Migrating from Adobe Commerce (Cloud) to Magento Open Source: Is it worth it?

For many eCommerce businesses, Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Enterprise/Cloud) has been the trusted platform for many years. It offers strong features, a stable base, and support from Adobe. However, things have changed. Over time, the license price has increased, and the platform has become less flexible for companies that want to grow, move faster, or customize their store freely and they used to use Magento.

Because of this, many brands — small and mid‑size especially — have started to ask a simple but important question: 👉 Is it time to move to Magento Open Source?

Why are more businesses thinking about migration

Many companies reach a point where Adobe Commerce no longer fits their needs. For example:

• They do not use most of the paid Enterprise features.
• They feel limited by Adobe’s strict hosting environment.
• They want faster updates and more control over development.
• They want to reduce long‑term costs.
• They need a more modern storefront or new integrations.

Understanding the Initial Migration Process

Before moving from Adobe Commerce to Magento Open Source, businesses usually go through several early steps:

1. Business Review – Check what features you use now and what you actually need. Many merchants discover they pay for features they never use.
2. Technical Audit – Developers review your current Magento setup, extensions, custom modules, theme, and hosting environment.
3. Cost & Benefit Analysis – Compare the cost of staying with Adobe Commerce vs. moving to Open Source. This includes license fees, development costs, and future scaling needs.
4. Risk & Dependency Check – Identify possible issues, such as modules that depend on Adobe-only features or areas that require custom replacements.
5. Planning the Roadmap – Create a clear migration plan with a timeline, stages, fallback options, and test steps.

These actions help businesses understand whether migration is the right decision and what effort is required.

💰 Cost of Ownership: Adobe Commerce vs. Magento Open Source

Category	Adobe Commerce (Cloud)	Magento Open Source
License	from $22,000-40000/year and up	Free
Hosting	included (limited control)	any hosting(e.g., Hypernode)
Support	Adobe support (shared queue)	Dev partner or in-house team
Flexibility	tied to Adobe ecosystem	full code and architecture control
Release cycles	Adobe-driven	on your terms

For mid-size businesses (up to ~$3M annual GMV), switching to Open Source can reduce platform costs by 40–60%, saving $100K–$250K over 5 years — funds better invested in:

• Customer acquisition
• New development teacher based on a niche
• UX improvements
• Marketing automation
• Conversion optimization

⚙️ What Actually Changes

Both platforms share the same Magento core framework, meaning nothing to change.

What Changes for Developers

Adobe Commerce includes proprietary modules like:

• B2B Suite
• Adobe Sensei AI
• Gift Cards
• Visual Merchandiser

On Magento Open Source, you can replace them with alternatives provided by 3d party vendors or develop any customisation that suits you more:

Additional Technical Considerations for Developers

1. Module Compatibility – Some existing Adobe Commerce modules may not work directly on Open Source, requiring code adjustments or replacements.
2. Database Structure – Magento Open Source uses the same database schema as EE, but some EE-specific tables and data (like B2B features, row_id and entitity_id usage) need mapping or migration.
3. Performance Tuning – Developers can now choose any hosting or caching strategy (Varnish, Redis, CDN), leading to improved site speed and Core Web Vitals.
4. Custom Integrations – Open Source allows seamless integration with external systems such as ERP, CRM, marketing platforms, and headless CMS solutions.
5. Theme & Front-End – You have full control over the front-end stack. With modern frameworks, you can improve performance, accessibility, and UX without Adobe restrictions.
6. Testing & Deployment – Migration encourages implementing CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and staging environments to improve developer workflow and reduce errors.
7. Security Updates – Developers have full control over when and how to apply Magento security patches, rather than relying on Adobe Cloud release schedules.

Development Advantages After Migration

• Cleaner codebase without Adobe-locked modules
• Full control over deployment (CI/CD, Git workflows, dev/stage/prod)
• Ability to choose performance-oriented hosting (e.g., Hypernode)
• No forced upgrades tied to Adobe release cycles

🧭 When It’s the Right Time to Migrate

Consider migration if:

• Your Adobe license is $20-40K+/year, but you only use core features
• You want more control over UX, infrastructure, or release cycles
• Adobe Cloud performance is limiting growth
• You want to reduce long-term platform risk and cost

🧩 Final Thoughts

Migrating from Adobe Commerce to Magento Open Source is not merely a cost‑cutting decision — it is a strategic investment in flexibility, autonomy, and long‑term platform stability. As more merchants shift toward headless architecture, custom customer journeys, and faster deployment cycles, the limitations of Adobe’s closed ecosystem become more apparent.

Magento Open Source provides merchants and developers with the freedom to:

• build without licensing restrictions,
• optimize performance with any hosting stack,
• integrate modern tools without compatibility barriers,
• experiment and innovate quickly,
• truly own every layer of their commerce platform.

Is migration worth it?

For most mid‑market companies, the answer is increasingly yes. The financial savings alone are significant — but the greater value comes from the ability to adapt, scale, and differentiate your business faster than competitors.

If your current Adobe Commerce setup limits your growth, slows your development team, or consumes too much budget, migrating to Magento Open Source can unlock new levels of performance and freedom.

The future of eCommerce belongs to brands with control, speed, and technical independence. Magento Open Source gives you exactly that — without sacrificing the power and extensibility that Magento is known for.