Choosing between Shopify and Magento (now Adobe Commerce) remains one of the most consequential decisions for eCommerce businesses. Both platforms have evolved significantly, and the right choice depends on your business model, technical resources, and growth trajectory. Here is an honest comparison based on our experience building stores on both platforms.
Platform Overview in 2026
Shopify has continued its trajectory as the dominant hosted eCommerce platform, now powering millions of stores worldwide. Its ecosystem of apps, themes, and integrations is unmatched. Shopify Plus, its enterprise tier, has matured considerably with features like Shopify Functions, checkout extensibility, and improved B2B capabilities.
Magento, rebranded as Adobe Commerce, targets the enterprise segment with deep customisation capabilities. The open-source edition (Magento Open Source) remains available for businesses willing to self-host, while Adobe Commerce Cloud offers a managed solution with AI-powered features through Adobe Sensei.
Cost Comparison
This is where the platforms diverge most dramatically. Shopify Basic starts at around $39/month, with Shopify Plus beginning at $2,000/month for enterprise features. These costs are predictable — hosting, security, and maintenance are included.
Magento Open Source is free to download, but the true cost lies in hosting, development, and maintenance. A properly configured Magento hosting environment costs $200-2,000/month depending on traffic. Development costs are significantly higher due to Magento's complexity — expect to pay 2-3x more for equivalent customisation compared to Shopify. Adobe Commerce Cloud licensing starts at approximately $22,000/year.
Customisation and Flexibility
Magento wins on raw customisation power. With full source code access, you can modify virtually anything — product types, pricing logic, checkout flow, admin workflows. This makes it the preferred choice for businesses with genuinely unique requirements.
- Complex B2B: Magento handles multi-tier pricing, quote workflows, and custom catalogues per customer group natively.
- Multi-store: Magento's multi-store architecture is more mature, allowing different storefronts with shared backend management.
- Custom integrations: Magento's modular architecture allows deep integration with ERP, PIM, and warehouse systems.
Shopify has narrowed the gap considerably with Shopify Functions, which allow custom discount logic, delivery options, and payment rules. However, you are still working within Shopify's constraints — you cannot fundamentally alter the checkout process or data model.
Performance and Scalability
Shopify handles infrastructure entirely. Your store can handle flash sales and traffic spikes without any intervention. Shopify Plus merchants benefit from dedicated capacity and guaranteed uptime. For most businesses, this eliminates an entire category of operational concerns.
Magento requires careful performance tuning. Without proper caching (Varnish, Redis), CDN configuration, and database optimisation, Magento sites can be painfully slow. A well-optimised Magento installation can perform excellently, but it demands ongoing technical attention and investment.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Shopify if you want predictable costs, faster time to market, and minimal technical overhead. It suits D2C brands, small to mid-sized retailers, and businesses that value speed of execution over absolute customisation control.
Choose Magento if you have complex B2B requirements, need deep ERP integration, operate multiple storefronts with different configurations, or have a dedicated development team capable of maintaining the platform. The total cost of ownership will be higher, but the flexibility justifies it for the right use cases.
At Born Digital, we build on both platforms and advise based on your specific business needs rather than platform preference. The best platform is the one that aligns with your operational reality and growth plans.