Ecommerce sales are hitting 7.4 trillion dollars globally by 2025. In the dynamic world of ecommerce, selecting the right platform is crucial for business success. But how can you decide on the one that caters to your business needs?
In this blog post, we’ll break down the key differences, benefits, and considerations to help you make an informed choice.
Let’s cut to the chase and get straight to the in-depth comparison of Salesforce commerce cloud vs Magento.
Comparison table at a glance
Here’s a comparison table highlighting the key features of Salesforce Commerce Cloud vs Magento:
| Feature | Salesforce Commerce Cloud | Magento |
| Platform Type | SaaS (Software as a Service) | Open-source or Cloud-based (Magento Commerce Cloud) |
| Customization | Limited (Customizations through APIs and Salesforce integrations) | Highly customizable with access to the full code base |
| Ease of Use | User-friendly with an intuitive interface | Requires more technical expertise for setup and maintenance |
| Hosting | Fully hosted on Salesforce servers | Self-hosted or cloud-hosted depending on the plan |
| Multi-Channel Integration | Native integration with the Salesforce ecosystem (CRM, Marketing) | Integration available via extensions and APIs |
| Product Management | Centralized product catalog management | Advanced product management, flexible catalog management |
| SEO Features | Built-in SEO tools and best practices | SEO capabilities with plugins and manual optimization |
| Security | Enterprise-level security, PCI compliant | Security features can be enhanced via plugins or self-managed |
| Mobile Optimization | Fully responsive and mobile-friendly | Mobile-optimized through themes and extensions |
| Scalability | Enterprise-level security, PCI compliant | Security features can be enhanced via plugins or self-managed |
| AI & Personalization | Advanced AI-powered personalization (Einstein AI) | Customizable personalization features via extensions |
| Payment Gateway Integration | Multiple built-in integrations with payment gateways | Flexible integrations with various payment gateways |
| Analytics & Reporting | Native Salesforce Analytics, real-time data reporting | Built-in reporting tools, customizable via extensions |
| Support | 24/7 Salesforce support and community | Community support, enterprise-level support with Magento Commerce |
| Marketplace Extensions | Limited marketplace, primarily Salesforce-related solutions | Extensive marketplace with numerous third-party extensions |
| Pricing Model | Subscription-based, pricing is dependent on business size and requirements | Open-source (free) or subscription-based with Magento Commerce Cloud |
What is Salesforce Commerce Cloud?
Demandware was the old name for Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The difference between Magento and SFCC is that their primary focus is on simplifying the business sales process. It is fast and secure with the help of all built-in features which assist in effective marketing.
Benefits of Salesforce Commerce cloud
Best Omni-Channel Solution
Do you want to integrate your physical store with the online retail business? Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud is the perfect option for it because it offers an absolute Omni-Channel Solution. It will surely enhance the customer experience tremendously, which will drive growth in your business.
Flexibility for Users
Salesforce B2C Commerce Cloud can make the shopping experience smooth for customers. Through the help of several features that enable the clients to not only purchase but also return products from anywhere. Customers can pay online or pick up products from the physical store, saving lots of time.
SaaS Platform
Salesforce Commerce Cloud is on a Software-as-a-service platform and plays a fundamental part in cloud computing solutions. This feature provides constant access to real-time data for your enterprise operations.
As a result, the sales management process becomes more effective. Indeed this makes SFCC more reliant than Magento, a Platform as a Service (PaaS).
Site Management
Similar to Magento, SFCC also offers a quality-built Content Management System, Search Engine Optimization, and Operations Management System. In short, with Salesforce, your online store will run smoothly because you don’t need expert programming to make it work on the backend.
The software is highly compatible with the operating systems that run on all widely used devices. It helps your business achieve a wider reach.
Customized Shopping Experience
Using analytics, SFCC offers personalized purchasing experiences to its customers by analyzing their behavior on the website. It helps manage content attractive to a particular type of user liking. Unlike Magnets, it helps improve the in-store purchasing experiences as well. Store assistants can use the software to showcase various products to clients using different mobile applications.
What is Magento?
Magento leads the eCommerce market, where businesses of all sizes across the globe use it for their eCommerce stores. It is an open-source and flexible eCommerce platform that makes online stores highly customizable. Apart from that, Magento has loads of benefits as well that include:
Benefits of Magento
Business Intelligence
It’s possible to quickly obtain customer data through Magento eCommerce so you can better understand clients’ behavior. That’s why the information is good for framing quality processes and improving customer experience. Furthermore, you can utilize the Magento business intelligence tools to find out top customers and the experts performing products and campaigns.
Simplified Retail Solution
Understandably, eCommerce stores are difficult to manage. But what if you get a simplified process for yourself? Magneto makes sure to turn the online store into a flexible and scalable place for better business. It’s possible to design your online space to represent your brand better.
Customers like the user interface because that’s easier for them to understand. The interface offers a quick checkout option with a shipping choice that reduces the hurdles of online shopping. In addition, the Magento eCommerce platform supports various currencies along with languages that make payment gateways simple.
Flexible Hosting
Get the option of flexible hosting through the Magento eCommerce tool. However, opting for cloud storage is also available. It will offer you customizable solutions to ensure all customers are satisfied.
Mobile-Friendly Solution
Mobile browsing is quite common in this age, so it’s essential to know that mobile-friendly solutions for your online stores are crucial. It means that your e-store is in the pocket of your customers. You require suitable measures, so customers visit your online store and don’t leave without shopping.
But to achieve this, you need to make your store mobile-friendly. So, Magento provides this exceptional feature and complete website management and support for cross-browser. You should know that it’s essential that for your online store to rank higher on SERPs, you must get the optimization feature that comes with Magento.
Quick Cost Comparison
| Feature/ Category | Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) | Magento (Open Source) | Adobe Commerce Cloud (Magento Ecommerce) |
| Licensing Model | Subscription-based (Saas) | Free (Open Source)
|
Subscription-based (SaaS or On-Premise)
|
| Base Pricing | Starts at $50,000+ per year (for small businesses) | Free | Starts at $22,000+ per year
|
| Enterprise Pricing | 200,000−
200,000−1M+ per year (scales with revenue and features |
N/A | 40,000−
40,000−190,000+ per year (scales with revenue) |
| Hosting Costs | Included in subscription (cloud-hosted) | Self-hosted (costs depend on hosting provider) | Cloud-hosted (included in subscription) or self-hosted (additional costs) |
| Implementation costs | High (customization & setup by salesforce partner) | Low to High (depends on developer cost) | High (customization and setup by Magento partners) |
| Maintenance Costs | Included in subscription | Self-managed (additional costs for developers) | Included in subscription (cloud-hosted) or self-managed (on-premise) |
| Support costs | Included (24/7 enterprise support) | Community support (free) or paid third-party support | Included (24/7 support for Adobe Commerce Cloud) |
| Customization costs | High (Require salesforce developer) | Low to high (depends on the developer cost) | High (Require Magento developers) |
| Extension/ Add-ons | Paid (via Salesforce app exchange) | Free & Paid (via Magento Marketplace) | High (Require Magento developers) |
| Transaction fee | None | None | None |
| Scalability cost | Included in subscription (scales automatically) |
Salesforce Commerce Cloud vs Magento Support
It’s impossible not to get breakdowns or complications while using a tool that can result in a lot of damage to your enterprise. That’s the reason customer support should be a top priority for online businesses.
You can get on-demand and application support with Magento for commerce business. As a retail owner, you have the authority to choose the settings or get professional help from Magento whenever you feel struck.
On the other hand, Salesforce Commerce Cloud is better at providing customer support with load balancing and professional assistance. You won’t have to worry a bit while facing sales peaks or other emergency circumstances because SFCC will cover it all.
Recommendation
Choose Magento if
- If you need more customization (especially on the open-source version), then Magento is highly customizable. you can have full control over your ecommerce store.
- You have an in-house development team: if you have access to Magento developers, then you can go for open source nature to build a tailored solution.
- you’re a small to medium-sized business
- you want to manage multiple stores from a single backend.
Choose Salesforce commerce cloud if
- If you have complex needs with high transaction volumes
- You want a fully managed solution, because SFCC handles hosting, security, and maintenance, so you can focus on your business.
- If you are already using something related to salesforce like CRM, marketing cloud, etc, SFCC offers parallel integrations for a unified experince.
- You want advanced AI-driven personalization because SFCC’s Einstein offers advanced personalization features.
- You are looking for high-security
- Want highly scalable, comes with a robust built-in feature
Concluding Thoughts
You have a detailed outline of both platforms that gives you enough information to decide which one to choose. To do that, you must ask yourself a few essential questions. Is my e-commerce business working in good condition? Is my layout appealing enough for customers? Do I have a user-friendly interface?
You should proceed if you have a “yes” answer to all the questions mentioned above. Now is the time when you can build a better relationship with your client base. To achieve that, SFCC is quite beneficial. It is helpful to use Salesforce when your enterprise is succeeding or making consistent sales.
If your answer is “No, ” you should choose Magento as your eCommerce platform. It’s simple and easy to use which helps the retailer better your site through attractive layouts. In addition to that, you can efficiently perform style upgrades along with SEO and content management systems.
Furthermore, you can find companies that benefit from both platforms. But remember, one main thing is that you should evaluate your requirements carefully before finalizing anything.
Innovadel Technologies is a Salesforce Consulting Partner that provides Salesforce Commerce Cloud services. Contact our experts to get a free business analysis. We are here to assist you!
