What's the Best eCommerce Platform: Magento, Shopify or Something Else

Direct answer — There's no single best platform: there's the one that fits your catalogue, sales model and integrations. Here's the rule of thumb Armah (Adobe Solution Partner and Hyvä Silver Solution Partner) applies in 2026:

• Shopify Plus → catalogues up to ~5,000 SKUs, B2C, simple pricing logic, fast time-to-market, small in-house team.
• Adobe Commerce / Magento Open Source → large catalogues (10,000+ SKUs), B2B or mixed B2B/B2C, customer-specific price lists, multi-store and multi-language, deep ERP/PIM integrations.
• WooCommerce → small projects, strong content/editorial component, limited budget.
• Headless / composable (commercetools, Vue Storefront, Hydrogen) → only with an in-house technical team and multiple touchpoints (app, marketplace, retail).

If you also sell to businesses, with custom price lists and recurring orders, Magento/Adobe Commerce remains the most solid choice. Talk to Armah.

The 6 criteria that really decide

Key takeaway 1. 1. Catalogue size and complexity — attributes, variants, configurables, bundles.

1. Catalogue size and complexity — attributes, variants, configurables, bundles. Beyond 10,000 SKUs you'll also need a PIM (Akeneo or Pimcore).
2. B2C, B2B or both — customer-specific price lists, quotes, quick order, multi-user approvals are native in Adobe Commerce, plugin-based in Shopify.
3. Mandatory integrations — ERP (SAP, Dynamics 365, NetSuite), CRM, WMS, marketplaces. Check upfront whether a mature connector exists.
4. Performance and SEO — on Magento, Hyvä plus correct caching typically brings LCP under 1.5s; on Shopify it depends on the theme and installed apps.
5. 3-year TCO, not the sticker price: licence, hosting, maintenance, evolutions, third-party apps.
6. Who will maintain the store — the best platform is the one your team (or partner) can actually run.

Comparison table

Criterion	Shopify Plus	Adobe Commerce / Magento	WooCommerce	Headless
Large catalogue	limited	excellent	medium	excellent
Native B2B	partial	excellent	poor	depends
Time-to-market	6-10 weeks	12-24 weeks	4-8 weeks	20+ weeks
First-year cost	€30k-€80k	€60k-€180k	€10k-€35k	€120k+
Technical autonomy needed	low	medium	low	high

The most common mistakes

Key takeaway 2. Choosing based on licence cost instead of TCO.

• Choosing based on licence cost instead of TCO.
• Underestimating integrations: 60% of a mid-market project's real budget is data integration, not front-end.
• Moving to headless without an in-house team to maintain it.
• Migrating platform when the real problem is a messy catalogue or a slow front-end.

FAQ

Magento or Shopify: which is better in 2026?

Shopify Plus if you sell B2C with a contained catalogue and want to launch fast; Magento/Adobe Commerce if you have thousands of products, B2B price lists, multiple markets and deep ERP integrations. At high volume and complexity, Magento has a lower 3-year TCO because it avoids dozens of subscription apps.

How much does switching eCommerce platform cost?

A mid-market migration typically runs from €40,000 to €150,000, depending on SKU count, integrations, SEO redirects and customisations to carry over. The most expensive part is data migration and attribute mapping.

Do I need a PIM in addition to the platform?

Yes, once you pass a few thousand products, sell across multiple channels or manage multiple languages. A PIM (Akeneo, Pimcore) becomes the single source of truth for product data and drastically reduces errors and publishing time.

Who can help me choose neutrally?

An agency that works across multiple platforms and puts the criteria in writing. Armah runs a free 30-minute assessment of catalogue, integrations and objectives before recommending a platform.

BOFU — related links

Key takeaway 3. Ecommerce Agency vs Freelancer Guide Ecommerce Security Free eCommerce Audit

• Ecommerce Agency vs Freelancer Guide
• Ecommerce Security
• Free eCommerce Audit