What Is Magento? Editions, Hosting and B2B Explained

Magento is an ecommerce platform that Adobe maintains in two editions: Magento Open Source, the open-source edition you install and host yourself, and Adobe Commerce, the full-featured edition with Adobe-managed hosting options and a B2B extension. Merchants use Magento to run online stores they can customize down to the application code.

This guide explains what Magento is in 2026 using Adobe's own documentation: the two editions, the three ways Adobe Commerce is hosted, how B2B works, how support and upgrades run, and how a move to Shopify works if you are weighing one. Every fact about Magento below comes from Adobe's documentation, Adobe's Magento repository on GitHub, or its license file.

Key takeaways

• Two editions: Magento Open Source, released under the Open Software License (OSL) 3.0, and Adobe Commerce.
• Three hosting models for Adobe Commerce: on-premises, Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure, and Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service.
• B2B is an extension: company accounts, shared catalogs, quotes, purchase orders and requisition lists come from the Adobe Commerce B2B extension.
• Support runs on a clock: Adobe gives each Adobe Commerce version a three-year standard support window from its release date.
• Moving to Shopify: at Uncap, a migration from another platform typically takes 10 to 16 weeks, with a median cutover around 14 weeks.

What is Magento?

Magento is a PHP ecommerce application with a customer-facing storefront and an Admin where merchants manage products, promotions and orders. Adobe's installation guide says a finished install "creates a fully functional Adobe Commerce store with both a customer-facing storefront and an administrative panel."

The Magento name and the Adobe name now sit side by side. Adobe still publishes the open-source edition as Magento Open Source, with release notes such as Magento Open Source 2.4.8, and its documentation describes "the on-premises Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source platforms" together. Adobe's on-premises guide also points developers who want to customize the application to the Magento Open Source repository on GitHub.

The README in that repository sets out how Adobe positions the two. It says Magento Open Source "delivers basic eCommerce capabilities to build a unique online store from the ground up," and that "for those who need a full-featured eCommerce solution, we recommend Adobe Commerce, which includes our optimized cloud architecture and hosting as well as AI-powered merchandising and analytics."

The practical point for an operator: a Magento store is an application your team or partner owns and runs. That gives you control over the code, and it gives you the upkeep. Adobe's on-premises guide lists what you are responsible for, including "servers, operating system, databases, PHP, search, caching, full page cache, and content delivery network," along with backups, monitoring, version upgrades and patch application.

Magento Open Source vs Adobe Commerce

The two editions are bought, hosted and supported differently. Here is how Adobe describes each one.

• Magento Open Source: the open-source edition. Its license file is the Open Software License 3.0, which grants "a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable license." You download it with Composer or clone it from GitHub, and you host it on infrastructure you choose. Adobe's README calls its scope "basic eCommerce capabilities."
• Adobe Commerce: the edition Adobe recommends for a "full-featured eCommerce solution." It is the edition Adobe documents its managed hosting for, and the one its B2B extension is built for. Installing it on your own servers uses authentication keys from Adobe's Commerce Marketplace.

Adobe also runs a set of hosted add-on services. Its B2B guide says "Services for Adobe Commerce are hosted services that provide extended capabilities to Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source." Its services guide lists Live Search, Product Recommendations, Catalog Service and Payment Services among them, and notes that availability "can differ between PaaS and SaaS."

Adobe's lifecycle policy and release notes are organized by 2.4.x versions, such as 2.4.6, 2.4.7 and 2.4.8, so the version number is the first thing to check on any Magento store.

How Magento is hosted

Hosting is where the editions split most. Magento Open Source runs on infrastructure you manage. Adobe Commerce can run three ways, and Adobe documents each one.

• On-premises: "you host and manage your own infrastructure, including servers, hosting environments, and system maintenance." Adobe supports the core application with security patches and documentation. Adobe says the software itself installs in "approximately 30 to 60 minutes," while preparing the server environment varies.
• Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure: Adobe calls this "an automated hosting platform with a self-service approach to building, deploying, and managing your Commerce application." It comes pre-provisioned with PHP, MySQL (MariaDB), Redis or Valkey, message queue services and search, uses a Git-based workflow with automatic build and deploy, and runs in AWS and Azure regions. Adobe describes it as a Platform as a Service (PaaS) environment.
• Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service: Adobe's software as a service (SaaS) option. Adobe's lifecycle policy calls it "Adobe's next-generation hosted commerce platform," says "Adobe manages all infrastructure, patching, and upgrades automatically," and names it Adobe's "recommended long-term destination for all Adobe Commerce on Cloud customers."

The Cloud Service changes the storefront too. Adobe says it "does not support Luma storefronts" and that its Commerce Storefront, powered by Edge Delivery Services, "is fully headless with a decoupled architecture." Adobe points merchants migrating from Adobe Commerce on Cloud or on-premises to its transition guidance for existing storefronts.

Versions, support and upgrades

Every Magento store runs on a version, and every version has an end date. Adobe's lifecycle policy, updated September 18, 2026, sets the rules.

• Standard support: "a three-year standard support window from the General Availability (GA) date for each version," covering quality fixes, security patches and on-call support.
• Extended support: "one year of additional support at no additional cost for Adobe Commerce customers on versions 2.4.6 and 2.4.7." Extended support for 2.4.4 and 2.4.5 "ends in April and August 2026 as planned."
• Cloud enforcement: "Starting June 1, 2027, Adobe will no longer maintain Cloud environments running unsupported Commerce versions," and Adobe says this can include suspending traffic to the affected infrastructure.
• Dependencies: Adobe "does not provide security and quality fixes for third-party services and software dependencies (such as PHP and MySQL)." For versions 2.4.4 to 2.4.6, which use PHP 8.1, Adobe flags PCI compliance as at risk.

In practice, a Magento roadmap includes recurring upgrade projects. Adobe's policy notes that upgrading to a newer supported release "does not eliminate future upgrade obligations."

How B2B works on Magento

B2B on Magento comes from the Adobe Commerce B2B extension. Adobe says that once "the B2B extension" is installed and enabled, "the buying experience can be personalized with customer-specific catalogs and pricing, and targeted content and promotions." Adobe adds that Adobe Commerce B2B "supports both B2B and B2C models."

Here are the building blocks Adobe documents.

• Company accounts: the "key entity within B2B on which all other features are in some way dependent." A company administrator builds divisions, subdivisions and users, and assigns roles and permissions for ordering, quoting and purchasing.
• Company credit: stores can offer Pay on Account, so companies buy on a credit line the merchant allocates and manages.
• Company hierarchy: a parent company can be linked to its subsidiaries so one administrator manages them as a group.
• Shared catalogs: "pricing levels that allow setting custom prices per product for different companies." There is one public shared catalog, and custom shared catalogs are "visible only to logged-in associates of the assigned company accounts."
• Negotiable quotes: a buyer starts a quote from the cart or a seller starts one from the Admin, and both sides negotiate items, quantities and discounts until they agree.
• Purchase orders: when enabled, orders become purchase orders that can run through approval rules.
• Quick order and requisition lists: buyers order by SKU or product name, or reorder from saved lists.

Shared catalogs and quotes both depend on company accounts being enabled, so B2B on Magento is usually planned as one connected setup.

What Magento costs to run

For Magento Open Source, the license is not the cost. OSL 3.0 grants a royalty-free license, and the edition is installed on infrastructure you choose, so the spend goes into running the store. Adobe's on-premises guide for Adobe Commerce spells out what a self-hosting merchant is responsible for: the design, configuration, maintenance and performance testing of the system; servers, databases, PHP, search, caching and CDN; capacity planning, backups and disaster recovery; code deployment, version upgrades and patching; and monitoring and alerting.

That list is the budget line to plan for: staff or partner time, hosting, extensions, and the upgrade projects the lifecycle policy makes routine. On Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure, Adobe pre-provisions the infrastructure, and on Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service, Adobe manages infrastructure, patching and upgrades.

Shopify works differently on this point. Shopify describes itself as "a cloud-based and hosted platform," so hosting is not a project on your side.

Is Magento the same as Shopify?

No. Magento is maintained by Adobe, and Shopify is a separate platform made by Shopify. The clearest differences are in hosting and in how B2B is delivered, and both vendors document them.

• Hosting: Magento Open Source and on-premises Adobe Commerce run on infrastructure you manage. Shopify describes itself as "a cloud-based and hosted platform."
• B2B: on Magento, B2B comes from the Adobe Commerce B2B extension. On Shopify, B2B features are part of the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Shopify Plus plans, with companies, catalogs and net payment terms. Shopify says B2B "isn't available on the Starter or Retail plans," and below Plus you can assign "up to 3 active catalogs across all your B2B markets."

For a side-by-side look at B2B features, total cost and fit, see our Magento vs Shopify Plus comparison. For how Shopify B2B works plan by plan, see our Shopify B2B guide.

How a move from Magento to Shopify works

A Magento to Shopify move follows the same order as any replatform. Shopify's migration guide says to import products first, then customers, then historical orders, "so that products and customers can be properly connected to the orders." Customer passwords do not move in a CSV import: Shopify explains that "because passwords are encrypted outside of Shopify, you can't migrate customer passwords from another online store using a CSV," so you invite customers to create new passwords.

At Uncap, a Shopify Platinum Partner, a migration from another platform typically takes 10 to 16 weeks, and our median cutover is around 14 weeks. The work runs in six phases: plan the move, build and migrate in parallel, map redirects and protect search, test against real workflows, cut over, and watch it hold. Our guide to how long a Shopify B2B migration takes covers what moves that timeline.

The Magento-specific work is mapping what the B2B extension does today, such as company accounts, shared catalogs and negotiated pricing, onto Shopify B2B companies, catalogs and payment terms, and rebuilding the ERP connection. Our Magento to Shopify migration page covers that mapping step by step. Uncap has moved Magento stores such as Supcase onto Shopify, with a full migration of data and content and redirects in place.

Most migrations start with Uncap Blueprint, a $7,500 fixed-price plan delivered in four weeks and credited toward implementation. If your ERP has to stay in sync after the move, Uncap Connect starts at $8,000 to set up and runs $390 a month.

Talk to Our Experts, and bring your Magento version, your B2B setup and your ERP. We will tell you what moves cleanly and what needs a plan.