Magento vs Shopify Plus

By

Shopify Plus Experts · 1,100+ Shopify stores built · 400+ five star reviews

Last updated

Shopify Plus is a hosted platform where Shopify runs hosting, security and upgrades, while Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce give you control of the code and make you responsible for running it. For most growing brands Shopify Plus means far less platform work; Magento still fits stores that need deep server side customization. If you are leaving Magento, see our Magento to Shopify Plus migration service.

The short verdict

Choose Shopify Plus if you want your team working on merchandising, marketing and customers instead of servers, patches and upgrade projects. It covers B2B, international selling and checkout customization natively, and custom logic runs as apps and Shopify Functions outside the platform code.

Choose Magento (Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce) if you truly need to change platform behavior in PHP, must control where and how the application is hosted, or depend on Adobe Commerce B2B workflows such as negotiable quotes, purchase order approvals and requisition lists (Adobe docs) and have the developers to maintain them.

If you are still on Magento 1, the decision is already made for you: Magento 1 reached end of life on June 30, 2020, with no security patches from Adobe after that date (Help Net Security). You need a new platform either way.

Which Magento are you comparing with Shopify Plus?

"Magento" now covers several products. The comparison changes depending on which one you run.

EditionWhat it isWho runs upgrades
Magento Open SourceThe open source edition. You host it, secure it and extend it with PHP modules.You. Each 2.4 release gets three years of standard support from its release date, for example May 31, 2027 for 2.4.7 and May 31, 2028 for 2.4.8 (Adobe lifecycle policy).
Adobe Commerce on premisesAdobe's commercial edition, adding features such as B2B modules (Adobe docs) and the gift card product type (Adobe docs), hosted on your own infrastructure.You, on the same release lifecycle as Open Source.
Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructureA platform as a service on AWS, with PHP, MySQL (MariaDB), Redis and search provisioned for you (Adobe docs).Still you. Adobe describes it as requiring manual upgrade and patching, with six patch releases and one minor release per year (Adobe docs).
Adobe Commerce as a Cloud ServiceAdobe's software as a service model. Customization runs out of process through APIs, events and App Builder rather than PHP in the core (Adobe docs).Adobe, through a versionless model that upgrades automatically.
Magento 1The original platform, end of life since June 30, 2020 (Help Net Security).Nobody. No vendor security patches since June 2020.

Magento vs Shopify Plus comparison table

How Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce compare with Shopify Plus on the areas that drive cost and risk. This table covers platform capabilities, not prices.

AreaMagento Open Source and Adobe CommerceShopify Plus
HostingYou host Open Source and Adobe Commerce on premises. Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure is a self service platform as a service on AWS (Adobe docs).Hosted by Shopify. Plus includes 1 TB of file storage per store and unlimited staging stores (Shopify Help Center).
Upgrades and patchesYou apply patches and upgrade before each release leaves its three year standard support window (Adobe lifecycle policy). Only Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service upgrades automatically (Adobe docs).Shopify updates the platform for every store. There is no version to upgrade.
CustomizationPHP modules, plugins, observers and overrides that run inside the application, plus extensions from the Marketplace.Apps, custom apps, the Admin API and Shopify Functions for discount, delivery, payment and validation logic. Custom apps that contain Functions require Shopify Plus.
Catalog modelSeven product types including configurable, bundle and grouped, with EAV attributes and attribute sets (Adobe docs).One product with up to three options and 2,048 variants (Shopify Help Center), metafields and metaobjects for extra data, and combined listings on Plus (Shopify Help Center).
B2BAdobe Commerce B2B: company accounts, shared catalogs, quick order, negotiable quotes, purchase orders, requisition lists and pay on account (Adobe docs).Shopify B2B with companies, catalogs and payment terms. Plus adds unlimited catalogs assigned to company locations, deposits and partial payments (Shopify Help Center).
InternationalWebsites, stores and store views in one installation, often one store view per language (Adobe docs).Shopify Markets sets currency, catalogs, theme, domains or subfolders, languages, duties and taxes per market (Shopify Help Center). Plus supports 9 expansion stores (Shopify Help Center).
CheckoutFully custom checkout code that you build, test and keep secure through every upgrade.Checkout Extensibility. Apps that customize the information, shipping and payment pages and the Checkout Branding API are Plus only (Shopify Help Center).
Security and complianceServer hardening, patching and PCI scope depend on your hosting and your team.Shopify is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant (Shopify security), and the Plus plan is also SOC 2 certified with bot protection for flash sales (Shopify Help Center).
Total cost factorsHosting and CDN, Adobe Commerce fees under your Adobe agreement, extension licenses, patching and upgrade projects, developer retainers and PCI work.A monthly platform fee on a 1 or 3 year term, or a variable platform fee based on revenue for higher volume businesses, plus payment processing and app subscriptions (Shopify Plus pricing).

We do not quote platform prices here. Compare total cost of ownership over three years, including people and upgrade projects, not only license or platform fees.

When does Magento still fit?

Magento is still the right call for some businesses. Stay if most of these are true:

  • You change core behavior in PHP. Pricing engines, order flows or catalog logic that run inside the application and cannot run as an external app or Function.
  • You must control hosting. A contract, regulator or internal policy requires the application on infrastructure you choose and operate.
  • Your B2B depends on Adobe Commerce workflows. Negotiable quotes, purchase order approval rules and requisition lists are native in Adobe Commerce B2B (Adobe docs). On Shopify they need draft orders, apps or custom development.
  • You just upgraded. A store on 2.4.8 has standard support until May 31, 2028 (Adobe lifecycle policy), so a planned move can wait for the next upgrade decision.
  • You have an in house Magento team that can keep pace with six patch releases and one minor release a year (Adobe docs).

When is Shopify Plus the better fit?

Shopify Plus usually wins when the platform has become the project instead of the business:

  • You are on Magento 1, or on a 2.4 release close to the end of its support window (Adobe lifecycle policy).
  • Upgrades, patches and extension conflicts take a large share of your development budget every year.
  • You sell internationally and want currency, language, catalog and domain settings per market in one store (Shopify Markets), with expansion stores where brands or operations differ.
  • Your B2B runs on company accounts, price lists and payment terms, which map to Shopify B2B companies, catalogs and payment terms (Shopify Help Center).
  • Checkout is a conversion lever you want to extend with checkout UI extensions and Functions without owning checkout code (Shopify Help Center).
  • You run launches and flash sales and want hosting, scaling and bot protection handled by the platform (Shopify Help Center).

What is the migration path from Magento to Shopify Plus?

You do not need to upgrade Magento first. A Magento to Shopify Plus migration moves data, not code, and rebuilds the features you still need:

  1. Audit. List your edition, product types, attributes, extensions, custom modules, integrations and every URL in the url_rewrite table.
  2. Map. Configurable products become products with variants, EAV attributes become metafields and metaobjects, store views become markets, and customer groups become tags, segments or B2B companies.
  3. Rebuild. The theme, custom modules and checkout changes are rebuilt as a Shopify theme, apps and Functions.
  4. Migrate and test. Products first, then customers, then historical orders, the import order Shopify recommends (Shopify Help Center).
  5. Redirect and launch. Every indexed Magento URL gets a 301 redirect. Shopify Plus stores can hold up to 20,000,000 redirects (Shopify Help Center).

Field by field mapping is covered in our Magento to Shopify data migration guide. For a scoped plan and a working copy of your store on Shopify Plus, see our Magento to Shopify Plus migration service.

Magento vs Shopify Plus FAQ

Is Shopify Plus better than Magento?

For most brands that want lower maintenance, yes. Shopify Plus is hosted and updated by Shopify, is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant (Shopify security), and covers B2B, Markets and checkout customization. Magento is better when you need to change platform behavior in PHP or must control hosting.

What is the difference between Adobe Commerce and Shopify Plus?

Adobe Commerce is Adobe's commercial edition of Magento, run on premises, on cloud infrastructure or as a Cloud Service (Adobe docs). Shopify Plus is Shopify's plan for high volume and enterprise brands on a single hosted platform. The biggest difference is who maintains the application: you, in most Adobe Commerce deployments, or Shopify.

Is Magento 1 still supported?

No. Magento 1 reached end of life on June 30, 2020, and Adobe released no security patches for it after that date (Help Net Security). Stores still on Magento 1 can move straight to Shopify Plus without upgrading to Magento 2.

How long is each Magento 2 release supported?

Adobe gives each 2.4 release three years of standard support from general availability. Standard support ends May 31, 2027 for 2.4.7, May 31, 2028 for 2.4.8 and May 31, 2029 for 2.4.9 (Adobe lifecycle policy).

Can Shopify Plus handle Adobe Commerce B2B?

Mostly. Company accounts map to B2B companies and locations, shared catalogs to catalogs, and pay on account to payment terms. Plus adds unlimited catalogs, deposits and partial payments (Shopify Help Center). Negotiable quotes and requisition lists usually need draft orders, an app or custom work.

Does Shopify Plus support multiple stores like Magento websites and store views?

Yes. Store views for languages and currencies usually become markets in one store (Shopify Markets). Websites with separate brands or operations can become expansion stores, and Plus supports 9 of them (Shopify Help Center).

How much does Shopify Plus cost compared to Magento?

Shopify Plus charges a monthly platform fee on a 1 or 3 year term, or a variable fee based on revenue for higher volume businesses, plus payment processing (Shopify Plus pricing). Magento costs come from hosting, Adobe Commerce fees if you use it, extensions, patching and developers. Compare total cost over three years.

Will we lose SEO moving from Magento to Shopify Plus?

Not if every indexed Magento URL is 301 redirected to its new Shopify URL and your metadata moves with it. Shopify redirects fire only from URLs that return a 404, and URLs with query strings might not redirect as expected (Shopify Help Center), so test them after launch.

Should you move from Magento to Shopify Plus?

If your Magento roadmap is mostly upgrades, patches and extension fixes, Shopify Plus lets you spend that budget on growth. If you rely on deep PHP customization or controlled hosting, Magento can still be the right platform. Ecomzier is a Shopify Plus Expert agency that has built 1,100+ Shopify stores. Read how we run a Magento to Shopify Plus migration, or book a free consultation to talk through your store.
Book a free consultation Magento migration service