Not quite sure how to choose the best eCommerce platform for your online store? It’s often a complicated decision that includes comparing various options and evaluating many different factors.
If you need help narrowing down your choices, here’s a comparison of Magento and Shopify to help you decide. These two platforms offer the best-in-class eCommerce solutions for today’s merchants, but they have their own strengths and weaknesses that set them apart.
Magento vs. Shopify at a Glance
Magento and Shopify are extremely popular options for eCommerce businesses. Both allow a great degree of customisation and different ways to streamline business operations. However, one platform may be more suitable for you based on your needs.
Magento: Quick Overview
Magento is a powerful eCommerce solution owned by Adobe. You can choose between the free (Magento) and paid (Adobe Commerce) options, with both offering a range of deeply customisable and extensible features to improve how you serve customers.
Pros
- Magento is open-source, so you can modify it freely and add new features to suit specific needs.
- Adobe Commerce, the paid enterprise version of Magento, is also deeply customisable.
- Both Magento and Adobe Commerce have a wide range of out-of-the-box features suited for scalability and expansion, such as support for multiple storefronts, seamless data integrations, and advanced inventory management.
- There is a large community of users, developers, and agencies surrounding Magento, which means expert support is always available.
- Magento has extensive analytics and reporting features.
Cons
- Although Magento is free to use, custom development can be expensive and can easily cost businesses thousands of dollars to get your store the way you want it to be. (See costs below)
- Both Magento and Adobe Commerce have transaction fees.
- Frequent Magento updates and upgrades can make it difficult to maintain an online store on your own.
- Either version of Magento has a steep learning curve, making it less ideal for average users and often requiring the expertise of a developer to effectively use.
- You need a dedicated server to host Magento, which translates to additional costs and logistical concerns.
Shopify: QUICK OVERVIEW
Shopify is a great platform for established eСommerce brands and those building their first online shop. It’s popular for its intuitive tools and features, making it easy to set up and manage an attractive and functional storefront. The platform offers a premium plan, Shopify Plus, which is designed for enterprise-level users.
Pros
- Shopify is relatively straightforward and easy to use, allowing even non-technical users to build an attractive store relatively quickly.
- The platform has a dedicated app store with over 1,200 apps and plugins to further customise your store.
- Shopify has a 24/7 support team that can attend to your needs any time of the day.
- Shopify is a self-sufficient platform that doesn’t require a separate web host.
Cons
- Shopify doesn’t have a free version, only a free 14-day trial.
- Despite having many apps and plugins available, the platform can be rigid and inflexible. This can be a limiting factor when developing custom or bespoke functionalities for your online store.
- Shopify does not support email hosting on its platform.
- Some merchants report difficulties when managing orders and inventory.
Table Comparison
| Magento | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
|
Pricing |
Free (Magento Open Source) and paid (Adobe Commerce) |
3 plans with free trial available, with a separate plan for enterprise users |
|
Hosting |
Free version is self-hosted, paid version includes hosting |
Hosting is included in all plans and comes with a free myshopify.com subdomain |
|
Product Limit |
Unlimited products |
Unlimited products |
|
Customisability |
Advanced customisation features that lets you design one-of-a-kind stores |
Easy to customise but not as flexible |
|
Scalability
|
Comes with out-of-the-box features suitable for businesses with big goals |
Able to meet the demands of most (but not all) businesses |
|
Support |
Largely community-driven, letting you find answers to any question |
Available 24/7 from official channels |
|
Ease of Use |
Recommended for users with knowledge of web development |
Accessible to the everyday person and doesn’t require knowledge in coding |
Detailed Comparisons of Magento vs. Shopify
Let’s dive deeper into the key differences between Magento and Shopify to help you make an informed decision on which of the two you should use for your eCommerce website.
Pricing & Costs
- The free version of Magento, Magento Open Source, is free to download and install. However, you will still need to pay for web development, web hosting, and additional necessary integration costs to launch and maintain your site.
- Pricing for the premium (paid) version of Magento, Adobe Commerce, starts at $35,000.
- Magento’s total cost will be based on your store’s average order value and annual online revenue. This can start at around $22,000 per year and go all the way up to $125,000.
- Unlike Magento, Shopify is subscription-based and only offers a 14-day free trial with basic and limited features.
- Shopify has three paid plans, each costing $29, $79, and $299 USD per month.
- Enterprise-level users can also opt for Shopify Plus, priced at $2,000 USD per month.
Plugins & Extensions
- Magento supports a vast range of paid and free third-party extensions because of its community of developers, agencies, and freelancers.
- Magento works with over 4,000 ready-to-use extensions for various purposes.
- Similarly, Shopify supports a range of apps and plugins to assist you with accounting, customer service, inventory, reporting, shipping, and more. However, you will need to pay fees associated with using these apps.
- Shopify has a built-in app store with over 1,600 free and paid apps.
Security
- Magento offers advanced security features, as well as dedicated patches to address any vulnerabilities that arise.
- Magento gives users the flexibility to improve store security by themselves. You can install premade extensions or develop your own to keep business data safe.
- Shopify is a hosted platform, meaning security is handled for you. It comes with an SSL certificate and is PCI-DSS compliant.
- Shopify takes care of security for you. Therefore, it is in charge of handling any security breaches and making sure your site is safe.
Business Scalability
- Magento can manage businesses with hundreds of stores and thousands of goods with ease. It offers a wide range of solutions to fulfil the needs of even the most demanding businesses.
- Shopify is incredibly scalable with its tiered plans and app store, but it can be rather rigid in terms of customisation. If you need bespoke functions to scale up, you might not have the freedom to implement these on Shopify.
Ease of Use
- Megento is not beginner-friendly and requires users to have at least basic technical knowledge to use.
- The Magento store setup process can be complicated for new users even if there are multiple setting guidelines and tutorials provided. Most are written for developers and not for DIY users.
- Shopify, on the other hand, is accessible to the average person who does not have knowledge in coding. Most platform updates happen in the background.
- Shopify is a hosted eCommerce platform, which means it takes care of many of the technical aspects of operating a store. This also means you don’t have to go through a complicated setup process.
Support
- Magento Open Source doesn’t offer live chat, phone, or email support unless you register for the paid plan.
- Adobe Commerce users get official full-fledged support, including email and live support.
- The platform does provide access to user documentation and forums. However, the official support forum of Magento is overrun with spam because of the lack of organised monitoring.
- On the other hand, Shopify provides 24/7 support over the phone, live chat, and email. There are four hotlines, each designated to different regions.
- If your region does not fall under the hotline zones, Shopify has a community where users interact with one another and get answers to their questions.
Magento vs Shopify: Which Platform Best Suits You?
Both platforms allow entrepreneurs to build and sell their products online. However, if you are a new merchant with a limited budget, Shopify is your top choice due to its simplicity and ease of use. On the other hand, Magento is for businesses of all sizes and offers more customisability and personalisation. It’s also much more expensive than its competitor, making it ideal for medium and large businesses with big budgets.
eCommerce Experts at Your Service
If you need help with Magento eCommerce development, or if you’re looking for a Shopify agency to help you build your online store, we’re here to help. We’ll be happy to assist you in choosing the best platform based on your needs. Send us a message today to get started.