Commercetools vs Adobe Commerce: A Side-by-Side Comparison

When you embark on your journey in the ecommerce realm, you don’t set the bar of your expectations of the starter platform too high: what most of budding entrepreneurs in the field want is ease of use and affordability. 

With the growth of your business, the list of requirements increases as well. Suppose you aspire to enter the major league of the ecommerce industry. In that case, you should approach the selection of the platform with meticulous care, weighing the pros and cons of enterprise-size solutions to a nicety. This article will help you with the choice by analyzing and comparing the merits and demerits of two behemoths in the niche – Adobe Commerce and Commercetools.

Commercetools vs Adobe Commerce: An Overview of Platforms

Before it was acquired by Adobe in 2021, Magento has been around for quite a while – since 2008, in fact. After the acquisition, the platform’s recent product (Magento 2) became Adobe Commerce and gradually evolved into a comprehensive ecommerce solution geared for middle-size and enterprise-level players in the niche. The brands that have built their success around Adobe Commerce include Canon, HP, Coca-Cola, Liebherr, Rossignol, and more.

What attracted those brands? Among the greatest assets of Adobe Commerce are feature-rich capabilities, PWA support, availability of both B2C- and B2B-specific features, embedded AI capabilities, and omnichannel opportunities. Other widely recognized fortes of the platform are:

• In-built CMS

• Enhanced content management via Pagebuilder

• Cross-channel personalization and unlimited customization

• Business intelligence dashboards

• Marketing tools

• Order management

• Customer segmentation and loyalty tools

• Upselling and cross-selling functionalities

• Potential for integration of multiple third-party payment systems

The two major downsides of the platform are the lack of updates and its monolithic nature, which is too cumbersome and change-resistant compared to microservices. 

Commercetools has an even longer history behind it. It was launched in 2006 and established a firm foothold in the domain of composable ecommerce. Thanks to the MACH architecture (which stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) it relies on, this SaaS solution guarantees constant access to the latest security updates and features, foolproof maintenance, and global ecommerce outreach. Among its unquestionable advantages are:

• Wide scalability opportunities

• Inventory and product management (Product Information Management, PIM)

• International shipping

• Tax calculations

• Broad customization potential

Given such perks, it is no wonder that such blue-chip brands as Bosch, Audi, Tiffany & Co, Lancôme, Kmart, and many others have opted for Commercetools as the platform to build their sites on. Yet, specialists dealing with Commercetools mark its subpar partner ecosystem and the expert level of skills necessary for working with it. 

Let’s go into detail and explore the advantages and disadvantages of each platform. 

Commercetools vs Adobe Commerce: Juxtaposing the Rivals

For such a seasoned IT vendor specializing in enterprise ecommerce development as Elogic Commerce, the differences between the two platforms are most conspicuous in the following aspects.

Ease of use

By all accounts, Adobe Commerce has an edge in this regard. Its intuitive UI and drag-and-drop template builder are second-to-none tools for adopting a DIY approach while building ecommerce sites. By contrast, the headless API nature of Commercetools and reliance on ready-made templates and themes may require some assistance to tackle site creation. 

To mitigate the steep learning curve for non-tech users, Commercetools provides dedicated support and help via a live chat, phone, or email as a part of the package you pay for. As an open-source software, Adobe Commerce can offer nothing of the kind (unless you are a registered member of the Adobe Commerce Cloud Plan). However, its sizable user community powering various online forums can make up for this deficiency.

Checkout process

The series of steps a buyer has to take while purchasing a product at an online store is mission-critical for a seamless customer experience. Since these steps basically are the same for most e-stores, the details and minutiae (such as localization capabilities or payment options) ultimately determine the superiority of a platform. 

Adobe Commerce and Commercetools support multiple languages and currencies for their products, so users of both can sell internationally. However, these two differ in their payment gateway options. 

With Commercetools, you get a large list of alternatives to choose from within the package. You don’t have to worry about looking for a gateway to integrate, which is what you do if you have an Adobe Commerce site. On the flip side, you can find any payment option by installing a third-party Adobe extension, whereas Commercetools leaves you with the out-of-the-box roster and doesn’t permit you to onboard other gateways. 

Security

Both entrepreneurs and consumers must be sure their personal and financial data won’t be compromised, and the platforms go to great lengths to provide this security. Commercetools and Adobe Commerce comply with the major data privacy standards (GDPR, ISO/IEC 27001, PCI, etc.) and issue regular security updates and patches. However, there are some points of interest worth noting.

First of all, Adobe Commerce offers more advanced security features (Recaptcha, Two-Factor Authentication, and the like) than Commercetools. Second of all, the two platforms adopt a different approach regarding SSL security protocol. While Adobe provides a domain-validated SSL/TLS certificate to serve secure HTTPS traffic, Commercetools can’t do the same because of its API-first nature. That is why it relies on a trusted root certificate that obliges an API user to take care of the system’s updates. 

Pricing

If your annual Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) is under $1 million, you will have to fork out $22,000 a year for an Adobe Commerce license. An increase in GMV will trigger the progressive growth of the fee, which can amount to $125,000 if GMV is over $25 million per year. 

At a glance, Commercetools seems to have a lower price tag of $99 a month. But since the brand has a custom pricing scheme based on the client’s business needs and the number of API calls, the average monthly sum ecommerce ventures must pay is around $2,000. With the expansion of your online store, you will find your expenditures building up steadily. 

As you see, each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. How can you choose the best one?

Which Platform Suits Me Better?

There is no one-size-fits-all recipe for choosing Adobe Commerce or Commercetools for your ecommerce site. Instead, consider your company’s peculiarities and personal preferences. 

If you prefer more control over your ecommerce endeavors by handling everything (B2C, B2B, the marketplace, the website) in one place without having in-depth technical expertise, think Adobe Commerce. It will provide you with an in-built CMS, strong community support, and access to cooperation with multiple partners across your ecosystem. If your omnichannel business benefits from a flexible combination of loosely coupled modules, microservices, storefronts, and apps that can be upscaled and modified independently, Commercetools is your natural choice. 

To make the right choice in selecting a platform, we recommend hiring a qualified team of ecommerce developers who will consult you on the choice and build a robust and visually appealing e-store for your online business. Drop us a line to obtain a high-end product of any scope, complexity, or ecommerce niche. 

Key Takeaways

Adobe Commerce and Commercetools are two popular enterprise-level platforms that power the ecommerce websites of many famous brands. They are based on different approaches to creating and managing online stores. 

Adobe Commerce leverages open-source monolithic architecture and gives organizations comprehensive control over all their virtual endpoints from one place. Its foolproof drag-and-drop template builder and a vast user community support make developing ecommerce sites a breeze. 

Commercetools is everything Adobe is not. As a MACH product, it leverages a network of APIs to produce robust omnichannel websites whose multiple storefronts and modules can be modified independently. However, this boon comes at a price since building a Commercetools online store requires significant IT expertise.

To choose a platform for your ecommerce site, you should assess your business goals and needs and enlist professional help to give you qualified advice and develop a first-rate e-store that will take your enterprise to a new level.