Magento Open Source vs Adobe Commerce: Which is the right choice?

Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce share the same Magento foundation, but they differ significantly in licensing, native B2B functionality, infrastructure options, support and the amount of technical responsibility a merchant takes on.

In short, Magento Open Source is often the better fit for merchants that want flexibility, have strong development support and do not need Adobe Commerce's native enterprise or B2B capabilities. Adobe Commerce becomes more compelling when complex B2B workflows, advanced merchandising, managed infrastructure or enterprise support justify the additional licence cost.

This guide compares Magento Open Source vs Adobe Commerce across features, costs, hosting, scalability and technical requirements so you can decide which approach best fits your business now and over the next several years.

Key takeaways: Magento Open Source vs Adobe Commerce at a glance

• Magento Open Source has no software licence fee, but merchants remain responsible for hosting, development, maintenance, upgrades and security operations.

• Adobe Commerce is commercially licensed, with Adobe providing customised pricing rather than a public rate card.

• Native B2B is one of the most important differences. Adobe Commerce can provide company accounts, shared catalogues, negotiated quotes, purchase workflows, requisition lists and other B2B capabilities within the platform.

• Hosting depends on the Adobe Commerce model you choose. Adobe Commerce on Cloud provides dedicated PaaS infrastructure, while Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service uses a fully managed, multi-tenant SaaS model.

• The right decision depends less on which edition has the longest feature list and more on your B2B requirements, internal technical capability, growth plans and total cost of ownership.

• From Magento to Adobe Commerce

Magento was first launched in 2008 as an open-source eCommerce platform that quickly became known for its flexibility and extensibility. This first release, later referred to as the Community Edition, allowed businesses to create fully customised online shopping experiences. In 2009, Magento introduced the Enterprise Edition, aimed at growing and larger merchants.

In 2018, Adobe acquired Magento and brought it into the Adobe Experience Cloud (primarily known for its marketing, analytics, and content management capabilities). After the acquisition, Magento’s enterprise edition evolved into Adobe Commerce, while the open-source version continued to thrive within the global developer community.

• Overview of Magento Open Source 

Magento Open Source is the free, community-supported edition that gives merchants full control over hosting, development, security, and maintenance. It offers a robust foundation of core eCommerce capabilities, including customer management, product and catalogue management, inventory and pricing control, order processing, checkout and payment handling, and integration-ready APIs. 

• Overview of Adobe Commerce 

Adobe Commerce is the licensed, enterprise-grade edition of Magento Open Source, offering advanced functionality for scalability, automation, B2B operations, and seamless integration within the Adobe Experience Cloud.

Adobe provides several distinct deployment and service models under the Adobe Commerce umbrella:

• Adobe Commerce on-premises gives full control over the store’s setup. Merchants choose and manage their own hosting setup, with complete access to the code and backend for full flexibility over customisation, integrations, and performance.

• Adobe Commerce on Cloud infrastructure is hosted on Adobe-managed cloud servers. Adobe handles part of the technical responsibilities, including hosting, security, and server performance, reducing the operational burden on merchants. Meanwhile, merchants retain full access to the store’s code and can build custom features to tailor their store to their business needs.

• Adobe Commerce as a Cloud service is a fully cloud-native version of Adobe Commerce. Adobe manages the full stack, including application updates, infrastructure, scaling, and security, allowing merchants to focus on business logic and customisation. The modular architecture separates key store functions (catalogue, checkout, content) so they can be independently updated or extended, supporting continuous innovation with minimal operational effort.

• Adobe Commerce Optimizer is a high-performance, headless storefront that connects with any commerce backend, whether Adobe Commerce or another platform. It helps modernise the shopping experience without rebuilding the entire site, delivering faster speed, better SEO, and richer merchandising.

In this article, we will focus mainly on Adobe Commerce on-premises and Adobe Commerce on Cloud infrastructure, as these two editions are most comparable with Magento Open Source in terms of capabilities and use cases. 

The table below provides a side-by-side comparison between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce, highlighting key differences in total cost of ownership, features, performance & scalability, security, and support to help you identify which edition best fits your business needs.

1. B2B/enterprise commerce features

Adobe Commerce includes a comprehensive suite of native B2B capabilities, providing an integrated framework that centralises account and order management, supports role-based purchasing controls, and automates quoting, approval, and replenishment processes. This enables businesses to streamline B2B transactions, reduce operational workload, and handle even complex procurement workflows with ease.

A summary table of Adobe Commerce B2B features and business benefits

Looking to unlock advanced B2B features tailored to your unique business needs? Explore On Tap’s Magento and Adobe Commerce B2B solution to streamline your sales process, empower corporate buyers, and drive long-term growth.

2. Merchandising and marketing tools 

Adobe Commerce provides advanced targeting, campaign optimisation, and automation capabilities powered by data-driven insights, compared to Magento Open Source. These enhancements enable marketing teams to coordinate more seamlessly, align activities across channels, and act on real-time performance data. 

As a result, merchants can deliver timely, relevant, and engaging promotions that resonate with the right audience. This leads to higher conversion rates, stronger repeat purchase behaviour, and lasting customer loyalty, ultimately driving sustained growth in both revenue and customer lifetime value.

3. CMS and content management

Adobe Commerce extends Magento Open Source with a more powerful and intuitive content management experience. It enables teams to create, personalise, and deliver dynamic content across multiple formats, from landing pages to promotional campaigns, with greater control and creativity. Combined with built-in automation and scheduling tools, it helps streamline content workflows and bring campaigns to market faster while maintaining consistency and brand impact.

Adobe Commerce introduces enterprise-grade enhancements that make the platform faster, more stable, and easier to scale. These improvements translate into clear business outcomes, higher conversion rates, stronger SEO performance, reduced technical workload, and lower long-term operating costs.

Adobe Commerce on-premises gives merchants full control over their infrastructure while offering built-in optimisation tools that keep sites performing at an enterprise level:

• Advanced full-page caching ensures consistently fast page loads, even under high traffic.

• Optimised indexing updates the catalogue and pricing data in the background without slowing operations.

• Improved queue and database management keep the site stable during large order volumes.

• Monitoring tools (SWAT and Observation) help detect issues early and maintain performance with minimal downtime.

Adobe Commerce on Cloud builds on these strengths with Adobe-managed infrastructure:

• Auto-scaling resources adapt automatically during sales peaks.

• Fastly Content Delivery Network (CDN) and edge caching speed up page delivery globally.

• Load balancing and multi-environment setup support safe deployments and continuous improvement.

• Integrated New Relic monitoring offers real-time performance insights for proactive optimisation.

Together, these capabilities let merchants focus on growth while Adobe ensures the store remains fast, stable, and reliable, even at scale.

Discover hassle-free eCommerce hosting with On Tap Cloud. Whether you run Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce, On Tap Cloud provides a fully managed, high-performance environment with autoscaling, automated backups, advanced security, and 24/7 monitoring, letting you focus on growing your business while we handle the infrastructure.

Adobe Commerce offers a more comprehensive security framework, with differences between on-premise and on-cloud deployments:

Adobe Commerce on-premises

The Adobe Commerce on-premises includes enhanced security tools such as advanced admin access control, Adobe Security Scan (which automatically checks for vulnerabilities and outdated components), and SSL certificate support (for encrypted data transfer). These enhancements help strengthen store protection, streamline compliance efforts, and reduce manual monitoring workload, while still keeping full control in the hands of the merchant’s IT team, including configuring firewalls, applying server patches, scheduling backups, and monitoring potential vulnerabilities. 

Adobe Commerce on Cloud

Adobe Commerce on Cloud provides a fully managed security environment. Building on the protections of the on-premise version, the cloud edition adds automated security updates, built-in firewalls, denial-of-service (DDoS) protection (a suite of security tools and services designed to block attacks that flood a website with traffic and disrupt its normal operation), malware scanning and PCI compliance support. Cloud hosting reduces the operational burden on businesses while ensuring high standards of data protection and regulatory compliance.

Adobe Commerce offers advanced technical support and developer resources, designed to support enterprise-level eCommerce operations.

Adobe Commerce on-premises

• Official technical support: Access to Experience League Support to submit and track technical support cases.

• Adobe Commerce Intelligence: Provides enhanced guidance for implementation, data integration, and technical support for enterprise data needs.

Adobe Commerce on Cloud

In addition to the capabilities available in Adobe Commerce on-premises, Adobe Commerce on Cloud provides dedicated expert support, including Customer Success Engineers who offer strategic guidance on platform optimisation and Advanced Support Engineers who resolve complex technical issues.

What Magento Open Source does just as well

A balanced comparison also needs to recognise where paying for Adobe Commerce does not automatically produce a better outcome.

The core commerce foundation is already strong

Magento Open Source supports sophisticated catalogues, product types, promotions, checkout, inventory, orders, customer accounts, multiple websites and APIs.

For many B2C businesses, these are the capabilities that matter most.

Front-end speed is not determined by licence edition

Buying Adobe Commerce does not automatically make a storefront faster.

Theme architecture, third-party JavaScript, integrations, catalogue complexity, infrastructure and development quality remain major performance factors.

Magento Open Source can deliver excellent storefront performance when paired with the right architecture. Modern front ends such as Hyvä can also substantially change the performance profile of either Open Source or Adobe Commerce implementations.

Page Builder exists in both editions

This is worth repeating because outdated comparisons still describe Page Builder as an Adobe Commerce-only capability.

Since Magento Open Source 2.4.3, Page Builder has been available as a bundled extension in both products.

Both editions share the broader Magento ecosystem

Both can use Magento's extension ecosystem and support extensive custom integrations through APIs and custom modules.

The commercial edition provides additional native capabilities, but Open Source does not prevent merchants from building complex integrations or highly customised customer experiences.

Adobe Commerce vs Magento Open Source: Which should you choose?

There is no universal winner in Adobe Commerce vs Magento Open Source.

A more useful approach is to map your business requirements to the edition that solves them with the least unnecessary complexity.

When Magento Open Source is the right fit

Magento Open Source is often the stronger choice for businesses that prioritise flexibility, ownership and long-term control over their technology stack. It provides a robust foundation for building tailored stores without an Adobe Commerce licence, and can be extended through third-party modules and custom development where additional functionality is required.

This approach works particularly well for B2C merchants and mid-market businesses that already have experienced Magento developers or a reliable agency partner, do not require complex native B2B workflows, and want control over hosting, architecture and integrations. It also suits organisations that prefer to invest selectively in the functionality they actually need rather than paying for a broader enterprise feature set.

That flexibility does come with greater technical responsibility. Magento Open Source merchants need to plan for hosting, maintenance, security patches, upgrades, performance optimisation and extension compatibility. As customisation increases, so can the effort required to maintain and upgrade the platform over time.

Working with an experienced Magento partner can help reduce that operational burden. On Tap provides eCommerce consultancy services and Magento development services, covering areas such as platform strategy, custom development, integrations, hosting and ongoing optimisation.

When to consider Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce becomes more compelling when native enterprise functionality can replace substantial custom development or reduce operational complexity. This is particularly relevant for businesses with sophisticated B2B requirements, including company accounts, shared catalogues, negotiated quotes, requisition lists and purchasing approval workflows, as well as organisations operating complex catalogues across multiple brands, markets or customer groups.

It can also be a better fit for businesses that want advanced merchandising and personalisation capabilities, commercial vendor support, or a more managed infrastructure or SaaS operating model.

However, the decision should not be based on feature count alone. Magento Open Source can reproduce many enterprise capabilities through third-party modules and custom development, while Adobe Commerce bundles more of this functionality natively. The real question is whether Adobe Commerce's additional capabilities translate into enough practical value to justify the licence and implementation cost.

In practice, the comparison comes down to two questions: do Adobe Commerce's native features align closely with your business requirements, and is it more efficient to use those capabilities out of the box than to build and maintain equivalent functionality on Magento Open Source?

The sections below examine those differences in more detail, including B2B, merchandising, content management, performance and support, so you can compare the two approaches in terms of both business value and total cost of ownership.

Both Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce can deliver strong business outcomes when implemented effectively. However, they share a common limitation: long-term cost escalation. Adobe Commerce offers enterprise-grade stability but links licence fees to revenue growth, while Magento Open Source eliminates licence fees yet demands constant investment in development, optimisation, and maintenance. Over time, both approaches can make the total cost of ownership increasingly difficult to predict and control.

To overcome these limitations, On Tap has developed Carbon, a next-generation deployment system for Magento and Adobe Commerce, powered by Hyva. Carbon accelerates eCommerce success by cutting deployment times from months to weeks, boosting site speed through a performance-optimised Hyvä frontend, and reducing maintenance overheads with free lifetime upgrades. It preserves Magento’s flexibility and scalability while delivering a cost-efficient, predictable model that enables faster launches, sustainable long-term performance, and a future-ready path for growth. 

Here is how Carbon delivers these advantages:

• Built-in features for B2C and B2B growth:
  Carbon provides a comprehensive set of built-in capabilities for B2C, including advanced product search and filtering, optimised checkout flows, promotional and loyalty tools, SEO enhancements, and a modern, conversion-focused storefront experience.
  Alongside these, Carbon also introduces enhanced features designed for B2B, such as company accounts, custom pricing, quote requests (RFQ), bulk and quick ordering, requisition lists, and multi-user management — empowering merchants to handle complex business structures and streamline corporate purchasing processes.
  Together, these capabilities enable faster launches, smoother operations, and scalable growth for every type of eCommerce business.

• Customisation and extensibility: Carbon’s modular and extensible architecture allows merchants to easily customise storefronts, workflows, and integrations, leveraging Magento/Adobe Commerce capabilities without complex development.

• Optimised UX & design: Carbon leverages best-practice UX principles, modular design, and responsive interfaces to deliver a smooth, intuitive, and engaging experience across devices, enhancing user satisfaction and boosting conversions.

• Superior performance and scalability: Powered by Hyvä’s lightweight frontend and an optimised Magento backend, it delivers faster load times, smoother user experiences, and reliable scalability even for large catalogues or heavy traffic.

• Faster time to market: Pre-built modules, optimised architecture, and ready-to-use storefront templates enable deployment in as little as four weeks, accelerating your path to revenue while maintaining Magento’s flexibility.

• Continuous upgrades and security: Using Carbon, you benefit from the Free Magento Upgrade, which includes all minor upgrades and security patches throughout the project. Your store remains secure, compliant, and continuously up to date, without the disruption or cost of traditional upgrade cycles.

• Lower total cost of ownership (TCO): By eliminating licence fees and reducing development overhead, it enables enterprise-level functionality at a fraction of Adobe Commerce’s cost.

• Benefit from the On Tap ecosystem: Choosing Carbon also gives you access to On Tap’s full ecosystem, including On Tap Cloud, Integration Flow (an advanced integration platform that connects Magento and Adobe Commerce with third-party systems for seamless, automated data exchange), and Audit IQ (a comprehensive website monitoring tool that checks performance, security, SEO, and configuration issues in real time), enabling seamless analytics, hosting, and system integrations.

Ultimately, your decision between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce should reflect your business goals, technical capacity, and financial strategy, striking the right balance between control, scalability, and the level of managed support needed for long-term success.

Magento Open Source is ideal for businesses that value flexibility, ownership, and cost efficiency. It provides a powerful, open foundation for customisation and innovation, but success depends on having the technical expertise, or the right development partner, to maintain and scale the platform over time.

Adobe Commerce, on the other hand, is built for companies that prioritise scalability, reliability, and reduced technical overhead. With enterprise-grade features, built-in B2B tools, advanced automation, and managed infrastructure, it allows teams to focus on growth and customer experience instead of day-to-day maintenance.

For those seeking a smarter balance between the two, Carbon, developed by On Tap, combines the open flexibility of Magento with the performance and enterprise stability of Adobe Commerce. Its fixed licence model makes long-term costs predictable, while built-in features, rapid deployment, and Free Upgrade service ensure your store remains secure, up to date, and scalable without the ongoing complexity.

Whether you choose Magento Open Source, Adobe Commerce, or Carbon, On Tap’s expert team can help you launch, optimise, and future-proof your eCommerce operations, ensuring that your platform grows with your business.

Ready to plan your next move? Get expert guidance and start your eCommerce journey with confidence. Contact us today.

FAQs about Magento Open Source vs Adobe Commerce

1. What is the main difference between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce?

The main difference is that Magento Open Source provides the core Magento commerce platform without a software licence fee, while Adobe Commerce adds commercial capabilities such as native B2B tools, advanced merchandising, customer segmentation, content staging and vendor support.

Magento Open Source offers greater flexibility over how additional functionality is built, whereas Adobe Commerce bundles more enterprise features into the platform from the outset.

2. Does Magento Open Source have B2B features?

Magento Open Source can support some B2B use cases through core functionality, third-party modules and custom development, but it does not include Adobe Commerce's native B2B suite.

More advanced requirements such as company accounts, negotiable quotes, requisition lists and purchasing workflows usually require additional development or extensions.

3. Can I migrate from Magento Open Source to Adobe Commerce?

Yes. Because Magento Open Source and the traditional Adobe Commerce application share the same Magento foundation, migration is generally more straightforward than moving to an unrelated eCommerce platform.

Customisations, extensions, integrations and infrastructure should still be assessed carefully before the move.

4. What is the difference between Adobe Commerce and Adobe Commerce Cloud?

The terminology can be confusing because “Adobe Commerce Cloud” is often used informally. Adobe currently distinguishes between Adobe Commerce on Cloud, its PaaS offering, and Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service, its SaaS offering with more of the platform and infrastructure managed by Adobe.

The right option depends on how much control your organisation wants to retain over the application, infrastructure and deployment process.

5. Which is better for SEO: Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce?

Neither edition is automatically better for SEO. Both provide the core technical foundation needed to build a search-friendly store.