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With thousands of customers and billions in annual gross merchandise value processed, Adobe Commerce is a leading cloud-based enterprise eCommerce platform solution delivering fast, convenient, personalized services to B2C and B2B customers (learn more about What is eCommerce).
If you need help understanding the versions of Adobe Commerce, what features you should know about, or simply want to know if Adobe Commerce is right for you, this guide is for you.
Key Takeaways
Here are some important things for IT managers and developers to know about Adobe Commerce (Magento):
- Available as a licensed platform-as-a-service or for on-premise deployment
- Magento Open Source is the free, open-source base that Adobe Commerce is built on
- Adobe Commerce primarily targets large enterprise customers as a flexible, scalable and secure platform
- Ideal to manage a variety of brands and business models (B2B, B2C) from a single interface
Net Solutions is an official Adobe Solution Partner for Magento with experienced (and Magento 2 certified) developers who can help you create exceptional eCommerce experiences or migrate your store to Adobe Commerce to help you scale and grow. Explore our services.
What Is Magento? What is Adobe Commerce?
Magento was developed as an open-source eCommerce platform, available now as Magento Open Source by Adobe. Adobe Commerce is a licensed eCommerce solution that uses Magento Open Source, available for on-premise or on cloud, a seven-time Leader in the digital commerce space.
Adobe Commerce on cloud includes pre-integrated cloud services to help you build, power, and scale your online business with minimal technical overhead. Adobe Commerce makes it easy to sell to anyone, anywhere with insight into how you’re doing, tools to make experiences richer and more personalized, and a range of third-party applications to extend the platform.
In the past year, new features have made it easier to integrate with third-party solutions, build composable storefronts with its new API Mesh, take advantage of new Magento B2B features, and extend performance and personalized multi-channel commerce experiences.
Adobe Commerce Architecture
Adobe Commerce’s API-first architecture is flexible and can be deployed:
1. With a traditional coupled storefront (“full stack”) that operates similar to customer experiences with traditional CMS, with the ability to manage content services and create a single front-end all on the same platform.
2. As a hybrid or decoupled solution using PWA Studio to create a progressive web application (PWA) to deliver app-like experiences to mobile and desktop devices with accelerated time to market.
3. As a fully headless eCommerce solution, fully decoupling the front end and back end of the architecture so developers can work on each independently without impacting the other and allowing the flexibility to build any custom front-end using GraphQL APIs or Adobe Experience Manager as a headless frontend. (See more on Headless CMS vs Traditional CMS or What is Headless CMS).
Adobe Commerce is one of many eCommerce platforms, so let’s find out who is ideally suited to Adobe Commerce.
Who Uses Adobe Commerce (Magento)?
Adobe Commerce is a solution for merchants, offering “future-proof commerce technology” to deliver B2C and B2B experiences globally.
Choose Adobe Commerce if:
- You are an established brand and are thinking long-term about scalability, performance and technology evolution
- You want more control and flexibility
- You are looking for rich features to support SEO or omnichannel retailing
- You are already using and familiar with the Adobe ecosystem
- You are a multi-brand or global retailer and want to simplify in one platform
While Adobe Commerce does state it can be used by stores of every size, small stores should consider an easier platform to start with. Let’s review some of the platform’s main features.
What Are the Main Features of Adobe Commerce (Magento)?
Both Magento Open Source (Read here for Magento 2 features) and Adobe Commerce offer robust capabilities to support and boost sales online. Let’s explore the premium features that Adobe Commerce adds.
Adobe Sensei
Adobe Sensei GenAI uses generative AI and machine learning to accelerate workflows and deliver engaging experiences based on visitor data and Adobe Commerce catalog information. Adobe Sensi can support:
- Product recommendations & live search
- Deep customer and marketing insights to optimize the buyer journey
- AI Assistant to enhance productivity and support cross-team content workflows
- AI-fueled tagging technology to assist SEO
AI features are native to Adobe Commerce or as a paid upgrade for Adobe Commerce On-Premise.
Search engine optimization
Adobe Commerce offers a mix of both built-in SEO capabilities as well as the flexibility to customize and fine-tune elements as needed.
- Auto-generated robots.txt (or custom configuration) and Google site map
- SEO on page: meta tags and alt tags for product images
- SEO-friendly URL names for web pages
- Adobe Sensei GenAI can simplify tagging by learning relevant keywords and brand attributes
Catalog management
Adobe Commerce makes it easy to setup and maintain product databases (products and categories):
- Nicely organized product catalogs and product pages
- Different pricing display for different customer types (e.g., retailers vs wholesalers)
- Ability to add unlimited product attributes
- Advanced management for B2B customers (e.g. gated shared catalogs, custom pricing per company)
- Catalog Service (add on) makes product and category data retrieval faster
Adobe Commerce offers ongoing instructor-led courses for the catalog.
Secure and seamless checkouts
Magento Open source and Adobe Commerce give store owners significant control over the checkout process and payment services, including:
- Support for a secure, mobile-friendly one-page checkout and guest checkout
- Fully-integrated payment solution with a variety of payment methods (e.g. debit, credit card) and payment gateways (e.g. PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay)
- Manage transactions for multiple storefronts all from one place
- PCI compliant (Adobe Commerce)
After checkouts, we come to fulfillment.
Order management
The Adobe Commerce Order Management System helps stores manage inventory in real-time across all channels:
- Comprehensive support to manage multiple brands, sites, stores and warehouses
- Support inventory with realtime sourcing, out-of-stock thresholds
- Access to viewing, editing, and fulfilling orders from the dashboard
- Flexible order fulfillment options, including sourcing from the closest location, pick up in store, and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL, one of the top 13 eCommerce trends in 2024)
Adobe Commerce’s inventory management capabilities can be integrated with POS systems to maintain a single source of truth for stock accuracy.
Localization and International support
Adobe Commerce supports localization for multiple regions and markets, supporting global support and sales efforts as well as the storefront.
- Includes localization support for each site per brand, catalog, country and currency
- Localization is managed by “Locales”
- Automatic calculation of tax liabilities
- Extensive number of language packs
Adobe does not provide specific details on how many locales are supported. Built-in Payment Services are limited to the US, Canada, UK, France and Australia.
Customer service
Customers expect a high level of service from retailers, so Adobe Commerce includes many tools to support service:
- Ability to create and edit orders from the admin dashboard
- Multi-channel support (live chat, email, phone, social media, text message)
- Detailed customer information to support retail customer service teams
- Self-service tools including FAQs, forums, order tracking
Learn more about how to support the customer experience.
Analytics and reporting
Adobe Commerce features expansive capabilities to turn data into intelligence to help optimize your online store:
- Consolidate and store all vital data (integrations and REST API)
- Transform data into insights, tracking across standard and custom KPIs
- Schedule & send reports via email
- 100 best practice reports included, including sales, abandoned cart, product reviews etc.
- Support for custom dashboards, custom visualizations
These analytics capabilities are exclusive to Adobe Commerce (not available in Magento Open Source).
Mobile commerce
Adobe Commerce meets your customers wherever they are, which is often on a mobile device. Adobe Commerce offers:
- Mobile optimized storefronts
- Ability to create progressive web application (PWA) with PWA Studio or support an entirely headless architecture for smooth mobile delivery
- Uses HTML5 technology and supports iPhone, Android, and mobile Opera browsers
- User-friendly search
- Complete omnichannel support
Marketing and personalization
Marketing opportunities include promotions to first-time visitors, to encourage browsers to purchase, to support high risk retention efforts, for inventory restock alerts and more.
- Real-time profile of customers across channels and data silos
- Leverage commerce data and AI to deliver personalized content, promotions, recommendations and site search
- Support for multiple coupons
- Leverage the same data to optimize ad spends
Personalization in UX (user experience) is the ability to tailor customer journeys and experiences to each customer, a cornerstone of effective eCommerce.
Site management
Magento Open source is entirely self-managed, which includes onboarding to the platform, choosing a hosting provider, operations and management of third-party applications. For Adobe Commerce, much of this infrastructure is managed, helping offload operational complexities, including:
- Deploy one, dozens or hundreds of storefronts from a single interface
- Full customizable designs using themes (many third-party)
- Real-time platform monitoring (application and infrastructure)
- Containerized development environment with support for continuous integration and delivery (Learn more: What is CI/CD?)
- Hourly backups
In order to better detail management, we’ve also itemized security.
Security
eCommerce security is a critical consideration for any eCommerce store, to maintain site uptime and to help ensure that sensitive customer data remains secure.
- PCI-DSS certified as a Level 1 Solution Provider
- 99.9% SLA
- 256-bit key encryption
- Read-only production filesystem, single-tenant virtual machines
- HIPAA-ready to support healthcare
Regardless of license, security is always a shared responsibility. On-premise or open-source: security responsibility shifts to store owner
B2B features
Adobe B2B features can be enabled by store admins as needed, with additional services available via the B2B for Adobe Commerce extension, including:
- Support for company accounts with multiple buyers
- Automate order approval processes
- Support for purchase orders
- Fast reordering options
- Support for gated shared catalogs, custom pricing per company
You may also have questions about the different historical versions of Magento.
What Is Magento 2?
Magento 2 was released to merchants in 2015, a new architecture of the eCommerce platform that included significant improvements in features, developer tools, performance, and security. Originally available simultaneously to Magento 2, Magento 1 reached its end-of-life on June 30, 2020.
Magento 2 was released to address significant performance, security and feature deficits in Magento 1. Notable features of Magento 2 that differ from Magento 1 are:
- Based on PHP 7
- Includes Nginx (for performance, security), Varnish (for performance), Composer (component management), Symfony (to accelerate coding), Redis (caching)
- New security features
- More user-friendly
- Improved SEO
- Better support for integrations
How Does Magento 1 Differ from Adobe Commerce?
When comparing Magento 2 vs Magento 1, it is important to note that Magento 1 is no longer supported, reaching its end of life in 2020. At this time, all brands should have completed their Magento 2 migration.
Adobe Commerce leverages the same base as Magento Open Source. As of {9, 11, 2024}, the current release is Magento 2.4.7.
The Different Editions of Adobe Commerce (Magento)
Magento Open Source is free and open-source, the core platform that powers everything. Adobe Commerce solutions include advanced features, functionality and services in either “on Cloud” or self-host options.
Since Adobe purchased Magento, the names of each product have evolved over time.
- Magento Open Source: A free, open-source version of Magento designed to be self-hosted, previously known as ‘Magento Community Edition.’
- Adobe Commerce Pro: A hosted all-in-one platform for eCommerce with out-of-the-box features, also known as ‘Adobe Commerce on Cloud,’ ‘Adobe Commerce Cloud,’ and ‘Adobe Commerce,’ and previously known as ‘Magento Commerce.’
- Adobe Managed Services: An technology service that delivers the Adobe Commerce on Cloud platform with designated expert resources (Customer Success Engineer and Advanced Support Engineer), and previously known as ‘Magento Commerce Pro: Managed services.’
- Adobe Commerce On-Premise: Designed for large businesses who want to host their own store. Includes a base package of Adobe Commerce and bundled services, known previously ‘Magento Commerce On Premise’ or ‘Magento Enterprise Edition.’
Please note: a previous version of Adobe Commerce for small organizations, ‘Adobe Commerce Starter,’ is no longer available. Pricing for the enterprise versions of Adobe Commerce (On-Premise, Pro and Managed Services) is estimated at a minimum of $24,000/year, easily rising to six figures, based on a number of variables. Let’s look into each of these options individually.
What is Magento Open Source?
Magento Open Source is an open-source eCommerce platform that’s made available for free on the Adobe website. Magento Open Source leverages “Magento 2,” the latest base iteration. Developers implement the core files (maintained on GitHub) and extend the functionality of Magento via integrations available in the Magento Marketplace.
Magento Open Source is maintained by Adobe as part of its initiative to empower individual developers and small businesses with the capability to start small and scale to Adobe Commerce as they grow.
What is Adobe Commerce Pro (Magento Commerce)?
Adobe Commerce Pro, powered by Magento, is an all-in-one package that is hosted on single-tenant, dedicated infrastructure by Adobe. Adobe Commerce Pro includes additional features and capabilities designed to help businesses create personalized experiences across markets, brands or business models. Adobe Commerce is considered a PaaS (Learn more: IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS).
Adobe Commerce Pro is designed to be flexible, scalable and agile for any business model (B2B, B2C) with leading solutions in AI, omnichannel retailing, composable commerce and personalization. Adobe Commerce Pro offers limitless frontend flexibility to be deployed as a coupled, responsible website, a hybrid solution, or using headless architecture.
What are Adobe Commerce Managed Services?
Adobe Commerce Managed Services is an iteration of Adobe Commerce on Cloud that includes the help of Adobe Commerce experts to help create a commerce strategy, support implementation, determine KPIs, minimize customizations to maximize efficiency, deployment or migration services, and ongoing services to optimize and extend the implementation.
For organizations for whom these services are out-of-budget, or for smaller stores, consider working with an experienced and certified Adobe Solution Partner.What is Adobe Commerce On-Premise
While organizations may also choose Magento Open Source, Adobe Commerce On-Premise includes the additional proprietary features of Adobe Commerce in a self-host capacity. Adobe Commerce On-Premise is available as a base package (with limits on store views) with included on-demand services, but with the ability to purchase additional upgrades or add-ons.
Now that you know all the available purchase options, let’s have a closer look at the benefits of Adobe Commerce..What Are the Benefits of Adobe Commerce (Magento)?
Adobe Commerce is the ideal intermediate choice for digital commerce businesses looking to build on the benefits of Magento Open Source and/or take advantage of significant out-of-the-box capabilities and a very well-supported integration marketplace.
Common benefits named for Adobe Commerce include:
High degree of customization
Adobe Commerce offers an unprecedented level of support for business models and brands to manage complex businesses with powerful developer tools and an API-first, headless solution to allow rapid innovation.
Customer management
Adobe Commerce offers the ability to create customer groups and segments, deliver personalization at scale, and take advantage of the latest GenAI insights.
Convenience
For global or multi-brand retailers, Adobe Commerce offers unparalleled convenience to serve all customers (B2B and B2C) and all channels from a single platform, helping streamline the backend and optimize how insights are gathered and turned into actionable intelligence.
Adobe Commerce has also made huge strides to be easy to use rich features and integrated AI to improve workflows. Adobe launched its Page Builder, which features drag-and-drop capabilities and rich AI features for workflows and personalization.
Variety of integrations
There are over 4,000 extensions available to help extend the capabilities of Magento Open Source, Adobe Commerce (cloud) and Adobe Commerce (on-prem). Adobe Commerce also supports extensibility using its App Builder, a platform to build secure and scalable apps to extend functionality and integrate with other third-party solutions. Adobe Commerce also offers deep integrations with integrated Adobe Experience Cloud solutions.
Different hosting options
Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce On-Premise can both be self-hosted, while Adobe Commerce (both products) are hosted options, with differing levels of service inclusions. As Adobe Commerce leverages the Magento Open Source code base, which itself is maintained by Adobe, compatibility is always ensured for businesses to transition to Adobe Commerce.
Composable Commerce
Leverage Adobe’s out-of-the-box composable services to rapidly expand the commerce foundation. Leverage Adobe’s App Builder tools and the new API Mesh to combine multiple sources of APIs to help shorten development time of new composable apps.
Great UX design
Adobe Commerce has now made its designs much more intuitive to edit with adjustable page layouts for Adobe Commerce stores, in-content editing, and personalization features built into its Page Builder.
Headless Capabilities
Adobe Commerce can be deployed as an API-based headless commerce platform, giving developers the freedom to choose from Adobe storefronts (e.g. Adobe AEM), third-party storefronts, or the option to create a custom storefront. Headless capabilities give the maximum amount of control to customize customer experiences for each channel or interaction point including social media, wearables, voice assistant technology, online marketplaces and more.
What is Headless Commerce? Learn more about how to deliver faster, more dynamic and personalized experiences in our Ultimate Guide.
Optimized for growth
Adobe Commerce is designed to support stores of all sizes, with its free Magento Open Source eCommerce solution right up to its most comprehensive Pro and Managed Services offerings. Adobe Commerce has auto-scaling to ensure peak performance and is backed by the latest innovations from Adobe.
What Are the Challenges of Using Adobe Commerce (Magento)?
Some of the most common challenges that brands indicate are problems with Adobe Commerce, according to the review site G2, include:
High degree of complexity
The complexity of customization and the significant number of integrations can lead to an increased requirement for technical knowledge. Due to this high degree of complexity, Adobe now offers its Adobe Commerce Managed Services plan.
Considerable development cost
Due to the high degree of complexity and the significant number of technical considerations, stores should expect to have a dedicated Adobe Commerce team and/or the help of a certified Adobe Partner to design, deploy and manage the platform.
Not designed for all small businesses
The up-front and ongoing costs associated with a large code base (Magento Open Source) or the enterprise capabilities of Adobe Commerce can make it a difficult choice for small businesses with limited developer resources.
Costs
If you choose to deploy Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce On-Premise, you must factor in hosting costs for your Magento store as well as all the associated maintenance, operation and security. All of this can add significant cost. Learn more about how to estimate the True Costs of Launching a Custom eCommerce Website.
Adobe Commerce options (cloud and on-prem) can be very costly, upwards of six figures per year.
What sets Adobe Commerce apart from the competition? Let’s explore in detail.
What Makes Adobe Commerce (Magento) Different from Other Platforms?
Let’s compare Adobe Commerce with other eCommerce options:
| Platform | Ratings | Differences |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Commerce | G2: 4/5 Capterra: 3.7/5 |
|
| Shopify | G2: 4.4/5 Capterra: 4.5/5 |
|
| BigCommerce | G2: 4.2/5 Capterra: 4.4/5 |
|
| WooCommerce | G2: 4.5/5 Capterra: 4.6/5 |
|
If you want a custom explanation of Adobe Commerce against other platforms, we’d be happy to walk you through it.
Now It’s Up to You
Adobe Commerce is an enterprise solution designed to help you personalize shopping and purchasing experiences at scale, with deep extensibility throughout the Adobe ecosystem and beyond.
If you’re ready to get started, Net Solutions is an award-winning Magento Development Services company, offering project-based capabilities to develop your Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce store. Net Solutions also offers a more affordable (vs Adobe Commerce) Managed Services solution.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is Magento Adobe Commerce Free to Use?
The free version is Magento Open Source, with the other options being licensed on-premise or on cloud versions of Adobe Commerce (starting at an estimated $24,000 per year). Magento Open Source is a downloadable code base, but hosting, maintenance and operation costs must still be considered.
2. Is Adobe Commerce (Magento) a CMS?
Yes, Adobe Commerce is a CMS or content management system. While Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source are both considered eCommerce solutions, they can be considered and used as a CMS due to the extensive features for managing content.
3. Is Adobe Commerce (Magento) a CRM?
Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source are not considered a customer relationship management (CRM) solution. While Adobe Commerce does have some basic features to manage customers, it does not come with the full-featured capabilities of a CRM. Adobe Commerce can integrate with third-party CRMs.
4. What is the difference between Adobe Commerce (Magento) and WordPress?
Adobe Commerce prioritizes customizability, personalization, composability and multi-brand support while WordPress (with WooCommerce) will feature basic store features, but not the comprehensive features, insights, or capabilities of Adobe Commerce. WordPress requires a third-party solution to transform it into an eCommerce solution, while Adobe Commerce is an eCommerce solution by design.
5. Is Adobe Commerce (Magento) end-of-life?
Adobe Commerce (previously known as Magento) is active and flourishing. Adobe Commerce uses the Magento Open Source code base, which is based on Magento 2. Magento 1 is the previous version of the code base, which was retired in 2020. Magento 1 is no longer supported.
