Magento never left behind when it comes to fulfilling the needs of ambitious merchants.
When it launched in the year 2007, nobody thought that this platform was going to be the top choice among merchants to open their e-commerce stores, whose current valuation is $1.7 billion.
However, Magento took a lot of turns to reach at such heights that involved various partnerships, acquisitions, and mergers. Nonetheless, we are explaining all this, because a little bit of history is important for you to understand the difference between Adobe Commerce VS Magento Open Source.
So, the story started in 2007, when Magento was formed by Roy Rubin and Yoav Kutner as an open-source e-commerce platform that quickly became one of the most popular open-source e-commerce platforms in 2008 and had grown and crossed over 500,000 downloads, due to its unbeatable flexibility, scalability, and strong community support.
Plus, to cater to larger enterprises, the company released version 1.0 of Magento Community Edition which is later termed Magento Open Source, offering enhanced features, premium support, and advanced capabilities.
However, in 2015, Magento 2 was launched, which was later on named Magento Enterprise Edition, a paid version also called Adobe Commerce, after its acquisition by Adobe, while integrating seamlessly with Adobe’s suite of tools.
Furthermore, Magento Open Source remained as a free, community-driven platform, providing small and mid-sized businesses with complete control over their e-commerce setup.
Magento Open Source vs. Adobe Commerce: Choosing the Right Solution
To understand which platform is better for you, let’s understand both of their pros, and cons, so you can differentiate in a better way.
Magento Open Source: A Cost-Effective and Customizable Solution
Pros & Cons of Magento Open Source
| Feature | Pros | Cons |
| Cost-Effective | No licensing fees, making it a budget-friendly option. | Development, hosting, and security costs can add up over time. |
| Customization | Highly flexible with numerous extensions and themes. | Requires technical knowledge for customizations and integrations. |
| Scalability | Can grow with your business if you have the right development resources. | Performance optimization requires additional effort and expertise. |
| Community Support | Strong developer community providing tutorials and forums. | No official Adobe support, meaning troubleshooting depends on third-party assistance. |
| Security | Security patches are available, but implementation is the store owner’s responsibility. | Higher security risks since Adobe does not manage security updates. |
| Built-in Features | Offers a basic set of features, expandable via third-party extensions. | Lacks advanced features found in Adobe Commerce, requiring additional plugins. |
Who Should Choose Magento Open Source?
Magento Open Source is best suited for:
- Startups and small businesses looking for a cost-effective solution.
- Tech-savvy merchants who can manage development and security.
- Businesses that require complete control over customization and infrastructure.
Recommended Read: Essential Steps for Setting Up a Magento 2 Local Development Environment
Adobe Commerce: A Feature-Rich, Scalable Solution for Enterprises
Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Enterprise Edition) is a paid version of Magento, offering advanced features, security, and official Adobe support.
It is ideal for businesses that require enterprise-grade infrastructure, seamless scalability, and built-in eCommerce functionalities.
Pros & Cons of Adobe Commerce
| Feature | Pros | Cons |
| Feature-Rich | Comes with built-in marketing, SEO, inventory management, and analytics tools. | Less flexibility for customization compared to Magento Open Source. |
| Security | Provides automatic security updates and PCI compliance support. | Dependency on Adobe for security updates and fixes. |
| Scalability & Performance | Handles high traffic and complex catalogs effortlessly. | Requires a high budget for setup and maintenance. |
| Official Support | Direct support from Adobe, including technical assistance and account management. | Higher cost compared to self-hosted solutions. |
| Hosting & Maintenance | Available as a fully managed cloud solution with Adobe Commerce Cloud. | Limited control over hosting and infrastructure. |
Who Should Choose Adobe Commerce?
Adobe Commerce is ideal for:
- Established businesses & enterprises with high-volume sales and complex operations.
- Merchants who need built-in security, automation, and premium support.
- Companies that prefer a fully managed eCommerce solution with cloud hosting.
Some Advanced Features of Adobe Commerce
| Category | Features |
| B2B Suite | Includes B2B quotes, company accounts, purchase order management, quick ordering, requisition lists, company credit, payment on account, shared catalogs, and company email configuration. |
| Advanced Search | Smart search with autocomplete, typo correction, and product attribute-based search for an improved user experience. |
| Cloud Infrastructure | Offers PCI compliance, built-in analytics, Fastly Web Application Firewall, New Relic APM, on-demand Magento BI, CDN integration, and DDoS protection. |
| Cloud Pro Version | Provides multiple environments, dedicated hardware setup, New Relic infrastructure monitoring, logs, B2B module support, and access to a dedicated technical advisor. |
| Catalog & System Management | Features action logs, order archiving, a robust order management system, full catalog export, and scheduled data imports/exports. |
| Marketing & Merchandising | Includes Google Tag Manager integration, private sales/events, dynamic related product rules, automated email reminders, and AI-driven product recommendations. |
| Targeting & Segmentation | Allows real-time customer segmentation, personalized product displays, and customer attribute tracking for better targeting. |
| Content Management | Drag-and-drop CMS with staging, preview capabilities, page hierarchy, and dynamic content blocks. |
| Gifting Options | Enables stores to offer customizable gift cards, gift registries, loyalty rewards programs, and voucher systems. |
| Bulk Add to Cart by SKU | Allows customers to add multiple items to their cart by entering a list of SKUs. |
| Sales & Checkout Enhancements | Supports returns, address search, cart thumbnail previews, and streamlined shopping cart management. |
| Customer Support | 24/7 technical support from Adobe, ensuring quick issue resolution and expert assistance. |
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Between Adobe Commerce Cloud & Magento Open Source
1. Business Goals & Scalability
Adobe Commerce Cloud is the perfect choice if you are someone who is dealing with large-scale business as it offers enough resources to scale the online business easily with its uninterrupted automation functionalities, and cloud-based model.
Whereas if you choose Magento Open Source there are chances that it lacks some advantages and features, however, it is a completely go-to version for small to mid-sized businesses that require flexibility and customization but may need to scale over time.
If you anticipate rapid growth, Adobe Commerce Cloud provides seamless expansion capabilities without the need for extensive backend modifications.
2. Magento Hosting & Infrastructure
- Adobe Commerce Cloud offers automated hosting and a self-service approach to building, deploying, and managing your Commerce application in a cloud-native environment. It also includes a pre-provisioned infrastructure that includes PHP, MySQL, RabbitMQ, and supported search engine technologies, as well as CLI management and deployment tools and Amazon Web Services.
- Magento Open Source requires businesses to choose their own hosting provider, offering greater control over server configurations and costs.
If you want hassle-free hosting with built-in optimizations, Adobe Commerce Cloud is the better choice.
Suggested Reading: Understanding Magento 2’s Architecture: A Simple Yet Complete Guide
3. Magento Security
While both platforms prioritize security, Adobe Commerce Cloud provides:
- Regular security patches
- PCI compliance support
- DDoS protection & firewall security
Magento Open Source users must manually implement security measures, making Adobe Commerce Cloud a better option for businesses handling sensitive customer data or requiring enterprise-grade security.
4. Marketing & Analytics
If data-driven marketing is a priority, Adobe Commerce Cloud is the superior choice, offering:
- AI-powered recommendations
- Advanced customer segmentation
- Built-in SEO & marketing automation tools
Magento Open Source provides basic marketing capabilities but requires additional extensions for advanced personalization and automation.
5. User Experience & Interface
Both platforms offer customization, but Adobe Commerce Cloud provides:
- A more refined, intuitive dashboard
- Easier navigation for store management
- Drag-and-drop content management
Magento Open Source allows for greater flexibility in UI customization, but it requires development expertise to optimize the user experience.
6. Customization & Flexibility
When it comes to customization, Magento Open Source is ideal for businesses looking for complete control over customization because it offers access to the platform’s source code that developers can easily modify.
However, if we discuss about customization of Adobe Commerce, it has out-of-the-box functionalities, leveraging which you can add personalization in different areas (Real-time click data, 360-degree view of each customer, Personalized search results, Data-driven product search, and so on).
Nonetheless, it has some limitations in customization due to its pre-built cloud infrastructure, so businesses needing highly specific customizations may find Magento Open Source a better fit.
Read More: Reasons Why Magento is Essential for Ecommerce Success
Wrapping Up
The topic of Adobe Commerce vs Magento Open Source not going to end soon, however, we hope this blog will help you in deciding the best platform for your business.
However, it would be better to consider all the factors (like the business’s needs, budget, and development resources) before opting for anyone.
Regardless, with our experience, we recommend opting for Adobe Commerce in case you want to scale your business and look for something new in the technological dimension.
