Differences between Magento Commerce and Magento Community

06.06.2019 Angelika Siczek

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You have decided to change and use Magento 2. However, you are wondering which version to choose? The Magento platform is available in two versions – Magento 2 Enterprise Edition (also known as Magento Commerce) and Magento 2 Community (in the Open Source version). The license for the first version is relatively expensive, while the second version is free. Which one to choose to run your business? Check the differences between them out and choose the version that suits your needs.

Magento 1 Community (CE) was the largest competitor of Magento 1 Enterprise Edition (EE). With a large number of extensions available on the market and generally a small difference between Magento 1 EE and CE, you can achieve Magento 1 Community performance similar to the Magento Enterprise version. However, in the case of Magento 2, the functionality gap between M2 EE and CE widened. It seems that Magento invests in adding features and supporting only the Magento 2 Enterprise version. So there is a big difference between the paid and free version. In addition, there is a large discrepancy in the number of extensions available for both versions. It is true that companies such as Aheadworks and Mageworx put a lot of effort into the development of extensions compatible with both versions of M2. However, it still requires a lot of work from the whole community, so this process may take some time.

WHAT SHOULD YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN CHOOSING MAGENTO VERSION 2?

LICENSE COSTS

The Magento Commerce (Enterprise Edition) license is based on the revenue model – how much you pay depends on how much your company earns. Because the license costs are fixed, the more you earn, the lower the percentage of your income is. In comparison with other e-commerce platforms, the costs of such license are very competitive.

The inclusion of license costs is based on the Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) model. It can therefore be assumed that Magento Community is more suitable for small and medium-sized companies engaged in online trading, while Magento EE is intended for large enterprises.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO MAGENTO VERSIONS 2

What is the difference between Magento Commerce and Magento Community? Primarily:

– technical optimizations

– marketing tools

– function extensions available to clients

– function extensions for store administrators

TECHNICAL OPTIMIZATIONS

Support for several databases

Such feature definitely speeds up the operation of the entire system. Magento 2 Commerce allows you to divide various processes between different servers with databases. For example, one server with a database may be responsible for handling orders and the other for displaying the product catalog. In addition, each of them can have additional servers that can be turned on or off depending on current needs.

Diagnostic tools

The Maggento 2 Commerce version allows you to check the list of all installed modules, verify the validity of the important tables in the database and find all files modified in the system.

MARKETING TOOLS IN MAGENTO 2

Content modification

It allows you to edit individual items in the store, such as advertising banners, the appearance of promotions and discount codes. You can plan their publication in advance – choose the right time and place. Schedule all relevant details, e.g. promotion rules, when to turn on, and when to turn off, etc. Before the publication occurs, you can also see how the changes will look like.

Dropped shopping baskets and shopping lists

Magento 2 Commerce allows you to send e-mails to customers with a reminder of an abandoned shopping cart. It also allows you to add specially generated code to them. He can also remind the customer about the shopping list he has created for himself.

Loyalty program for clients

In Magento Commerce, you will create a loyalty program, thanks to which your clients will earn points for purchased products, for adding reviews, for creating an account, for subscribing to the newsletter or even for recommending your service to other users (affiliate program).

EXTENDED FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE FOR CUSTOMERS

Advanced full-text search

It consists in quick and accurate searching for specific queries. The Solar search engine responds to language errors and spelling mistakes, can omit unnecessary words and uses synonyms. The flexible search engine is a very important element of the platform. However, it is quite easy to add it to the free version of Magento Community.

Returns of purchased goods

Magento Commerce allows you to handle returns by the customers themselves. Registered customers and buyers can do it without creating an account. As an administrator, you can also signal and process the return. In the case of the free version, it is not possible to precisely specify the rules for processing refunds, as well as the possibility of sending automatic messages to clients. This option is available only in Magento Commerce.

Gift cards and gift wrapping

In the paid version of Magento, you can create gift cards yourself – generate codes, send cards by e-mail, and prepare printed versions for delivery. You can also allow the customer to enter the amount he wants on the card. At the client’s request, it is possible to pack the card in a special gift package (any number and version of packages). Like other purchased products. This is done from the basket level, using the option of gift packaging.

Fast cash register

If the customer has already placed an order and saved his address and payment details, Magento Commerce allows him to place an order in the product card. Clicks on the fast cash button, confirms your details and the order is already placed.

EXTENSION OF FUNCTIONS FOR SHOP ADMINISTRATORS

Managing access to the application

If you have several e-commerce stores, thanks to Magento 2 Commerce, you can set yourself access to only one of them so that you do not see all orders at once. The same applies to different language versions. In addition, in the subscription option, you receive information about who and when logged in to the administration panel.

Product shipping management

Thanks to Magento Shipping, you can efficiently manage sending products to customers. You can integrate with various logistics companies, create multiple warehouses, choose the size of the packaging for the product and create automatic rules for processing the sending of orders. In addition, Magento Shipping allows you to automatically choose the place of shipment, located closest to the customer’s address.

B2B

These are functions that facilitate transactions between two companies. The user may have a sub-account as a company or employee, set a credit limit, quickly order products after the SKU code, etc. All the most important B2B elements of the systems are embedded in the Magento Commerce platform.

CHOOSE YOUR MAGENTO 2 PLATFORM

Which Magento 2 platform should you choose? Everything depends only on your needs and preferences. However, if you care about a significant improvement of several aspects of your company, you should decide on Magento 2 Enterprise Edition (Magento Commerce).