WooCommerce vs. Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento): Pros and cons in 2024

WooCommerce and Adobe Commerce are industry-leading tools to build e-commerce websites. When you compare Adobe Commerce vs WooCommerce, WooCommerce tends to be better for small operations using a DIY method to build their storefront, while web developers have a lot of control with Adobe Commerce.

Adobe acquired Magento in 2018, changing its name to Adobe Commerce. While there’s still a free, open-source version that is called Magento, paid packages are now under the Adobe Commerce brand. Adobe Commerce products are dramatically more expensive, but if your sales are high enough, they can make sense.

WooCommerce vs. Adobe Commerce: Quick overview

WooCommerce and Adobe Commerce offer similar products for extremely different prices. Which one you use depends largely on your traffic volume, sales volume and web development expertise. 

Pricing and value

Verdict: WooCommerce

WooCommerce is by far the cheaper option. If you’re using WordPress, the plugin is free.

If you’re running a larger storefront, though, Adobe Commerce may be the better option. It provides single-tenant hosting for high-volume businesses. That type of bandwidth comes at a much higher price point.

WooCommerce pricing and value

If your website is already operating on WordPress, you can use the WooCommerce plugin for free. However, you do still need to pay for your domain registration and web hosting, and costs can vary widely depending on the provider you choose for these services.

Adobe Commerce pricing and value

Magento Open Source is still available for free, but it will be a challenge to use as a layman. While there are drag-and-drop options available, the program’s real power comes from its development features. 

Adobe Commerce’s paid plans are geared at larger operations. The exact price will depend on a number of factors, including your gross merchandise value and your average order value. To give you an idea of how much volume we’re talking about, Adobe’s lowest gross merchandise value tier is $10 million and below. The highest tier is $200 million and above.

Because so many factors go into Adobe Commerce’s pricing, the company isn’t overly transparent with actual rates. That said, there are two paid packages: Adobe Commerce Pro and Managed Services. You can expect Managed Services to be the more expensive package.

Some of the features you get with a paid Adobe Commerce plan over open-source Magento include:

• Ability to issue branded gift cards.
• Higher security standards, you’ll need to process payments in line with compliance standards.
• Product recommendations powered by Adobe Sensei.
• Advanced segmentation tools.

Web editor

Verdict: Tie

While you can either use coding or drag-and-drop functionalities with either website builder, these two products aren’t the same. WooCommerce is better for smaller storefronts that may be managed by the business owner directly. Adobe Commerce is a better option if you’re a large-scale business with at least one web developer on staff. 

WooCommerce web editor

WooCommerce is primarily a drag-and-drop editor, but if you know how to code, you do have the option to use those skills to customize your shop further. If you’re a small business owner who doesn’t have the budget to outsource the tech portion of creating your website, WooCommerce’s drag-and-drop editor will be easier to use.

Adobe Commerce web editor

There are ways to use a drag-in-drop editor in Magento-based programs in 2024, but the core product is better for professional web developers. If you have the scale to justify spending on Adobe Commerce services, you may already have at least one of these professionals in-house, anyway.

E-commerce functionality

Verdict: Adobe Commerce, but only at extremely high sales volumes

Both WooCommerce and Adobe Commerce give you a wide range of e-commerce tools and functionalities. The biggest difference is in scale — if you’re using WooCommerce, very high traffic may cause issues. Adobe Commerce plans — for all their expense — do hold their own in terms of traffic capacity.

WooCommerce e-commerce functionality

WooCommerce provides robust e-commerce functionality. From abandoned cart recovery to real-time shipping calculations, it provides everything a small business owner should need. Keep in mind, though, that most of these functions will require additional extensions to the plugin. 

If you end up with many different extensions controlling many different functions, it can be worthwhile to look into a managed WordPress or managed WooCommerce plan from a hosting provider. These plans help keep all of your plugins and extensions updated and in working order with less work required from you.

Adobe Commerce e-commerce functionality

Remember that Adobe Commerce is only worth paying for if you have the sales to justify the large expense. If you do, though, the amount of traffic your site will be able to handle is virtually unlimited, with a similar range of e-commerce features as WooCommerce. If you only have Magento Open Source, the load speed will depend on your hosting provider.

Blogging

Verdict: WooCommerce

Both platforms can be excellent for blogging, with a myriad of customization options and SEO tools. However, because WooCommerce is attached to WordPress, it has a home-court advantage.

WooCommerce blogging

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that uses WordPress as the CMS. WordPress is one of the original blogging platforms, making WooCommerce-adjacent blogging tools as robust as they could be.

Adobe Commerce blogging

It’s not that Adobe Commerce programs are bad for blogging. The granular coding capabilities make it a phenomenal tool for SEO implementation if you know what you’re doing. But as far as a user-friendly CMS or tools that beginners will intuitively know how to use, WordPress is still king.

Marketing and SEO

Verdict: Tie

WooCommerce and Adobe Commerce both offer robust marketing and SEO functionality. These features are all-inclusive with Adobe Commerce, but — even with the price of WooCommerce add-ons — the latter is still less expensive. 

WooCommerce marketing and SEO

Again, WordPress may be easier to navigate as you implement your SEO strategy. It allows you to do advanced back-end coding while maintaining a user-friendly interface option for those who lack advanced skills.

There are additional features you can add to your free WooCommerce services, but they come with monthly fees. For example, there’s a plug-in for branded gift cards ($79 per year) and another for loyalty or rewards programs for your customers ($179 per year).

Adobe Commerce marketing and SEO

If you have the skills needed to navigate Magento Open Source, the level of customization for SEO purposes is impressive. As far as marketing goes, Adobe Commerce packages include everything WooCommerce has, plus gift cards and loyalty programs for no extra cost.

However, you have to remember that comes with quite the difference in monthly fees — it once again only makes sense for large-scale organizations.

Performance and security

Verdict: Adobe Commerce

While it’s close when we look at performance, Adobe Commerce steals the show when it comes to security. WooCommerce will largely rely upon the security settings and protocols of the hosting service you select for your WordPress site.

WooCommerce performance and security

WooCommerce on its own is not incredibly secure. It doesn’t meet payment-processing (PCI) standards for the industry. However, when you’re working in WordPress, there are plenty of plugins you can use to make your site PCI-compliant. The process can be easier than with Magento Open Source.

The hosting service that you select to host your WordPress site will provide the bulk of the security settings and protocols for your shop, so be sure to do your due diligence when researching potential web hosts.

Adobe Commerce performance and security

If you have Magento Open Source, your performance will depend entirely on your host. Adobe Commerce plans are built to handle massive amounts of traffic. While Magento Open Source isn’t PCI compliant, you can make it PCI compliant with the appropriate technical skills. Adobe Commerce is PCI compliant, which helps the paid plans win this category.

Mobile app

Verdict: WooCommerce

Both WooCommerce and Adobe Commerce allow you to build your own app for your brand, but only WooCommerce offers an app for mobile monitoring and editing.

WooCommerce app

WooCommerce doesn’t natively allow you to build an app, but you can use a third-party extension to do so. While this does add an extra fee of at least $19 per month, the exorbitant base prices on Adobe Commerce make this additional cost negligible. WooCommerce also has an app that allows you to monitor your site’s stats and do some light editing.

Adobe Commerce app

Adobe Commerce does not have an app that would allow you to monitor store statistics through your mobile device. However, it does include the ability to create your own app for your store in its paid packages. Doing so will require some web development skills.

Final verdict

Winner: WooCommerce

The price difference is just too big to ignore. While Adobe Commerce packages may come with a wider range of features included, you can still access those features for less with WooCommerce extensions. Because the pricing is so far apart, Adobe Commerce only really makes sense if you’re posting incredibly large numbers.

Who is WooCommerce best for?

WooCommerce is better for business owners who can’t spend five figures or more on their shop maintenance every year. It’s also better for those who do not have a background in coding or web development.

Who is Adobe Commerce best for?

Adobe Commerce is best for shop owners who do extremely high volume every month. You’re going to need that revenue to pay your monthly bill. Whether you’re using Adobe Commerce or Magento Open Source, the interface is better for professional web developers.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is WooCommerce better than Adobe Commerce?

One isn’t necessarily better than the other. Magento is better for web developers, and its sister Adobe Commerce products are best for the largest of businesses. WooCommerce is better for small operations that may be building their website without the same level of tech expertise.

Is Adobe Commerce more secure than WooCommerce?

Magento on its own is not more secure than WooCommerce. Both are open source and not PCI compliant. However, if you upgrade to a paid Adobe Commerce package, your website will be PCI-compliant without any extra work on your end.

Which is easier for beginners, Adobe Commerce or WooCommerce?

While Magento does have drag-and-drop functionality, on the whole, WooCommerce is easier and more intuitive to use for beginners without a web development background.