| Edge Rendering | Oxygen, Shopify’s edge platform | Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Workers | Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Workers |
| Headless Build Cost | $30K to $80K above a headed build | $60K to $150K above a headed build | $50K to $130K above a headed build, engineering-driven rather than license-driven |
| Best-in-Class Examples | Allbirds, Glossier | Helly Hansen, Bremont | Fewer widely publicized flagship builds, since Open Source deployments skew toward mid-market brands that rarely publish case studies |
Because Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce share the same PWA Studio framework and API layer, the technical headless capability is nearly identical between them. The cost difference comes down to license fees, not engineering effort.
Hosting Models
| Hosting | Shopify Plus | Adobe Commerce | Magento Open Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default Hosting | SaaS managed, Shopify hosted | Self-hosted or Cloud | Self-hosted only, no managed cloud tier exists |
| Hosting Included in License | Yes | Only on the Pro Cloud tier, $125K+ | No license fee, but hosting is fully self-funded, typically $400 to $3,000+ per month |
| Auto Updates | Yes, Shopify pushes them | No, patches are applied manually | No, patches are applied manually, with community and Mage-OS support alongside Adobe’s quarterly releases |
| Custom Infrastructure | Not available | Available on self-hosted | Full control, since self-hosting is the only option |
| Multi-Region | Shopify Markets, native | Manual configuration | Manual configuration, with no native tooling at all |
| Uptime SLA | 99.99% | 99.9% on Cloud, DIY otherwise | None, entirely dependent on your own hosting provider |
| DevOps Overhead | Zero | High on self-hosted, low on Cloud | High, with no Cloud tier available to reduce it |
Magento Open Source carries no license fee, but- it also carries no support contract and no managed hosting path. Every operational cost that Adobe Commerce Cloud bundles in, from CDN to SLA-backed uptime, has to be sourced and managed independently on Open Source.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by GMV Bracket
The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) depends on your Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), business complexity, infrastructure, and ongoing maintenance—not just the platform’s licensing or subscription cost. The table below summarizes which platform offers the best value at different revenue levels.
| Annual GMV Bracket | Recommended Platform | TCO Consideration | Why It’s the Best Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below $10 Million | Shopify Plus | Low & Predictable | Lower upfront costs, hosting and maintenance included, ideal for growing DTC brands. |
| $10 Million and Above | Adobe Commerce | Higher, but Enterprise-Ready | Higher TCO due to licensing, hosting, and implementation, but delivers advanced B2B capabilities and enterprise scalability. |
| Any GMV (with an In-House Development Team) | Magento Open Source | Variable | No licensing fee, but TCO depends on hosting, development, security, and ongoing maintenance. Best when internal technical expertise reduces operational costs. |
Wrapping Up – Choosing The Best Platform For Your Enterprise Commerce Needs
The reality is that none of the three aforementioned options is significantly better than the others across the board. This is why enterprise commerce strategy is all about identifying the option that best fits your specific requirements. Shopify Plus is an excellent choice for most mid-market and enterprise DTC brands, while Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source are both best suited for organizations with extensive B2B requirements and technical expertise. Beside this, if you are still facing any challenges picking the right one, then Rock Technolabs developers are here to assit you.
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