Magento and Shopify are both industry-leading e-commerce platforms you can use to sell products or services online.  

The primary difference between the two platforms is their underlying solution architecture. Magento is a traditional web application that you install on a server. Due to this configuration, you need to manage and maintain its underlying infrastructure. Shopify, on the other hand, is an online Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. You pay a monthly subscription and, depending on your pricing plan, get access to various e-commerce features.

Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages, so selecting the right one for your e-commerce store comes down to your business requirements.

What is Magento?

Magento is an open-source platform. It is similar to WordPress in that you install it on a server you host. It is fully customizable as you can code the functionality you need and offers drag and drop extensions for low code solutions.

The real power of Magento is its extendibility. By leveraging this e-commerce platform, you can scale exponentially and offer your customers a wide range of experiences. Its flexibility also allows you to expand your products or markets without rearchitecting your entire e-commerce platform.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an online Software-as-a-Service e-commerce solution. It includes everything you need to start a digital store that sells products or services to end-users. Like Magento, it offers customizations, but there are limited options as it is a SaaS product. Shopify also provides an offline version of its platform. Shopify POS gives you the ability to sell your products as you would in a typical retail environment.

As Shopify is an online SaaS solution, it is ideal for smaller enterprises that want to open an online e-commerce store fast. It is quick and easy to set up, and maintenance is simple as Shopify manages the underlying infrastructure for you.

Magento vs. Shopify - Pros and Cons

Ease of Use

An e-commerce platform needs to be easy to use as it is the beating heart of an online store and its primary revenue-generating channel. Usability needs to be a core feature as users must have the ability to configure and amend it without expert technical assistance.

When it comes to ease of use, Shopify is far simpler to configure and manage than Magento. As it features a rich online platform, it gives users the ability to create and maintain their entire e-commerce store from any browser. With a built-in drag and drop website builder and thousands of themes and extensions to increase its functionality, you do not need to be a web developer to use it.

When compared to Shopify, Magento is not as easy to set up and configure. As it is effectively a web application framework, you may need to develop code to create all the features you need for your e-commerce store. Like Shopify, it also has themes and extensions you can install to increase its functionality. However, when you compare the two platforms, Magento is the trickier of the two to set up and use.

Scalability

Scalability is another critical element to consider when building an online store. Your ability to generate revenue depends on the availability and extendibility of your e-commerce solution. Should you launch a campaign that drives thousands of visitors to your site, you need to make sure your solution can scale with the demand.

When it comes to managing a large amount of site traffic, Shopify scales well. Due to its SaaS architecture, you do not need to reconfigure your site for the extra users. However, Shopify does not scale that well when it is the business backend that needs scaling. If you are handling multiple product lines with deliveries across various regions, managing this complex operation with Shopify can be challenging.

Magento can also scale and manage thousands of concurrent users. However, its hosted architecture means you will need to control the scalability in-house. If you need to scale your Magento platform, it would involve a multi-server architecture. Unlike Shopify that can automatically scale to meet the demand of thousands of users, a Magento solution would include planning and technical intervention. Nevertheless, as you can code any functionality you need for a Magento solution, you can scale it to align with any complex backend business processes.

Flexibility

Even though all e-commerce stores require standard functionality, such as placing orders and making payments, every enterprise is unique. Your online platform needs to be flexible so that it can align with your business requirements. It must have features that allow you to add functionality as your online store matures.

Both Magento and Shopify can extend their base functionality. By leveraging themes, you can change the look and feel of your store's front-end. If you need to add functionality, both platforms also have apps that you can install. You can find these addons in the Shopify App Store and the Magento Marketplace.

If we compare the extensions available on both platforms, Shopify is slightly better than Magento in terms of variety and ease of use. When it comes to themes, Shopify has a broader range than Magento, and as you do not need to write any code, they are easier to configure. Magento does have a greater variety in the apps category than Shopify, but they are not as polished. Again, if you need to extend your app functionality in Magento, you will need to write code.

Sales and Marketing Tools

When you are selling goods and services online, you need excellent sales and marketing capabilities. Having a great product or service is not going to bring in any revenue unless you have customers. In e-commerce, sales and marketing are as vital as they are in any brick-and-mortar enterprise. One could argue that these essential business functions are even more critical for digital stores. As you cannot rely on foot traffic, digital campaigns are the only way to bring customers through your virtual doors.

Magento and Shopify both offer sales and marketing functionality you can configure to boost your online revenue. However, when you compare the two, Shopify has a better range than Magento. Shopify also offers better built-in functionality. The same Magento features would require installing expensive extensions and potentially writing some integration code.

Cost

The cost of your e-commerce solution is a vital factor in determining your business's profitability. As you need to pay for both the setup and ongoing costs of your platform, you need to factor in this expense when drawing up your business plan. When it comes to comparing the cost of Shopify versus Magento, neither platform stands out as more expensive than the other.

As Shopify is a SaaS platform, you pay a monthly subscription for your service. The pricing can range from $29 US per month for a basic plan to $299 US per month for the advanced option. It also offers a Shopify Plus solution for high-volume merchants and larger businesses. As it is an online e-commerce solution, setup costs are relatively low due to its ease of use.

With Magento, your running costs are typically lower than Shopify. As you can operate a Magento platform on a single server you control, various hosting options offer a cost-effective solution. However, the setup costs of Magento are much higher as you need to build its functionality with code.

Magento or Shopify?

While Shopify does offer a broader range of features, it does not give you the enterprise flexibility of Magento. Magento may have higher upfront costs, but Shopify may cost more due to its subscription-based pricing model in the long-term. They both offer the extensibility, sales, and marketing functionality an e-commerce store would need.

Ultimately, the decision on which platform to use will come down to your business requirements. If you want to get your store up and running as quickly as possible and are just starting in e-commerce, Shopify is the logical choice. If you want the freedom to code any functionality and engage customers at an enterprise scale with a complex logistical model, then Magento is the better option.

Leading companies trust Upstack to hire the shopify experts they need, exactly when they need them! What are you waiting for? Get in touch today!