Magento
Magento or Shopify: which online shop suits you?
Short answer
Shopify is a rented service: you pay per month, get a working online shop and do not have to host or update anything. Magento is software you own and host yourself: more freedom in custom work, integrations and selling to businesses, and more work to keep it running. For a shop with a manageable range, Shopify is often the wiser choice. For large catalogues, own price agreements and deep integrations, Magento wins.
Renting or owning
The difference between the two is not a matter of features. It is a matter of ownership.
With Shopify you rent a shop in a shopping centre. The landlord takes care of the building, the security and the maintenance. You can fit it out within the rules, and you pay rent plus a share of the turnover.
With Magento you own the building. You can rebuild whatever you like. You also arrange the roof, the lock and the insurance yourself, or hire someone to do it.
The two side by side
| Subject | Shopify | Magento |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Rented service | Own software, hosted yourself |
| Starting | Today | A project |
| Hosting and updates | Shopify does it | You do it, or your host |
| Custom work | Within what the platform allows | Almost unlimited |
| Selling to businesses | Limited, extended in the most expensive plan | Strong, standard or with modules |
| Several shops and countries | A separate plan per shop, or the most expensive package | From one installation |
| Where the data is | At Shopify, a Canadian company | Where you host |
| Being able to leave | Export the data, rebuild the shop | The whole shop moves with you |
When do you choose Shopify?
- You are starting out, or you sell a manageable range.
- You have no technical team and do not want one.
- You sell to consumers, at fixed prices.
- What you need exists as an app.
For that shop Shopify is an excellent choice. You get online sooner, and you never have to worry about a security patch.
When do you choose Magento?
- You have thousands of products with many variants and attributes.
- Customers have their own prices, or you sell to businesses.
- You want several shops, languages or countries from one back office.
- The shop must be tightly connected to an ERP or warehouse.
- You want to decide where the data is.
This is where Shopify runs into limits, or becomes expensive because of the plan you need for it.
The costs you do not see at first
With Shopify: the apps. Almost every extension is a subscription. Ten apps later the monthly amount is a multiple of where you started. Shopify also charges costs per transaction if you use a payment provider other than Shopify’s own.
With Magento: the maintenance. A shop that is not updated becomes unsafe. Hosting, patches and the occasional upgrade are fixed costs. If you do not budget for them, you meet them later.
And WooCommerce?
That is the third option, and for many shops the middle way. Your own software like Magento, but much lighter. Suitable for ranges up to a few thousand products.
Our advice
Choose the lightest platform that does what you need. Moving to something bigger is possible later, with your products and customers coming along. Starting too big costs you money every year for options you do not use.