Magento Open Source vs Adobe Commerce: What Should You Choose
One of the most popular questions we get coming from someone who chose Magento as their ecommerce platform is: Should we splurge on Adobe Commerce, or is the Open Source version enough?
Understanding the differences between the various versions of Magento can be confusing. In this article, we will explore the differences between them, and help you determine if upgrading to the paid version is right for your business.
First, let’s clarify the basics. Magento has two main versions: Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce (formerly known as Magento Commerce). Adobe Commerce can be further divided into two versions: Magento Commerce Cloud and Magento Commerce On-premise.
Magento Open Source
Magento Open Source, formerly known as Magento Community Edition, is the original version of Magento that is both self-hosted and free to install. Despite its free status, it is a highly advanced platform that can cater to ecommerce businesses of all sizes.
Theoretically, you can go to the Magento website, download Magento Open Source, and start using it immediately. The reality, however, is not that simple.
To begin with, since it is a self-hosted platform, you will need to find and pay for your hosting. It is worth noting that Magento has high hosting demands, so the cheapest hosting option may not suffice.
In addition, unlike user-friendly platforms like Shopify, Magento is not straightforward and requires coding knowledge to build a website. So not only will you have to pay for the initial development of your store, but you will also have to pay for its regular maintenance.
Therefore, while Magento Open Source is free, it is not a cheap solution due to additional costs.
This article outlines ways to approach the process of selecting an agency for the task.
Adobe Commerce / Magento Commerce
Magento Commerce (or Adobe Commerce, formerly Enterprise Edition) is an enhanced version of Magento Open Source. It is built on the foundation of Magento Open Source, with extra features to cater to the needs of enterprise-level companies.
Adobe Commerce comes packed with several additional features useful to bigger businesses. One of the significant advantages is a superior content management system that enables content staging. Additionally, Adobe Commerce boasts AI-driven cross-sales functionality that helps in optimizing sales. B2B companies stand to gain a lot from Adobe Commerce as it comes loaded with many features such as negotiable pricing, customer-specific catalogs, and pricing, a quoting system, among others.
Open Source vs Adobe Commerce Feature Comparison
Due to formatting problems the table can’t be displayed here, but you can find it on our blog.
Some of the additional features of Magento Commerce are:
1) Page builder and Visual Merchandiser: The drag-and-drop style page builder allows you to easily modify website pages, and the Visual Merchandiser tool lets you arrange products by moving them with your mouse.
2) Customer segmentation and personalization: You can customize pages based on location, order history, gender, and other factors such as promotions, prices, and structure.
3) Rule-based upselling and cross-selling using Adobe Sensei: Adobe Sensei is an artificial intelligence and machine learning tool that provides insights into customer behavior. Magento Commerce utilizes this data to make personalized offers, resulting in increased sales and customer satisfaction.
4) Elasticsearch: an advanced search tool that allows you to add synonyms and stop words, supports multiple languages, and provides an analysis tool that helps you understand your clients better.
5) Advanced security: Magento Open Source is a secure platform (especially with added security-oriented extensions), but Adobe Commerce goes a step further. It is PCI-compliant and supports credit card tokenization and user data encryption using AES-256 and SHA-256 hashing, among other added security features.
6) Technical support: Magento Commerce offers traditional technical support available 24/7 through various channels, while open-source versions of Magento require users to rely on forums or solve problems on their own.
7) Advanced marketing tools: Abandoned cart emails, gift registries, private sales, reward points, store credits, and other marketing tools.
8) Fastly Image Optimization: a service that allows you to offload image delivery to a cloud network that optimizes them and serves a cached version, allowing your website to load faster.
Magento Commerce On-premise
What about the difference between Magento Commerce Cloud and On-premise? Let’s figure it out.
The main difference between the two is in the hosting. One of the biggest benefits of using Adobe Commerce compared to regular Magento is that it’s a hosted platform. When you pay for it you gain access to Adobe’s hosting and don’t have to set it up yourself.
But what if you need Adobe Commerce’s functionality but don’t want it hosted by Adobe? For instance, if you want greater control over your hosting.
Enter Magento Commerce On-premise, the ideal solution. It allows you to choose your hosting while still enjoying all the other benefits of Magento Commerce.
However, be sure to choose your hosting provider carefully. Look for hosting companies approved to work with Magento.
Magento Commerce Pricing
Let’s discuss the costs associated with Adobe Commerce.
The pricing policy for Adobe Commerce is not publicly available and is dependent on several factors, making it difficult to provide an exact cost for your business. Generally, the cost is influenced by your ecommerce sales, and there may be an additional charge for the B2B functionality if required.
If your annual sales are less than a million dollars, the starting price for Magento Commerce is $30,000 per year. The price increases from there, with the highest price being approximately $190,000 for companies with over $25 million in annual product sales.
While Magento On-premise is somewhat less expensive since you do not pay for hosting, the difference in cost is not significant. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate if it is worthwhile to pay for hosting elsewhere.
Which Version of Magento Is Best for You?
Magento Open Source provides all the essential ecommerce capabilities and will serve you well. However, Adobe Commerce surpasses Magento Open Source in terms of features.
Nevertheless, upgrading to Adobe Commerce requires a significant investment, so it’s important to evaluate whether the additional features are necessary for your business.
To decide if splurging for the paid version is worth it for you, go through the feature list and see if you need all the extra features. Chances are, if your business is still new they are nice to have, but not a must. And for larger companies or those selling specific products (e.g., B2B), these features could be highly beneficial.
As for comparing cloud and on-premise versions, go for the cloud if there is no significant reason for you to get separate hosting. More often than not, paying for Magento Commerce on-premise and hosting separately will cost more than just one payment to Adobe.
If you have any other questions on this topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, we’d be happy to assist.
Originally published at https://www.brosolutions.net on February 1, 2022.
