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Magento is an open-source ecommerce platform, written in PHP, that merchants use to run online stores with complex catalogs, several brands or regions, and B2B buying. Adobe bought Magento in 2018 and now sells the licensed version as Adobe Commerce, while the free version continues as Magento Open Source. In 2026 "Magento" can mean four different things: the free codebase, Adobe Commerce you host yourself, Adobe Commerce on Adobe's cloud infrastructure, or Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service, Adobe's newer SaaS edition. Which one you mean decides your costs, your team and how much you can customize.
This guide explains each edition in plain language, what it includes, the team and budget profile it usually needs, and who should not choose it at all.
A short history in four dates
- Before 2015: Magento 1, the original open-source PHP platform, grows into one of the most widely used ecommerce engines for mid-size and large stores.
- November 2015: Magento 2.0.0 is released (November 17, 2015, per the magento/magento2 GitHub release), a rewrite of the original Magento 1 with a new architecture, a dependency-injection framework and a modern admin.
- June 2018: Adobe completes its acquisition of Magento, announced on May 21, 2018 at $1.68 billion (subject to customary adjustments). The paid edition is later renamed Adobe Commerce.
- 2025 to 2026: Adobe adds SaaS options (Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service and Adobe Commerce Optimizer) next to the long-standing self-hosted application. Release 2.4.9 became generally available on May 12, 2026, for both Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source.
Magento 1 reached end of life in 2020. If you still run it, the conversation is a migration, not an upgrade.
What Magento actually does
At its core, every edition gives you the same building blocks:
- Catalog: simple, configurable, bundle, grouped, virtual and downloadable products, with custom attributes and attribute sets.
- Multi-site: several websites, stores and store views from one admin, each with its own languages, currencies, prices and catalog scope.
- Promotions and pricing: cart and catalog price rules, tier prices and customer group pricing.
- Checkout and orders: cart, checkout, payments, shipping, invoices, credit memos and order management.
- Inventory: multi-source inventory for stock across warehouses and stores, including in-store pickup.
- APIs: REST and GraphQL APIs for integrations, mobile apps and headless storefronts.
- Extensibility: a module system that lets developers change almost any behavior, plus thousands of third-party extensions.
That last point is the real reason merchants choose Magento. It is less a finished product than a framework for building the store your business needs.
The editions in plain language
Adobe groups its offering into PaaS (the application you or Adobe host, which you upgrade) and SaaS (services Adobe runs and updates for you). Magento Open Source sits outside both as the free codebase. The map below is the information most "what is Magento" pages skip.
| Edition | What it is | Who runs and upgrades it | What you get beyond the core |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magento Open Source | The free, open-source application | You and your host; you apply upgrades and patches | Core features only; community support; extensions fill gaps |
| Adobe Commerce on-premises | The licensed application, hosted by you or your hosting provider | You and your host; you apply upgrades and patches | B2B module, content staging, customer segments, rewards, gift cards, returns, admin action log, SaaS services such as Live Search, Adobe support |
| Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure | The licensed application on Adobe-managed PaaS hosting | Adobe manages the infrastructure; you still deploy code and apply upgrades | Everything in Adobe Commerce plus managed hosting, Fastly CDN and New Relic access |
| Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (ACCS) | A fully managed, multi-tenant SaaS edition | Adobe; the core is "versionless" and updated for you, with a sandbox preview window | Bundled services and an Edge Delivery Services storefront; customization only through APIs, events and App Builder |
Two more names come up in 2026. Adobe Commerce Optimizer is a SaaS layer for storefront, catalog, search and merchandising that can sit on top of an existing commerce backend; our Adobe Commerce Optimizer explainer covers it. Hyvä is not an edition but a popular third-party frontend theme for the PaaS editions and Open Source.
Magento Open Source
Free to download and run on any host that meets the system requirements (for 2.4.9 that means PHP 8.5, MySQL 8.4 or MariaDB 12.3, OpenSearch 3 and Valkey 9, among others). It covers everything a typical B2C store needs, including Page Builder. You pay for hosting, extensions, development and maintenance, and you carry the responsibility for security patches and upgrades.
Adobe Commerce (self-hosted or on Adobe's cloud infrastructure)
The same core with Adobe's added modules, SaaS services and vendor support. Adobe licenses it per customer, with pricing levels based on gross merchandise value and average order value, so the fee grows with your sales. Our comparison of Adobe Commerce vs Magento Open Source lists the feature differences in detail, and the licence logic matters more than most buyers expect.
Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service
The SaaS edition removes upgrade projects: Adobe updates the application, and you test changes in a sandbox before they reach production. The trade-off is control. You cannot install PHP modules into the core, Luma storefronts are not supported, and the storefront runs on Edge Delivery Services. Customizations move to App Builder, API Mesh, events and webhooks. Read Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service explained before you assume your current customizations will carry over.
Team and budget profile by edition
Every edition needs people. The difference is which people and how many. The profiles below are typical patterns, not rules, and we deliberately do not attach prices: the real figure depends on catalog size, integrations, design and support model, and a fixed number only makes sense after an audit. For the line-by-line view, see how much an Adobe Commerce website costs.
| Edition | Typical core team | Main recurring costs | Relative budget level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magento Open Source | A Magento developer or agency on retainer, a hosting partner, a store manager | Hosting, extension renewals, patches and upgrades, development | Lowest entry point; grows with customization |
| Adobe Commerce on-premises | Magento developers (backend and frontend), DevOps or a managed host, a product owner | Adobe licence, hosting, upgrades, development, integrations | Mid to high; licence scales with GMV |
| Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure | Magento developers, a technical lead familiar with Adobe's cloud tooling, a product owner | Adobe licence including hosting tier, upgrades, development | High; less hosting work, same upgrade work |
| Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service | JavaScript and Node.js developers for App Builder and storefront, an integration lead, a product owner | Adobe subscription, App Builder development, storefront work | High entry; lower upgrade spend over time |
A useful rule: on the PaaS editions and Open Source, the biggest long-term cost is usually not the licence but keeping custom code and extensions working through each release. Standard support lasts three years from general availability (2.4.9 is supported until May 31, 2029), and every minor release brings new PHP and service versions. Planned Magento upgrade services are part of owning the platform, not an optional extra.
Where Magento is strong
- Complex catalogs: many attributes, configurable products, bundles and large SKU counts.
- B2B: company accounts, shared catalogs, negotiated quotes and purchase orders (built into Adobe Commerce; extensions on Open Source).
- Multi-brand and multi-region: several sites, languages and currencies from one installation.
- Custom logic: pricing, checkout, fulfillment or integration rules that hosted platforms cannot express.
- Ownership: on Open Source and PaaS you control the code, the data and the hosting.
Who should not choose Magento
Magento is a poor fit more often than its fans admit. Think twice if several of these describe you:
- You have a small, simple catalog and standard checkout needs. A hosted platform will get you live faster with fewer moving parts. Our Magento vs Shopify comparison walks through where the line falls.
- You have no developer access, in-house or through an agency, and no budget for ongoing maintenance. An unmaintained Magento store becomes a security risk.
- You want zero upgrade work but also want deep PHP-level customization. Those two goals conflict; ACCS gives you the first, the PaaS editions the second.
- Your differentiation is content, not commerce, and the store is a small part of the site. A CMS with commerce features may fit better.
- You need to launch in weeks with a fixed, small budget. Magento rewards planning, not rushing.
How to decide which edition fits
- List your hard requirements: B2B, number of sites and languages, integrations (ERP, PIM, OMS), catalog size and any custom pricing or checkout rules.
- Check which edition covers them natively. If Adobe Commerce features would replace five or more extensions, its licence may pay for itself.
- Decide how much control you need. If your custom logic lives in PHP and you want to keep it, a PaaS edition fits. If you can move logic out of the core, ACCS removes upgrade projects.
- Be honest about your team. Open Source and PaaS need Magento PHP skills; ACCS needs JavaScript and App Builder skills.
- Model total cost over three to five years, including licence, hosting, upgrades, extensions and support, not just the launch build.
FAQ
Is Magento still free?
Yes. Magento Open Source remains free and open source, and it receives the same release line as Adobe Commerce, including 2.4.9. Adobe Commerce is the licensed edition.
Is Magento the same as Adobe Commerce?
They share one core application. "Magento" is still commonly used for both, but officially Magento Open Source is the free edition and Adobe Commerce is the paid one, available self-hosted, on Adobe's cloud infrastructure or as a Cloud Service.
Is Adobe ending the self-hosted version?
As checked in November 2026, Adobe's lifecycle policy sets support dates per release (three years of standard support from general availability) and gives no end-of-life date for the PaaS application as a whole. Check Adobe's lifecycle policy for current dates before you plan around it.
What language is Magento written in?
PHP, with XML configuration, MySQL or MariaDB for data, and JavaScript on the storefront. The Cloud Service shifts custom development toward JavaScript and Node.js through App Builder.
Next step
If Magento looks like the right fit, the next decisions are edition, frontend and integration architecture. Mistri's Adobe Commerce development team can help you scope those choices against your actual requirements before any build starts.
Sources
Adobe Commerce platform and services overview (Adobe Experience League); Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service overview (Adobe Experience League); Adobe Commerce lifecycle policy (Adobe Experience League); Adobe completes acquisition of Magento Commerce (Adobe blog, June 19, 2018); Adobe Commerce On-premise Software product description (Adobe); Adobe to Acquire Magento Commerce (Adobe press release via Business Wire, May 21, 2018); Magento 2.0.0 release (magento/magento2 on GitHub).
