Small and mid sized stores leave Magento for three reasons: cost, complexity and a permanent dependence on developers. An Adobe Commerce Cloud licence runs past 40,000 USD a year, with hosting and developer retainers on top. The number of Magento stores fell from 162,000 at the end of 2021 to roughly 112,000 at the start of 2026. They move most often to hosted solutions where the provider handles hosting and updates, and in any given market the decider is a native link to local carriers, payments, comparison engines and invoicing.
Comparison table
The facts in one place first. Figures as of July 2026.
| Variant | Licence | Other unavoidable costs |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Commerce on premise | from about 22,000 USD / year (by GMV) | hosting, developer retainer, agency |
| Adobe Commerce Cloud (PaaS) | from about 40,000 USD / year (by GMV) | development, ERP integrations, continuous upgrades |
| Magento Open Source | 0 USD | your own hosting, security, development and maintenance |
Indicative estimates from industry analyses, Adobe does not publish specific licence amounts. Total annual costs for Adobe Commerce Cloud are quoted from 122,000 to 450,000 USD and more.
An exodus you can see in the numbers
One number says it all. The count of Magento stores fell from a peak of 162,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021 to roughly 112,000 at the start of 2026. Fifty thousand stores gone in four years. That is not a wobble, that is a trend.
Magento, now under Adobe, used to be shorthand for a serious store with unlimited possibilities. It is still a powerful platform. For a small or mid sized merchant, though, it has turned into a trap for money and time, and those are exactly the merchants leaving fastest.
Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source are not the same thing
Magento exists in two forms and it is worth not confusing them. Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Commerce) is a paid enterprise licence whose price Adobe does not publish and ties to turnover. There are on premise and cloud variants.
Magento Open Source is free as a licence but fully self hosted. Hosting, security, updates and patches are all yours. Both versions run on PHP and both lean heavily on developers. That is the common denominator: Magento does not get run without a technical person.
What it actually costs
This is where the pain gets specific. Industry analyses estimate an Adobe Commerce on premise licence from roughly 22,000 USD a year, with the cloud variant (PaaS) starting around 40,000 USD a year and total annual costs there commonly running from 122,000 to 450,000 USD and more. On top of the licence come hosting, ERP integrations, an agency and continuous patching.
Magento Open Source tempts with a zero licence, but the bill simply moves elsewhere, to your own hosting, security and development. For a non technical merchant it is, paradoxically, one of the most expensive routes available, because everything a platform handles elsewhere you pay for here in labour.
Why small and mid sized merchants leave
The reasons for leaving are three and they are connected. Cost, meaning a Cloud licence past 40,000 USD a year plus hosting and developer retainers. Complexity, because Magento is built for complicated stores and a small team learns its possibilities slowly. And a permanent dependence on developers or an implementation partner, without whom you cannot make a larger change, let alone an upgrade.
Migrating a complex store with B2B and ERP integrations is not cheap either, estimated at 100,000 to 350,000 USD and more. The paradox is that the high cost of leaving keeps some merchants on the platform longer than they want. Which makes it all the more important to do the migration properly rather than cheaply.
Where merchants go instead
The direction is clear. Away from a heavy self hosted or enterprise platform towards hosted solutions where the provider handles hosting, security and updates. Smaller stores head for SaaS platforms that do not require a developer on staff.
In any market with strong local rails, the local connection decides. Adobe Commerce does not natively handle Czech carriers, payment gateways, comparison engines or invoicing, for instance, so even after paying the licence you are buying custom integrations. A local hosted platform has that in the base, which for a merchant without a developer is an enormous difference. Whatever your country, put that question at the top of the shortlist.
How Behio approaches it
Behio is the opposite pole from Magento. Instead of a self hosted platform dependent on developers, you get a hosted all in one solution where the store, stock, invoicing and CRM sit in one subscription. Hosting, security and updates are our problem.
For a small or mid sized merchant that means no permanent technical staff and no agency simply to keep the lights on. Catalogue, variants, B2B with price groups, feeds for comparison engines and local payments and shipping are all native. And if you do want to reach into the code, the builder generates a real Next.js storefront that is yours and exportable.
I am not going to claim Behio replaces Adobe Commerce for a multinational with its own development team, that does not add up. But for the vast majority of merchants, for whom Magento was always slightly overshot, a local hosted platform is cheaper and, more importantly, runnable without depending on a developer.
The verdict
Magento lost roughly 50,000 stores between the end of 2021 and the start of 2026 and the main cause is economics: an Adobe Commerce Cloud licence past 40,000 USD a year, expensive hosting, developer retainers and a permanent dependence on a technical person. For a small or mid sized store it is nearly always overshot. Anyone fighting cost and complexity on Magento today will find a cheaper and more runnable home on a hosted all in one platform with native local integrations. Do the migration properly though, because on large catalogues thorough 301 redirects decide the outcome.
Common questions
Mainly over cost, complexity and dependence on developers. An Adobe Commerce Cloud licence exceeds 40,000 USD a year, with hosting and developer retainers on top. Magento is built for complex stores, so a small team runs it with difficulty. The number of Magento stores fell from 162,000 at the end of 2021 to roughly 112,000 at the start of 2026.
Only the licence is. Running it is not free: hosting, security, updates, patches and development are all on you. For a non technical merchant it is, paradoxically, one of the most expensive routes, because the cost shifts from the licence into labour and maintenance.
For complex stores with B2B and ERP integrations it is estimated at 100,000 to 350,000 USD and more. The key thing is preserving SEO: large catalogues have thousands of URLs and without thorough 301 redirects you risk a drop in organic traffic. Smaller stores come out considerably cheaper.
From a heavy self hosted or enterprise platform to hosted solutions where the provider handles hosting and maintenance. In markets with strong local rails, a native link to carriers, payments, comparison engines and invoicing also decides, and Adobe Commerce does not handle that itself.
For the vast majority it is overkill. Adobe Commerce targets companies turning over millions of dollars with their own development team. A smaller store is served more cheaply and without a technical person by a local hosted all in one platform.
Build a store that never surprises you on the invoice.
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