Choosing the right platform for your online store is one of the most important steps as it sets the foundation for your business. There is a variety of E-Commerce platforms for online stores, with Magento and Shopify. While Shopify is a popular content management, the release of Magento 2 may be even more popular than Shopify.
What is Magento?
Magento is an extremely popular content management system for online stores. With so many options for customisation and integration, Magento websites are known to be versatile online shopping websites due to the capabilities of the platform. Shopify is a reliable platform that allows you to build complex systems for selling online goods. This platform adopted a range of innovative features early on, such as integration with Amazon.
With so many E-Commerce platforms, it can be hard to choose which content management system to use. In this article, we will compare the differences between Magento and Shopify.
Magento & Shopify Comparison
| Features | Magento | Shopify |
| Store Functionality | The store functionality is simple to use and manage, yet versatile. | Shopify has powerful store functionalities that may be easier to setup and use than Magento. |
| Inventory Management | Magento Community Edition (FREE) allows merchants to add an unlimited number of store items. |
Shopify Starter Plan ($14/mo) restricts merchants to a maximum of 25 store items. |
| Shipping Charge Calculation | Magento has a flexible yet powerful tool for shipping charge calculation. |
Shopify also has a flexible yet powerful tool for shipping charge calculation. |
| Coupons & Discounts | Coupon codes and discount codes are fully accessible on all editions of Magento. |
Shopify Starter Plan does not allow the use of coupon codes or discount codes. |
| Payment Gateways | Magento provides support for 50 payment gateways. |
Shopify provides support for 70 payment gateways. |
| Themes & Templates | Magento has a huge collection of both free and premium templates available. |
Shopify has a significantly smaller collection of themes and templates. |
| Extensions / Add-ons | The Magento Extension store is home to over 5000 add-ons for increasing functionality on websites. |
Shopify has over 100 add-ons for expanding the functionality of your website. |
| Multi-lingual Support | Magento has a variety of built- in multi-lingual support. |
Shopify does not offer full built- in multi-lingual support. |
Main Benefits of Magento
Magento is a leading E-Commerce platform with their extensions marketplace being one of its most prominent features. With extensions, you can customise your Magento website the way you want. Supporting over 5000 community-driven extensions, Magento’s extension marketplace has a great advantage over other platforms. Many of the extensions on the marketplace can be used free of charge, whilst the paid extensions are also not highly-priced. When compared to Shopify, Magento has the clear lead with extensions as they have a larger marketplace.
Many merchants are have realised the benefits of extensions and have integrated extensions into their Magento websites to offer more features and functionality. These Magento extensions help enhance the overall performance of the website which can also make the online store more user-friendly. The user experience is a vital aspect for an online store and with Magento, you can make the shopping experience easy to understand and use for customers.
Main Benefits of Shopify
Shopify provides powerful advantages for start-ups and large businesses for relatively low prices. When compared to other E-Commerce platforms, Shopify offers the greatest value for money as their starter package provides an array of features. Although Magento can be more affordable, Shopify provides an extensive range of features for that price. For a relatively low cost, Shopify’s starter package provides everything you might need for a powerful E-Commerce website.
Shopify has a variety of marketing tools and SEO features to help your website get found online. This platform is built for marketing and it can be beneficial for start-up businesses that are looking to keep costs low whilst gaining a presence on the web. The basic SEO package includes a range of SEO features and E-Commerce analytics to help you analyse how your customers are finding and using your website, essentially empowering your decision making.
Overall, both content management systems have their own advantages which may benefit some businesses more than others. If you’re looking for a CMS that offers great functionality, usability, and customisability, then Magento can be beneficial.
Contact Develo Design for Magento Web Development
If you’re in need of a Magento website and would like to talk to our certified Magento developers, then please contact one of our friendly experts at Develo Design. Our Magento developers take the time to understand your business and your needs in order to deliver a truly bespoke Magento website.
