Adobe Commerce (Magento)
Swell
| Feature | Adobe Commerce (Magento) | Swell |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $0/mo | Free / from $299/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | large-retailers, b2b-commerce, multi-store-operations, enterprise-ecommerce | developers, subscription-businesses, custom-ecommerce, b2b-commerce |
| Founded | 2008 | 2016 |
| Product Catalog | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Store | ✓ | ✗ |
| B2b Features | ✓ | ✗ |
| Page Builder | ✓ | ✗ |
| Inventory Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Marketplace | ✓ | ✗ |
| Graphql Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Headless Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Subscriptions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Currency | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Models | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Admin Dashboard | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Adobe Commerce (Magento) Pros
- Extremely powerful for complex e-commerce requirements
- Multi-store, multi-currency, multi-language native support
- Open-source community edition is free
- Handles millions of products and high traffic
✗ Adobe Commerce (Magento) Cons
- Resource-intensive requiring significant hosting
- Complex setup needing experienced developers
- Adobe Commerce (paid) is very expensive
✓ Swell Pros
- Extremely flexible API
- Built-in subscription support
- Good for unique business models
- Developer-friendly
✗ Swell Cons
- Requires development resources
- Expensive for small stores
- Smaller ecosystem
The Verdict
Adobe Commerce (Magento) is built for large retailers and b2b commerce, with a focus on product-catalog and multi-store. Swell targets developers and subscription businesses and leads with headless-api and subscriptions.
On pricing, Adobe Commerce (Magento) is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $0/mo compared to $299/mo for Swell. That $299/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Adobe Commerce (Magento) offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Swell takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for b2b commerce — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.