Adobe Commerce vs Salesforce Commerce: A Deep Dive into Enterprise Omnichannel Platforms

As enterprise brands scale into omnichannel retailing, the stakes rise for choosing a commerce platform that can handle complex business logic, diverse buyer journeys, and seamless backend operations. Two major players—Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) and Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC)—stand out in the arena of omnichannel eCommerce platforms. While both offer robust functionality, their architectures, extensibility, and ecosystems differ significantly, especially when viewed through the lens of enterprise readiness.

In this article, we explore Adobe Commerce vs Salesforce Commerce, breaking down how each platform supports multi-channel operations, backend integrations, and long-term growth for enterprise retailers.

Why Platform Choice Matters in Omnichannel eCommerce

Before comparing features, it’s critical to understand what modern omnichannel operations demand. Enterprise businesses need:

• Unified customer experiences across online, in-store, and third-party marketplaces.

• Real-time inventory sync and order orchestration across systems.

• Flexibility to integrate with existing ERP, PIM, CRM, and fulfillment solutions.

• Performance at scale, including high traffic handling and fast page load speeds.

The right platform should not only support these essentials but also allow room for innovation and custom workflows—especially in B2B2C or multi-brand environments.

Architecture & Flexibility: Adobe vs SFCC

Adobe Commerce provides a modular, open-source architecture, allowing enterprises to build custom commerce flows, design headless frontends, or integrate microservices. Its PHP-based core, GraphQL support, and strong backend integrations ecosystem make it an attractive choice for companies that prioritize flexibility and control.

On the other hand, Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a SaaS-first platform, optimized for fast time-to-market and seamless connectivity with other Salesforce products. Its cloud-native structure offers managed updates and lower maintenance, but customization is more constrained and often requires reliance on certified developers or partners.

Verdict:

• Adobe Commerce wins in flexibility, especially for enterprises with complex requirements or in-house dev teams.

• SFCC suits brands that want a low-code, plug-and-play environment tightly coupled with the Salesforce ecosystem.

Omnichannel Capabilities

For multi-channel retailing, both platforms support:

• Marketplace integrations (eBay, Amazon, etc.)

• Social commerce (Facebook, Instagram)

• POS and mobile commerce sync

• Customer data unification

However, Adobe Commerce gives retailers full control over omnichannel architecture through its Adobe Experience Manager and Adobe Commerce Services. It allows brands to orchestrate customer journeys and promotions across all touchpoints from a central point, while also personalizing based on data.

Salesforce Commerce, meanwhile, relies on its Customer 360 approach, combining SFCC with Salesforce Service, Marketing, and Sales Clouds. This provides a holistic view of customers, but deeper personalization or channel-specific logic often requires additional licenses or managed services.

Scalability and Performance

Both platforms can handle enterprise-grade traffic and catalogs, but they scale differently.

• Adobe Commerce (especially in Adobe-hosted cloud or AWS/Azure environments) supports horizontal scaling, fine-tuned caching, and performance boosters like Adobe Commerce Optimizer. Merchants have more control over how performance is managed and optimized.

• SFCC ensures uptime and scalability through its managed cloud infrastructure. While it's easier to scale without technical overhead, control over performance tuning is limited compared to Adobe.

Ecosystem & Extensibility

Adobe Commerce boasts a massive global community and thousands of third-party extensions via the Magento Marketplace. It’s supported by a vast network of certified solution partners and developers. For enterprise clients, Adobe’s ecosystem also includes AI-based recommendations (Sensei), analytics, and native integration with Adobe Experience Cloud.

Salesforce Commerce offers a tightly controlled ecosystem, with vetted ISVs and integrations available through AppExchange. While it ensures security and compliance, extensibility is limited by platform boundaries and licensing costs.

Pricing & Licensing Transparency

One of the most debated differences in Adobe vs SFCC is pricing.

• Adobe Commerce (cloud or on-premise) offers tiered licensing based on GMV or revenue. Costs vary based on cloud hosting, modules used, and development needs, but brands often gain more cost-efficiency in the long run due to open architecture.

• SFCC charges licensing fees based on a percentage of revenue plus implementation and maintenance costs. It may require separate licensing for B2B, AI, and other Salesforce Cloud tools.

Bottom line:

Adobe Commerce offers better transparency and ownership for enterprises aiming to tailor their commerce operations, while SFCC is more predictable for standard, out-of-the-box requirements.

Developer & Operational Control

For enterprise teams with in-house developers or trusted tech partners, Adobe Commerce provides full stack control. From custom modules to deployment pipelines, the platform supports DevOps best practices and version control.

In contrast, Salesforce Commerce Cloud enforces strict guardrails on development. Merchants often depend on Salesforce-certified developers, and deployment cycles can be slower due to managed services and platform approval processes.

Innovation & AI Readiness

Both platforms invest heavily in AI and personalization:

• Adobe Commerce leverages Adobe Sensei for intelligent search, product recommendations, and behavior-driven content. Its integration with Adobe Analytics and Adobe Experience Manager adds to its personalization capabilities.

• Salesforce Commerce Cloud integrates Einstein AI for similar features, with the added benefit of syncing with Sales and Service Cloud data for 360-degree insights.

However, Adobe’s open approach enables faster experimentation with custom AI models or third-party ML tools, which can be a key differentiator for innovation-focused enterprises.

Final Thoughts: Choosing Between Adobe Commerce and Salesforce Commerce

There’s no one-size-fits-all winner in the Adobe Commerce vs Salesforce Commerce debate. The choice depends on your business model, internal team strength, and long-term commerce strategy.

Criteria	Adobe Commerce	Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Architecture	Open-source + cloud-native	SaaS, closed system
Omnichannel Support	Customizable, integrated with AEM	Salesforce-native omnichannel
Extensibility	Highly extensible, large dev ecosystem	Controlled, curated extensions
Backend Integrations	Deep and flexible	Pre-built but limited
Innovation Agility	Faster with more control	Slower, managed rollout
Pricing Flexibility	Transparent, scalable	Predictable but high per GMV

For enterprise retailers seeking deep customisation, long-term scalability, and ownership, Adobe Commerce may be the better choice—especially when paired with expert Adobe Commerce Development Services.

For teams already entrenched in the Salesforce ecosystem or needing faster go-to-market tools with less complexity, Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a strong contender.

Conclusion

In the evolving landscape of enterprise commerce tools, understanding your platform’s strengths and tradeoffs is essential to making the right investment. Both Adobe and Salesforce have powerful solutions for omnichannel eCommerce, but only one will best match your internal capabilities, business goals, and customer experience vision.

Choosing wisely can be the difference between maintaining status quo—and truly scaling omnichannel success.