For B2B, stay on Magento or Adobe Commerce when you actively use its depth: multi-level company hierarchies, native quotes, credit limits, and complex rule-based pricing. Move to Shopify Plus when your needs map to companies, price lists, net terms, and purchase orders, and you would rather spend on merchandising than on running infrastructure. The honest test is whether you use Magento’s complexity or just pay for it.
We are Bemeir, a Brooklyn ecommerce agency that builds on both platforms, so this comparison is not a pitch for one side. We build B2B stores on Magento and Adobe Commerce and on Shopify and Shopify Plus, which means we get paid either way and can tell you plainly where each one wins and where it hits a wall.
The 2026 update most comparisons miss
Most articles comparing these platforms are working from a stale picture, and two facts have changed the decision.
First, Shopify has moved its foundational B2B capabilities down the pricing tiers. Company profiles, catalogs, volume pricing, quantity rules, net terms, and purchase order numbers are no longer gated behind Shopify Plus alone. That undercuts the old “Shopify B2B means Plus-only” framing you will still read in older comparisons. Plus remains the enterprise tier with the highest API limits and the more advanced B2B extensions, but the entry point for real B2B selling on Shopify is lower than it was, as Shopify’s own 2026 B2B roadmap lays out.
Second, and pulling the other direction, Shopify still has no native quote-and-negotiation engine and no native per-company credit limits. Those show up in feature checklists as if both platforms have them, but on Shopify they are app-based or workaround-based, while Adobe Commerce ships them natively with approval workflows. That is a real, load-bearing difference hiding under a checkmark.
Feature-by-feature B2B comparison
Here is how the two platforms compare on the capabilities that actually decide a B2B build. Adobe’s own B2B feature documentation and Shopify’s B2B feature reference are the primary sources for what each ships natively.
| B2B capability | Adobe Commerce (Magento) | Shopify Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Company accounts and hierarchy | Companies, divisions, and locations with multi-level approval chains | Company accounts with many buyers, up to 50 locations, but effectively flat |
| Customer-specific catalogs | Shared catalogs with per-company visibility | Catalogs, limited on lower tiers, unlimited on Plus |
| Custom pricing | Per-company, per-group, multi-tier rule-based pricing | Price lists per company plus volume and quantity rules, simpler model |
| Quotes and negotiation | Native quotes with approval workflows | No native quote engine, app or draft-order workaround |
| Requisition lists | Native, built for reorder | Quick order lists and reorder, no true requisition lists |
| Purchase orders | Native PO on account | PO numbers at checkout |
| Payment and net terms | Configurable custom terms | Net 7 through 90, due on receipt or fulfillment |
| Credit limits | Native per-company credit limits | No native credit limits, partial workarounds |
| ERP integration | APIs and custom modules, deep coupling, no turnkey connectors | App ecosystem, bidirectional sync via apps, no native connectors |
| Checkout customization | Full control | Bounded by the checkout extensibility framework |
| Customization ceiling | Effectively unlimited | Real ceiling exists |
Where each platform wins, and where it breaks down
Adobe Commerce wins when your business genuinely needs depth. Complex company structures where a parent, its subsidiaries, and their divisions each need their own order history, terms, and approval chains. Multi-tier or rule-based pricing that a simple price list cannot express. Native quotes with negotiation, requisition lists, and credit limits that are core to how you sell. Deep custom coupling to an ERP or PIM, and multi-store or multi-region governance.
Adobe Commerce breaks down when you do not have the team to run it. The platform is self-hosted or on a platform-as-a-service, so hosting, security patching, and PHP upgrades are your responsibility or your agency’s. When the complexity is a burden rather than a benefit, you are paying for depth you never use. Time-to-launch is longer, and there is still no turnkey CPQ or ERP connector, so you build those either way.
Shopify Plus wins on speed and operating overhead. Faster time-to-launch, fully managed hosting, security, patching, and scaling, and predictable, visible cost. Its native B2B now covers what a large share of mid-market operators actually need: companies, price lists, net terms, catalogs, purchase order numbers, and quantity rules. A lean team can run it and iterate on merchandising without a developer for every change.
Shopify Plus breaks down at the ceiling. Multi-level company hierarchies and multi-level approval chains do not fit its flatter model. Native quotes, requisition lists, and credit limits are missing or dependent on apps. Complex rule-based pricing, deeply custom checkout, or arbitrary business logic eventually meets the edge of what the platform allows. Heavy real-time ERP sync is possible but app and middleware dependent, the same as Adobe.
The cost and maintenance model
The structural difference matters more than any single license number. Shopify Plus is software as a service: hosting, security, and updates are bundled, so the cost sits in predictable, visible fees. Adobe Commerce is self-hosted or platform-as-a-service, so the cost sits in hosting plus the talent and the ongoing work of running a flexible platform, much of it variable and easy to underestimate at signup.
Treat every figure that follows as a reported industry range, not a quote, because the real number depends entirely on scope. Shopify Plus is commonly cited in the low thousands of dollars per month in platform fees, with a revenue-share component above a high monthly threshold. Adobe Commerce licensing scales with your gross merchandise value and is typically far higher per year, before you add cloud hosting and agency maintenance. Multiple analyses report Adobe Commerce total cost of ownership running meaningfully higher over a three-year window, largely because hosting, patching, and upgrades are bundled into Shopify’s fee and separately billed on Adobe.
The point is not that one is always cheaper. It is that the platform which looks cheaper at signup is not automatically cheaper to run, and the reverse is also true: paying for Adobe’s depth is worth it when you use that depth, and wasteful when you do not.
Migration itself is the cost most teams underestimate. A Magento to Shopify Plus move commonly runs into the mid six figures over six to twelve months for a complex B2B and DTC store, and the single most underestimated line item is search-engine preservation: the data migration and the integration rebuild get planned, while the 301-redirect map and the ranking risk get discovered late.
Stay or replatform: a decision framework
Frame the decision as one question. Are you using Magento’s depth, or paying for it? Then score yourself on the axes that actually predict the answer.
Lean toward staying on Magento or Adobe Commerce if you rely on multi-level company hierarchies with per-entity approvals, native quotes and negotiation, requisition lists, or credit limits. If your pricing is complex and rule-based in a way a price list cannot model. If you have deep, real-time ERP or PIM coupling with heavy custom logic, or multi-store and multi-region governance. And if you have, or are willing to fund, a competent development and operations capability to run it.
Lean toward replatforming to Shopify Plus if your B2B needs map cleanly to companies, price lists, net terms, catalogs, purchase order numbers, and quantity rules. If your Magento complexity has become more burden than benefit. If you do not have a dedicated development team and want to redirect effort from infrastructure to merchandising. If peak-traffic reliability, faster feature velocity, and predictable cost matter more than an unlimited customization ceiling.
The axes to score are consistent: catalog size and complexity, pricing-rule complexity, company-hierarchy depth, quote and credit needs, ERP integration depth, in-house development capacity, budget model, checkout requirements, and time-to-launch pressure. Where most of those point is your answer.
Do not replatform to escape frustration
The most common bad reason to migrate is that the current build is frustrating. Frustration is usually a symptom of a store that was built or maintained poorly, not proof that the platform is wrong. A tired Magento store can often be fixed for far less than a replatform costs, and a rushed move to Shopify Plus can rebuild the same problems on a platform that then cannot flex to solve them.
Model the trade honestly. Count the migration cost, the integration rebuild, the search risk, and the capabilities you would lose or have to rebuild with apps. If the numbers still favor the move, make it with confidence. If they do not, the better investment is fixing what you have.
How Bemeir advises
Because we build on both platforms, our recommendation follows your requirements rather than a platform we are trying to sell. We map your B2B needs against each platform’s native capabilities, price the honest total cost of ownership on both sides, and weigh migration risk before anyone talks timelines. Our technology partner ecosystem of more than sixty integrations means we can make either platform work with your ERP, and our Hyva frontend expertise keeps a Magento store fast enough that performance is rarely the reason to leave it. We also build on BigCommerce and Shopware when those fit a client better. You can read more about how we work as an extension of your team on the about Bemeir page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Shopify Plus run B2B and DTC on the same store?
Yes. B2B selling with companies, catalogs, and net terms runs natively alongside direct-to-consumer on one store. As of 2026, Shopify also moved foundational B2B capabilities down to its lower-priced plans, so the entry point for B2B is no longer limited to Plus.
Does Shopify Plus support customer-specific pricing?
Yes for per-company price lists plus volume and quantity pricing. Where it struggles is complex, multi-tier, rule-based pricing that goes beyond a list, which is exactly the case Adobe Commerce handles natively. If your pricing logic is elaborate, that difference matters.
Does Shopify have native quotes and credit limits like Magento?
No. Shopify has no native quote-and-negotiation engine and no native per-company credit limits, so those are handled with apps or workarounds. Adobe Commerce ships negotiable quotes with approval workflows and per-company credit limits natively. This is often the deciding factor for merchants who sell on terms.
Is Shopify Plus really cheaper than Adobe Commerce for B2B?
Often, because hosting, patching, and upgrades are bundled into the fee, and reported three-year total cost of ownership tends to run lower. But only when your requirements fit the platform. A customization-heavy build that fights the ceiling erodes the savings, and paying for Adobe’s depth is worth it when you actually use it.
How long and how much is a Magento to Shopify Plus migration?
Reported ranges put a complex B2B and DTC build at several months and into the mid six figures, with the search-engine preservation work, the 301-redirect map and ranking risk, being the most commonly underestimated cost. Scope it before trusting any single number.
When should we stay on Adobe Commerce instead of migrating?
Stay when you use its depth: multi-level company hierarchies with approvals, native quotes and credit limits, complex rule-based pricing, deep ERP coupling, or multi-region governance. If those are central to how you sell, replatforming means rebuilding them, often with apps that do less.
