Selecting the right eCommerce solution for your brand is not an easy task. There’s a large handful of platforms available for brands to choose from, but when you really get down to it, there are 2 major solutions that stand out from the crowd: Shopify and Adobe Commerce.
There are reasons why these 2 platforms remain the front-runners for eCommerce solutions, but are they both interchangeable? Obviously, no.
Both Adobe and Shopify have their own unique set of features and offerings, and what might be a perfect fit for one store might not work for another.
And sure, you can re-host and re-platform all you want if you come to the realization that you picked the wrong eCommerce solution… but who wants to start off on the wrong foot? If you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing you don’t. So I commend you for putting in the time to research your options!
High Level Overview
Adobe Commerce Overview
Formerly known as Magento Commerce, Adobe Commerce is one of the many offerings available to merchants in the Adobe suite. According to their website, Adobe Commerce is an “experience-driven, limitless commerce” platform that is “ideal for fast-growing small businesses.”
The platform allows eCommerce merchants to create top-tier online shopping experiences with a vast library of out-of-the-box features to further personalize an online marketplace in a global industry.
For merchants looking to work with a highly customizable eCommerce site solution, Adobe Commerce is a good bet.
Shopify Overview
If you’re in the commerce industry, you’ve certainly heard about Shopify before. A unicorn coming out of Ottawa, Canada, Shopify powers well over 150,000 online retailers including some of the most innovative eCommerce brands in the world. According to their website, Shopify “is a complete commerce platform that lets you start, grow, and manage your business.”
Using a subscription-based business model, the eCommerce software allows any retailers to build a responsive online experience for buyers.
With a wide pricing range available, Shopify is well positioned to be used by smaller companies with a limited budget and by enterprise giants with unlimited spending power.
Platform Pros
Adobe Commerce Pros
Fully customizable – Unlike Shopify, Adobe Commerce gives merchants full control over how their customers’ experience looks, without limits.
Scalability and Extensibility – Adobe’s headless, API-based agility opens the door for any application integration into your tech stack. Using layered cacheable architecture, the cloud-based solution enables your product catalog and storefronts to grow without pain.
Available Features – Adobe boasts one of the most extensive libraries of extensions under its Adobe marketplaces, allowing retailers to add complex capabilities.
Shopify Pros
Simplicity – The learning curve for the Shopify platform is significantly more accessible than that of Adobe (as should typically be expected with any Adobe product). Shopify’s software is built to accommodate most levels of technical prowess, which enables even small Mom-and-Pop stores to digitize their offerings.
Multi-Channel Selling – Shopify allows merchants to sell across multiple channels online, including Amazon, Instagram, Facebook, and eBay.
1,200 Apps – Shopify has over 1,200 plugins available for their eCommerce customers to automate tasks, simplify accounting flows, customize their operations to accommodate international buyers, and more.
Platform Cons
Adobe Commerce Cons
Resource-Heavy – Developers claim the Adobe solution requires a robust, powerful server in order to operate at peak performance. It is also highly noted that teams must sink a large portion of learning time to get up and running.
Debugging Updates – Customers have reported that when new updates are added to the Commerce software, many customizations made when building one’s eCommerce ecosystem will end up breaking.
Price – Adobe products are not cheap, and Adobe Commerce is no exception. Hidden fees also come into play with hosting, add ons, payment gateway solutions, etc.
Shopify Cons
Lack of customization – Customers of Shopify are only given 10 free templates to choose from. Merchants have access to an additional set of themes, for a price.
App-reliant – With fewer out-of-the-box features than other softwares, merchants have to turn to Shopify’s app marketplace to boost store functionality.
Transaction fees – Using Shopify Payments offsets a avoids this, but for merchants that opt not to use Shopify’s branded payment gateway, they will incur extra fees on top of the additional gateway’s fees.
Platform Features
Adobe Commerce Features
Multi-brand solution, Mobile centricity, Integrated B2B functionality, Amazon Sales Channel, Custom UX, Content management, Page builder, AI Product recommendations, Live search, Inventory and order management, PWAs, Customer account management, Shipping solutions, BI and reporting, Cloud delivery, Data warehousing, Promotions management, Security, PCI compliance, ERP integration
Explore Adobe Commerce’s features here.
Shopify Features
Channel Management, Sales channels, Inventory and order management, Discount management, SSL, Google Ads credits, Product reviews, Abandoned cart recovery, Gift card management, SEO optimization, Reporting, Marketing and email automation, Fraud analysis, International market management, Translations, Currency conversions, Local payment methods, PCI compliance
Explore Shopify’s features here.
Payment Options Available
Adobe Commerce Payment Options
Adobe Commerce supports a selection of payment solutions and partnerships with payment gateways.
Adobe currently recommends working with PayPal Express Checkout and Braintree as gateways to cover the 100s of ways consumers pay online today.
Adobe Commerce also accepts most credit and debit cards, Klarna, Venmo, PayPal Pay in 4, Amazon Pay, and Cash on Delivery.
Shopify Payment Options
Shopify has partnerships with 100 payment gateways, ensuring Shopify merchants can engage with international shoppers with their local currency, in their preferred way to pay.
Besides most major credit and debit cards, the platform also supports Klarna, Sofort, eDEAL, EPS, and Bancontant when dealing locally.
Support Services Offered
Adobe Commerce Support Services
Support is available to Adobe customers through 24/7 email services, live chat, video tutorials, and forums.
As to be expected, Adobe also has an extensive Help Center that users can browse for tools, announcements, troubling shooting guides, and best practices.
Shopify Support Services
Shopify offers a much more robust support engine than other providers.
With 24/7 live reps, online chat, phone support, email services, webinars, video tutorials, and a rich Knowledge Base filled with documentation and guides, customers can be confident that they can always get in touch with someone or access a comprehensive guide when they need help.
Platform Pricing
Adobe Commerce Pricing
Pricing for their commerce solution starts at $1988 USD / per month
Shopify Pricing
Pricing for Shopify’s subscription starts at $29 USD / per month
Platform Reviews
Let’s cut to the chase… What are other people saying?
When buying an item online, most users check the reviews to see how real people are enjoying what they purchased. When considering an eCommerce solution, the same should apply.
Of course, companies are quick to share their positive reviews on their site, but when it comes to finding reviews that aren’t glowing? Merchants might have to do some digging.
Here’s a quick look at the full spectrum of solution reviews for these two eCommerce giants.
Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) – 5 Star Review
“Magento is the best solution to design a website quickly. It is a secure and customization eCommerce template to set up product details, Prices, Image. We can add multiple products according to business requirements. It provides a lot of templates designs to change website design and functionality. If you need to create pages and posts we can work with the admin panel and complete tasks easily. No hard coding is required for website development. Admin panel of Magento is user-friendly easily set up meta tags, robots, and other digital marketing tasks. It is good for business and we can create large websites.” – Read the full Capterra Review here
Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) – 1 Star Review
“Magento is very complex to use and does not have an easy admin panel. There was always issues happening and this happened on a daily basis. Must have some development skill in order to work with Magento.” – Read the full Capterra Review here
Shopify – 5 Star Review
“Shopify is the all in one place to manage e-commerce. Set yourself up for success with their knowledge on e-commerce, templates, and built in features that make this product work out of the box. You can be selling in less than an hour if you have all of your documentation and products ready to go.” – Read the full Capterra Review here
Shopify – 1 Star Review
“The platform is quite costly compared to other options. It doesn’t come with enough features to work on its own so users are stuck having to pay for add-on modules. And these are not a straight-up purchase but come with a monthly fee. I calculated the modules I would need and it was going to run me $500-$800 USD/month! It has been cheaper to build a Magento site and pay cash up front, one time, for modules I will use for the lifetime of my site.” – Read the full Capterra Review here
In Conclusion
Ultimately, there is no one right decision to make between Shopify and Adobe. Both eCommerce platforms will get the job done and will serve your team well. The main difference lies with budget, one’s desire for a fully customized system, and overall company preference.
If you’re already working in the Adobe suite and have some developers that can dedicate time to the project, sticking with another Adobe product might be your better bet.
If you’re looking to get something up and running, quickly, that can be manipulated to scale with you, you might want to look at Shopify.
If a solution isn’t jumping right out at you after this, my number one suggestion is to talk to your peers in the industry or find another eCommerce site that you’re in love with, and see what they’re using!
