Magento (Adobe Commerce)

Magento is the name associated with Adobe’s commerce platform family. Adobe Commerce is the commercial product, while Magento Open Source provides the publicly available core platform for building self-hosted online stores.

Adobe Commerce supports B2B and B2C operations, multiple brands, international storefronts, large catalogs, personalized pricing, promotions, and headless implementations. Adobe offers both multi-tenant SaaS and dedicated cloud deployment options.

Magento originated as an open-source commerce project in 2008. Adobe acquired Magento in 2018 and subsequently positioned Adobe Commerce as the commercial continuation of the Magento platform.

Commerce tools cover product catalogs, category management, pricing, promotions, inventory, checkout, orders, shipping, tax configuration, and customer accounts.

B2B capabilities include company accounts, multiple buyers, roles, purchasing permissions, customer-specific catalogs, negotiated quotes, purchase approvals, requisition lists, and payment on account.

Adobe Commerce supports API-first development through REST and GraphQL interfaces. Its integration framework uses OAuth credentials and can connect third-party services with selected Commerce API resources.

Cloud editions add managed infrastructure, monitoring, automatic feature and security updates, and scaling options. Adobe also offers AI-supported product discovery, recommendations, merchandising, and newer agentic commerce capabilities in applicable offerings.

Adobe does not publish fixed public prices for its commercial packages. Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service, Adobe Commerce on Cloud, and Adobe Commerce Optimizer use customized pricing based on the selected product and business requirements.

Magento Open Source is available under the Open Software License 3.0 and does not carry a software license fee. Hosting, implementation, extensions, maintenance, security work, and development remain separate costs.

No public time-limited Adobe Commerce free trial was verified. Adobe provides a free product demonstration that requires registration.

Pros

• Broad native functionality for complex B2B and B2C commerce operations.
• Flexible catalog, pricing, storefront, and integration architecture.
• REST and GraphQL APIs support headless and custom applications.
• Multiple deployment models support self-hosted and managed cloud strategies.
• Magento Open Source provides a no-license-fee starting point.

Cons

• Implementation and maintenance usually require experienced technical resources.
• Self-hosted deployments require merchants to manage infrastructure and upgrades.
• Commercial Adobe Commerce pricing is not transparent without a sales process.
• Extensions and customizations can increase testing and upgrade effort.
• Nontechnical teams may face a steeper learning curve than simpler hosted platforms.

Comparable products include Shopify Plus for hosted enterprise commerce, BigCommerce Enterprise for SaaS commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud for enterprise customer journeys, commercetools for composable commerce, and WooCommerce for WordPress-based stores.

The closest alternatives depend on deployment preferences. Shopify Plus and BigCommerce reduce infrastructure responsibility, while commercetools emphasizes composable architecture. WooCommerce offers a smaller-scale open-source option within WordPress.

Is Magento the same as Adobe Commerce?

Magento is the platform’s historic name. Adobe Commerce is the paid commercial product, while Magento Open Source remains the free, self-hosted edition.

Does Magento offer a free plan?

Magento Open Source has no software license fee. Operating a production store still requires hosting, technical work, maintenance, and potentially paid extensions.

What platforms does Adobe Commerce support?

Adobe Commerce is administered through web browsers and runs on supported Linux server environments. Windows and macOS are not supported as production operating systems for the application.

Does Magento have an API?

Yes. Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source provide REST APIs and GraphQL capabilities. GraphQL requests use the /graphql endpoint on a Commerce instance.

What integrations are available?

Adobe Commerce supports OAuth-based integrations, Adobe Experience Cloud connections, payment, tax, shipping, checkout, back-office, PIM, and other third-party connectors. Additional extensions are available through the Adobe Commerce Marketplace.

Is there a free trial?

No public time-limited free trial was verified. Adobe provides a free registered demonstration, while Magento Open Source can be downloaded and self-hosted without a license charge.