Shopify Plus vs Magento: which is the best headless eCommerce platform?

Last updated on November 29th, 2023 at 11:27 am

Magento and Shopify, with a 10% and 1.72% market share, respectively are immensely popular eCommerce platforms. Millions of consumers regularly use one of them to advance their businesses.

Magento and Shopify offer online store management in distinct ways. Before choosing between the two eCommerce systems, companies should weigh several aspects.

Find out how Magento and Shopify differ so you can decide which one to choose for your online store. These two platforms give tough competition to each other, and comparing their features can give you a comprehensive view of their strengths.

Here, we will compare Magento and Shopify Plus based on various essential factors. Depending on this comparison, you can choose the right one for your business.

So, let us start.

Pricing Comparison Between Shopify Plus and Magento Commerce

The cost of building on Shopify Plus is typically lower than that of Magento Commerce. This is especially true outside North America, where many don’t use Shopify.

Shopify requires less backend development (database work, complicated functionality work, etc.) and integration work. As fewer hours of labor are needed to build the site with Shopify, it is cheaper to build a website with Shopify than Magento Commerce builds.

Estimated Construction Expenses

To use Magento 2 for online sales, expect to spend $200,000. (The range is around €150–500k in the EU and £150–500k in the UK). Shopify Plus builds often do not exceed $100,000 (£100,000 in the UK, €100,000 in the EU).

You can expect to pay around these amounts for a new or redesigned website. This could be very different, depending on the functional requirements you and the agency set.

Comparing Shopify Plus vs. Magento 2 Commerce Maintenance Prices

It is less expensive on a monthly basis to address bugs and other maintenance when using Shopify Plus since you won’t need to install the latest security updates. Magento is cheaper and more practical if you don’t need these functions.

Comparison between Shopify Plus and Magento 2 Commerce Licensing Fees

Both Shopify Plus and Magento Commerce have license costs to consider. Unlike Magento Commerce’s $999 annual package, Shopify Plus subscriptions only cost $10 per month.

The cost of using Magento Commerce or Shopify Plus is calculated as a percentage of your monthly recurring revenue. Magento’s annual fee depends on your “gross merchandise value,” whereas Shopify Plus’s fee is $2,000 per month, plus a portion of payment processing fees in some situations. And $2,000 is close to the lowest feasible Magento Commerce monthly price.

Ease of use: Shopify vs. Magento

The more intuitive and straightforward something is to use, the more you can rely on yourself rather than other sources. How does this situation play out when contrasting Shopify vs. Magento?

Magento’s wide range of customization options makes it a better choice for companies that need more advanced features than other eCommerce platforms.

Smaller online shops will love Shopify’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface, while bigger enterprises may need something more robust. Still, it opens up some exciting possibilities that may benefit the owners of bigger stores. Regarding use and simplicity, Shopify is unparalleled, making it ideal for retailers in a rush to launch their online stores. Magento is the best choice if your needs are more elaborate.

Changing colors and fonts in Shopify vs. Magento

Online stores that want to give customers a unique shopping experience should put customization at the top of their list of priorities.

Magento and Shopify both have robust customization options, but Shopify is easier to use if you lack the technical know-how. However, Magento allows for practically limitless customization. With the help of a theme, a website may be up and running with much less hassle and time spent.

Shopify provides its users access to ten free and 64 premium themes that cost between $140 and $180. All of them are optimized for mobile devices, which is very important given how many people use mobile devices to shop online.

Modifying a theme’s fonts, colors, and icons and adding additional pages and social media feeds is possible but not needed. You may tweak the themes’ code or create new ones to make even more substantial alterations.

Overall, Shopify’s design options are cheaper and more appealing to the eye, making it a good fit for any eCommerce store. Magento’s design options, on the other hand, would be more attractive to discerning customers.

Functionality-enhancing programs and add-ons

Magento’s extension shop has more than 3,600 options to choose from. These plugins require no coding and may be easily integrated into an existing website.

The Shopify App Store is home to more than 4,200 free and paid apps. Shopify’s app store is more user-friendly and has better-quality extensions than Magento’s Marketplace. Magento has more extensions available than Shopify. However, you’ll need to know how to code to install Magento extensions.

Sales and promotional functions

Shopify may have more effective marketing tools than its rivals. However, there is much more to the tale. While Shopify does offer specific built-in marketing tools, it does not have as many SEO options as other platforms. No changes can be made to how URLs, directories, or server-side settings are set up by default in Shopify.

However, Magento gives shop owners greater marketing flexibility and personalization than Shopify does. When comparing Magento vs. Shopify, you’ll see that the former gives you greater leeway in modifying your eCommerce site’s navigation, image optimization, meta tags, and URLs.

Adjustments for Mobile Use

Shopify’s default themes and templates are all optimized for mobile devices. Your store’s design will adapt automatically when a customer views it from a mobile device. Over a hundred free and paid themes are offered in the Shopify Theme Store, all fully responsive and look fantastic across all devices.

Shopify’s Mobile App SDK streamlines the development of a custom eCommerce app and the integration of Shopify’s checkout into an existing mobile app. With a bit of coding, you can add a native “Buy Now” button or an online store that is responsive and built-in.

Due to Magento 2’s page construction complexity, it may be challenging to build responsive experiences there. Any store can use Magento’s responsive theme, but building a site that works well on mobile devices takes a lot of work on the pages and quality control testing.

Conclusion

We have completed a comparison of two of the best headless eCommerce platforms, Shopify Plus and Magento. You should be able to choose a suitable headless commerce platform.

Businesses with several warehouses, external system interfaces, or international development aspirations may greatly benefit from using Magento 2 Commerce. As Shopify Plus continues to develop, it should become a viable alternative to Magento 2 in terms of price and therefore satisfy your needs. Check your requirements carefully and then check which of these two platforms provides you with the best solution.