Compare E-Commerce models.
Our scoring process is applied and objectively evaluated according to strengths and weaknesses.
Compare vendors based on the five dimensions of the Composable Agility Score. Freely choose the solutions you want to compare to get an easy overview of their capabilities. You can adjust your selection at any time or click on any solution to read a more detailed explanation of their CA Score.
A vendor must first be removed before another one can be added for a comparison.
How easy is it to quickly and scalably build the individual solutions you need for your business using the application? See also: Best of Breed versus Best of Suite.
How well can a cloud application be broken down into its individual parts and used? The best solutions can be combined based on specific customer requirements.
How well can this application be connected and controlled via standardized applications? A functional API interface is able to interact with any other software.
How natively can this application be operated in the cloud (updates, backup, porting)? An ideal cloud solution is available everywhere, accessible at any time, highly secure, flexible and agile.
How independent can the application be from the end user’s interface (desktop, mobile, on the go…)? A functional solution is able to operate with any frontend.
Adobe Commerce was built on Magento and thus has a long history and widespread use in the market. The open-source version of the platform continues to exist under the name Magento 2. The managed enterprise version of Magento is now part of the Adobe Experience Cloud and can be combined with the various Adobe services.
BigCommerce is an Open SaaS e-commerce platform for B2B and B2C retailers. Founded in 2009 in Sydney, Australia, BigCommerce is currently headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA. As of August 2020, BigCommerce is a NASDAQ-listed company. BigCommerce offers four pricing plans; Standard, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise. In order to fully assess its capabilities, this evaluation is based on their Enterprise plan.
Salesforce offers companies feature-packed solutions with a focus on powerful AI. While they offer a comprehensive e-commerce solution with their Commerce Cloud, they still have some catching up to do when it comes to some of the interfaces. For example, microservices are being introduced, but are not yet ubiquitous.
5.1
5.8Composability
6.1Head-
less
less
5.6Cloud
Native
Native
4.9API
3.3Modu-
larity
larity
7.0
5.8Composability
8Head-
less
less
8.7Cloud
Native
Native
7API
5.3Modu-
larity
larity
6.1
5.8Composability
6.5Head-
less
less
7Cloud
Native
Native
7.3API
3.9Modu-
larity
larity
Modularity
3.3
5.3
3.9
The architecture of Adobe Commerce is not based on a modular system/microservices. It is a historically grown monolith. Users implement more or less all existing functionalities, no matter whether they really need them, and it’s difficult to add new custom functionality. Only a few services like the analytics capability called Business Intelligence can be added at an extra cost.
BigCommerce began operations as a monolithic platform, although in recent years it has focused more on a modular system/microservices. As BigCommerce is a SaaS platform, customers do not consume or interact with microservices directly. Instead, these are utilized behind the scenes for easier customer implementation.
The Salesforce Solution is not based on a modular system/microservices. It’s a monolith that is making an effort to modernize its offerings—which doesn’t change the origins and nature of its core architecture.
API
4.9
7
7.3
Adobe Commerce generally offers the Magento web API framework, but it does not follow an API first approach. Magento built an online shop system with inseparable GUI, and the API layer was added later, which is inevitably represented in the architecture. Technically, these APIs follow most, but not all, modern industry standards.
APIs via BigCommerce cover most use cases, but don’t offer full customizability. There are some areas where BigCommerce does not offer API coverage; however, because it is an Open SaaS platform, API coverage is fairly extensive.
With Salesforce, pre-configured API connections to 3rd party apps (e.g. ERP systems, inventory systems, accounting systems etc.) are not available. Due to their acquisition of the API platform Mulesoft and their very own tech infrastructure, Salesforce offers several APIs. Most are REST standard.
Cloud Native
5.6
8.7
7
Adobe or Magento Commerce can be deployed as an on-premise solution, or in the cloud on AWS or Azure. By partnering with major cloud providers, Adobe Commerce Cloud is, overall, a robust solution. The greatest drawbacks are the missing support for autoscaling, and inconvenient core updates.
Being an Open Saas platform, BigCommerce scores highest for being cloud native.
Salesforce offers a cloud-native solution. It mainly uses AWS and offers a very solid infrastructure. Updates can be done seamlessly for end-users, although there can be issues with elasticity, e.g. scalability.
Composability
5.8
5.8
5.8
Adobe or Magento Commerce is a monolithic platform that is deployed with all the features included, not just the ones required. It is not possible to decompose included features. The main possibilities for extension and customization are through third-party integrations from the large Adobe ecosystem, or through custom solutions, which are inevitably high-code developments requiring considerable resources.
Although some aspects of the BigCommerce platform lend themselves well to scalability, composability is not something that was originally built into BigCommerce’s offering.
For functionality beyond standard integrations, additional coding is required. All customizations must be done in collaboration with existing features e.g. those delivered by salesforce.
Headless
6.1
8
6.5
In the architecture of Adobe Commerce, the business logic is not decoupled from the frontend. This means that it is not a true headless solution, but rather a hybrid. Still, many out-of-the-box skins and strong personalization options are available. But it is not possible to develop the user experience freely and flexibly.
BigCommerce scores well for Headless overall, with its presentation layer decoupled from the front-end commerce engine. Partly because it has incorporated so many APIs, BigCommerce can be seen as a truly headless solution.
Salesforce is not headless; backend and frontend are not decoupled. Therefore, it allows you to work with a page designer solution, which is designed to give merchants more control over templates and content. It comes with a powerful AI-powered personalization feature and, thanks to the acquisition of the PWA service Mobify, it also delivers an out-of-the-box PWA platform. Salesforce does expose APIs and offers a headless CMS, but that didn’t change the underlying architecture of the core platform. It is still not microservice-based.
Bottomline
5.1
7.0
6.1
Based on Magento, Adobe Commerce remains a monolith that was not developed natively with the standards of modern e-commerce. It is a solid and industry-recognized e-commerce solution, benefitting from the community and large ecosystem. The original system was extended with an extensive API layer and changeable frontends. However, Adobe Commerce is not truly headless or API-first, and customizations require significant effort and maintenance.
As an Open SaaS platform, BigCommerce scores highest for being cloud native. This means that customers benefit from automatic and seamless updates. However, BigCommerce scores lowest for microservices. Although microservices are available, neither developers nor users can interact with them directly. BigCommerce also does not score highly in composability, since it was originally created as a monolithic platform. Although they are adding additional microservices to their offering and their headless options offer a certain level of decoupling and flexibility, improvements in this area will help to create a modern, flexible e-commerce experience.
Salesforce offers a robust solution with some unique functionality like powerful AI. Due to the many acquisitions, it feels a bit patched together — they mean that ecommerce is not Salesforce’s main area of focus. Salesforce is known as a global company and benefits from other Salesforce acquisitions and products. As one of the largest known monoliths, Salesforce is trying to modernize step by step especially with regards to microservices.
FAQ
Is Adobe commerce the same as Magento?
Adobe Commerce is based on Magento, but it is not the same product. Magento is an open-source commerce solution released in 2008. 10 years later, Adobe acquired Magento, and it ultimately became Adobe Commerce. However, the open-source version of the platform continues to exist under the name Magento 2.
What is Adobe Magento?
Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform written in PHP. Magento was acquired by Adobe Inc in May 2018 for $1.68 billion. The software was originally developed by Varien Inc., a US private company headquartered in Culver City, California, with assistance from volunteers.
What is the difference between Adobe Magento and WordPress?
Magento is a highly extensible open-source e-commerce platform designed to help users with at least a basic level of web development knowledge build and grow an online store. WordPress is a multi-purpose content management system that appeals to users with varying levels of technical knowledge
What are Adobe Magento extensions?
Extensions are add-on software modules designed to enhance user experience and increase conversions. The standard Magento platform is somewhat basic, allowing it to work for a range of e-commerce businesses. As a business grows, extensions can be added or removed to allow for prime functionality.
Is Adobe Magento free?
Magento Open Source is free of charge. You can also use various free extensions and themes provided by Magento extension builders to enhance your site. However, launching an online business goes beyond downloading and installing the platform. You have to pay for domain and hosting services. Adobe Commerce does not offer a free version.
What is BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is a NASDAQ-listed e-commerce platform provided as software-as-a-service for retailers. The company’s platform includes online store creation, search engine optimization, hosting, marketing, and security for businesses of all sizes.
Who uses BigCommerce?
Tens of thousands of B2B and B2C companies across 150 countries and numerous industries use BigCommerce to create beautiful, engaging online stores, including Ben & Jerry’s, Molton Brown, S.C. Johnson, Skullcandy, Sony, Vodafone and Woolrich.
Is BigCommerce good for e-commerce?
BigCommerce is a renowned e-commerce builder, providing high scalability for online stores. It has more built-in sales tools than most of its competitors, and combines these features with SEO and multi-channel integration.
What code does BigCommerce use?
BigCommerce uses programming languages like PHP, Python, Java, and Ruby. BigCommerces default presentation framework is SCSS Framework Citadel, which is built on top of Foundation v5. 5.3 (Foundation v6. x not currently supported).
Is Big Commerce free?
BigCommerce free plan can be selected for a period of one month from the date of activation (the “Offer”). The free Offer period applies only to base monthly subscription fees and does not apply to other services or products. After one month you need to upgrade to a subscription plan.
What is Salesforce?
Salesforce is a cloud computing software as a service (SaaS) company that specializes in customer relationship management (CRM). The software has become the number one for customer success and helps businesses track customer activity, market to customers and many more services.
What does Salesforce do/offer?
Salesforce lets you efficiently unify different principal functions of your business so you can achieve customer success. You can sell, provide service, market, collaborate, know your customers, and build apps on a single platform.
How does Salesforce architecture work?
Salesforce has a multilayer architecture; it contains a series of layers situated on top of each other. In the multilayer Salesforce architecture, the users are at the topmost layer.
Does Salesforce store data in a cloud?
Salesforce is a cloud platform and hence all the data stored in Salesforce is stored in cloud. Like Google, AWS and Microsoft, Salesforce has multiple data centers across the globe where this data is actually stored. All of these data is stored at multiple locations for easy accessibility and backup purpose which means that each record that is created in Salesforce is stored at muliple data centers across the globe.
Is Salesforce free?
Salesforce does not offer a free version of their software, so users have to choose between the different pricing plans.
