Magento is a common eCommerce platform which accounts for nearly 14% of the million websites whereas Shopify has 6% share of the top million sites. Are you confused which one to choose between Magento and Shopify? You are not the only one confused about this. Magento and Shopify are the two most popular and reliable eCommerce platforms and so it is tough to make a choice between them. It is important to choose a suitable eCommerce platform to create, manage or maintain a website for it determines the success and failure of your business.
If you aren’t happy with your current platforms, then you have several options whereby Shopify and Magento are the biggest contenders. Shopify used to a stiff competition to Magento 1.0 but with the release of Magento 2.0, Magento enjoys the limelight again. This eCommerce platform is an ideal solution for most of the businesses. Both the platforms differ in features and functionalities whereby a business cannot opt for a one-size-fits-all solution to ruin the eCommerce experience.
The most basic differences are:
- Shopify is a paid product while Magento is open source and free software.
- As Shopify is a commercial and paid product, the provider hosts your website whereby in Magento you have to offer hosting, installation and setup or configuration when opening a store. Magento eCommerce platform requires web development and programming skills. You should look for the best Magento development company for website development for there are many good reasons for choosing Magento.
Shopify Vs Magento: the basic differences
Here are the basic differences between Magento and Shopify:
- Magento enjoys more popularity – As already stated, Magento is more popular and commonly used, it claims around 14% of the top websites while Shopify enjoys 6% of the share. Popular names like Rosetta Stone, Nike, Ghiradelli, and Olympus make use of Magento while Shopify has only a few names like Lakers’ Store and Tesla. But, overall both Magento and Shopify boast big and successful companies.
- Magento source code is available freely – When it comes to coding, Magento makes use of PHP while Shopify employs coding language known as ‘Liquid’. You may determine the potential of each by merely learning that Shopify is paid while Magento is open source. The source code of Magento is freely available and you may even modify it. You may also alter the template code of Magento in order to suit the store needs. You don’t enjoy this convenience with Shopify. So, if you have to set up a simple store, go for Shopify but it’s not good for the complex ones.
- Magento is free – As Shopify is paid and a commercial product, you need to pay a monthly subscription. Since Shopify is SAAS (Software-As-A-Service), the user has to pay a monthly fee for the software. After a period of time, you have to bear the cost. To access more features like advanced reporting, gift cards or cart recovery, you have to pay more. A Magento user can access such features by paying significantly less price. So, it is wise enough to look for a Magento development company.
- No transaction fee applies to Magento – Shopify charges you certain transaction fee when the payment is made through PayPal, Authorize.net, and Braintree or other external payment gateways but this doesn’t apply to Magento. Shopify will cut an amount as a transaction fee and this lowers the transaction fees. Thus, it is good to use a direct payment gateway.
- No need to pay the third party – As Shopify is hosted by another company, a user has to pay the third-party. This may come around to 3.95USD when you take hosting services from HostGator. Since Magento is the self-hosted solution and thus, there is no third party charge.
- Freedom to choose a hosting solution – With Magento, the user enjoys the benefit of choosing a hosting solution which fits the business needs.
- Greater freedom with Magento – Magento Community Edition is available for download where you need not expend anything. This option is fantastic for small businesses and developers. The cost of Enterprise Edition relies on the features you want to avail. However, you need to take into account the cost of the add-on. Unlike Shopify, Magento gives you a full authority to control the customer experience and how you deliver it.
Both Shopify and Magento are powerful eCommerce solutions and preferred hosting platforms. While Magento is free, Shopify offers ease of use as it is fully managed and hosted service. It is not possible to say which is better. A lot depends on your business needs, the goals and objectives and your budget.