Magento (Adobe Commerce) Compared To Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus surpasses Magento as the top digital commerce platform, offering unparalleled scalability, reliability, and flexibility. With seamless integration across 20 channels, 99.99% uptime, and limitless front-end customization, Shopify Plus streamlines migration from Magento, reducing maintenance and enabling resource reallocation. It prioritises customer experience and data-driven marketing, ensuring easy implementation and extensive support infrastructure. Shopify Plus excels in global and omnichannel sales, mobile optimization, and security, providing a robust ecommerce solution.
Build Costs
Winner: Shopify Plus
Magento Commerce build generally cost more than Shopify Plus builds. This is due to a lot more of the platform ground work coming out of the box with Shopify Plus compared with Magento. Estimates for a Magneto project range from $150k to $500k, whereas comparable project could cost around $100k on Shopify Plus. Exact costs on either platform are dependent on the scope of your project.
License Fees
Winner: Shopify Plus
Both platforms offer variable pricing based on revenue. However, the base platform fee on Shopify Plus is lower than the base fee on Magento.
Hosting Costs
Winner: Shopify Plus
The hosting aspect of your e-commerce platform is another differentiating factor between Magento/Adobe Commerce and Shopify. Shopify Plus' $2,000 per month license fee encompasses hosting services, which include security patches, SSL certificates, PCI compliance, and more. In contrast, Magento provides two hosting options. Magento 2 Commerce Cloud offers a hosting package similar to Shopify Plus but at a slightly higher monthly fee. Magento's base cost, including the license and hosting, starts around $3,333.
Maintanance
Winner: Shopify Plus
When it comes to ongoing site maintenance, bug fixes, and updates, Shopify Plus tends to be more cost-effective compared to Magento. The monthly maintenance expenses associated with Shopify Plus are typically lower than those of Magento, making it a more budget-friendly option for businesses seeking hassle-free upkeep of their e-commerce platform.
POint of Sale
Winner: Shopify Plus
Shopify offers a fully integrates Shopify POS system with up to 200 POS Pro locations covered under your Plus contract. This allows for seamless data sharing and stock syncing between the online and the offline. The POS solution by Shopify is also an industry leading solution which is continually evolving with over the air updates.
Staff accounts
Winner: Draw
Shopify offers unlimited staff accounts, whilst magneto offers over 6,000.
Security
Winner: Draw
Both Shopify and Magento/Adobe Commerce prioritise the security of your online business and your customers' sensitive data. Shopify employs secure socket layer (SSL) encryption to safeguard customer information, supplemented by features like two-factor authentication and fraud protection. Similarly, Magento employs SSL encryption and offers two-factor authentication, fraud protection, and PCI compliance measures. Merchants can have peace of mind knowing that both platforms provide advanced levels of security, ensuring a secure environment for conducting online transactions and protecting confidential information from potential threats.
Customisation
Winner: Draw
Customisation options in Shopify and Magento are approached differently. Shopify boasts a robust base platform that handles much of the heavy lifting, safeguarding the underlying engine from direct access. However, to cater to enterprise-level requirements and ensure extensibility, Shopify now allows seamless transitions between processes using its functions. This recent development significantly enhances Shopify's extendability compared to just a year ago unlocking near limitless possibilities for enterprise Shopify Plus customers.
Magento/Adobe Commerce, on the other hand, has always been renowned for its flexibility. This attribute historically attracted larger businesses despite the higher costs involved. However, the landscape is rapidly evolving, with Shopify emerging as equally flexible as Magento in the majority of cases. Merchants can achieve almost everything they need within Shopify at a fraction of the cost compared to Magento.
Moreover, Shopify's approach to customisation offers merchants greater protection, mitigating potential risks. Each platform has its unique drawbacks, but the question has shifted from "is this possible on Shopify?" to "how is this possible on Shopify?" Through interactions with numerous merchants, it has become evident that Shopify can accommodate even the most complex enterprise needs 100% of the time, a testament to its evolution in customisation capabilities.
Shipping and Inventory
Winner: Draw
Efficient shipping and inventory management are crucial for e-commerce success. Shopify provides robust point-of-sale (POS) software with inventory tracking, analytics, and staff management features. Merchants can easily manage inventory levels and access detailed sales reports. While Magento also offers basic inventory management, its strength lies in advanced features, allowing for extensive product customisation and checkout process modifications.
Both platforms offer versatile shipping fee calculation solutions, ensuring accuracy for consumers. Magento stands out with more extensive inventory and order management features.
Provision for discounts and coupons is available across all Magento tiers but not on Shopify's Lite plan, giving Magento a slight advantage in this aspect.
Both platforms offer scalability in inventory management, with Shopify allowing for an unlimited number of products and Magento enabling the sale of an endless array of products.
Shopify's fully managed and hosted solution may offer a more seamless experience for adding a higher volume of products, while Magento's self-hosted nature may impact site performance during peak traffic periods.
Development
Winner: Shopify
Shopify and Magento differ significantly in their approaches to web development and coding. Magento employs PHP, a widely-used server-side language in e-commerce web development, while Shopify utilizes Liquid, its proprietary language written in Ruby. PHP offers flexibility and extensive features, while Liquid facilitates dynamic content loading and customisation within Shopify themes. While Magento demands more coding expertise for store creation, making it suitable for enterprises with access to professional developer teams, Shopify simplifies setup with minimal coding knowledge required. However, for both platforms, hiring expert developers is recommended to ensure a standout online store amidst growing competition and to deliver a truly unique e-commerce experience.
Payment Gateways
Winner: Shopify
Payment gateways and processors are fundamental to e-commerce transactions, enabling merchants to receive and process payments along with transaction information. Shopify boasts integration with over 100 payment gateways, providing flexibility for customers and store owners alike. Recognising that different demographics prefer various payment methods, Shopify's support for multiple gateways offers enhanced convenience and flexibility. Magento supports PayPal, Authorize.net, Braintree, and a few additional third-party providers, albeit fewer than Shopify. Notably, Shopify offers an integrated POS system, a valuable asset for merchants wishing to sell products in physical stores. However, while Shopify offers more gateway options, merchants should consider transaction fees, as third-party gateways often incur charges compared to Shopify's inbuilt mechanism, Shopify Payments, which has no transaction costs.