Shopify vs Magento: Which Fits Your Store?
Shopify is a hosted platform with a monthly plan. Magento comes as free, self-hosted Magento Open Source or as Adobe Commerce, a quoted enterprise product. Magento gives the most control and asks the most of you.
- Shopify
- Choose Shopify if you want to grow sales without running servers or a development team.
- Magento
- Choose Magento if you need deep B2B features or custom catalog logic, and have developers and hosting to match.
Prices checked September 2026, from the vendors' own pages.
Shopify or Magento: Which Fits You?
Do you have developers who know Magento?
Do you sell to businesses with custom price lists and quotes?
Do you want to run your own servers?
Shopify vs Magento at a Glance
| Compared | Shopify | Magento |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted store, monthly plan | Magento Open Source (free, self-hosted) or Adobe Commerce (quoted) |
| Price | $29 to $299 a month billed yearly; Plus from $2,300 a month | Open Source $0 plus hosting; Adobe Commerce not published |
| Developers needed | Rarely | Yes, for setup and upkeep |
| Best for | Brands that want to sell, not run servers | Complex catalogs and B2B with a development team |
Shopify vs Magento Pricing
Shopify publishes its plans. Magento Open Source is free software you host yourself; Adobe does not publish a price for Adobe Commerce and asks you to book a demo.
Shopify
- Basic$39 billed monthly$29 a month billed yearly
- Grow$105 billed monthly$79 a month billed yearly
- Advanced$399 billed monthly$299 a month billed yearly
- PlusFor high-volume brandsFrom $2,300 a month
Magento
- Magento Open SourceOpen source; you pay hosting and development$0
- Adobe CommerceAdobe's page offers a demo, not a priceQuote only
Platform license for one year
Shopify: Advanced: $299 x 12 = $3,588. Plus starts at $2,300 x 12 = $27,600.
Magento: Magento Open Source: $0, plus hosting and developers. Adobe Commerce: ask Adobe or a partner for a written quote.
Checked September 2026: Shopify pricing, Magento Open Source on GitHub, Adobe Commerce. Prices change; check the vendor before you buy.
Shopify vs Magento Features
What each gives you as standard. Magento figures cover Open Source unless marked Adobe Commerce.
| Feature | Shopify | Magento |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting included | Yes | No, except Adobe Commerce cloud |
| B2B price lists and quotes | Partial, on Plus | Yes, in Adobe Commerce |
| Multiple stores from one install | Partial, through Markets and expansion stores | Yes |
| Full control of code | No | Yes |
| App or extension marketplace | Yes | Yes |
| Upkeep and security patches | Handled by Shopify | Yours |
The Differences That Matter
Total cost
Shopify's cost is mostly its plan and apps. Magento's is mostly people and servers: even the free Open Source edition needs capable hosting and developers, and Adobe Commerce adds a quoted license on top.
Control
Magento lets you change almost anything, from catalog rules to checkout. Shopify limits deep changes, especially below Plus, in exchange for stability.
When Magento earns its cost
Large catalogs, complex B2B pricing and several stores from one system are where Magento pays off. For most direct-to-consumer brands, Shopify gets to sales faster.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Shopify if
- You sell mainly to consumers
- You have no in-house developers
- You want predictable monthly costs
Choose Magento if
- You sell B2B with custom price lists
- You have Magento developers
- You need several stores from one system
What we see in practice
Our flower and gift store client runs on Shopify and took 1,713 orders in the year we measured while we ran its SEO. We do ecommerce SEO on either platform; the platform matters less than category pages, product data and seasonal planning.
Ecommerce SEO: For Shopify or Magento: $5,000 a month on a 12-month plan with the $25,000 setup waived, or an ecommerce SEO audit for $1,500.
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Read the comparisonShopify vs Magento: Questions
Is Magento free?
Is Shopify cheaper than Magento?
Which is better for B2B?
Not Sure Which Fits?
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