Adobe Commerce development
Storefront design
Performance & SEO
AI & agentic commerce
Release tracker
Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce are built on the same core application. Open Source is free and covers everything a typical store needs: catalog, cart, checkout, multi-store, Page Builder and APIs. Adobe Commerce is the licensed edition. It adds B2B features, content staging and scheduling, advanced merchandising and loyalty tools, Adobe-hosted options and SaaS services such as Live Search, plus support from Adobe. Its licence fee is set by Adobe based on pricing levels such as your gross merchandise value. Switching makes sense when those added features would replace a stack of extensions and custom work, or when your business needs a vendor-backed platform.
One core, two editions
Both editions share the same codebase, Admin, extension architecture and release schedule. Every release, such as 2.4.9 (May 12, 2026), ships for both. A developer who knows one knows the other, and most third-party extensions support both.
The differences are in the modules Adobe adds on top, the hosting options, and the support and services that come with the licence. Adobe's documentation marks edition-specific features with a note. For example, its content staging page says the feature is available only in Adobe Commerce and is not available in Magento Open Source.
Feature comparison grouped by need
The table groups the main differences by what you are trying to do. "Extension" means the gap is usually filled with third-party modules on Open Source.
| Need | Feature | Magento Open Source | Adobe Commerce |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B | Company accounts and hierarchies, buyer roles | Extension | Included (B2B module) |
| B2B | Shared catalogs with company-specific pricing | Extension | Included |
| B2B | Negotiable quotes, purchase order approvals | Extension | Included |
| B2B | Quick order by SKU, requisition lists | Extension | Included |
| Merchandising | Customer segments for targeted content and promotions | Extension | Included |
| Merchandising | Rule-based related products and drag-and-drop category merchandising | Extension | Included (related product rules, Visual Merchandiser) |
| Merchandising | Gift cards, store credit, reward points | Extension | Included |
| Content and staging | Page Builder | Included (since 2.4.3) | Included |
| Content and staging | Content staging: schedule and preview changes to products, categories, pages and promotions | Not available | Included |
| Operations | Returns (RMA) management | Extension | Included |
| Operations | Admin action log, scheduled import and export | Extension | Included |
| Services | Live Search, Product Recommendations and other SaaS services | Not included | Included with the licence |
| Hosting | Where it runs | Self-hosted anywhere | On-premises, Adobe's cloud infrastructure, or Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service |
| Support | Vendor support | Community and your agency | Adobe Commerce support during the support period |
Both editions include the core catalog, multi-source inventory, multiple websites and store views, cart and catalog price rules, REST and GraphQL APIs, and the same security patch releases.
B2B
This is the biggest functional gap. Adobe Commerce's B2B module covers the way businesses buy: companies with several buyers and roles, catalogs and prices per company, quotes that buyers and sales teams negotiate, and purchase orders that need approval. Open Source stores can build similar flows with extensions, but they come from different vendors and need more integration work.
Merchandising and loyalty
Customer segments, rule-based related products, Visual Merchandiser, gift cards, store credit and reward points let a merchandising team target and reward customers without developers. Adobe documents them in its Commerce Admin guide, and the modules behind them are not part of the Magento Open Source codebase on GitHub. On Open Source, each is usually a separate extension.
Content staging
Content staging lets your team schedule a sale, a new homepage and updated prices to go live together at a set time, and preview the result first. For stores that run frequent campaigns, this often saves late-night manual changes.
Services and hosting
Adobe Commerce licences include SaaS services such as Live Search and Product Recommendations, and access to Adobe-managed hosting. Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service is a newer, fully managed option. Our explainer on Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service covers what changes for merchants and developers.
How the licence model works
Magento Open Source has no licence fee. You pay for hosting, extensions, development and maintenance.
Adobe Commerce is licensed directly from Adobe and quoted per customer. Adobe does not publish a public price list. Adobe's product description for the on-premise software explains the basis for pricing:
- Gross merchandise value (GMV): the total value of transactions through your sites in a contract year, excluding shipping, handling, customs, taxes and financing charges.
- Average order value (AOV): GMV divided by the number of transactions in the same year.
- Pricing level: the GMV and AOV tiers, order limit or other tier that your licence is sold at.
In practice, this means the licence cost scales with your sales, and exceeding your tier can change what you pay. Cloud offerings bundle hosting and may be structured differently, so ask Adobe how your chosen hosting option is priced. Read the contract terms on GMV and AOV carefully, especially if you expect strong growth or a change in average order size.
What to compare beyond the licence
- The cost of the extensions you would need on Open Source to match the Adobe Commerce features you actually use, including renewals.
- The development effort to integrate and maintain those extensions across upgrades.
- Hosting: self-managed for Open Source, or included in Adobe's cloud offerings.
- The value of vendor support and Adobe's SaaS services to your team.
When to switch from Open Source to Adobe Commerce
Switching is worth considering when several of these are true:
- B2B is becoming a main channel and you need company accounts, quotes and approvals.
- Your extension list duplicates Adobe Commerce features, such as segments, gift cards, RMA and loyalty, and maintaining them is slowing upgrades.
- Merchandising runs many campaigns and needs to schedule and preview changes without developers.
- You want Adobe to host and support the platform, or your procurement requires a vendor-backed product.
- You plan to use Adobe services such as Live Search, or connect to the wider Adobe Experience Cloud.
The move itself is usually smaller than a replatform: same core, same data model, mostly a change of Composer packages, new modules to configure and a review of extensions that become redundant. It still needs proper testing.
When to stay on Open Source
- You sell mainly B2C with straightforward promotions.
- A few well-maintained extensions cover the features you need.
- You have reliable development and hosting partners.
- The licence would cost more than the features and services would save you.
If you are still deciding between Magento and a hosted platform, our Magento vs Shopify comparison covers that choice with a weighted decision matrix.
FAQ
Is Magento Open Source still maintained?
Yes. Adobe releases Magento Open Source alongside Adobe Commerce, including 2.4.9 in May 2026, and publishes security patches for both editions.
Can I move from Adobe Commerce back to Open Source?
It is possible, but you lose Adobe Commerce-only features and the data they store, such as staging schedules, gift cards and B2B companies. Plan replacements before you decide.
Is Page Builder only in Adobe Commerce?
No. Since 2.4.3, Page Builder has been included in Magento Open Source as well.
Next step
The clearest way to decide is to list the features you would use in the next two years and price both routes, licence versus extensions plus development. Mistri's Adobe Commerce development team works on both editions and can help you run that comparison.
Sources
Content staging (Adobe Experience League); B2B for Adobe Commerce introduction (Adobe Experience League); Reward and loyalty programs (Adobe Experience League); Page Builder release notes (Adobe Experience League); Adobe Commerce On-premise Software product description (Adobe); Customer segments (Adobe Experience League); Magento Open Source core modules (magento/magento2 on GitHub).
