Comparison · Reviewed 18 September 2026

Adobe CommercevsSalesforce Commerce Cloud

Engineer-led comparison of the two enterprise platforms that both price on gross merchandise value. Adobe Commerce is the platform formerly sold as Magento Commerce, now available in PaaS and SaaS forms. Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a single multi-tenant SaaS. We compare deployment models, extension models, B2B depth, headless paths and total cost of ownership. Capability claims cite developer.adobe.com and developer.salesforce.com; pricing reflects what we typically see on real programmes, because neither vendor publishes a list price.

Capability matrix

Deployment, APIs, extension model, B2B, headless, multi-site, pricing and time to launch compared side by side for 2026.

CapabilityAdobe CommerceSalesforce Commerce Cloud
Deployment modelThree forms of one codebase: Magento Open Source (self-hosted, no licence), Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure (PaaS: Adobe hosts, you own code and upgrades) and Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (SaaS: Adobe runs the platform, IMS-authenticated APIs, no version upgrades to schedule).Single multi-tenant SaaS. Environments are realms containing sandboxes, staging and production; Managed Runtime hosts the composable storefront. No self-hosted option and no open-source edition.
Primary commerce APIsREST and GraphQL on every edition. On ACCS, REST authenticates through Adobe IMS with OAuth 2 rather than admin or integration tokens. App Builder (Adobe I/O) hosts out-of-process extensions and event-driven integrations.SCAPI, split into Shopper APIs and Admin APIs, with SLAS for shopper login; OCAPI remains the legacy surface. SCAPI Custom APIs extend the platform without cartridge code. Documentation is public; the platform is licence-gated.
Extension modelPHP modules distributed through Composer, plus PWA Studio and App Builder for out-of-process work. On PaaS and on-premises, module compatibility is the upgrade tax; on ACCS, capabilities such as custom attributes and observability are native rather than installed modules.SFRA cartridges (controllers, models, ISML templates in an overlay model), SCAPI hooks and Custom APIs. Powerful and well documented, but cartridge engineering is a specialised skill set with a thinner hiring market than PHP or React.
B2B (wholesale / procurement)B2B modules ship with Adobe Commerce: company accounts, company credit, negotiable quotes, purchase orders with approval rules and shared catalogs. REST endpoints on the Company, CompanyCredit, NegotiableQuote, PurchaseOrder and SharedCatalog modules; GraphQL storefront coverage, with company hierarchy and shared requisition lists available only on ACCS.Salesforce B2B Commerce is a separate product built on the Salesforce platform, not on the B2C Commerce codebase. Account hierarchy, contracted pricing and quote-to-cash read from the same data layer as Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. Deeper at the CRM end; a second implementation if you also run B2C.
Headless / storefront pathsBring your own frontend against REST and GraphQL, or use PWA Studio. Next.js, Remix and Hydrogen-style storefronts are build decisions rather than products; App Builder handles the out-of-process middle tier.Composable Storefront: PWA Kit (React) on Managed Runtime over SCAPI and SLAS, with Storefront Next as the newer server-first pattern on React Router 7, Vite and TypeScript. Hybrid deployments with SFRA are documented and supported.
Multi-site / multi-brandWebsites, stores and store views in one instance share a catalogue with scoped attributes, prices and content. Mature and native; the operational cost is in configuration scope discipline and, on PaaS, in the shared upgrade cycle.Realm and site model, proven for global multi-brand estates. Each site carries cartridge configuration and release-management overhead, which assumes a dedicated platform team.
Pricing modelQuote-based, banded by GMV and average order value. In the programmes we see, licences typically start around £22,000 a year on-premises and around £35,000 a year on cloud infrastructure for stores under £1M GMV; implementation builds typically £60,000 to £250,000; year-one TCO typically 2.5 to 4 times the licence.Quote-based as a percentage of GMV, typically 1% to 3%, with Premier support adding roughly 30% on top of the licence. Implementation builds typically reported £250,000 to £800,000 or more, driven by cartridge developer rates. Multi-year commitments usually secure a discount.
AI / personalisationAdobe Storefront Services (Live Search, Product Recommendations and Catalog Service) are SaaS extensions with their own read-optimised GraphQL schemas, separate from the core Commerce schema. The wider Adobe Experience Cloud is a paid join; third-party search remains common on PaaS builds.Einstein Commerce (predictive sort, recommendations, personalised search) is bundled across editions and is strongest when fed by Salesforce CRM data. Historically the SFCC differentiator.
Time to launch (typical build)We typically see 4 to 8 months for an Adobe Commerce build with ERP and PIM integration, and less on ACCS where the hosting and upgrade workstreams disappear.Typically 6 to 18 months including discovery, with Composable Storefront builds tracking toward the longer end. Cartridge customisation depth drives cycle length.
Ecosystem joinAdobe Experience Cloud (Experience Manager, Analytics, Target, Real-Time CDP) is the native join, each a separate licence. ERP, PIM and OMS integrations go through REST, GraphQL, App Builder events or partner connectors.Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud and Data Cloud are the native join, and the structural advantage when those systems are already in play. Without that footprint the premium is hard to justify.

Pick Adobe Commerce when

  • Catalogue complexity is the problem: configurable and bundle products, scoped attributes and multi-store views in one instance
  • B2B and B2C must run in the same storefront with shared catalogs, company credit and purchase-order approval
  • You want code-level ownership, a PHP engineering market you can hire from, or a self-hosted and regulated hosting option
  • You are already on Magento and Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service is the path that removes the upgrade tax without a replatform
  • GMV is under roughly £20M and the SFCC percentage model does not make arithmetic sense

Pick Salesforce Commerce Cloud when

  • Your organisation already runs Sales Cloud, Service Cloud or Marketing Cloud and commerce must read from that data layer
  • Einstein Commerce personalisation directly addresses your merchandising playbook, with the data volume to feed it
  • You operate a global multi-realm estate with a dedicated platform engineering team for cartridge release management
  • You want a single prescribed headless path (Composable Storefront on Managed Runtime) rather than owning a frontend stack
  • Implementation budget supports a 6 to 18 month cycle and a percentage-of-GMV licence

The honest framing: two GMV-priced platforms, two philosophies

Adobe Commerce and Salesforce Commerce Cloud meet in the same replatforming deals because they are the two enterprise platforms that price on gross merchandise value and expect a systems integrator. Beyond that they diverge. Adobe sells a codebase you can own, host, and extend in PHP, now with a SaaS form that runs it for you. Salesforce sells a multi-tenant platform whose real product is the join to its CRM. The right question is not which is more capable, because on catalogue, promotions and B2B they overlap heavily. It is whether you want to own the platform or rent the ecosystem.

Deployment: ACCS changes the Adobe argument

For a decade the case against Adobe Commerce was operational: version upgrades, module compatibility and hosting all landed on the merchant. Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure moved hosting to Adobe but left the codebase and the upgrade cycle with you. Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service is the SaaS answer. Per Adobe's REST authentication guide, ACCS authenticates through Adobe IMS and OAuth 2 rather than admin or integration tokens. Capabilities such as custom attributes and observability are native on ACCS while PaaS and on-premises projects install them as modules. SFCC has always been a single SaaS with realms and sandboxes, so the deployment question there is not whether Salesforce runs it but how much cartridge customisation you are willing to carry through its release cycle.

Extension model: Composer modules vs cartridges

Adobe Commerce extends through PHP modules distributed with Composer, PWA Studio for the frontend, and App Builder for out-of-process integrations. The hiring market is broad and the code is yours. The cost is compatibility: every third-party module is a dependency you upgrade, which is exactly the workstream ACCS removes. Salesforce extends through SFRA cartridges, SCAPI hooks and SCAPI Custom APIs. The model is well documented and disciplined, but cartridge engineers are a smaller pool and rates reflect it. We wrote up the licence side of both in the Adobe Commerce licence cost breakdown and the Salesforce Commerce Cloud pricing breakdown.

B2B: modules in one storefront vs a separate CRM-native product

Adobe ships B2B as part of the platform. Per the B2B module reference, company accounts, company credit, negotiable quotes, purchase orders and shared catalogs expose REST endpoints, and the GraphQL storefront package adds company hierarchy and shared requisition lists, the latter two only on ACCS. A wholesaler with a retail arm runs both on one catalogue. Salesforce B2B Commerce is a different product on the Salesforce platform, which is its strength and its cost. Account hierarchy, contracted pricing and quote-to-cash sit next to the CRM record. A brand that also sells B2C runs a second implementation.

Headless: a prescribed path vs an open one

Salesforce has the clearer story for teams that want the vendor to choose. Composable Storefront runs PWA Kit on Managed Runtime over SCAPI with SLAS for shopper login, and Storefront Next keeps that backend while moving to a server-first React Router 7, Vite and TypeScript pattern. Adobe leaves the frontend to you: REST and GraphQL for any framework, PWA Studio if you want Adobe's, App Builder for the middle tier. Teams that already run Next.js or Hydrogen-style stacks usually prefer Adobe's openness; teams without a frontend practice usually prefer Salesforce's envelope.

Pricing: the arithmetic that usually decides it

Neither vendor publishes a list price, so treat every number here as what we typically see rather than a quote. Adobe Commerce licences band by GMV and average order value. For a store under £1M GMV they typically start around £22,000 a year on-premises and £35,000 a year on cloud infrastructure, and year-one total cost of ownership typically runs 2.5 to 4 times the licence. Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a percentage of GMV, typically 1% to 3%. Premier support adds roughly 30% of the licence, and implementation builds are typically reported from £250,000 to £800,000 or more. At £20M GMV a 2% share is £400,000 a year before support, which is why the SFCC premium has to be justified by the CRM join rather than by storefront capability.

If neither fits

Brands under roughly £20M GMV with standard retail or wholesale needs often find that neither platform earns its overhead. That is the case we make in Shopify Plus vs Adobe Commerce and Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and it is a legitimate outcome of this comparison too.

Frequently asked questions

The questions enterprise buyers ask us most when weighing Adobe Commerce against Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

Is Adobe Commerce or Salesforce Commerce Cloud cheaper?

Both are quote-based and both scale with gross merchandise value, so neither has a list price. In the programmes we see, Adobe Commerce licences typically start around £22,000 a year on-premises and around £35,000 a year on cloud infrastructure for stores under £1M GMV. Year-one total cost of ownership is typically 2.5 to 4 times the licence once hosting, implementation and maintenance are counted. Salesforce Commerce Cloud is typically priced as 1% to 3% of GMV, with Premier support adding roughly 30% on top. Implementations are typically reported between £250,000 and £800,000 or more. At the same GMV, Adobe Commerce usually lands materially cheaper; SFCC earns its premium only where the Salesforce ecosystem join is a first-class requirement.

What is the difference between Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service and Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure?

Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure is a PaaS: you still own the PHP codebase, Composer modules and version upgrades, and Adobe runs the hosting. Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service (ACCS) is Adobe’s SaaS variant. Authentication moves to Adobe IMS and OAuth 2, and capabilities such as custom attributes and observability are native rather than installed modules. Some newer B2B storefront features, including company hierarchy and shared requisition lists over GraphQL, are available only on ACCS. The SaaS variant removes the upgrade burden that historically dominated Adobe Commerce running costs, at the price of less code-level control.

How do Adobe Commerce and Salesforce Commerce Cloud compare for B2B?

Adobe Commerce ships B2B as a suite of modules: company accounts, company credit, negotiable quotes, purchase orders with approval workflows and shared catalogs, with REST endpoints on the Company, CompanyCredit, NegotiableQuote, PurchaseOrder and SharedCatalog modules and GraphQL coverage on the storefront side. Salesforce sells B2B as a separate product, Salesforce B2B Commerce, built on the Salesforce platform rather than the B2C Commerce Cloud codebase, so account hierarchy, contracted pricing and quote-to-cash read from the same data layer as Sales Cloud. Pick Adobe when B2B has to run inside the same storefront and catalogue as retail; pick Salesforce when procurement must be native to the CRM.

Which platform is easier to run headless?

Salesforce has the more prescriptive path: Composable Storefront (PWA Kit on Managed Runtime, built on SCAPI with SLAS for shopper auth), with Storefront Next as the newer server-first pattern on React Router 7, Vite and TypeScript over the same backend. Adobe Commerce exposes REST and GraphQL for any frontend and offers App Builder for out-of-process extensions, so a Next.js or Hydrogen-style storefront is a build decision rather than a product. Salesforce is easier if you want the vendor’s envelope; Adobe is easier if you want to own the frontend stack.

When does Salesforce Commerce Cloud beat Adobe Commerce?

Three situations in our experience. When the organisation already runs Sales Cloud, Service Cloud or Marketing Cloud and wants commerce reading from that data layer without an integration seam. When Einstein Commerce personalisation maps onto a merchandising playbook with the data volume to feed it. And when a global, multi-realm estate has a dedicated platform team that will absorb cartridge release management. Outside those, Adobe Commerce typically delivers the same catalogue and B2B depth at lower cost, and Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service now removes the upgrade tax that used to be the strongest argument against it.

Going deeper

Reviewed September 2026: both Adobe Commerce and Salesforce Commerce Cloud are quote-based (contact-sales), so the figures shown are indicative ranges from real programmes, not published rates.

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