Magento 2 Merchant Guide: Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce Explained

Magento 2 gives merchants plenty of room for complex product ranges, international stores, and custom commerce processes. The more customized the project, the more important technical expertise and an appropriate budget become. This guide explains the differences between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce, puts the costs in perspective, and shows who the platform is right for.

Fact-checked on October 7, 2026 · Editorial team: magnalister

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Magento 2 at a Glance: The Key Facts

• Platform: Magento 2 is the umbrella term for the current technology generation behind Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce.
• Deployment models: Merchants can self-host Magento Open Source or use Adobe Commerce on-premises, as PaaS, or as SaaS.
• Use case profile: Magento 2 is designed for complex catalogs, multiple brands and countries, and custom B2B and integration processes.
• Costs: Beyond possible license fees, the budget is driven mainly by development, infrastructure, extensions, integrations, and maintenance.
• Multichannel selling: With magnalister, you connect self-hosted Magento 2 stores to online marketplaces and synchronize key sales data.

Table of Contents

What Is Magento 2?

Magento 2 is the second, technically overhauled generation of the Magento store system. The PHP-based commerce platform includes an admin area, a storefront, and core features for catalog, pricing, checkout, orders, and inventory. Through modules and APIs, you connect custom commerce processes and external systems.

The name Magento still stands for a globally established e-commerce ecosystem, even though Adobe now markets the commercial product as Adobe Commerce ¹. According to W3Techs, which now reports Magento under the Adobe Commerce name, the platform powers 1.5% of all websites with an identified e-commerce system and 0.4% of all websites with a known content management system (as of September 8, 2026) ².

What Is the Difference Between Magento 2, Magento Open Source, and Adobe Commerce?

Magento 2 serves as the umbrella term for the current technology generation and its ecosystem. It covers Magento Open Source as the license-free software core and Adobe Commerce as the commercial platform with additional features and several deployment models. ^{1, 3}

The following overview puts the three terms in context:

What Is Included in Magento Open Source?

Magento Open Source provides the license-free software core for building a self-hosted online store. You can customize the code, use your own themes and modules, and choose the infrastructure freely. You organize operations, updates, security, and technical development yourself or with specialized service providers. ³

Which Deployment Models Does Adobe Commerce Offer?

Adobe Commerce is available as an on-premises solution, as Platform as a Service (PaaS), and as Software as a Service (SaaS). The models differ mainly in infrastructure, customizability, and operational responsibility: ⁴

• Adobe Commerce On-Premises: You or your hosting partner run the application and infrastructure. This model offers extensive technical control but also places the operational responsibility on you.
• Adobe Commerce on Cloud: Adobe provides pre-provisioned cloud infrastructure for your store. Your team can still customize the application extensively and roll out changes through defined development and release processes. ⁵
• Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (ACCS): Adobe runs the entire platform as a versionless, multi-tenant SaaS service and rolls out updates automatically. Development teams implement extensions and integrations API-based, outside the locked platform core. ⁶

What Features Does Magento 2 Offer?

Magento 2 covers extensive commerce processes for B2C and B2B. Magento Open Source provides the license-free core; depending on the offering, Adobe Commerce adds enterprise, B2B, and Adobe services.

The core Magento 2 features include:

• Catalog and pricing: manage products, variants, attributes, categories, price rules, and customer-specific terms
• Checkout and orders: handle the shopping cart, coupons, taxes, payment methods, shipping methods, and orders
• Inventory management: control inventory from warehouses, stores, distribution centers, or drop-shipping sources ⁷
• Multistore: organize multiple brands, domains, catalogs, languages, and regional storefronts within a single installation ⁸
• Storefront and content: design themes, CMS pages, Page Builder content, navigation, and product content ⁹
• Marketing and SEO: use promotions, newsletters, product relations, metadata, XML sitemaps, and URL rewrites
• Extensions and integrations: use modules as well as REST and GraphQL APIs for additional features and external systems ¹⁰

What Additional Features Does Adobe Commerce Offer?

Adobe Commerce extends the Magento core with enterprise features and Adobe services. Depending on the offering, Live Search, Product Recommendations, Catalog Service, AEM Assets, and the B2B extension are available as built-in features, services, or add-ons ¹¹.

What B2B Features Does Adobe Commerce Offer?

Adobe Commerce supports B2B stores with company accounts, custom catalogs and pricing, quotes, quick orders, and approval rules. Shared Catalogs assign companies their own product ranges and terms, Negotiable Quotes handle price negotiations, and Purchase Orders support multi-step purchasing processes ¹².

How Much Does Magento 2 Cost?

Magento Open Source has no license fees, but a production Magento 2 store still incurs costs for implementation and operation. For Adobe Commerce, Adobe does not publish list prices but provides customized pricing for the chosen deployment model. ^{3, 14}

The variants differ in license, infrastructure, and operational responsibility:

Which Expenses Determine the Total Budget of a Magento 2 Project?

Complexity, integration scope, and deployment model determine the total budget of a Magento 2 project. Beyond possible license fees, factor in the following in particular:

• Concept and implementation: store structure, UX, data model, and testing
• Storefront and extensions: theme, front end, modules, and Adobe services
• Infrastructure and operations: hosting, search, caching, backups, and monitoring
• Integrations and migration: ERP, PIM, CRM, marketplaces, and data migration
• Ongoing development: updates, security patches, compatibility testing, and performance

What Are the Pros and Cons of Magento 2?

What Are the Advantages of Magento 2?

Magento 2 combines a high degree of customizability with a powerful multistore and integration architecture:

• High customizability: The data model, business logic, classic or headless storefront, and APIs can be adapted to your individual processes.
• Strong multistore architecture: You organize multiple brands, countries, languages, and product ranges within a single installation.
• Complex catalogs: Extensive product structures, attributes, price rules, and inventory concepts can be modeled in detail.
• Broad ecosystem: Merchants can draw on specialized agencies, developers, themes, modules, and integrations.
• B2B potential: Adobe Commerce provides extensive features for company accounts, custom catalogs, and procurement processes.

What Are the Disadvantages of Magento 2?

This flexibility places high demands on technology, project planning, and ongoing maintenance:

• Technical requirements: Depending on the deployment model, you need in-house or external expertise for setup, operations, updates, and security.
• Project scope: Custom front ends, large migrations, and numerous integrations can increase the effort for concept, development, and testing.
• Extension management: As the number of modules and integrations grows, so do the demands on compatibility testing, release planning, and clear responsibilities.

Who Is Magento 2 a Good Fit For?

Magento 2 is a good fit for merchants with complex catalogs, multiple storefronts, custom processes, or extensive system integrations. The platform is less suitable for simple standard stores without ongoing technical support.

The following table helps you assess the fit:

Case Study: How Does the ACO Group Combine B2B and B2C Commerce with Adobe Commerce?

In an Adobe Commerce case study, Germany’s ACO Group shows how B2B and B2C commerce can be combined within a shared digital strategy. The company created separate customer areas, made around 4,800 products available for purchase online according to Adobe, and, together with its partners, generated around one million euros in revenue through the newly built B2C channel. ¹⁵

How Do You Run Magento 2 in Compliance with US Law?

You run Magento 2 in compliance with US law by aligning your store configuration, legal pages, privacy practices, sales tax settings, and checkout flows with your business model. Take into account your product range, target groups, the states and countries you sell to, payment methods, tracking, and connected services, and update the content whenever legal or technical requirements change.

Which Legal Areas Should US Magento 2 Merchants Review?

US Magento 2 merchants should review in particular their business information, pricing, consumer information, checkout, privacy, and accessibility:

• Business information and contact details: There is no Impressum requirement in the US, but California requires online sellers to disclose their return and refund policy, legal business name, and street address before accepting payment ¹⁶.
• Prices and discounts: Former-price comparisons must be based on bona fide prices under the FTC Guides Against Deceptive Pricing, and California requires displayed prices to include all mandatory fees other than taxes and actual shipping charges ¹⁷.
• Checkout and order confirmation: Shipping restrictions, accepted payment methods, taxes, and the total price should be shown clearly before the order is placed. The FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule requires you to ship within the promised time or within 30 days, and subscriptions require express informed consent before billing ¹⁸.
• Returns and consumer information: US federal law grants no general right of withdrawal, so your return and refund policy, shipping timeframes, order confirmation, and product information must match your product range and process.
• Privacy and tracking: Consent management, your privacy policy, vendor agreements, and data flows to payment, analytics, and marketing services must comply with the CCPA/CPRA and the growing number of other US state privacy laws ¹⁹.
• Accessibility: The Department of Justice applies ADA Title III to the websites of businesses open to the public and points to the WCAG as the technical standard; under its principles, identification, authentication, security, and payment functions must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust ²⁰.

Which Magento 2 Extensions Support Legal Compliance?

Magento 2 extensions support legal compliance by handling mandatory disclosures, tax settings, and privacy processes technically. Specific examples include:

• Avalara for Adobe Commerce: automates sales tax calculation, address validation, and exemption certificate management across US jurisdictions ²¹.
• consentmanager CMP: integrates the consent management platform and its blocking and consent logic into Magento 2 ²².
• OpenGento GDPR: adds data export, deletion, anonymization, and privacy request functions for customers and guests, which also helps you handle access and deletion requests under US state privacy laws ²³.

Important: Installing an extension does not replace a legal review of your specific configuration.

How Do You Get Started with Magento 2?

Getting started with Magento 2 begins with choosing between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce and the right deployment model. Next, you define the store structure, data model, integrations, storefront, and responsibilities. Self-hosted projects also require a compatible server environment and reliable technical support ²⁴.

How Do You Set Up Magento Open Source?

You install Magento Open Source via the command line on a suitable server. To do so, you use Composer, a tool for installing and managing the required PHP packages. Setup should be handled by technically experienced users or specialized service providers. ²⁵

For a production store, the following steps are typically required next:

1. Define requirements: Specify product ranges, customer groups, countries, storefronts, roles, and integrations.
2. Plan the architecture: Choose hosting, database, search, caching, deployment, backups, and monitoring.
3. Install Magento: Obtain the Composer packages, configure the application, and set up admin access.
4. Build the storefront: Develop a theme or headless front end and structure content and navigation.
5. Connect data and systems: Migrate products, customers, and orders, and integrate ERP, PIM, payment, and shipping services.
6. Test and launch: Check the checkout, permissions, performance, security, tracking, and legal disclosures.

Pro Tip: Scale Magento 2 with Multichannel Selling

Use a powerful integration like magnalister to seamlessly connect sales on Magento 2 with international online marketplaces – not only to benefit from greater reach, but also to reduce your dependence on individual sales channels.

How Does magnalister Connect Magento 2 with Marketplaces?

magnalister connects self-hosted installations of Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce On-Premises with marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Temu as well as European marketplaces such as Kaufland, METRO, and OTTO Market. ²⁶ Configuration and day-to-day management take place directly in the Magento admin.

The key features of magnalister for Magento 2 include:

• Product listing: transfer items, variants, and attributes according to marketplace requirements
• Price and inventory synchronization: synchronize prices and available quantities per channel
• Order import: import marketplace orders into Magento 2 and process them centrally
• Status and document synchronization: transfer shipping, cancellation, and invoice information
• Custom workflows: add additional processes via the available hook points

For more details, see our article on the magnalister Magento 2 integration.

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Conclusion: Magento 2 Plays to Its Strengths in Demanding Stores

Magento 2 is aimed at merchants who want to run extensive product ranges, multiple storefronts, or custom system integrations on a single platform. Magento Open Source provides the license-free software core, while Adobe Commerce adds B2B and enterprise features.

Setup and operation require technical expertise, a realistic project budget, and reliable development partners. In multichannel selling, magnalister handles the central data exchange between your Magento 2 store and the connected marketplaces.

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FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Magento 2