Shopify Plus vs Magento: Which is Best for You?

In late 2021, about 162,000 live stores ran on Magento. By early 2026, StoreLeads counted roughly 111,500 (MGT Commerce). Over the same stretch, Shopify kept adding stores by the hundreds of thousands. That doesn't mean Magento is dead. It means the Shopify vs Magento question has changed.

Five years ago the rule was simple: Shopify for small brands, Magento for serious ones. In 2026 that rule is out of date. Shopify now gives native B2B tools to every paid plan, and Magento 2.4.6 stopped receiving security patches in August. Both shifts change which platform makes sense, and most comparison posts haven't caught up.

This guide compares Shopify and Magento (Adobe Commerce) on what decides the outcome: real three-year cost, how hard each is to run, B2B, SEO, speed and security. You'll also get a simple framework for picking one, and what to expect if you move from Magento to Shopify.

Key takeaways

• Shopify suits most brands, from first sale to large enterprise, because hosting, security and updates are handled for you and costs are predictable.
• Magento (Adobe Commerce) still wins when you need deep control: complex B2B rules, heavy ERP-driven pricing, many storefronts on one install, or code-level custom checkout logic.
• "Magento is free" is misleading. Open Source has no license fee, but hosting, development, extensions and security upgrades usually cost more than a Shopify plan.
• Since April 2026, B2B is no longer a Shopify Plus-only reason to stay on Magento. Basic, Grow and Advanced plans include company accounts, catalogs and payment terms.
• If you run Magento 2.4.6 or older, you're already on an unsupported version. Upgrade or migrate soon.

Shopify vs Magento

Choose Shopify if you want to launch fast, keep costs predictable and spend your budget on growth rather than servers. Choose Magento (Adobe Commerce) if your business depends on custom logic that a hosted platform can't express, and you have (or will fund) a developer team to own it.

Scandiweb, an agency that builds on both platforms, puts Shopify as the better fit for roughly 80% of merchants in 2026 (scandiweb) The other 20% are real, and we cover them below.

Shopify vs Magento comparison (2026)

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The real difference: renting a platform vs owning one

Shopify is software you rent. Magento is software you own and run. Almost every other difference in this comparison flows from that.

On Shopify, the company runs the servers, patches the code, handles PCI compliance and ships new features twice a year through Shopify Editions. You customize on top of that foundation, but you can't rewrite the core.

On Magento, you get the full PHP codebase. You can change anything, including checkout, pricing logic and the database. In exchange, you're responsible for hosting, upgrades, performance tuning and security, or for paying someone to be.

What "Magento" means in 2026

Adobe bought Magento in 2018 and now sells it under the Adobe Commerce name. When people compare Shopify vs Magento, they usually mean one of four things:

License ranges are third-party estimates (MGT Commerce, Swell). Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service reached general availability in June 2025 for the Americas.

The SaaS edition is Adobe's answer to Shopify Plus. It removes the upgrade treadmill, but it also removes some of the code-level freedom that made Magento attractive in the first place. If you're weighing that edition, compare it directly with Shopify Plus on price and roadmap.

Shopify vs Magento pricing: what you'll really pay

Shopify costs $39 to $399 a month on standard plans and from $2,300 a month on Shopify Plus. Magento Open Source has no license fee, and Adobe Commerce licenses are estimated from about $22,000 a year. But the license is the smallest part of the bill. Hosting, development and maintenance decide the real Shopify vs Magento cost.

Shopify plans in 2026

Sources: NerdWallet, Stack Influence, Presta. If you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify adds its own transaction fee on top, and it shrinks as you move up plans. Check Shopify's pricing page for the current rate in your country.

The old version of this article listed Shopify Plus at $2,000 a month. That price is gone. Budget for $2,300 to $2,500, and note that high-volume Plus brands pay a revenue-based fee instead of the flat minimum.

Magento costs in 2026

Magento Open Source is free to download. Running it is not. Expect to pay for:

• Hosting. Production Magento needs proper server resources, caching and a CDN. Managed Magento hosting typically runs from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month depending on traffic.
• Development. Most Magento builds are custom. Senior Magento developers are scarcer than Shopify developers, and that scarcity shows up in hourly rates.
• Extensions. Many Magento extensions charge a one-off fee plus a yearly support and update fee.
• Upgrades and security. Every Magento release line has a fixed support window. Upgrades often break extensions and need regression testing.
• License (Adobe Commerce only). Quote-based and tied to your gross merchandise value (GMV).

Three-year total cost of ownership: an illustrative comparison

The table below models a mid-size D2C store doing about $3M a year in online revenue. Treat these as planning ranges, not quotes.

Assumptions: Shopify Plus on a 3-year term; apps at $1K to $3K a month; Magento hosting at $500 to $2K a month; agency maintenance retainers at $2K to $5K a month (Shopify), $5K to $15K (Open Source) and $8K to $20K (Adobe Commerce). For a reference point, Atwix puts a typical three-year TCO for mid-market B2B on Adobe Commerce at $400K to $1.1M (Atwix).

A note for very large brands: above roughly $10M in revenue, Shopify Plus moves to a revenue-based fee, and some Adobe partners publish models showing Adobe as cheaper at that scale. Those models usually leave out the in-house Magento team, upgrade projects and slower launches. Get real quotes for both and compare full three-year totals.

Ease of use and time to launch

Shopify is far easier to run day to day. A marketer can add products, build a landing page in the theme editor, set up discounts and launch a sale without opening a code editor. Magento's admin is powerful but dense, and most meaningful changes go through a developer.

That gap shows up most in launch time. A Shopify store on a good theme can go live in a few weeks. A custom Shopify Plus build or migration usually takes two to four months. Magento builds commonly take four to nine months, because hosting, extensions and custom modules all need to be set up and tested together.

Shopify's built-in AI helps here too. Sidekick, Shopify's admin assistant, can draft product descriptions, build reports and set up Shopify Flow automations from plain-language prompts. Magento has no direct equivalent in Open Source.

Who this matters for: if your ecommerce team is two to ten people and none of them write PHP, Magento will slow every campaign you run.

Customization: how far Shopify goes in 2026

Magento gives you unlimited customization because you own the code. Shopify gives you deep but bounded customization through themes, apps and approved extension points. For most stores, Shopify's limits never come into play. And with Shopify Functions, checkout extensibility and headless builds, the list of things only Magento can do keeps getting shorter.

What you can customize on Shopify

• Themes built in Liquid, with full control over layout, design and storefront logic.
• Shopify Functions to change discounts, shipping rates, payment options and cart validation in server-side code.
• Checkout extensibility on Shopify Plus, for branded checkout blocks, upsells and custom fields.
• Headless builds with Hydrogen and the Storefront API when you want a fully custom front end.
• Apps for almost everything else, from subscriptions to product configurators.

What still needs open code, and the catch

• Rewrite core behavior, such as how orders, taxes or inventory are calculated.
• Run very custom data models, like products with hundreds of attributes and complex rules between them.
• Host on your own infrastructure, which some regulated industries require.
• Build checkout logic with no platform constraints at all.

The catch: every one of these means more custom code to maintain, test and re-test at each Magento upgrade. Unlimited freedom also means unlimited maintenance.

A practical test: list the five features you'd lose sleep over. If each one is covered by a Shopify app, a Shopify Function or a Plus feature, you don't need Magento's freedom. If one or two seem to need core code changes, ask a Shopify Plus expert before ruling Shopify out. Most can be rebuilt with a custom app or a headless Shopify front end.

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Performance, hosting and scalability

Shopify's speed is consistent out of the box because every store runs on the same global infrastructure and CDN. Magento's speed depends almost entirely on your hosting, caching setup and front end. A well-built Magento store can be very fast. An average one usually isn't.

The front end is the big variable. Magento's default Luma theme is heavy. Agencies that rebuild the front end with Hyvä report far better mobile Lighthouse scores than standard Luma builds (Limely). So if a Magento vendor tells you speed is a solved problem, ask whether they're quoting Hyvä, and what it adds to the budget.

For traffic spikes, Shopify scales automatically. You don't provision servers before Black Friday or worry about a flash sale taking the site down. On self-hosted Magento, peak capacity is something you plan, pay for and load-test. Uptime commitments differ too: one 2026 comparison cites a 99.99% SLA for Shopify Plus against 99.9% for Adobe Commerce Cloud, and none for self-hosted Magento (Qualimero).

Large catalogs are no longer a blocker on Shopify. It supports large catalogs and up to 2,048 variants per product, and metafields and metaobjects handle complex product attributes. If you have hundreds of thousands of highly configurable SKUs, test a sample of your data on Shopify before deciding.

Security and maintenance: the Magento upgrade treadmill

On Shopify, security is Shopify's job. The platform is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant, patches roll out without you doing anything, and there are no version numbers to track. On Magento, you own the patching schedule, and that schedule got stricter in 2026.

Each Magento 2.4.x release line gets about three years of support from its release date. After that, new vulnerabilities are never fixed on that version. Extended support is sold to Adobe Commerce customers only, not to Magento Open Source users (Adobe lifecycle policy).

Source: Adobe released versions; 2.4.9 dates from Plumrocket.

Two 2026 changes raise the workload. Adobe moved to twice-monthly security bulletins from July 2026 (EveryHost). And Magento 2.4.9 requires PHP 8.4 or 8.5, which means a server-stack upgrade alongside the code upgrade (MageDelight).

What this means for you: if your store runs Magento 2.4.6 or older, it's exposed to every new vulnerability Adobe publishes. You need to budget either a version upgrade (often weeks of work with extension fixes and testing) or a move to a platform where upgrades aren't your problem. That decision is the moment most Magento merchants start comparing Shopify vs Magento seriously.

To check your version, look at the footer of your Magento admin or run bin/magento --version on the server.

Shopify vs Magento for SEO

Both platforms can rank well. Magento gives you more technical control. Shopify gives you fewer ways to break things. For most teams, Shopify's defaults produce better SEO outcomes simply because there's less to misconfigure.

The fixed URL prefixes are Shopify's most-cited SEO weakness. In practice, Google ranks /products/ URLs without issue, and they rarely limit growth. Magento's flexibility matters more for very large catalogs where faceted navigation and URL rules are part of the SEO strategy.

AI search is the new factor. Shopify has been building agentic commerce features that help products surface and sell inside AI assistants. For Magento merchants, that kind of distribution usually means custom feeds and integrations.

Planning a move? Redirect mapping is where most migrations lose rankings. Every old Magento URL needs a 301 to its closest Shopify equivalent. Read our Shopify SEO checklist for what to fix after launch.

Shopify vs Magento for B2B

B2B used to be the strongest reason to pick Magento. For most businesses, that reason is gone. On April 2, 2026, Shopify extended its native B2B features to Basic, Grow and Advanced plans at no extra cost (Shopify). Shopify now covers what most wholesale operations need, and Shopify Plus adds the full B2B suite for larger programs.

Sources: DJUST, Atwix, Shopify.

Adobe Commerce only pulls ahead for very complex B2B, such as ERP-driven contract pricing across thousands of accounts or approval chains several levels deep. Even then, Shopify Plus with an ERP integration often covers it.

Choose Shopify for B2B if you run D2C and wholesale side by side, have a manageable number of price tiers, and want one admin for both. Shopify Flow, Markets and Shopify Payments now work for B2B orders too.

Note that Magento Open Source has no native B2B module. If you're on Open Source and running wholesale through extensions, Shopify's built-in B2B is likely a step up.

Learn more about our Shopify B2B and wholesale services.

International selling and multi-store

Shopify Markets lets one store sell in many countries with local currencies, translated content, country-specific pricing and local domains or subfolders, all from one admin. For separate brands or regions, Shopify Plus adds expansion stores managed together under one organization.

Magento can run several websites and store views from one installation. The trade-off is that every extra store view adds configuration, testing and hosting load, and each one goes through every future upgrade.

For merchants in India and the GCC, check local payment and tax support early. Shopify supports major Indian gateways and GST invoicing through apps, while Magento lets you integrate any gateway with custom code.

Apps, extensions and support

Shopify's App Store is much larger and easier to use. Qikify counted more than 17,000 public Shopify apps in early 2026 (Qikify), and most install in a click. Magento's Marketplace has a few thousand extensions, and installing one usually means a developer, a staging environment and testing against your other extensions.

The trade-off is cost structure. Shopify apps are mostly monthly subscriptions, so a store with 20 apps can spend $1,000 to $3,000 a month without noticing. Magento extensions are more often a one-off license plus a yearly renewal. Audit app spend on Shopify every quarter. It's the cost that creeps.

Support is a clearer win for Shopify. Every plan includes 24/7 support from Shopify, and Plus adds priority support. Magento Open Source relies on community forums and your agency. Adobe Commerce includes Adobe support, but it covers the platform, not your custom code or third-party extensions.

Hiring matters too. Shopify developers are easier to find and usually cheaper. Scandiweb names shrinking Magento developer supply as one of the main reasons brands moved from Adobe Commerce to Shopify Plus in 2025 and 2026 (scandiweb).

Shopify Plus vs Magento (Adobe Commerce) for enterprise brands

At enterprise level, the choice is between convenience and control. Shopify Plus gives you a managed platform with enterprise features and a predictable contract. Adobe Commerce gives you full control, a deeper B2B suite and tight links to Adobe Experience Cloud, at a higher and less predictable cost.

The migration data points one way. TechnologyChecker tracked 5,186 Magento stores moving to Shopify against 291 moving back in its February 2026 crawl (TechnologyChecker).

Adobe Commerce mainly holds on with enterprises already locked into Adobe Experience Cloud or carrying years of custom Magento code. For most other enterprise brands, Shopify Plus is the faster, lower-risk path.

If you're leaning toward Plus, see our guide to Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced to check you actually need Plus, and our Shopify Plus services.

Shopify or Magento? Pick by your situation

Skip the feature checklists and start from your business. Find the row that sounds most like you.

Five questions to ask before you decide

1. Who will run the store day to day?
   If it's marketers, not developers, Shopify.
2. What's your three-year budget, all in?
   Model hosting, development and upgrades, not just the license.
3. Which features would you lose sleep over?
   Check each against Shopify apps and Functions before assuming you need Magento.
4. How complex is your B2B?
   Three price tiers is Shopify territory. Contract pricing for thousands of accounts calls for Shopify Plus with an ERP integration.
5. When is your next Magento upgrade due?
   An upgrade you have to pay for anyway is the cheapest moment to compare options.

Still unsure? A Shopify audit can map your current Magento features to Shopify and flag anything that won't carry over.

Moving from Magento to Shopify: what to expect

A Magento to Shopify migration usually takes 6 to 16 weeks, depending on catalog size, custom features and integrations. Products, customers, orders, reviews and content all move across. The parts that need the most care are URL redirects, customer passwords and custom functionality.

What moves, and what needs work

A safe migration in six steps

1. Audit your Magento store: extensions, custom code, integrations, top-traffic URLs.
2. Map each Magento feature to a Shopify app, Function or custom build.
3. Migrate data to a development store and check it record by record.
4. Rebuild the theme, ideally improving speed and conversion rather than copying the old design.
5. Redirect and test: 301s, checkout, taxes, emails, tracking pixels and integrations.
6. Launch outside your peak season, then monitor rankings, conversion and errors for 30 days.

For the full list, use our Shopify migration checklist, or let our team handle the move through our Magento to Shopify migration service.

Shopify vs Magento: frequently asked questions

Q: Is Shopify better than Magento?

For most businesses, yes. Shopify is faster to launch, cheaper to run over three years and needs no server or upgrade management. Magento is better only when you need code-level control, very complex B2B, or many storefronts on one install, and have the developer budget to support it.

Q: Is Magento still worth it in 2026?

For most merchants, no. Adobe still ships releases (2.4.9 arrived in May 2026), but active Magento stores fell from about 162,000 in 2021 to about 111,500 in early 2026, developers are harder to find, and every version needs paid upgrades. It mainly suits businesses with a large in-house Magento team.

Q: Is Magento free?

Magento Open Source has no license fee. You still pay for hosting, development, extensions, security patches and version upgrades, which often add up to more than a Shopify plan. Adobe Commerce, the paid edition, is licensed by quote based on your revenue.

Q: Which is cheaper, Shopify or Magento?

Shopify is cheaper for most stores once you count hosting, development and maintenance. Only some very high-revenue brands with a large in-house Magento team see lower costs on Magento, and those comparisons usually leave out upgrade projects and slower launches.

Q: Is Shopify or Magento better for SEO?

Both rank well. Magento offers more control over URLs and technical settings. Shopify handles canonicals, sitemaps and speed well by default, so there's less to get wrong. For most teams, Shopify's defaults lead to better results.

Q: Is Shopify good for B2B now?

Yes. Since April 2026, all paid Shopify plans include native B2B tools like company accounts, custom catalogs and payment terms, with the full suite on Shopify Plus. Only very complex B2B, with deep approval chains and ERP-driven contract pricing, may still need Adobe Commerce.

Q: What happens if I stay on Magento 2.4.6?

Regular support for Magento 2.4.6 ended on 11 August 2026. New security vulnerabilities won't be patched on that version, and Open Source users can't buy extended support. You should upgrade to 2.4.8 or 2.4.9, or plan a migration.

Q: How long does a Magento to Shopify migration take?

Most migrations take 6 to 16 weeks. Simple catalogs with few integrations sit at the short end. Large catalogs, B2B setups and custom ERP integrations take longer.

The bottom line

The Shopify vs Magento decision comes down to one question: do you want to run a platform, or run a business on one? For most brands in 2026, the answer points to Shopify: faster launches, predictable costs, native B2B and no upgrade projects. Magento now fits a narrow group with heavy custom code and a full-time team to maintain it.

If you're on Magento today, your next upgrade is the natural decision point. Price the upgrade, price a Shopify migration, and compare three-year totals side by side.

Want a straight answer for your store? Crawlapps will review your current setup, map your Magento features to Shopify and give you a realistic cost and timeline, with no obligation to migrate. Get a free Shopify audit or talk to our team.