Compare Magento 2 Commerce vs. Open Source

• What is Magento 2 Open Source?

• What is Adobe Commerce?

• Magento 2 Open Source vs. Adobe Commerce

• Which Magento 2 Edition is best for your business?

• Who is Magento 2 Open Source best for?

• Who is Adobe Commerce best for?

• Conclusion

What is Magento 2 Open Source?

Magento 2 Open Source (Magento Community Edition) is a free edition.

You can download and build your Magento shop with this edition. The official launch of the Magento platform was in 2008. Magento Open source quickly gained popularity in the e-commerce landscape.

With the Magento 2 release in 2015, the software has become more user-friendly. You get faster performance and improved features. Magento 2 Open Source has raised the bar for a standard e-commerce platform.

Some of the key features of Magento 2 Open Source include:

• Catalog management
• Marketing and SEO
• Payments, checkouts, and shipping
• Elasticsearch
• Accounts management
• Mobile commerce
• Global selling

With Magento Open Source, you can compete with big e-commerce brands. You don't have to overspend your finances. You can easily add third-party apps to enhance performance. Open Source edition is an excellent platform for all e-commerce businesses.

What is Adobe Commerce?

Adobe Commerce is the paid version of Magento.

You get advanced Magento functionalities and technical support. It is best suited for large-scale stores that need direct Magento support. Adobe Commerce has Business Intelligence solutions. You can analyze consumer behavior and business metrics. Adobe Commerce comes with in-built features. There is little need for third-party extensions.

Some of the Magento Commerce features include:

• Content Staging and Preview
• Advanced Marketing tools
• Page Builder (It comes with drag and drop functionality)
• Technical support
• Preview and Scheduling

The Adobe Commerce edition starts from 22,000 dollars per year. The Commerce Cloud pricing starts at 40,000 dollars per year.

Magento Commerce pricing model is based on Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) and Average Order Value (AOV.) GMV is the total amount of sales your store makes over time.

The Magento Commerce pricing will increase as you make more sales. The costs can reach up to 100,000 dollars and more. It is based on your store revenue. The pricing is one of the drawbacks of Magento Commerce.

Magento 2 Open Source vs. Adobe Commerce

Let’s see the pros and cons of each Magento 2 edition. We will compare them under different categories.

1. Installation and Hosting

Magento installation requires a bit of technical knowledge. The duration and ease of Magento installation depend on your store. The duration can be based on the size of your store and traffic.

Magento 2 Open Source can be self-hosted. You can host it on-premise or opt for a managed hosting provider.

The hosting company will handle server-side maintenance. You will also get technical support and a performance boost for your Magento store.

Adobe Commerce is hosted on-premise or via a cloud-based solution. The Commerce Cloud Edition is designed for Magento cloud hosting. Amazon Web Services powers the Infrastructure as a Service for Commerce Cloud.

Rapid deployment packages to help you go live faster. However, you need to pay additional costs for these tools.

The Open Source edition wins in this category as it is more cost-efficient. The setup also takes less time for Magento open source.

Your IT staff can handle the back-end tasks. You can also use managed Magento hosting services.

2. Features and Functionality

Adobe Commerce has more advanced features. You will need to see if it is worth the price for your store. Adobe Commerce offers built-in features. You will not need extensions to upload or cross-sell bulk products.

Magento Open Source also doesn’t fall short in this category. You will get a wide range of tools to build an e-commerce store. Magento has a strong developer community. Any features that you may need can be added as an extension.

Check out this Magento features page. It has tools you may need for your store.

3. Performance

Magento store performance depends on technical factors. It is not just about the Magento edition.

Some factors for Magento site performance are:

• Server configurations
• Magento updates
• Varnish cache
• Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
• JavaScript and CSS files
• High performing technology stack

You need a team of experts to enhance Magento store performance. Adobe Commerce does provide performance monitoring tools and faster page loading with CDN. Magento hosting providers also offer these tools. At a much lower price.

You can opt for the Open Source platform and get the same performance. All you need is Magento experts working on your store performance.

4. Management Capabilities

Magento management needs you to keep track of orders. You will also need to take care of payments and customer service. Magento offers many in-built management tools for both editions.

Adobe Commerce comes with some exclusive features.

1. Catalog Management

You can add new products using catalog-management tools. It allows you to create categories for products. You also get inventory updates.

Magento 2 Open Source has a more simplified version of these tools. Adobe Commerce offers a few advanced functionalities.

Some of the features of Adobe Commerce include:

• Gift cards
• Exporting full catalog
• Scheduled changes
• Product recommendations

2. B2B features

Magento Open Source does not have built-in B2B tools.

Adobe Commerce offers a suite of B2B tools such as:

• Price tags and catalogs
• More payment options
• Purchase limits, credit limits
• Quote requests

3. Merchandising

The merchandising tools help in navigating products. These tools allow easy product access for customers.

Adobe Commerce takes a win here. You can set how products will appear on your site. You can segment products by category rules that display products under different brands. You can add rewards and point systems for consumer engagements.

Adobe Commerce merchandising features include:

• Visual Merchandising
• Gift registries
• Rewards and Loyalty
• Private Sales and Events

These functions are not available in Magento 2 Open Source edition. However, you can find alternatives in many third-party Magento extensions.

5. Marketing

Magento 2 provides marketing functions for both editions. You can create tags and meta descriptions and also use custom URLs and SEO optimization.

Adobe Commerce has tools to improve promotions. It also offers tools for consumer analytics.

Some of the Adobe Commerce features include:

• Related Product Rules
• Google Tag Manager
• Discounts with first purchase
• Wishlist search
• Customer segmentation
• Customer loyalty system

These tools help create a unique shopping experience. However, note that these tools are only add ons. You will also need an effective marketing strategy.

Both Magento 2 editions offer helpful marketing tools. You can use these tools to boost consumer engagements. You will need to see which tools suit your server-related needs. Sometimes, less is more. Creating a simple online store can get you more sales.

6. Security

Magento 2 releases the latest security updates. These updates ensure that your site is safe from security attacks.

Adobe Commerce includes a Fastly Web Application Firewall. It also offers Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) protection.

Magento Commerce (Cloud) comes with PCI Level 1 Compliance. PCI compliance is helpful for large-scale companies. These companies accept credit card payments directly.

Magento Open Source edition is best for SMBs. Companies using a trusted payment gateway can opt for open source. Magento 2 Open Source does not have WAF and DDoS security services. A convenient fix for this is outsourcing security services.

You can choose third-party Magento experts such as a hosting provider.

Magento hosting provider will take care of server-related security. You will get SSL/TLS Encryption from your hosting provider. They also offer Web Applicant Firewall and prevent DDoS attacks.

Security needs to be maintained for both the Magento 2 editions. Thus, there is no single winner for this category.

Adobe Commerce offers direct technical support. The response times are slow and cause delays. When you report a bug, you will have to wait for the following updates to fix it.

7. Third-party Extensions

Adobe Commerce is less suitable for third-party extensions as compared to Magento 2 Open Source. Developers don’t have the freedom to customize Adobe Commerce. The extensions are also more expensive.

Magento 2 Open Source is suitable with third-party extensions. Developers are free to use different extensions in open source. Extensions improve store functionality.

You can explore the Magento Extensions Marketplace. There are thousands of free and paid extensions.

8. Costs

Magento Commerce is far costlier than the Open Source edition. Its starting price is 22,000 dollars per year. This price does not include hosting and maintenance costs.

The Commerce edition is based on Gross Merchandise Value. The costs increase based on the business profits you make. If your sales revenue is more than one million, your store is charged. You will need to pay more for the Adobe Commerce Edition.

Magento 2 Open Source is a free edition. Which means you will only be paying for hosting and maintenance. If you choose Magento-managed hosting services, you get a better ROI.

The back-end workloads are shifted to your hosting provider. It is more cost-effective in the long run. You won’t be paying for expensive support.

Which Magento 2 Edition is best for your business?

We have compared the two Magento versions. Now, let’s see which version will work best for your business. The Magento Commerce version offers more features. However, Open Source is customized with extensions.

With the Open Source edition, you only use the extensions you need. The Magento Commerce edition is best for large-scale businesses. If you need support from the vendor, Magento Commerce works.

To choose the best Magento edition for your business, analyze your requirements. Some essential factors to consider are:

• The price-performance of the Magento version
• The size of your business
• Number of transactions
• Budgets
• Target revenue
• Technical support

Cross-check your demands with the services provided by Magento edition.

Who is Magento 2 Open Source best for?

Magento 2 Open Source is the best for all kinds of businesses. It offers a low cost of entry.

Companies with smaller budgets can also use the Magento platform. They don’t lose significant amounts of money with open source.

Magento Open Source has all the features necessary. You can build an efficient online store for retailers and small businesses.

If you want a cost-effective eCommerce platform, Magento Open Source is a perfect option.

Who is Adobe Commerce best for?

Adobe Commerce is best suited for enterprise-level businesses. These companies have large product catalogs and a global presence. They also have high business complexities.

This edition is for more than 10 million transactions and needs direct contact with the vendor. Adobe Commerce is more suitable for such business.

The Commerce edition also offers B2B tools for companies that work in the B2B environment.

You gain out-of-the-box features from Magento. Features include content management and consumer segmentation.

Adobe Commerce offers more stability for global stores.

You will also get a centralized platform for business intelligence and accounts management. Magento Commerce edition will allow more personalization and hybrid B2B/B2C tools.

Conclusion

Adobe Commerce and Open Source using the same technology stack. Users can take advantage of the dynamic capabilities of both these editions.

While choosing the right Magento edition, we recommend looking at your requirements. See the costs and consumer demands. The Magento platform is for all businesses with different budgets and traffic.

Our recommendation would be Magento 2 Open Source.

The open-source edition offers all the features you need. It allows you to invest in custom developments, modules, and marketing. For hosting, we recommend taking a managed hosting provider, which is specialized in Magento 2 Hosting.