Magento (now Adobe Commerce) is the classic answer for enterprises that want to customise everything. Shopify — especially Shopify Plus — is the answer for enterprises that want power without running their own platform. The choice is really about who carries the complexity.
The core difference
Magento is self-hosted, open-source, and endlessly customisable — but you (or your agency) own the hosting, security, upgrades, and developer effort. Shopify is fully managed: the infrastructure is Shopify's problem, and you focus on selling.
Head to head
| Shopify / Plus | Magento | |
|---|---|---|
| Customisation | High | Effectively unlimited |
| Hosting & infrastructure | Managed | Your responsibility |
| Maintenance & upgrades | Handled | Ongoing, significant |
| Developer cost | Lower | Higher |
| Time to launch | Faster | Slower |
| Total cost of ownership | Predictable | High and variable |
Where Magento wins
- Extremely complex, unique commerce logic
- Large in-house or agency dev team already skilled in it
- You need total control over hosting and data
- Deep integration with a wider Adobe stack
Where Shopify Plus wins
- Enterprise scale without an enterprise infrastructure team
- Predictable costs and reliable uptime
- Faster launches and lower maintenance overhead
- A huge app ecosystem and strong support
The total-cost reality
Magento's software can be low-cost, but the real bill is hosting, security, developers, and the near-constant maintenance a self-hosted platform demands. Many brands find Shopify Plus delivers the power they actually use at a lower total cost of ownership — and far less operational risk.
Our honest take
If you have deep technical resources and genuinely unusual requirements, Magento's flexibility can justify the overhead. For most growing and enterprise brands in Turin, Shopify Plus delivers the scale and control they need without owning the plumbing.
Weighing a move off Magento? We migrate complex stores to Shopify Plus and protect your rankings — book a free migration audit.