Magento 2 vs Shopware 6

Which e-commerce platform do I choose?

In this blog we compare 2 popular open source platforms: Magento 2 and Shopware 6. The maintenance of Magento 1 will end in June 2020, as a result of which many customers will orient themselves to either a migration to Magento 2 or the choice of a new platform. Because there is currently many more choices in the number of e-commerce platforms than 5 years ago and each platform has its advantages and disadvantages, it is important to choose the platform that best suits your company. We compare Magento 2 and Shopware 6 in this blog in the following areas:

 
1. Functionalities We look at the functionalities that both platforms offer and where they differ from each other.
 
2. Extensions & Community One of the great advantages of an open source e-commerce platform is the community and the amount of agencies that develop functionalities for the platform. This means that as a company you ensure that you can always find a suitable partner who can support you in the development of your webstore and that you do not always have to incur high costs for a functionality that is already available as an extension / plugin.
 
3. Ease of use of the management environment The e-commerce platform will have to be managed by someone in the organization. it is good to look at the level of knowledge that is available and which platform best suits this.
 
4. Scalability and flexibility An important part of an e-commerce platform is that it is scalable and can grow with you. The e-commerce world is still changing fast and your platform needs to be flexible to deal with this.
 
5. Cost of ownership The e-commerce platform you choose must match the budget that is available in the organization for e-commerce. Additionaly, to the one-off costs of implementing a new B2C or B2B webstore you have to take into account monthly costs for maintenance, hosting and further improvement of your webstore. We will compare both platforms on implementation costs and maintenance costs.

 

Magento 2

Magento has been one of the market leaders in e-commerce platforms worldwide for years. Emerce’s 2019 research shows that 1/5 of Dutch e-commerce websites use Magento. In 2018, Magento became part of Adobe and there are two versions of Magento available.

1. Magento Open Source: This is the unpaid variant of Magento that is used by most of the companies. The open source variant can be extended with extensions with various functionalities.
2. Magento Commerce:This is the paid variant that starts from an annual license fee of $ 22,000 euros and depends on the turnover generated via the webstore. This variant includes the standard B2B suite and more extensive promotional options.

 

Shopware 6

Shopware is an e-commerce platform from Germany and founded in 2000. Shopware is mainly popular in Germany, but is rapidly gaining market share in other European countries. Shopware wants to offer a platform in which a customer can grow to different versions for both the B2B and the B2C market. The latest version Shopware 6 was launched at the end of 2019 and is available in the following versions:

 
• Open source: this is the unpaid variant of Shopware.
• Professional edition: the professional edition has a one-time license fee of 2495 euros and contains more extensive functionalities than the open source variant such as custom products and a more extensive CMS.
• Enterprise edition: This edition contains more extensive functionalities such as a B2B suite and improved search functionality. The price for the Enterprise edition is on request.

Below we compare the two e-commerce platforms on the above 5 characteristics, the comparison being mainly based on the two open source variants.

 

Functionalities

If we look at the standard functionalities that are present, Magento contains more functionalities as standard. Because more does not always mean better, it is important to see which functionalities are required for your organization. Shopware 6 clearly distinguishes itself by the possibilities it offers to adjust the “look and feel” of the webstore itself as a user.The Open source variant already comes with a “Drag and Drop editor” where you come to Magento for extensions or the Commerce version. Magento offers more possibilities when it comes to different product types, promotions and price rules and working with different roles and rights in the system.

 

Extensions and community

Both e-commerce platforms are open source, which means that extensions / plugins are available for functionalities that the platform does not offer as standard. This has the advantage that customization does not have to be developed immediately, but that these extensions or plugins can be used to add new functionalities. If we look at the community of both platforms and the number of extensions and plugins, Magento 2 community is a lot bigger than the Shopware community, partly because Magento is a global platform and Shopware is mainly focused on Europe. For Shopware 6, many new plugins will be added soon, but because the community is smaller and Shopware 6 has just been launched, the number of plugins is even more limited than with Magento.

 

Ease of use of the management environment

Shopware 6 is more user-friendly to manage than Magento compared to Magento 2. This is mainly due to the fact that the platform has fewer functionalities and is therefore more transparent. In addition, it has a visual editor which makes it easier to adjust the look and feel of your webstore yourself than with Magento. Magento, on the other hand, is stronger in managing and adjusting product features in the management environment.

 

Scalability and flexibility

Both platforms offer good opportunities to grow within the platform and can be adapted to new needs, by means of extensions and plugins or by means of customization. Magento is more focused on international webstores because of the more extensive VAT structure and currency options.

 

Cost of Ownership

The cost of ownership are the total costs involved in using the platform. These are both the costs for implementation, management, maintenance and updates. When choosing a new platform, it is essential to not only consider the implementation costs, but also include the costs for maintenance, updates and further improvement. Because Shopware is somewhat easier to use and contains fewer functionalities, the total costs of implementation and maintenance for Shopware will usually also be somewhat lower than with Magento. This can make it a better entry option for smaller parties than Magento 2.

 

Which platform is best for my company?

To choose the platform that best suits your company, it is important to weigh all these factors and to see which platform best suits the organization now and in the coming years. There is no “best” platform, but there is always a platform that better suits your organization because certain factors are more important than others. Would you like to discuss which platform would suit your organization well, or would you like to receive a demo of both platforms to experience the difference? If so, please do not hesitate to contact us!