Magento Open Source vs. Shopify

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Magento Open Source
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Magento Open Source is an ecommerce content management solution originally developed by Varien Inc and presently supported by Adobe. The Open Source product is for developers and merchants that is available as a free download, and supported with free upgrades from the Magento Community.N/A
Shopify
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Shopify is a commerce platform designed for both online stores and retail locations. Shopify offers a professional online storefront, a payment solution to accept credit cards, and the Shopify POS application to power retail sales.
$39
per month
Pricing
Magento Open SourceShopify
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Basic Shopify
$39
per month
Grow
$105
per month
Advanced
$399
per month
Shopify Plus
2,000
per month
Shopify Plus
2,300
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Magento Open SourceShopify
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPricing for Magento will vary greatly depending on outsourcing support and maintenance services.A 25% discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Magento Open SourceShopify
Considered Both Products
Magento Open Source
Chose Magento Open Source
Magento is definitely built for developers by developers and in my opinion is best suited for large-scale e-commerce stores. When you need to create a large store or require advance customization Magento is really the only way to go. We have tried using platforms like WooCommerc…
Chose Magento Open Source
In a few words:
  • WooCommerce: easy to setup, huge community and easy to customize. Hard to scale, but can be done.
  • PrestaShop: poor brother of WooCommerce. Less community, less customization... not sure why anybody would use it.
Chose Magento Open Source
WooCommerce, when fully "plugged-in" required server resources which drowned our host. We hit a wall with growth due to these resources and researched redevelopment on Woo or migration to a new platform. We chose the latter.
Shopify and BigCommerce were limited to their closed …
Chose Magento Open Source
OpenCart is a better shopping cart platform then Magento for larger corporate clients who may want a ton of customizations and very specific functionality. Although Magento is "open-source", its code is not as easy to understand and modify as OpenCart. Shopify is a better …
Chose Magento Open Source
I inherited the Magento Open Source website we are currently using, but after evaluating everything that was wanted for the new website, we switched over to Shopify. After using Shopify for some of our other websites, we learned that you have to pay a large sum each month to …
Chose Magento Open Source
Magneto Open Source allowed for a lot of customizations, and it seemed like a cheaper version. However, the cost added up really quickly. I would probably go with Shopify or BigCommerce for a small business when making decisions in the future.
Chose Magento Open Source
Magento was open source and customizable unlike Shopify. Also it was built using PHP which everyone was proficient in - which helps a lot! Joomla wasn't as e-comerce oriented under the hood compared to Magento - plus we had someone in the team who knew Magento well already as …
Chose Magento Open Source
Magento is completely open source, and this means that not only is free, but can be adapted to your needings. Magento is also a framework, and this means the his customization capabilities go well beyond pure eCommerce functionalities. For this reason, if you need to create …
Chose Magento Open Source
While Magento does have higher development cost overall, it is a much better platform for ecommerce and it does not a take a fee from your sales which is nice.
Chose Magento Open Source
The full customization and integration benefits made us stay with Magento.
Chose Magento Open Source
The three main reasons we went with Magento: 1. It was recommended by our NCR Counterpoint, VAR. 2. It's the best platform to integrate tightly with that NCR Counterpoint. It's also the best eventual platform to integrate with our wholesale ERP, so it's one platform to run …
Chose Magento Open Source
Magento is the heaviest by far, in a few senses of the word. It has the steepest learning curve both for administrators and programmers, but it also has the highest potential to run a high traffic, high volume ecommerce store. Other products will get you up and running faster …
Chose Magento Open Source
I have worked with Shopify, osCommerce, and WooCommerce.
Chose Magento Open Source
Compared to other small - medium sized business e-commerce solutions, Magento is by far requires the most development resources to implement and maintain. Creating a custom Drupal or WordPress based e-commerce solution requires development resources as well, but the complexity …
Chose Magento Open Source
In the past, I've used Shopify, WordPress + Woocommerce and Drupal + Drupal Commerce. Magento CE is much easier to use since it's open source and it's bundled together in one package. It's built specifically with e-commerce in mind so there are no worries about …
Chose Magento Open Source
Magento CE stands up better than the other CMS systems in many regards. It is cheaper and easier to use than Drupal or Joomla! by a wide margin. It is more secure than any WordPress website, and unless you specifically need it, It does not store credit card information making …
Chose Magento Open Source
Most of the ones we've looked at (or had customers transition from) are closed, hosted solutions with limitations. Since Magento is open source, we have a lot more flexibility to mold it to the customer's needs. It does require more specialized expertise from an implementation …
Shopify
Chose Shopify
You can build an e-commerce site very quickly and easily. Bulk upload of products is a very convenient feature. There are regular features and roadmap updates on Shopify as compared to others in the market. The quality of customer support is also good. Shopify meets all the …
Chose Shopify
Shopify is the most accessible website management tool to make custom edits to and is the quickest to learn. The file structure is easy to understand, but on Magento, it is very complicated. BigCommerce offers more default options than Shopify, but Shopify has more apps. 3D …
Chose Shopify
Magento, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce for WordPress were the main alternatives we considered.
  • Magento - we had a negative experience with the complexity involved in maintaining the site backend and product catalog with a previous client and decided it wasn't suitable for the …
Chose Shopify
Choosing Magento Enterprise is a cost-effective way to achieve the goal of a more synergistic brand image online but the ROI is not immediately quantifiable. Magento is not easy to use at all if you’re a beginner. The downside of Magento is you will also have a hosting …
Features
Magento Open SourceShopify
Online Storefront
Comparison of Online Storefront features of Product A and Product B
Magento Open Source
7.7
28 Ratings
1% below category average
Shopify
8.5
148 Ratings
9% above category average
Product catalog & listings9.728 Ratings9.0148 Ratings
Product management9.028 Ratings8.3146 Ratings
Bulk product upload9.026 Ratings8.5124 Ratings
Branding7.726 Ratings8.6145 Ratings
Mobile storefront4.028 Ratings8.9141 Ratings
Product variations9.726 Ratings8.2138 Ratings
Website integration7.325 Ratings8.8139 Ratings
Visual customization6.027 Ratings8.6145 Ratings
CMS6.626 Ratings7.7117 Ratings
Online Shopping Cart
Comparison of Online Shopping Cart features of Product A and Product B
Magento Open Source
8.9
28 Ratings
16% above category average
Shopify
8.4
140 Ratings
10% above category average
Abandoned cart recovery8.123 Ratings8.2130 Ratings
Checkout user experience9.728 Ratings8.7138 Ratings
Online Payment System
Comparison of Online Payment System features of Product A and Product B
Magento Open Source
7.7
26 Ratings
7% below category average
Shopify
9.5
142 Ratings
14% above category average
eCommerce security7.726 Ratings9.5142 Ratings
eCommerce Marketing
Comparison of eCommerce Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Magento Open Source
3.8
28 Ratings
67% below category average
Shopify
8.4
145 Ratings
9% above category average
Promotions & discounts7.428 Ratings8.8139 Ratings
Personalized recommendations2.022 Ratings8.432 Ratings
SEO2.024 Ratings8.0134 Ratings
eCommerce Business Management
Comparison of eCommerce Business Management features of Product A and Product B
Magento Open Source
9.4
28 Ratings
17% above category average
Shopify
8.1
146 Ratings
2% above category average
Multi-site management9.725 Ratings6.719 Ratings
Order processing9.727 Ratings9.1143 Ratings
Inventory management9.725 Ratings7.6142 Ratings
Shipping9.024 Ratings8.2134 Ratings
Custom functionality9.026 Ratings8.7135 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Magento Open SourceShopify
Small Businesses
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Score 10.0 out of 10
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus
Score 9.1 out of 10
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
IBM Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Magento Open SourceShopify
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(29 ratings)
8.5
(161 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(16 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(15 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Magento Open SourceShopify
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
It's well suited for large eCommerce stores as it requires much effort to set up and the development cost for setting it up is high. It's less appropriate to use Magento where you are looking for quick development and launch of the store. Also, it is required to have a developer or sometimes the entire tech team to manage an e-commerce store, so you may need to hire a few PHP developers.
Read full review
Shopify
Shopify allowed us to handle matrix items and combined listings. Both of which we could not do on our previous platform. There was some customization involved but overall, it did what we needed it to. The one downside was that if we want to change anything we would have to reload the entire set of matrix items manually.
Read full review
Pros
Adobe
  • Magento is perfect if our web design client likes a specific pre-made template and wants a fast solution.
  • Magento allows us to customize its open-source code to create additional features and functionality.
  • Magento saves small businesses time and money if they only need a simple solution.
Read full review
Shopify
  • It's base security and integration with trusted security partners (such as NoFraud) is a game-changer when it comes to reliability and a "hands off approach" for our IT department. The up-time is also very good.
  • It offers a wide range of verified plugins that are (for the most part) easy to install and use for any specific scenario you're looking for.
  • It's Analytics area in the admin is actually nice and offers a wide variety of reports that you can run.
Read full review
Cons
Adobe
  • Not the simplest of solutions to use or maintain from an end-user perspective
  • Other platforms are better with regards to SEO in our experience
  • Fairly sluggish and slow compared to other platforms without the correct server specification and performance optimization work.
Read full review
Shopify
  • I would love it if Shopify built an in house app which helped us post UGCs and social proof from platforms such as Instagram, Youtube etc. more seamlessly on our website. Right now, we are able to do it through third party apps but the look and feel is just okay.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
It's the dominant force in the SMB open source market. With the continued support of eBay/PayPal, Magento will continue to evolve and should be a market leader for some time.
Read full review
Shopify
Nothing we have used in the past or have seen thus far even comes close to offering what we get with Shopify Plus, especially for the price. You cannot even come close to getting what we are getting at the price we pay. We are beyond thrilled and Shopify Plus meets and exceeds all of our needs and expectations. We love it!
Read full review
Usability
Adobe
Magento has a relly step learning curve. This means that you need to find experienced developers who can lead junior ones, otherwise the overall development process can be a disaster. However, once you are comfortable in developing on the platform, the customization capability are basically limitless and you can adapt the platform to any use case you can imagine. Also, there are many alredy developed marketplace modules that can solve, out of the box, many problems you may face.
Read full review
Shopify
It is fairly easy to use Shopify regardless of what task you are attempting to perform. Most things are customizable to a degree without requiring coding ability. I have very limited coding experience and have still been able to navigate my way around changing features of the website that require edits to the code with the use of AI and trial-and-error. This previously wasn't possible with the WooCommerce platform.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Shopify
Shopify support is always available when you need them.
Read full review
Performance
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Shopify
Shopify website speed is quite impressive. Even if we integrate couple apps, it does not hamper the site speed.
Read full review
Support Rating
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Shopify
In terms of support I give Shopify a 9 out of 10 because they're always very friendly and thorough, and they personally can't solve my problem for me they always point me in the proper direction with the proper information I need to move forward
Read full review
Online Training
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Shopify
Shopify offered us several trainings to setup a Shopify store, how to build a brand, SEO, product photography etc. All this content have been super helpful in our journey.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Shopify
Just start now and make the switch, the sooner the better. You will love it and it is really a simple process
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
In looking at a different platform to migrate to from Magento 1, we looked primarily at Big Commerce, Shopify and Shopify Plus. Our host was very negative about Magento 2, but we determined after a couple years it was due to the fact it had even more complexity (and very different) than Magento 1. Shopify Plus was attractive, but the cost factor for two sites led us back to Magento 2.
Read full review
Shopify
Big Commerce and SAP Hybris are two other platforms we've investigated and Shopify is by far easiest to use and customize. While it doesn't do everything out of the box, the apps do fill in many gaps. The cost however, is probably the biggest selling point against these other two options.
Read full review
Scalability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Shopify
Shopify has basic to high-end plans. The plans grow with the brand`s growth and I love that about Shopify.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Delays in development leads to missed timelines and opportunity loss.
  • High cost of development and maintenance may currently outweigh the growth.
  • Better handling of customer and order information makes for better customer service.
  • Excellent API has been a boon for integration with our ERP
Read full review
Shopify
  • It got the store up quickly so the client could start selling. She was previously selling products on Etsy and Facebook and wanted to consolidate everything onto one website, so the main thing Shopify solved was to reduce the store owner's time in managing all her products on multiple sites. Also, we had previously built a website on Wix with all the custom functionality and branding she needed - a truly great, high-end website - but it performed so slowly that it was unusable. So the speed at which Shopify can be set up and then works on the page is appreciable.
  • The website was manageable by the client - she could figure the system out herself after a while so she saved money on costs for hiring developers. She did have to hire developers to customize some of the plug-ins but costs are all relative; it wasn't a high investment compared to building a full e-commerce website. With the complexity and size of her product base and the functionality and branding she wanted to have in a website, and the potential of her business, she would have needed to invest well over $10,000 to get to where she really needs to be. In the end she kept the budget under $5000.00.
  • Costs kept climbing with plug-ins having to be added with everything. My client became more involved in building the website and began to try multiple plugins, and she did not have the skill base to evaluate the plugins functionalities so she chose plugins that did not do everything she needed, and then ended up paying the plugin developers to customize the plugins. So on one hand, it's pretty amazing to be able to bring up an e-commerce website as quickly as a week or so, but on the other hand if you need anything customized or deeper functionality in regards to product searching and filtering on the web page, and management on the backend, it quickly goes beyond the skills of the average person to manage, and above their expected budget as well. In the end my client really did not get anything close to the functionality for the website we had originally envisioned.
  • Shopify was the easiest way we could find to bring the client's products to a global market. We evaluated several other platforms and the functionality simple did not seem to be adequate, so Shopify seemed like the only solution that could do enough of what we needed and still stay within this client's budget. Really the problem in this project was not platform per se but that the budget wasn't large enough. Shopify managed to provide a solution for an ecommerce store with thousands of products on a tiny budget, so in the sense of pure functionality it provided the best value of all the platforms we evaluated. The solution still isn't big enough for this client's business though so, without having insights into this client's post-build sales results, my guess is that because her new website did not make her products easier to sort through, and she likely didn't have much more budget left to invest in SEO and other marketing of the website, her sales probably didn't increase substantially as a result of having built the website. So I think this project all in all did not likely have a high ROI.
Read full review
ScreenShots