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Adobe Commerce vs HCL Digital Commerce vs Shopify comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the eCommerce Platforms category, the mindshare of Adobe Commerce is 11.9%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL Digital Commerce is 5.2%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Shopify is 9.4%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
eCommerce Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Adobe Commerce11.9%
Shopify9.4%
HCL Digital Commerce5.2%
Other73.5%
eCommerce Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Andrew Christodoulou - PeerSpot reviewer
Customization supports complex needs, though speed challenges persist
We don't use the reporting tools from Adobe Commerce as we have our own reporting infrastructure. Adobe Commerce can be complex in terms of ease of use, as it's such a large platform. From the development side, you can customize everything, but that does require substantial resources. When working on Adobe Commerce, I would want Adobe Commerce specialist developers. Although it's all built in PHP, and there are many PHP developers, I would want Adobe Commerce specialist developers working on it because they have knowledge about what to customize and more importantly, what's best not to touch. There are always site speed issues with Adobe Commerce. It seems to be an ongoing issue with performance. When comparing it to Shopify, you don't tend to need to worry about that, but with Adobe Commerce, it remains an ongoing issue. Additionally, there are all the upgrades, which can be quite painful, including the regular patches, both on the open-source and licensed version, on-premises. The initial setup for migrating to Adobe Commerce from another e-commerce platform is not straightforward; it's a very big job. The pricing for Adobe Commerce varies dramatically. Quite often, you see their list prices and then you are able to negotiate very hefty discounts. My understanding is that they're moving away from heavily discounting. Although our license where I am at the moment is heavily discounted, I'm hearing that they're trying to move away from that practice.
Jason Levine - PeerSpot reviewer
A flexible solution that can be tailored to customer requirements
The tool is easy to use and flexible. It is flexible enough to tailor to your requirements HCL Digital Commerce should improve its integration capabilities with other platforms. I have been using the product for four to five years. We haven't had any issues with stability and I rate it a nine…
Alex Osmichenko - PeerSpot reviewer
Have managed to grow sales quickly but experience challenges with integration and commission
The primary use case for Shopify is when I want to quickly build an online store. I utilize Shopify as an online store to manage and grow my retail business. I use it to boost my online sales Shopify is easy to start and has an intuitive onboarding process for customers. It is very good in terms…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The platform allows us to easily integrate with service vendors, such as delivery services and payment systems."
"It provides AI features, including a tool called Insight for AI-driven product recommendations."
"What I appreciate most about Adobe Commerce is the customizable element, as absolutely everything in Adobe Commerce is customizable."
"The solution's valuable features are the presentation layout and ease of use. When we have new people joining the team, it is simple for them to get involved very quickly."
"We have the ability to resolve service issues since Magento enables us to invest more time in dealing with custom requirements."
"The platform provides an easy way to customize its features."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its ease of integration with any upfront platform or CMS solution."
"As compared to platforms such as ATG or Commerce Cloud, its interface is easy to use. Magento also provides seamless administration for business users. You can also integrate an OMS to an extent. You don't need to have a dedicated OMS. You can leverage the out-of-the-box features of Magento, which is very valuable for startups. Other platforms, such as Commerce Cloud, don't have an OMS, and you have to have your own OMS solution."
"It is a very mature product. It has a lot of features. It can also be very easily customized in order to reach goals or features that are not available, but mainly the fact that it's a very mature platform with all major features that are normally required by the clients is most valuable."
"Has all the modules needed for an order management solution."
"The most valuable solution is that it allows you to adapt it according to the customer's needs."
"I haven't faced any issues with the product's stability."
"The tool is easy to use and flexible. It is flexible enough to tailor to your requirements."
"It has a brilliant inventory system to help you manage your store."
"The product has a few free-to-use features. It is easy to navigate and has good visuals as well."
"The solution is highly customizable for our store’s e-commerce needs. We don't need to write any code as all the required features are already inbuilt. The front end can be easily customized. Moreover, this tool offers built-in integrations with payment gateway, messaging services like SMS and email, and logistics integration."
"If you have a physical business, like a shop on the street, and you want to take it online but don't know how to do it, you have a couple of options. You could contact a developer or set up an account on Shopify and create your online store there."
"The most valuable feature is its strong SEO capabilities."
"Shopify provides an easy to use service at the backend that includes product upload, customer service, team settings, and team customization."
"I would absolutely recommend Shopify to others."
"Shopify can be used without any coding knowledge."
 

Cons

"The analytics are good but there is room for improvement. There are some limitations due to new regulations causing customer data time delays."
"The data analysis could be improved. The data that you receive whenever you go into the backend of the platform for the analysis is very simple and basic, it could be a little more sophisticated in order to be closer to the client. The data analysis and intelligence of the platform could be better."
"Should have a way to communicate properly with the team that builds the platform"
"There are always speed issues with Adobe Commerce. It seems to be an ongoing issue with performance."
"The solution takes a huge amount of time to complete the root cause analysis."
"The product needs to improve its security. Also, they need to improve B2B features."
"Magneto is monolithic in character, making it difficult for us to scale up very high quickly on the content side."
"The price of Adobe Commerce is very high, actually. If it were possible to have a free version or a limited version, that would be good for users."
"HCL Digital Commerce should improve its integration capabilities with other platforms."
"The tool has a really rigid structure, so it is not something that has the simplicity to adapt to newer environments in a fast manner."
"The product catalog is an area that needs improvement."
"Lacks option to purchase individual modules."
"Another area of improvement is the user-friendliness of the back office stuff. This issue is still valid, and it is still a problem, but I know they are currently working on it."
"Previously, Shopify had a limitation of 200 product variations, which posed a challenge for businesses with multiple product options like different colors and sizes. However, they have increased this limit to 1,000 variations, greatly improving the platform's functionality. Besides that, I don't see any major issues that need improvement."
"The order processing and saving of the changes for the product should have automatic functioning."
"I would like to see a feature that allows us to access all of the platforms in Shopify, like Facebook and Instagram messages, so we can easily reply to connect to our customers."
"If you consider an enterprise-level application with a lot of customization, Shopify can be problematic to use."
"I have many clients that want to sell their products to the wholesale market, and Shopify currently does not have that kind of feature."
"There are some areas where improvements could be made. Currently, the platform only supports three product variants, and having the option for more variants would be beneficial. Additionally, we have to rely on external plugins for reviews and ratings, which could be more convenient if they were built-in."
"It could benefit from improving its user-friendliness for non-coders, perhaps by offering easier template-building options."
"Shopify users pay a higher commission as they scale."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product offers an open-source version, which is free. There are licensing options for Adobe Commerce's cloud version."
"The cost of implementation is cheap compared to other solutions."
"The price of the solution increased after Adobe acquired Magento. At this point, we know the price of Magento and SAP, and while they may have lower entry tickets, they are ultimately comparable."
"Many implementations were open-source. We also had a couple of enterprise-level implementations, but I didn't have visibility on the licensing cost."
"This solution is cheaper than some of its competitors. However, the price depends on which country you are in. In some countries, such as Greece or some Southeastern European countries, the price for the client can be expensive."
"We transitioned from the platform's commercial license to the open-source version, which helped optimize costs without affecting our sales."
"HCL Digital Commerce's licensing costs are annual. It is expensive."
"For our companies and our users, the price is quite high."
"I believe that HCL Digital Commerce is one of the most expensive products on the market."
"The pricing of the solution is economical. The enterprise version is more expensive, however, we do not use it. We pay for the license on a monthly basis and there are payment gateway charges associated with transactions, typically around two percent or as applicable."
"The tool's pricing depends on how big your online store is."
"Depending on the client's requirements, they can choose either the basic plan or the premium plan."
"They have various plans including ones that are priced at $29 per month, $79 per month, and can go up to $300 per month."
"This is the only platform to enforce its own transaction fee unless you use Shopify Payments Content, which doesn’t automatically reformat when you switch themes."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Retailer
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Educational Organization
10%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Magento?
The customization capabilities of Adobe Commerce are great.
What needs improvement with Magento?
An additional feature I would want to see included in the next release relates to integrating or moving data from one...
What is your primary use case for Magento?
My use cases for Adobe Commerce involve projects with specific customers and different industries. Most of them were ...
What do you like most about HCL Digital Commerce?
I haven't faced any issues with the product's stability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HCL Digital Commerce?
HCL Digital Commerce's licensing costs are annual. It is expensive.
What needs improvement with HCL Digital Commerce?
HCL Digital Commerce should improve its integration capabilities with other platforms.
What do you like most about Shopify?
For the initial setup phase, many online tutorials are available, making the process easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Shopify?
I find that the pricing is reasonable compared to the features that Shopify offers.
What needs improvement with Shopify?
A mobile app for end users should be integrated along with Shopify, rather than as an add-on product. There should al...
 

Also Known As

Magento, EPiServer Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce, IBM WebSphere Commerce
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magento has over 200,000 customers worldwide, including Bjorn Borg, Heath Ceramics, Harper's Bazaar, Kidstuff, International Military Antiques, Gifts That Gives, and Rovio Entertainment Ltd.
CEWE, J.J. Keller, Shop.ca, 360training.com, Bon-Ton, HH Gregg, Dahl Sverige AB, Terranova, Lindt
RadioShack, Hawaiian Airlines, ThirdLove, Whistle, Essio Shower, Silk Therapeutics, Slack, Beamz Interactive, National Aquarium, GoNoodle, Toronto Life, FiftyThree
Find out what your peers are saying about Salesforce, Adobe, Shopify and others in eCommerce Platforms. Updated: August 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.