Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce is the commercial, licence-based version of the Magento e-commerce platform. It is based on the same technical core as Magento Open Source, but supplements this with numerous enterprise features, official vendor support and integration with the Adobe Experience Cloud. Prior to its acquisition by Adobe, this version was known as Magento Commerce or Magento Enterprise Edition. Adobe Commerce is aimed at medium to large retailers with complex requirements, international product catalogues and a need for out-of-the-box B2B and marketing features.

What distinguishes Adobe Commerce from Magento Open Source

The key point: Adobe Commerce is not a standalone product alongside Magento, but rather the functionally enhanced, commercially licensed version of the same platform. Anyone familiar with Magento Open Source will find the same basic architecture, the same admin backend and the same ecosystem of extensions in Adobe Commerce, plus a set of features that are missing from the open-source version.

This breadth of features is the reason why, in a direct comparison with other platforms, Adobe Commerce offers more out-of-the-box enterprise functionality than many competitors in comparable price brackets.

Native B2B as a key selling point

A key selling point of Adobe Commerce is its sophisticated native B2B module. It includes corporate accounts with multiple users and roles, shared and customer-specific catalogues, a quoting function, requisition lists, and multi-stage ordering and approval workflows. This allows typical B2B scenarios such as purchasing hierarchies, budget approvals and customised price lists to be implemented without the need for third-party extensions. For retailers with a business-critical B2B channel, this is a significant advantage over Magento Open Source, which does not have a native B2B module.

Integration with the Adobe Experience Cloud

Adobe positions Commerce not as a standalone shop software solution, but as a building block of the Adobe Experience Cloud. This allows the platform to integrate deeply with other Adobe products, such as Adobe Experience Manager (content management), Adobe Analytics (web analytics), Adobe Target (personalisation and testing) and Adobe Sensei – or rather, the AI functions for product recommendations and Live Search. For businesses that run their entire digital experience within the Adobe ecosystem, this integration is a strong selling point. However, it also creates a dependency: the more deeply an online shop is embedded in the Adobe ecosystem, the more expensive and labour-intensive a subsequent switch to another platform becomes.

The pricing model: GMV-based licensing

Unlike traditional licensing models with fixed tiers, Adobe Commerce charges on a revenue-based model. Licence costs are based on the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), i.e. the trading volume processed via the shop, sometimes combined with the average order value (AOV). Adobe does not publish an official price list. Industry estimates suggest starting prices of around 22,000 US dollars per year for the on-premises version, which rise in line with GMV; the cloud version is priced higher. It is important to bear in mind that the licence is only one part of the total costs. Hosting (provided by Adobe for the cloud version), development, extensions and operation remain the larger expense items.

On-premises versus Adobe Commerce Cloud

Adobe Commerce is available in two deployment models. With the on-premises version (also known as ‘Adobe Commerce on-prem’), the retailer runs the software on infrastructure of their own choosing and retains control over the hosting provider and location. With the Adobe Commerce Cloud, Adobe provides a hosted, pre-configured cloud environment complete with a CI/CD pipeline, Fastly CDN and monitoring. This convenience comes at a cost: the data is stored on a US provider’s infrastructure, with data processing carried out by sub-processors and without the freedom to choose the hosting location. For companies subject to strict data protection requirements, this is a genuine consideration.

Data protection and GDPR compliance

The GDPR assessment of Adobe Commerce depends crucially on the operating model. When operated on-premises, the retailer is free to choose the hosting location and processing arrangements, including German data centres, and retains data sovereignty. With Adobe Commerce Cloud, on the other hand, a US provider processes the data, which requires additional contractual and technical checks in a regulated environment or in the context of corporate tenders (data processing agreement, transfer impact assessment, standard contractual clauses). This distinction is important in practice because the blanket claim regarding Adobe Commerce’s data protection disadvantage relates almost exclusively to the cloud version.

Real-world example: When Adobe Commerce pays off

An internationally active brand manufacturer operates ten country-specific shops in multiple languages and currencies, with a complex catalogue of over 100,000 items and a strong B2B business involving dealer portals. It uses Adobe Experience Manager for content and Adobe Analytics for reporting. In this set-up, Adobe Commerce really comes into its own: native B2B, multi-store capability from a single installation, and deep integration into the existing Adobe landscape. A switch to a different platform would affect not only the shop but the entire experience architecture, which would significantly increase the effort involved. In this case, staying put is often the rational decision.

Strategic direction and roadmap

As with Magento Open Source, the following also applies to Adobe Commerce: There are no plans for a ‘Magento 3’ as a traditional monolithic successor. Adobe is shifting further development towards cloud-native services such as App Builder (for extensions outside the monolith), Edge Delivery Services (for fast, headless-oriented storefronts) and the aforementioned AI features. Adobe provides official information on the feature set and editions in its product documentation for Adobe Commerce. For retailers, this direction means that future investments will flow more heavily into the Adobe ecosystem and its cloud services, further deepening their reliance on Adobe.

Differences from Shopware

Amongst SMEs in the DACH region, Adobe Commerce is frequently compared with Shopware 6. Adobe Commerce offers more enterprise features out-of-the-box in its commercial package, but is more expensive and strategically more closed-off due to its GMV pricing model and the lock-in to Adobe. Shopware scores points with a more modern Symfony-based, API-first stack, predictable licence costs, the option of German hosting, and developer expertise that is readily available in the DACH region. The decision between the two is therefore rarely purely a question of functionality, but rather a balancing act between costs, data sovereignty, the existing IT landscape and strategic direction.

Migration and hosting requirements

Operating Adobe Commerce is also demanding. In the on-premises version, the retailer bears full responsibility for servers, scaling, caching, security and patch management – comparable to Magento Open Source, but with the added benefit of vendor support. In the cloud version, Adobe takes on some of these tasks, but in return, the retailer loses freedom in terms of configuration and location. Anyone wishing to switch from Adobe Commerce to another platform must bear in mind that native B2B, Page Builder content and Adobe integrations will need to be rebuilt on the target system. Such a switch is therefore not merely a data migration project, but a full-scale replatforming involving conceptual, front-end and interface work.

Adobe Sensei and AI features

Another key feature that sets Adobe Commerce apart from the open-source version is the AI-powered functionality provided by Adobe Sensei. These include Product Recommendations, which suggest suitable items based on user behaviour, and Live Search, a fast, AI-powered search and filtering solution. These features are included in Adobe Commerce and can be used without third-party extensions. For retailers with large product catalogues, where the quality of search and recommendations directly impacts conversion rates, these features can deliver measurable added value and represent a benefit that is easily overlooked when considering licence costs alone.

Overview of editions and licence tiers

Adobe Commerce offers various deployment options, which differ primarily in terms of operating model and the scope of support services. The following list summarises the standard classification:

• Adobe Commerce (On-Premises): commercial licence, self-hosted, full feature set including native B2B, with hosting responsibility resting with the retailer.
• Adobe Commerce on Cloud Infrastructure: same feature set, hosted by Adobe, with CI/CD pipeline, CDN and monitoring, but without the freedom to choose the location.
• Magento Open Source: free basic version without the aforementioned enterprise features; listed in the table above for comparison.

Which tier is suitable depends on turnover, B2B requirements, data strategy and existing operational expertise. A sound decision requires an honest calculation of total costs over several years, rather than focusing solely on the licence price.

Vendor lock-in as a strategic factor

One aspect that carries particular weight when evaluating Adobe Commerce is vendor lock-in. The more a company utilises the Adobe ecosystem – that is, Commerce in combination with Experience Manager, Analytics and Target – the more closely its processes, data models and team skills are integrated with Adobe. Whilst this offers advantages in terms of integration, it also significantly increases the costs of switching. Anyone wishing to switch at a later date for strategic or cost reasons is not simply replacing a shop, but must replace an entire ecosystem. This dependency should be deliberately factored into the long-term platform strategy, particularly as the GMV-based pricing model causes running costs to rise as turnover increases. For decision-makers in SMEs, this means that whilst Adobe Commerce’s functional advantage is real, it comes at a strategic cost that goes beyond the licence fee alone and should be factored into any serious total cost of ownership analysis.

Frequently asked questions about Adobe Commerce

Is Adobe Commerce the same as Magento?
Adobe Commerce is the commercial version of Magento. It shares the same technical core as Magento Open Source, but supplements it with enterprise features, official support and Adobe Experience Cloud integration.

How much does Adobe Commerce cost?
Adobe does not publish an official price list. The licence fee depends on GMV; industry estimates suggest entry-level prices starting at around 22,000 US dollars per year (on-premises), which increase with trading volume. The cloud version is priced higher.

What is the difference between Adobe Commerce On-Premises and the cloud?
With On-Premises, the retailer runs the software on their own chosen infrastructure with full freedom of location. Adobe Commerce Cloud is an environment hosted by Adobe; the data is then stored with a US provider, with no freedom to choose the location.

Does Adobe Commerce include native B2B functionality?
Yes. Adobe Commerce includes a fully-fledged native B2B module with corporate accounts, quoting, shared catalogues and approval workflows. Magento Open Source does not have this.

Is it worth switching away from Adobe Commerce?
That depends on the individual case. For very large, globally organised catalogues and deep Adobe integration, Adobe Commerce often remains the rational choice. If the motivation is purely cost-related or concerns data sovereignty, an alternative such as Shopware may make more sense.