In this comparison, we primarily focus on Magento Open Source, which we mainly develop for our customers. If any functionality requires additional Adobe Commerce features, it is mentioned separately.
Concise comparison
- Platform technical freedom and developer tools: Magento offers full control over the platform’s structure, logic and integrations. Shopify operates in a closed environment where customisation is limited, although a headless build is possible with Shopify’s Hydrogen framework.
- Information security, data management and controlled environments: Magento can be hosted within the EU, self-managed and configured with precision. Shopify offers convenience and PCI DSS and SOC 2 reports, but no control over the infrastructure or data location for the customer.
- Scalability, multi-store and internationalisation: Magento natively supports multilingual store views, currencies and market-specific setups where logic, payment methods and assortment can differ completely. Shopify Markets handles languages, currencies and domains in one store, but market-specific logic is more limited.
- Checkout management and conversion optimisation: Magento allows complete customisation of the checkout process. Shopify’s checkout can be extended with Checkout Extensibility and Functions, but its core structure stays under Shopify’s control.
- B2B needs, customer-specific prices and ordering processes: Magento supports customer group pricing natively, and Adobe Commerce adds B2B features such as company accounts, quotes and quick orders. Shopify has added basic B2B to all paid plans, but quotes and approval flows still need apps.
- Integrations with business systems: Magento is built to work with ERP, PIM, WMS and other systems with deep logic. Shopify mostly uses out-of-the-box app interfaces that are not as customisable.
- Content management, automation and multilingualism: Magento allows campaign content, menus and language versions per view, also segmented. In Shopify, content management is more limited and often requires manual work.
- Search engine optimisation and marketing technology: Magento offers flexible URL management, schema support and deep analytics integration. Shopify supports basic SEO but limits in-depth optimisation.
- Costs and ownership management: Magento has no platform licence and no platform commission on payments, and the total cost depends above all on how much development you need. In Codaone’s cost comparison, Magento costs less over three years including start-up at €1, €3 and €7 million turnover, while Shopify can come out cheaper when needs are very standard.
Platform technical freedom and developer tools
The technical flexibility of an ecommerce platform determines how well it adapts to your business processes, now and in the future. Magento offers full control over code, functionality and integrations. Shopify is a closed SaaS platform where many solutions are pre-built for you, which makes it easier to get started but limits long-term freedom and scalability.
Magento is often chosen by companies that want to manage their own technology and develop ecommerce as a strategic part of their business. Shopify suits situations where you want to get to market quickly and operate according to a ready-made model.
| Feature | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Source code management and ownership | Full control, open source, own infrastructure or cloud | Closed system, Shopify controls core functions |
| Frontend technology and design freedom | Freedom to choose technology (e.g. Hyvä, PWA, headless) | Liquid themes or headless (Hydrogen and Oxygen), but core logic stays with Shopify |
| Customisation | Full customisation: logic, UI, checkout, integrations | Customisation is limited to apps and theme customisation |
| Development environment management | Support for dev/stage/production environments, secure development | Plus has separate staging and sandbox stores, but no code-based dev/stage/prod pipeline |
| Release and change management | Version control, automated releases, rollback capability | Theme changes can be scheduled and tested (Rollouts); platform updates come from Shopify |
| Suitability for development teams | Scales to large teams and multiple job roles | Staff and collaborator accounts with permissions; development through themes and apps |
Analysis
Magento is a developer-centric platform. It gives you full control over every detail, making it an excellent choice when you want to build your own processes, create unique customer experiences or integrate your ecommerce deeply with other systems. The downside of this technical freedom is that Magento requires a skilled development team or partner.
Shopify is a good choice when you want to get started quickly within predefined boundaries. It limits the developer’s possibilities, but on the other hand it offers a safe and ready-made environment where many technical choices are already made.
Information security, data management and controlled environments
Not all ecommerce stores are the same, and neither are their security requirements. When your business requires controlled hosting, transparent data management and rigorous auditing, platform ease of use is not enough. The key issues are where the data is located, who controls it and how the environment can be monitored.
Shopify: ease, but limited transparency
Shopify Plus is a managed SaaS service where the merchant is not responsible for hosting, security or backups, but cannot influence them either. Shopify does not offer a customer-specific option to lock data location to a specific country (for example, only within the EU), nor does it give the merchant team access to server logs, environment settings or recovery processes. Shopify publishes PCI DSS Level 1 certification and SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 reports, which helps audits, but you cannot monitor or locate the environment yourself.
This makes Shopify Plus a challenging option, for example:
- For public administration or state-owned company environments
- For the health, wellness or pharmacy industry
- For the financial sector and other regulated industries
- For companies that require ISO 27001-level environments or specific documentation for auditing
Magento: when control, transparency and EU data location are important
Magento is an open platform that can be fully hosted in environments defined by the customer or partner, for example in cloud services within the EU (AWS, UpCloud, Hetzner). Data stays where you want it to be. All operations can be logged, backed up and audited. Firewalls, user roles, usage control and performance metrics are under the control of the customer or implementer.
A Magento environment can be built:
- In accordance with information security standards (e.g. ISO 27001)
- Monitored, documented and configured
- According to the customer’s internal or external security requirements
- To support multi-level user management, recovery plans and risk management
Magento makes this possible, and we make sure it is done right. Our approach to security is proactive: we have detected and fixed critical vulnerabilities even before they were officially published. This is possible because we actively monitor Magento’s core code and its ecosystem, and react quickly to changes when they are critical to the business.
Codaone’s Magento maintenance includes:
- Production and test environments
- SSL certificates
- 24/7 production environment monitoring
- Automatic backups
- User support on weekdays 8 am to 4 pm (Slack or another agreed channel)
- Installing critical security updates as part of maintenance
Scalability, multi-store and internationalisation
The choice of ecommerce platform directly affects how well a company can grow in terms of product catalogue, market areas and business models. Magento is designed to scale: it natively supports multi-store structures (store views), very large product volumes, and different languages, currencies and tax settings. Shopify also scales, and Shopify Markets handles languages, currencies and domains in one store, but its limits are reached earlier when markets need different logic, payment methods or integrations.
Magento suits businesses with multiple brands, countries or customer segments. Shopify is great for a single, mid-sized ecommerce store or a D2C brand that does not yet operate in multiple markets.
| Feature | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Product catalogue scope | Manage millions of products, without limits | No product limit, but API rate limits apply to variant imports and bulk updates |
| Multi-store support (store views) | Native multi-store, multiple brands, languages and currencies in the same instance | Markets in one store; Plus includes 9 expansion stores, then €250/month per store |
| Multilingualism | Language versions as native, content per view | Natively up to 20 languages (30 on Plus), translated with Shopify’s own or a third-party app |
| Multicurrency and taxes | Comprehensive tax calculations, EU/country-specific tax rules, currency exchange | Market-specific duties and taxes natively, special cases need apps |
| Market-specific customisation | Possibility to completely differentiate content, payment methods, product ranges | Markets separate prices and payment methods per market; broader logic separation needs separate stores |
| International payment methods | Fully supported, e.g. VAT 0% customers, country-specific rules | Shopify Payments limitations; support varies by country |
| Cost management at scale | The same instance can operate multiple markets cost-effectively | The Plus fee covers 10 stores, but each store is maintained separately |
Analysis
Magento has been designed from the ground up to meet the needs of multinational companies and growing ecommerce businesses. It allows you to manage multiple language regions and businesses from a single dashboard, without compromise. This makes it an excellent platform for corporations, brand portfolios and stores operating in different market conditions.
Shopify Markets now covers languages, currencies and domains in a single store, and Plus includes several expansion stores. The limits appear when markets need different logic, payment methods, pricing rules or integrations: you then easily end up with separate stores whose content and settings are maintained one by one.
Checkout management and conversion optimisation
The checkout process is one of the most important single components of an ecommerce store’s success. Its smoothness, customisation and technical structure directly impact conversion rates. Magento offers complete freedom to build the checkout according to customer needs and behaviour. Shopify limits checkout customisation, and some features are only available at the Shopify Plus level.
Magento allows complete control over the checkout logic, visual structure, payment method prioritisation, staging and validations. Shopify is quick to deploy, but offers fewer opportunities to technically optimise conversion.
| Feature | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout customisation | Fully customisable: structure, fields, logic, phasing | Extensible (UI extensions, Functions), core structure and fields controlled by Shopify |
| Payment methods management | Support for all payment methods, prioritisation, customer group-specific terms | Shopify Payments focused, other providers add 0.2-2% depending on plan |
| International checkout | Languages, currencies and payment methods can be differentiated by market | Market-specific languages, currencies and payment methods; contextual checkout on Advanced and Plus |
| Field validation and logic | Full control over field visibility, required status and order | Only limited control, often requires an app or workaround |
| One-step, two-step or hybrid checkout | Possible to build your own payment path | Choice of one-page or three-page checkout; a fully custom payment flow is not possible |
| Checkout A/B testing | Possible to implement as part of development work or with external tools | Native A/B testing of checkout configurations (Rollouts, 2026), limited to changes Shopify allows |
| UX optimisation and accessibility | Fully controllable: appearance, accessibility, usability | Ready-made interface, limited visual customisation |
Analysis
Ecommerce conversion is often improved at the checkout stage, but that requires the ability to test, customise and optimise. Magento gives you the full tools for this: you can build a completely new payment path, use checkout solutions that only require an email address and payment, hide delivery methods by customer group or implement special B2B fields.
Shopify, on the other hand, offers a well-functioning checkout path that can be extended and A/B tested within the limits Shopify allows, but whose core structure stays fixed. Payment methods outside Shopify Payments carry an additional commission. This works great for simple designs, but can slow down conversion optimisation for a growing store.
B2B needs: customer-specific prices and ordering processes
B2B ecommerce requires a platform that supports more complex pricing, customer-specific terms, order path customisation and often integrations with ERP systems. Magento supports many of these natively, and Adobe Commerce B2B adds company accounts, quotes and shared catalogues without additional applications. In 2026 Shopify added basic B2B to all paid plans, but broader price list, payment and quote processes need Plus and apps.
Magento allows, for example, separate price lists for different customer groups, visibility rules, order lists, request for quotation functions and bulk orders (quotes and order lists in Adobe Commerce B2B, or with extensions on Open Source). Shopify now has native B2B catalogues, but quotes and approval flows still need apps.
| Feature | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Customer-specific price lists | Natively supported in several ways: customer groups, contract prices | Native B2B catalogues (up to 3, unlimited and company-specific on Plus) |
| Product visibility management | Product visibility by customer group (catalogue rules) | Product assortment per catalogue natively, other visibility rules with apps |
| Order lists and recurring orders | Ability to save shopping lists and make bulk orders (Adobe Commerce B2B, an extension on Open Source) | Quick order list natively, reorder lists basic |
| Request for quotation (RFQ) | Supported in the Adobe B2B module, extensively customisable | No native quote request process: quotes are staff draft orders or need an app |
| Business account management | Multiple users and roles under the same company account (Adobe Commerce B2B, an extension on Open Source) | Companies, locations and basic roles natively; approval flows need apps |
| Online invoicing and payment terms | Payment terms, invoice as payment method, customer credit limit in Adobe Commerce B2B | Payment terms natively, deposits and partial payments on Plus; e-invoicing and credit limits via apps |
| ERP integrations | Deep integrations for orders, products, pricing, etc. | Possible through interfaces, but often with lighter logic |
Analysis
In Adobe Commerce, B2B is built into the platform: company accounts, quotes, approvals and credit limits are ready to use. In Magento Open Source the same is done with extensions or custom development, while customer group pricing and visibility rules are built in.
Shopify has added basic B2B to all paid plans, and on Plus company-specific price lists work without apps. Quotes, approval flows and complex pricing logic still need apps or workarounds.
Integrations with business systems
An ecommerce store never stands alone. It operates as part of a larger system: ERP, PIM, WMS, CDP, CRM, marketing automation and analytics. The platform must support these integrations reliably and in a controlled manner, so that the store works seamlessly with them, not as a separate piece.
Magento was originally designed as a modular platform that scales around complex integrations. Shopify Plus offers interfaces, but its architecture relies more on ready-made applications and automated integration services, where the logic is often hard-coded.
| Feature | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| ERP integrations | Deep integrations containing logic (products, prices, stock levels, orders, customer information) | Often based on interface calls, logic must be built separately |
| PIM integration (e.g. Akeneo) | Supported in both directions, can be connected directly to the product information model | Possible integration, but limited customisability and feedback channel |
| WMS/TMS integrations | Real-time warehouse and logistics information, ERP-driven | Requires a third-party system + integration service |
| CDP and customer data | Customer data can be segmented and enriched in the backend | Shopify profiles available, but limited use |
| Marketing automation | Full integration freedom, e.g. Custobar, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign | App interfaces exist, but data control is more limited |
| Interface management | REST, GraphQL, webhooks, fully customisable and extensible | GraphQL-first APIs, broad but rate limited; core logic changes only through Functions |
| Middleware support (e.g. iPaaS platforms) | Freely configurable data transfer layer, scheduled and configurable | Shopify apps + integration services (e.g. Zapier, Make, Patchworks) |
Analysis
Magento acts as the core of an ecommerce store when it is part of a larger digital infrastructure. Its architecture is based on the idea that data is moved, processed and enriched, not just transferred. Shopify offers a lightweight and fast solution for the most common integration needs, but falls behind in heavier, multi-step data flows.
Magento is particularly suitable for situations where the ecommerce store does not operate independently, but needs deep dialogue with ERP, WMS and other business-critical systems.
Content management, automation and multilingualism
Ecommerce content management is much more than product descriptions and campaign banners. When a company has multiple language regions, customer groups or differentiated campaign structures, you need a system that supports automation, targeting and local management. Magento is designed for exactly that: structurally, logically and technically.
Magento enables language-specific content versions, scheduled campaign content, customer group-specific visibility, dynamic categories and a fully customisable page layout. Magento can also be integrated with a PIM system, such as Akeneo, to centrally manage language versions and attributes of product content.
Shopify Plus offers solid content management basics. It supports multiple languages, market-specific content and scheduled theme changes, but content cannot be differentiated as finely. Customer group targeting often requires separate applications and manual work.
| Feature | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Managing CMS pages and content areas | Modular structure, view- and language-specific management | Basic page templates, content mostly shared |
| Automated categories and conditions | Visibility rules, segmentation, scheduling (Adobe Commerce) | Automated collections by conditions and customer segments natively, content scheduling (Rollouts) |
| Customer group-specific content | Fully controllable: blocks, campaigns, menus | Limited, workarounds and applications needed |
| Banners and campaign elements | Schedulable and assignable according to user rights (Adobe Commerce) | Theme sections can be scheduled and set per market; segment targeting needs apps |
| Language-specific content and media | All content, images and menus can be managed separately | Market-specific texts and images with a translation app and theme settings; structure mostly shared |
| Meta and SEO information in different languages | Full control: URL, title, description, schema, canonical | More limited, URL base is shared |
| Product information management with PIM (Akeneo) | Magento + Akeneo enables language- and market-specific product information management | Shopify supports PIM integrations, but no native feedback or rules logic |
Analysis
Magento gives ecommerce businesses the tools to build content management that scales both technically and commercially. This means that language versions are not just translations, but separate views where products, campaigns, visibility and customer experience can be managed precisely. Magento gives you the opportunity to combine marketing, product management and conversion management into one functional entity.
Shopify is great for a single-language store that does not require localised content or campaign structures. But in more complex situations, content can easily become duplicated and management can become manual. This increases the risk of errors and takes time.
Search engine optimisation and marketing technology
A well-built ecommerce store is not just visually appealing: it also needs to be found. Search engine optimisation (SEO) and integration with marketing tools are critical for growth and visibility. Magento offers full control over technical SEO: URL structure, metadata, sitemaps, schema.org tags, language versions, redirects and canonical tags are all customisable. Shopify Plus offers many SEO features out of the box, but technical control is more limited.
Magento also gives you free rein when it comes to marketing technology: you can connect the platform directly to email marketing, CDP, customer journey tracking and analytics, however you want. Shopify focuses on ready-made integrations, but their logic is not always customisable in depth.
| Feature | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| URL structure and redirects | Freely configurable, also language-specific | Automatic URL structure, limited manual control |
| Metadata and sitemaps | Comprehensive SEO management: meta title, description, robots, XML sitemap | Supported, but partially fixed and language versions are limited |
| Schema.org and rich snippets | Fully manageable, product-level microdata editable | Theme JSON-LD editable in Liquid, structure more limited |
| Canonical tags and redirects | Manageable by view and language | Automatic canonical tags, editable only through the theme |
| SEO of language versions (hreflang) | Full support: hreflang, language-specific URLs and metadata | hreflang generated automatically for Markets languages; limited control in complex setups |
| Email marketing integrations | Complete freedom: e.g. Custobar, Klaviyo, Mailchimp | Ready-made app interfaces, more limited logic control |
| Analytics and tag manager | GTM, GA4, Looker Studio, CDPs and others can be integrated completely freely | Shopify GA4 support limited, GTM requires a workaround |
Analysis
Magento empowers technical and marketing teams to build a search engine friendly and marketing-ready ecommerce store, without compromise. The platform does not limit data collection, URL structures or campaign structure analysis. This is crucial for long-term organic growth and measurability.
Shopify works well when the basic functions are enough and the focus is on rapid deployment. But when you want to implement a marketing strategy based on omnichannel, language targeting and deep customer data, Magento’s open architecture offers a significant advantage.
Cost, ownership and long-term manageability
When choosing an ecommerce platform, the monthly price alone does not tell the whole story. It is more important to understand what the costs include, what you own, what you can control and how well the platform will serve your business in the years to come. Magento offers full ownership of the infrastructure, code and data. Shopify operates as a service (SaaS), where payments are based on usage and additional services, but control is partial.
Magento allows you to optimise costs according to your own priorities: you can scale hosting, choose partners freely and build your own infrastructure. Shopify offers ease and predictability, but at the same time binds you to Shopify’s terms and limits customisation options.
| Feature | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Platform ownership | Full ownership: code, data and infrastructure in the hands of the customer or partner | Shopify manages the platform, the customer has no access to the core code |
| Permissions and freedom | No vendor lock-in, freedom to change hosting or partner | Dependence on the services and terms provided by Shopify |
| Monthly and licence costs | Freely negotiable, depends on hosting and development | Plus licence (fixed, or revenue-based for large stores) + apps and other additional costs |
| Cost scalability | Scales as needed: pay for what you use | You also pay for features you may not use |
| Costs of payment methods | Freedom to use any payment service without additional commission | No extra fee with Shopify Payments; other providers add 0.2-2% depending on plan |
| Managing your own infrastructure | Possibility to use your own cloud, dev, stage and prod environments | Shopify handles everything, no access to infrastructure |
| Maintenance and development costs | Depend on partner and scope, more freedom to optimise | Limited development, but less to maintain yourself |
Analysis
Magento offers the opportunity to build your own digital assets from an ecommerce platform: the system becomes a strategic part of the business, not a lease. Ownership means the opportunity to develop, optimise, compete and scale at your own pace. This brings more responsibility, but also full control.
Shopify works well when you want a fast, stable environment with fixed costs. But in the long term, as your business grows, the limitations become apparent, both technically and financially: every new feature, additional service or integration brings with it new monthly fees or percentages.
Which platform should you choose?
Shopify Plus and Magento (Magento Open Source / Adobe Commerce) are both top-tier platforms, but they serve different purposes. Shopify is a good choice if you want a fast-to-deploy, closed and easy-to-use environment with ready-made tools to cover your basic ecommerce needs.
Magento, on the other hand, is the right choice when you want to build your ecommerce into a core business system: a flexible, manageable and expandable entity that does not limit growth or development.
Choose Magento if…
- You want full control, from the user interface to the business logic
- You need multilingualism, multi-store, customer-specific prices or B2B functions
- Your store requires deep integrations with systems such as ERP, PIM, WMS or CDP
- You are looking for a platform that adapts to your strategy, not the other way around
- You want to own your own infrastructure, data and code
| Choice situation | Magento | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Do you need full control and customisation? | Yes, everything is customisable, from the frontend to the logic | Limited: checkout and logic partially locked |
| Is the ecommerce store multilingual or multi-market? | Full support: separate views, content and logic | Markets covers languages, currencies and domains; market-specific logic is more limited |
| Do you need B2B functionality, contract pricing or quotes? | Native customer-specific rules; business accounts with Adobe Commerce B2B | Basic B2B natively, broader needs with Plus and apps |
| Are there ERP, PIM or logistics integrations in use? | Deep integrations supported, including logic | Interfaces exist, but integrations are lighter |
| Do you want to own the code and data yourself? | Yes, Magento is completely open and manageable | No, Shopify manages the infrastructure and core operations |
| Is the goal a platform that can be deployed quickly? | Requires configuration and development before release | Yes, quick deployment with ready-made tools |
Codaone: experienced in Magento
Magento is flexible, integration-friendly and B2B-ready, and Adobe continues to develop it as the core of Adobe Commerce. Adobe releases a new version every May: 2.4.9 came out in May 2026 as both Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source, with support until the end of May 2029, while regular support for 2.4.6 ended in August 2026. Still, it is not a finished product: it is a foundation from which to build an ecommerce store that supports your business. Realising this potential requires an experienced partner who understands both the technology and the commercial objective.
Whether it is a fresh start, a platform change or an expansion into international markets, we provide:
- A technical environment that grows with you
- Content and logic that supports the customer experience
- System integrations that save time and reduce errors
- A development model that does not bind, but liberates
If you want your ecommerce to be part of your competitive advantage, not just a user interface, get in touch. Let’s build it right from the ground up.
Why Magento powered by Codaone?
Codaone specialises in Magento ecommerce and we have implemented dozens of large, sustainable and business-oriented solutions. For us, Magento is not just a technology: it is a platform on which to build a competitive advantage.
Our customers choose us when they need:
- Technical expertise that extends from architecture to usability
- A technical environment that grows with the company
- A partner who manages integrations, maintenance and development
- A development model that does not bind, but liberates
- Understanding that ecommerce is not a one-off project, but a continuous growth environment
If you want to build an ecommerce platform that lasts beyond the campaign days, let’s discuss further.