OroCommerce vs Adobe Commerce for B2B: Which Platform Fits Your Business?

Summarize this article

OroCommerce and Adobe Commerce are often on the same shortlist when a manufacturer or distributor chooses a B2B e-commerce platform. The two have more in common than most buyers realize: OroCommerce was created by members of Magento’s founding team, and Magento is the platform Adobe acquired and now sells as Adobe Commerce. Yet they were built in two different directions.

At Synolia, we implement both platforms. Here is an honest comparison to help you decide which one fits your business.

Same roots, two directions

Magento launched in 2008 and became one of the most widely used open-source e-commerce platforms in the world. Adobe acquired it in 2018 and now sells it as Adobe Commerce, while the free Magento Open Source edition lives on. Magento was designed first for retail, and B2B capabilities were added over time.

In 2012, Magento co-founder and former CTO Yoav Kutner started Oro with former Magento colleagues Jary Carter and Dima Soroka. Their bet: B2B commerce is different enough from retail to deserve its own platform. OroCommerce is the result, designed from day one for manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers.

Native B2B versus B2B added on

This is the main difference between the two platforms.

In OroCommerce, B2B logic sits in the core data model. Customer accounts can have subsidiaries and divisions, each with its own buyers, roles and permissions. Price lists can be assigned per customer or per customer group, buyers can request quotes and save shopping lists, and a built-in workflow engine handles approvals and custom processes. OroCommerce shares its platform with OroCRM, so sales teams can follow accounts, opportunities and quotes in the same environment.

Adobe Commerce covers B2B through its B2B module: company accounts with users and roles, shared catalogs with custom pricing, negotiable quotes, requisition lists, quick order and purchase order approvals. These features are mature and cover the needs of many B2B companies. They are built on top of a platform whose foundations were designed for retail, which matters most when your rules go beyond the standard features. Note that the B2B module comes with Adobe Commerce: it is not part of Magento Open Source.

Where Adobe Commerce is the stronger choice

• B2C or hybrid businesses. If you sell to consumers as well as professionals, or if brand experience and merchandising come first, Adobe Commerce is very strong.
• The Adobe ecosystem. If your company already uses Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics or Adobe Target, Adobe Commerce fits naturally into that stack.
• A very large ecosystem. Adobe Commerce has a huge marketplace of extensions and a large pool of developers worldwide.

Where OroCommerce is the stronger choice

• Complex B2B structures. Corporate accounts with subsidiaries, buyers with different roles and spending limits, and negotiated prices per customer are native features, not customizations.
• Manufacturers and distributors. Quotes, reorders, shopping lists, sales rep workflows and multiple warehouses (in the Enterprise Edition) match how industrial and distribution companies sell.
• Fewer custom developments. The workflow engine and the built-in CRM capabilities cover many processes that would otherwise require custom code or extra software.

OroCommerce vs Adobe Commerce at a glance

Licensing and total cost

Both platforms have an open-source core and a commercial edition, and in both cases the license of the commercial edition depends on the revenue that goes through the platform. OroCommerce Enterprise is priced by revenue tiers rather than as a straight percentage of sales, so some sales levels are more favorable than others: check where your current volume and your growth plan fall in the tiers. Ask each vendor for a quote based on your own figures.

In practice, the license is rarely the largest part of the budget. Integrations, custom developments and data migration weigh more, and they depend on how well the platform fits your processes. A platform that covers your B2B rules natively saves money at every upgrade. Our article on what drives the cost of an OroCommerce implementation details these factors.

How to choose: five questions

1. Is B2B your main business, or one channel among others?
2. How complex are your customer structures and your pricing rules?
3. Do you also sell to consumers, now or in the next few years?
4. Does your company already rely on Adobe’s marketing tools?
5. Which processes (quotes, approvals, reorders, sales rep orders) must work on day one without custom code?

If B2B is your core business and your rules are complex, OroCommerce usually comes out ahead. If you run a hybrid business or already live in the Adobe ecosystem, Adobe Commerce is often the better match.

An integrator that works with both

Synolia is one of OroCommerce’s founding SI partners, and in 2019 became the first integrator in the world to reach OroCommerce Gold status. We also deliver Adobe Commerce projects, such as the Fermob Contract B2B platform. That is why we can recommend the platform that fits your business rather than the one we happen to sell.

In North America, companies such as Cambium Networks and RDP Foodservice run their B2B commerce on OroCommerce with Synolia, and our team in Santiago, Chile delivers OroCommerce projects on US business hours.

Still hesitating between the two? Tell us about your project and we will give you a straight answer.