Magento
Magento Development is an extremely powerful and feature-rich platform that's used by 14% of the top million websites in the world. It is easily the most widely-used service among e-commerce sites. Magento is used by industry giants like Nike, Coca-Cola and BevMo. These large companies have many resources, including web designers who are experts and dedicated website managers, which can help to maintain a Magento-friendly site.
It uses open-source software. This means that you can customize nearly anything to suit your storage needs, unlike Shopify. There are two versions of Magento Enterprise: Magento Community (free) and Magento Community (free). We will be focusing on Community, which is targeted at small- to medium-sized companies.
Pros
- Product Features - More promotional features in the cart, surveys, discounts, and newsletters.
- Business Intelligence - It provides in-depth analytics as well as reports about your business' performance. You can create reports and improve customer retention. Also, you can view organized data from Google Analytics and Magento.
- Design customization - Open source lets you customize almost any aspect of your website, including fonts and styles, element organization, multimedia arrangements, and even multimedia.
- Third-party Hosting - This could be a pro or con- depending on your requirements. Hosting with a third-party means that you can have greater control over your website's behavior. You also have access to a wide range of add-ons available from the Magento app shop. Third-party hosting can be a problem for some because it adds an annual cost.
- Built-in add-ons- Instant access to many plugins for digital marketing and SEO, finances, shipping, and other areas right out of the box. This means you don't need to spend extra on add-ons or extensions.
- One-page checkouts - This is quickly becoming a standard in online shopping. One-page checkouts are proven to increase sales and decrease abandoned carts. They are standard in Magento.
Cons
- Expensive templates - There are some free templates. Still, they lack the modernity and luster that is so important for online businesses.
- You need to have coding knowledge- You can look through developer forums and pick up some coding skills on your own, but it can take a lot of time. For novice coders, there is a steep learning curve. The time spent teaching yourself could help you grow your business.
- There is no SSL certificate- E-commerce websites must have a secure server license. Magento doesn't offer an SSL, unlike Shopify, which includes it with its service. This can add to your budget.
- They don't offer technical support because it's open-source. You may need to search web-development techniques to modify or update something.
Shopify
Shopify's greatest draw is its intuitive interface. You can get your store up and running in no time. Even those with little or no technical experience can create beautiful, intuitive online stores. The basic themes and pricing plans are well-equipped and will usually suit the needs of small businesses.
You will need to pay more for premium features. Before you sign up for Shopify, it is recommended that you decide which features are essential.
Pros
- SEO - There are many SEO tools that can help you put your website design on Google title tags, meta descriptions and an automatically generated sitemap.xml. These pages are hosted on a large infrastructure, which speeds up page loading times.
- Social Media Integration: Link all of your social media accounts, including Facebook, to share information and enable you to conduct business there.
- Templates: Beautiful yet simple designs. You can download some templates for free, but you will need to pay a fee for the more complicated ones. The company recently added a drag-and-drop feature called "Sections" that makes it easy to edit your website.
- Easy to use: Shopify is the easiest one-stop solution for beginners and those with little or no experience in website building. It's very easy to use and familiar from a consumer perspective, which makes shopping very enjoyable.
- Payments: Shopify works with more than 70 payment processors, including Quickbooks, Amazon Pay, and PayPal. Shopify Payments is its payment gateway. They will waive any transaction fees. Shopify Payments has one drawback. It's only available in the U.S.
- Tech Support: For any assistance with building or updating your website, friendly and helpful tech support is available via chat, email, or phone. It's so simple to use that you might never need to contact them.
- Checkouts: Checkouts include a variety of automated shipping calculations, languages, abandoned cart recovery and tax calculations.
Cons
- Additional feature costs: Magento comes standard with certain features, such as marketing tools, one-click shopping, and promotions. Shopify offers them as plugins, which can add up quickly at the end.
- Shopify themes and styles are limited; Open-source code is not an option. You can customize their template language, Liquid.
- It isn't the best option for creating dynamic blogs with useful tags and intuitive displays.
- Less analytics: Shopify analytics don't offer as much depth due to less back-end control. Although they offer decent analytics, if you have a large company and are growing quickly, you will need the most detailed data reports.
Pricing Comparison: Shopify Vs. Magento
Magento Pricing
Completely free. This may seem too good to be true. Magento's software is free, but it does not provide all the functionality an e-commerce website needs. Merchants will still have to pay for domain names and web hosting, payment processing, SSL certificates, and any premium plugins.
Remember that you will need to budget for web developers if you don't know how to code. Because of the differences in company needs and annual costs, it is difficult to determine a pricing structure if you consider all the above requirements.
Shopify Pricing
Prices are month-to-month, and there is no long-term contract. You can save money if you buy it months in advance. High fees have been a problem for merchants. Here is a breakdown of the basic plan:
A $79/month or $299/month plan is available. In addition to more services like reports, gift cards, abandoned cart recovery, and multiple staff accounts, these plans offer transaction fees that go gradually reduced. It's possible to receive a free trial of the programme by clicking here.
What Are The Key Differences Between Magento And Shopify?
License Cost
Magento license costs depend on many factors.
They include the Magento version you select and the kind of license you need. Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce (formerly known as Magento Enterprise Edition) (previously Magento Community Edition).
Magento Open Source is a free and open-source piece of software. There is no price for licensing. The user will be responsible for paying hosting fees and other costs.
On the other side, Magento Commerce is a proprietary paid programme that costs about $22,000 a year. The cost includes software access as well as technical support and security upgrades. How many servers and websites you wish to use the platform for will depend on what you need.
Magento developers with years of experience in developing custom Magento-powered eCommerce solutions can provide an accurate estimate. Shopify license costs vary depending on the plan you choose and the features that you require for your online store. Shopify has several pricing options, starting with the Shopify Basic plan and ending with the Shopify Plus plan.
Shopify covers almost all aspects of online shopping, including shipping, payment methods and gateway integrations and apps. You can also downgrade or upgrade your plans at any time.
Magento and Shopify Pricing Verdicts
Because Shopify and Magento have different pricing models, it's difficult to determine which platform is more affordable. Magento is open-source, and pricing depends on what you need. Shopify, on the other hand, has a fixed pricing system that may appear cheaper but comes with additional costs, such as having to pay for themes and apps.
Themes
Magento offers five fully responsive themes that are mobile-friendly and priced up to $499. Although you can create your theme, it is possible to use one of the five fully mobile responsive themes offered by Magento. However, this will require coding skills or a budget to hire Magento developers.
These are some of the things that make Magento themes stand apart:
- Flexible customization options are available, but you must have a solid technical foundation.
- Animations can make your store more engaging.
- You can add newsletter options to your webpage footer.
- You have the option to add a featured product slide to your homepage.
- Cross-selling blocks can be added to product pages.
Shopify offers 88 premium themes and nine free themes. All are mobile-optimized. The themes are priced between $150 and $350, which is more affordable than Magento themes.
These are just a few of the many features that Shopify templates and themes offer.
- Drag-and-drop editor allows you to add, change, remove, and resize elements in your Shopify theme.
- It is easy to create pages and modify the color palette and images to suit your business needs.
- It is simple to integrate social media feeds into Shopify themes.
Verdict Magento themes vs Shopify theme
Shopify has a greater selection of themes than Magento and at a more affordable price. It doesn't require you to be a coding expert or to hire developers. You can instead customize your website to meet the needs of your eCommerce company.
Apps & Extensions
There are 3600+ extensions available on the Magento marketplace. These extensions can be installed and implemented without any coding knowledge.
These extensions are very popular among those who have them.
- Multiple Coupons: This plugin encourages repeat purchases and makes customers feel valued by allowing them to add discount coupons and multiple coupons to one order.
- Product Pre-Order: This plugin allows you to send an email to potential customers whenever a new product becomes available.
- Remarkety With Remarkety, you can combine email marketing campaigns and social media feeds with your store.
Magezon Builder, a Magento extension that can be downloaded from the Adobe Exchange Partner Magezon.
Shopify App Store has over 4200+ apps that you can use to increase sales and add new features to your site.
These extensions are very popular on Shopify:
- Trust Heroes: trust icons are shown to potential customers and visitors to your site. This will reduce cart abandonment.
- MailChimp An email marketing platform that integrates email marketing campaigns.
- Tracker: This tool allows customers to track the status of their orders in real-time.
- Analytics Buddy: By downloading all of your Google Analytics data into Shopify's interface, Analytics Buddy offers helpful insights.
Read More: Why Business Need to Adapt AI Culture for Business Success?
Verdict Magento Extensions vs Shopify apps
Compared to the Magento Marketplace, the Shopify app store is easier to use and offers more extensions. Compared to Shopify, Magento has more extensions. Magento extension installation requires extensive coding expertise.
Marketing Features
Magento heavily relies on its Marketplace for marketing features. Remarkety extensions are required to add email campaigns to Magento. You will also need to hire a web designer to integrate marketing tools.
Shopify, on the other hand, offers integrated marketing tools that will help you scale your store. Shopify allows you to advertise on social media platforms and integrates such as Seguno or Klaviyo for email campaigns. Shopify supports multilingual websites.
Verdict Magento Marketing Features vs Shopify Marketing Features
Shopify might be the winner in marketing features. There's more to this story. Shopify might have built-in marketing features, but it is limited in terms of SEO options. Shopify's default features, such as the hierarchy, URL structure, and server-level configurations, can't be changed.
Magento, however, offers more flexibility and marketing options than Shopify. Magento allows you to modify the structure of your eCommerce website, as well as meta tags and image optimization, and even change URLs.
It's Easy to Use
Developers for Magento should be skilled in coding and other technical areas. Their abilities will determine how simple it is to use. To access the community-contributed code, they should also have strong research skills.
The Content Management System (CMS) for Magento isn't intuitive. The good news is that programmers are free to experiment and be creative. Magento features an active help centre that offers comprehensive support in the form of a thriving global community of Magento developers.
Shopify's interface makes it easy to use and is a benefit for non-technical staff. It's easy to create an online store using the platform's drag-and-drop functionality. You can customize the store and add/delete items. You can also set up payment options. You have 24/7 support via live chat, email, and online support.
Verdict: Magento vs Shopify Easy Of Use
Shopify is much easier than Magento. This is an excellent choice for anyone who doesn't have the technical knowledge.
Functionality at the Core
Magento supports these two core functions:
- Strong inventory and order management: Magento allows for a robust inventory. Magento allows you to customer attributes, create unlimited products, and sort your data. You can also offer a customized user experience through extensions and custom solutions.
- This is a great way to grow your multichannel business: Your online store can be linked to marketplaces, social networking platforms, and comparative shopping websites using Magento. You may also develop product catalogues and bulk-upload them for numerous channels through the eCommerce platform.
These Are The Core Functions Offered By Shopify
- Automatic emails sent to customers who abandon items in their shopping carts for any reason can reduce cart abandonment.
- To simplify order fulfilment and to offer discounts, we partner with shipping companies like UPS, USPS, DHL Express Express, and Canada Post.
Shopify and Magento both offer POS functionality. Magento, on the other hand, offers third-party functionality via extensions. Shopify is a first-party system for POS.
Sales Tools
Many built-in capabilities, such as bulk product import from the database, various product variants, and reports on the total number of visitors, are supported by Magento's distinctive inventory system. Magento also offers a number of great sales tools:
- Multichannel selling options for integrating your store with Instagram, Facebook, and eBay.
- You can customize your online store checkout to make it more user-friendly.
- There are options to recover the abandoned cart rate
- Ability to offer fixed and percentage discounts
Shopify Provides The Following Tools That Will Help You To Sell Range Of Products And Make More Money:
- You have the option to recover sales that may be lost by using abandoned cart recovery options.
- Multichannel selling allows you to sell products on Facebook, Amazon, and Pinterest.
- Shopify allows you to physical products and sell digital.
- Shopify partners with DHL Express Express, UPS, Canada Post, and USPS to ship your products via any courier service.
Verdict on Magento Sales Tools vs Shopify Sales Tools
Shopify provides a wider range of sales tools that you can only access by installing costly extensions to Magento.
Transaction Fees And Payment Processors
Magento does not have payment processors. But one is available for download from the Magento Marketplace. But, it does imply that you will be required to pay a transaction fee for each payment.
Shopify Payments, on the other hand, serves as a payment processor. As a result, there are no transaction costs (except for regular processing fees). If you decide against using Shopify Payments, the transaction costs are listed below.
- Shopify Basic 2.9% + 30C/per transaction
- Shopify: 2.6% + 30 C/per transaction
- Shopify Advanced 2.4% + 30C/per transaction
More than 150 payment processors are supported by Magento. These gateways mostly cater to big corporations. Standard payment processors like Square or Stripe can be integrated via the Marketplace at your discretion.
Shopify supports more than 100 payment gateways, including Amazon Pay, Stripe, and Apple Pay. However, they all have transaction charges.
Verdict: Magento vs Shopify Payments
Magento has better transaction fees and payment processors. Shopify has fewer payment gateway options and, therefore, transaction fees that are more restrictive.
Community Support
Magento is an open-source platform that has many developers backing you. To find answers to your questions or to ask new questions, you can search through previous threads. Because Magento users are active around the world, you will receive quick replies. Magento has a help centre that provides best practices, troubleshooting tips and FAQs.
Shopify offers active customer service via live chat, phone, and email. Self-help content, such as video tutorials and forums, is also available. If you have any problems, there are dedicated professionals who can help.
Verdict: Magento vs Shopify Community Support
Shopify is more reliable because it gives you immediate access to community support.
Security
Magento does not have an integrated security mechanism. However, it allows you to make security updates to your website. Magento releases regular updates and patches to ensure your website is secure. Magento 2 allows you to install security extensions that protect your data.
Shopify, on the other hand, has SSL encryption and Level 1 PCI DSS compliance that will automatically protect your website. This is a great resource for eCommerce businesses who want to know how to protect customer data during customer interactions with store websites.
Verdict: Magento vs Shopify Security
Shopify offers security, but you cannot match the Magento community support and regular updates.
Upgrades
Magento 1 to Magento 2 migrations are required as Magento 1 has ceased supporting Magento 1, effective 30 June 2020. The new Magento version features a better product catalogue, improved framework, and simplified administration. This significant shift has been made by many eCommerce platforms to take advantage of this opportunity. Although the migration is a one-time expense, it will result in positive ROIs over time.
Shopify, on the other hand, has released a newer version of its eCommerce platform. This is for businesses that have outgrown Shopify's standard version and are making a big splash in the market. Shopify Plus is the newer version.
Shopify Plus offers many options, making it a tempting upgrade. Shopify Plus is used by Heinz, an American food processor. Heinz's store, "Heinz to Home," launched seven days after the announcement. This allowed customers to get the best route to the pandemic. Shopify Plus has many extensions and features. It is obvious that it will be more expensive. Shopify Plus plans start at around $2000/month and can go up as high as $40,000/month.
Verdict: Magento vs Shopify Upgrades
Magento is a better option than Shopify Plus if you want to have a global reach for all your stores. Shopify Plus stores must be managed separately, but it offers a holistic management option.
Let's take Legend Footwear as an example. Since we optimized their store, they are a footwear firm running Magento 2 that has had remarkable success. The Magento-certified team at Net Solutions was able to speed up websites, build websites that are responsive to mobile devices, improve user experience, and quicken checkout. Here is a more detailed explanation:
Conclusion
All these comparisons show that it was a tough fight. In some cases, Shopify wins, while Magento is victorious in others. Both platforms are powerful and have their own pros and cons. Shopify is a fully managed hosted service that offers greater ease of use. Everything you need to do in Magento is yours, from buying hosting to installing the software. Only tech-savvy individuals can do this alone. Magento websites are more functional and flexible than Shopify websites. Everything is created from scratch so that you can create the look and feel you want for your website. The conclusion of the above comparison is this:
Shopify Is Best For
- Small stores and start-ups with limited products
- You are searching for an easy-to-use eCommerce platform with all the necessary features
- Dropshipping and synchronization with multiple online shops channels
Magento Is Best For
- Large shops with a lot of orders and millions-dollar earnings
- Businesses that have a dedicated team to support them with web development
- Companies that wish to design and customize their own website
- A wide variety of products are sold in different languages and countries.
We hope you find this article helpful. Shopify vs Magento - Which platform is best for your new online store? Start your store now by selecting the right platform according to the above comparison.
