Adobe Commerce vs Magento Open Source in 2026: differences, costs, when the licence is worth it

Comparison summary

Dimension	Adobe Commerce	Magento Open Source
Licence cost (2026)	22.000–125.000 €/anno (Adobe Commerce)	0 € (Open Source, MIT-like)
Typical setup	80–250k € (implementazione)	40–140k € (implementazione + plugin)
3-year TCO (mid-market)	180–520k € su 3 anni	90–280k € su 3 anni (con plugin B2B)
Timeline	6–10 mesi	4–8 mesi
Performance	Uguale (stesso core)	Uguale (stesso core)
B2B	Nativo (Company account, RfQ, listini per cliente)	Via plugin (Amasty, Mageplaza, RCG)
Multi-store	Nativo con staging & preview	Nativo (staging via plugin)
EU developer community	Adobe + partner network	Global open source, senior indipendenti

When to choose Adobe Commerce

• Annual GMV > €3M and structured B2B (company accounts, RfQ)
• You need Page Builder editable by marketing without devs
• You want Sensei AI (product recs, search ranking)
• You need official Adobe support (SLA, escalation)
• WCAG compliance required (audit included)
• Staging & preview with approval workflow

When to choose Magento Open Source

• GMV < €3M or mainly B2C model
• Simple B2B solvable with 3-4 vertical plugins
• Small initial budget and senior dev team available
• You want full code ownership, no vendor lock-in
• You prefer paying tech partners over Adobe licence
• AI/personalisation roadmap handled with 3rd-party providers

FAQ

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

Same core, but Adobe Commerce adds native B2B (company accounts, RfQ, per-customer price lists), Page Builder, Sensei AI, Live Search, staging & preview, WCAG audit and official Adobe support. Magento Open Source is free but requires third-party plugins for these features.

How much does Adobe Commerce cost in 2026?

On-prem licence: €22,000-125,000/year depending on GMV (tiers: <€1M, €1-5M, €5-25M, >€25M). Adobe Commerce Cloud adds 40-60% for AWS managed hosting. Price is negotiable from €5-10M GMV.

Can I switch from Open Source to Adobe Commerce without redoing everything?

Yes. In-place upgrade is possible: same database, same custom modules (if well written). You need to remove duplicated B2B/staging plugins, add the Adobe licence, and migrate config. Average timeline 6-10 weeks.

Does Adobe Commerce include hosting?

Only Adobe Commerce Cloud includes managed hosting on AWS. The on-prem version (Adobe Commerce) is licence only; hosting is chosen separately (JH, Sonassi, MageMojo, Cloudflare + self-managed EC2).

Adobe Commerce or Magento Open Source for a B2B project?

If you need customer-specific price lists, company accounts with multiple users, order approval workflows and quote requests (RfQ), Adobe Commerce covers all of it natively. On Magento Open Source you need third-party B2B extensions: lower entry cost, higher maintenance and module-conflict risk. Below €2-3M B2B GMV, Open Source with selected modules is still rational; above that, the license pays for itself in saved development hours.

Does Hyvä work on both editions?

Yes. Hyvä is a frontend theme and runs on both Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce (on-prem and Cloud). The Hyvä license is a one-off per domain and does not change with the Magento edition. Adobe Commerce B2B features have dedicated Hyvä modules for checkout and company accounts.

What is the 3-year TCO of each edition?

Magento Open Source: no license fee, but €8,000-25,000/year in commercial extensions and more maintenance hours. Adobe Commerce: €22,000-125,000/year depending on GMV, with fewer third-party modules and less technical debt. In our experience the break-even sits around €5M online revenue, or earlier when B2B is the main channel.

When is Magento Open Source enough?

When you sell B2C or simple B2B, run one main store view, don't need native staging & preview, Live Search or Sensei AI, and have an agency able to maintain the stack. In that case the license budget is better spent on performance (Hyvä), server-side tracking and marketing.

Do I need Adobe Commerce for multi-store and multi-country?

No. Multi-store and multi-website are native in Magento Open Source too. Adobe Commerce adds value mainly through content staging & preview, multi-language Live Search and official SLA support — useful when you run campaigns across several markets at once.

How do I know which edition fits my case?

You need three data points: current and 24-month GMV, real B2B complexity (price lists, approvals, RfQ) and the number of ERP/PIM integrations. Armah reviews them in a free 30-45 minute eCommerce audit and hands you a 3-year TCO comparison for your setup: book the free audit.

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