Magento vs WooCommerce vs Shopify vs OpenCart vs PrestaShop: Comparison

• Quick Answer

• Ecommerce Market Share 2025/2026: Who Uses What?

• Platform Overview

• Side-by-Side Comparison: Magento vs WooCommerce vs Shopify vs OpenCart vs PrestaShop

• Ease of Use

• Real Pricing: Total Cost of Ownership (Year 1)

• Performance and Scalability

• SEO Features Comparison

• Security

• Who Should Choose Which Platform?

• The Hosting Factor: Why Platform Choice Alone Is Not Enough

• Migration: What Switching Between Platforms Costs

• FAQ

• Summary

Quick Answer

Magento vs WooCommerce vs Shopify = three dominant ecommerce platforms, each built for different business stages. OpenCart and PrestaShop serve niche roles for smaller stores, though both are losing market share in 2025/2026.

Shopify: Best for fast launch, non-technical teams, stores under $1M/year revenue

WooCommerce: Best for content-driven stores on WordPress, budget-conscious merchants

Magento (Adobe Commerce): Best for complex catalogs, B2B, multi-store, high-revenue operations above $1M/year

OpenCart: Viable for small stores with existing OpenCart expertise. Declining community limits long-term growth.

PrestaShop: Best for EU-focused merchants already in the PrestaShop ecosystem. New projects should evaluate alternatives.

Ecommerce Market Share 2025/2026: Who Uses What?

Different sources report different numbers because they measure different things. Here is the full picture:

Sources: StoreLeads Aug 2025 (store count), BuiltWith 2025 (top 1M), ECDB 2024 (revenue). Note: Some 2026 analyses (BuiltWith trends, Statista) report Shopify at 26 to 28% global share. The gap reflects different measurement methods (all detected installs vs. active stores). ECDB revenue data is from 2024. Rankings shift between sources and years, with Magento ranking #2 or #3 depending on methodology and whether Amazon-proprietary systems are included.

What these numbers mean:

WooCommerce dominates raw store count because millions of small WordPress sites add the free plugin. Shopify dominates mid-market and is the fastest-growing platform. It has fewer stores overall, but those stores generate more revenue per store than most other platforms. Among the world's largest ecommerce operations, Magento remains one of the top platforms by transaction volume.

For a detailed analysis of Magento's position, see our Magento market share breakdown.

Platform Overview

Magento (Adobe Commerce)

Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform built on PHP and MySQL. It supports complex product catalogs, multi-store setups, and advanced B2B features out of the box. The Magento Marketplace offers 4,000+ extensions. Previously branded as Magento Commerce, Adobe Commerce adds cloud hosting, AI-powered product recommendations (Adobe Sensei), and enterprise support. Magento Open Source is free. Adobe Commerce Cloud (PaaS) starts in the range of $22,000 to $60,000/year for entry-level to mid-market stores as of 2026 (quote-based, often higher with Cloud add-ons), with mid-market and enterprise deployments running $80,000 to $450,000+/year depending on GMV, customization, and support tier.

For a head-to-head comparison, see our Magento vs Shopify guide.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that turns any WordPress site into an ecommerce store. It has access to 59,000+ WordPress plugins and themes. Setup takes 2 to 4 hours for basic stores. WooCommerce works best for content-driven businesses that already use WordPress. The core plugin is free, but hosting, premium plugins, and payment gateway fees add up. With proper hosting and indexing optimization, WooCommerce handles 50,000+ products, though catalogs above 10,000 SKUs require dedicated infrastructure and database tuning.

For SEO specifics, read our Magento vs WooCommerce SEO comparison.

Shopify

Shopify is a SaaS ecommerce platform. It handles hosting, security, and updates for you. The App Store has 8,000+ apps. Setup takes about 1 hour for a basic store. Shopify plans range from $29/month (Basic) to $2,300/month (Shopify Plus). Transaction fees apply if you do not use Shopify Payments. It has improved its SEO capabilities and B2B features since 2024, making Shopify Plus a stronger option for mid-market merchants than in previous years.

OpenCart

OpenCart is a lightweight, open-source ecommerce platform. OpenCart offers basic tools for small product catalogs and simple store setups. The core is free to use, but the ecosystem is shrinking in 2025/2026. Community activity has declined, extension quality varies, and security updates arrive slower than on other platforms. OpenCart makes sense for merchants already invested in the ecosystem or those with very simple requirements. For new projects, WooCommerce or Shopify offer better long-term support and growth paths.

PrestaShop

PrestaShop is an open-source platform with a legacy of strong adoption in Europe. It uses a modular architecture with 5,000+ modules and themes. PrestaShop is free to download. The platform still works well for EU-focused small to medium stores that need multi-language, multi-currency support. However, PrestaShop's market share has stagnated since 2023, and the rate of new module development has slowed. New merchants should weigh PrestaShop against WooCommerce (lower barrier) or Shopify (less maintenance) before committing.

Side-by-Side Comparison: Magento vs WooCommerce vs Shopify vs OpenCart vs PrestaShop

Ease of Use

Setup and Onboarding

Shopify wins on ease of use. No coding required, no server management, no updates to install. WooCommerce is the next easiest option for anyone who already knows WordPress.

Magento has the steepest learning curve. The admin panel offers deep control over every aspect of the store, but that depth creates complexity. With managed Magento hosting, the server side becomes hands-off, which removes the biggest technical barrier.

Real Pricing: Total Cost of Ownership (Year 1)

Sticker prices are misleading. Here is what a store with $500K annual revenue pays in the first year:

Adobe Commerce Cloud (2026 pricing): $40,000 to $60,000/year license for small/mid-market (PaaS). Mid-market with customization: $80,000 to $150,000+/year. Enterprise with full integrations: $200,000 to $450,000+/year. Always request a quote from Adobe for current pricing.

Hidden costs most comparisons miss:

• Replatforming: Migrating between platforms costs $10,000 to $50,000 in development, testing, and SEO recovery time
• Downtime during migration: Typical ecommerce migration takes 2 to 6 months
• SEO impact: URL changes during migration can cause 10 to 30% traffic loss for 3 to 6 months
• Developer hourly rates: Magento developers charge $100 to $200/hour, WordPress/Shopify developers $50 to $150/hour

Performance and Scalability

Performance depends on three factors: the platform, the hosting, and the store configuration.

These TTFB and page load figures assume an optimized managed hosting stack: Varnish full-page cache, Redis session/cache backend, CDN, Elasticsearch, PHP 8.1+, and HTTP/2 or HTTP/3. Many managed setups without full optimization see 500 to 900ms TTFB in practice.

Magento and Shopify handle high traffic best. The difference: Shopify manages the infrastructure for you. Magento gives you full control, which means performance scales higher with proper hosting but drops lower with poor hosting.

WooCommerce performs well for small to medium stores. With dedicated hosting, object caching, and proper database indexing, a WooCommerce store can handle 50,000+ products and several thousand concurrent users. Beyond that, Magento or Shopify are better choices. To learn more about optimizing Magento speed, see our performance guide.

SEO Features Comparison

Magento offers the most SEO control for large, complex stores with multi-store or international URL strategies. WooCommerce with Yoast or RankMath matches Magento for most SEO tasks.

The platform has closed much of the SEO gap since 2024. With improved schema markup, better URL handling, and the Hydrogen framework for headless builds, Shopify is now "good enough" for 80 to 90% of ecommerce SEO needs. The remaining limitations affect stores with complex multi-domain setups, custom URL patterns, or advanced technical SEO requirements that need full server access.

Security

Shopify handles security for you. That is its biggest advantage for non-technical merchants.

For self-hosted platforms (Magento, WooCommerce, OpenCart, PrestaShop), security depends on your hosting provider and your update discipline. Missed patches are the #1 cause of ecommerce breaches. OpenCart and PrestaShop deserve extra caution here: their smaller core teams mean security patches arrive slower than on WordPress or Adobe's platform.

With managed hosting, a provider handles security patches, server hardening, and monitoring. This closes the security gap between self-hosted platforms and Shopify. Read our security best practices guide for Magento-specific hardening steps.

Who Should Choose Which Platform?

By Business Stage

By Technical Skill

The Hosting Factor: Why Platform Choice Alone Is Not Enough

Most comparison articles ignore one critical variable: hosting.

For Shopify, hosting is included. For every other platform on this list, hosting quality determines your store's speed, uptime, and security.

Magento on budget hosting = 5 to 8 second page loads, frequent timeouts, "out of memory" errors. This is where the "Magento is too hard" reputation comes from.

Magento on managed Magento hosting = sub-2-second page loads, 99.9% uptime, automatic security patches, and zero server management on your end. The platform runs as smooth as Shopify but with full customization control.

The same applies to WooCommerce. A $5/month shared hosting plan cannot handle a growing ecommerce store. Proper WordPress hosting ($30 to $100/month) changes the performance story.

Bottom line: Do not judge a platform by its worst hosting setup. Judge it by what it delivers with proper infrastructure.

For Magento-specific server specs, check our hosting requirements guide.

Migration: What Switching Between Platforms Costs

Migration is never "just moving data." Product data, customer accounts, order history, URL structures, and SEO metadata all need careful handling. Plan for 10 to 30% organic traffic loss during the first 3 to 6 months after migration. Proper 301 redirects minimize this impact.

For a step-by-step guide, see our Shopify to Magento migration checklist.

FAQ

Is Magento free?

The open-source edition is free to download and use. You pay for hosting, extensions, and development. Adobe Commerce Cloud (the enterprise PaaS version) starts at $22,000 to $60,000/year for entry-level to mid-market deployments as of 2026 (quote-based). Mid-market stores with customization pay $80,000 to $150,000+/year. Enterprise deployments with full integrations run $200,000 to $450,000+/year. Always request a current quote from Adobe.

Can WooCommerce handle 10,000 or more products?

Yes. With dedicated hosting, database indexing, object caching, and proper optimization, WooCommerce stores run 50,000+ products. The default setup starts to slow down around 5,000 to 10,000 products, so stores above that threshold need infrastructure investment. It handles 500,000+ products natively on Magento without the same level of optimization effort.

What are Shopify's transaction fees?

The platform charges 0.5% to 2% on transactions that do not use Shopify Payments. With Shopify Payments, you pay standard credit card processing fees (2.4% to 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction on US plans). Shopify Plus negotiates custom rates.

Which ecommerce platform is best for B2B?

Magento remains the strongest ecommerce solution for complex B2B: native company accounts with roles and permissions, request-for-quote workflows, tiered/negotiated pricing, purchase order support, and shared catalogs. Shopify Plus has expanded B2B through Winter '26 with AI company creation, EDI integrations, Collective wholesale, company accounts, price lists, and net payment terms. For many B2B stores, Shopify Plus now covers needs that once required Magento. For complex B2B with custom workflows and deep ERP integration, Magento still leads.

Is Magento harder to use than Shopify?

Yes. Magento requires PHP and server knowledge for setup and customization. The admin panel has more features but a steeper learning curve. With managed hosting, the server complexity disappears, but store configuration still needs technical understanding. Shopify wins for non-technical users.

How much does it cost to run a Magento store per year?

The free version: $3,300 to $17,400/year for a store with $500K annual revenue (hosting, extensions, development, no license fee). Adobe Commerce Cloud: $80,000 to $450,000+/year including license, hosting, and development depending on store size and complexity. The exact cost depends on GMV tier, number of extensions, and development needs.

Can I migrate from Shopify to Magento?

Yes. Typical migration takes 2 to 4 months and costs $15,000 to $50,000. Product data, customer accounts, and order history transfer through migration tools or custom scripts. URL structures change, so 301 redirects are critical to preserve SEO rankings.

Which ecommerce platform has the best SEO features?

Magento offers the most control for complex stores: full URL customization, native structured data, advanced sitemap configuration, and deep meta tag management. WooCommerce with Yoast or RankMath is a close second. Shopify has improved since 2024 (better schema tools, Hydrogen for headless) and covers 80 to 90% of SEO needs, but still limits URL structures and server-level access for advanced use cases.

Is OpenCart still worth using in 2026?

For existing OpenCart stores with simple needs, continuing on OpenCart is reasonable. For new projects in 2026, OpenCart is hard to recommend. The community is shrinking, extension quality is uneven, and security patches arrive slower than on competing platforms. Most merchants outgrow OpenCart before reaching $100K in annual revenue. WooCommerce offers a similar cost profile with a much larger ecosystem.

What hosting does Magento need?

The open-source version requires a dedicated server or VPS with minimum 4GB RAM (8GB+ recommended), SSD storage, PHP 8.1+, MySQL 8.0+, and Elasticsearch/OpenSearch. Shared hosting cannot run Magento reliably. For production performance, add Varnish full-page cache, Redis for sessions and cache, and a CDN. Managed hosting providers handle this entire stack for you. See our Magento hosting requirements guide for full specifications.

Summary

Choosing the right ecommerce platform depends on your business stage, technical resources, and growth plans. There is no single best ecommerce platform for everyone:

Magento is the most powerful ecommerce solution for stores that need high scalability, complex catalogs, and full customization. Its perceived complexity disappears with managed Magento hosting that handles server management, security, and performance optimization for you.