Magento Vs Sana Commerce: An Overview

Magento and Sana Commerce are known as ‘Adobe Commerce’ and are both eCommerce platforms for online merchants.

Magento

Magento is a useful tool for online buyers and sellers as the platform provides flexibility in the various functions of the store and particularly enhances the shopping cart system. It is the one stop eCommerce platform for online shoppers as it caters to their needs with a wide range of products. It is relatively user friendly thus is the obvious choice for many ‘business to consumer (B2C)’ retailers.

The noticeable difference between Magento Vs Sana Commerce is that Sana commerce mainly caters to ‘business to business (B2B)’ retailers. Renowned companies such as Nike and Samsung used Magento to build their online stores.

Magento 1 Vs Magento 2

Magento 2 is a paid and more advanced version of Magento 1. It is more SEO and user friendly. As Magento 2 uses the latest PHP, it induces higher speed over all its operations. It can also cater to 39% more orders than Magento 1. However, the consequence of Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration is relatively expensive.

Sana Commerce

Sana Commerce, too, is an eCommerce platform that aims to build relationships between business operators- wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers. It is a partner of Microsoft Dynamics and SAP. The Sana Commerce web store integrate the customer’s ERP into it thus the foundation of it is based on the ERP system and the web store cannot operate otherwise.

Therefore, the system creates a fluent flow of data and low complexity. Sana is hosted by Microsoft Azure which is one of the most secure and reliable hosting systems in the world. It is available in multiple languages so that people from across the globe can access it. Running Sana Commerce means omni-channel business due to ERP integration. 

Both platforms aid in growing relationships between consumers and sellers through enhancing their online businesses.

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Magento Vs Sana Commerce: B2B Features

The free edition of Magento does not include the B2B features, however, Magento 2 cost minimal charges for providing B2B services. It was not until 2017 that B2B products were launched in Magento hence they remain limited. The salient B2B features of Magento 2 include restricted access to product pages, unique market segmentation to efficiently identify consumer profile, and quick ordering process.

Moreover, Magento B2B pricing is personalized in accordance with various business groups. It also assigns sales representatives to specific customers that boost corporate management. Other features include tailored shipping and payment methods for different customer segments as well as building strong customer relations by offering return and store credit on product purchase.

In comparing Magento Vs Sana Commerce B2B features- it is apparent that Sana Commerce specializes in B2B eCommerce platform while Magento carries both, B2C and B2B features side by side.

As mentioned earlier, Sana Commerce integrates the ERP system to create effective data synchronization as B2B operations are complex. B2B features of Sana Commerce are less costly, provide accuracy of data, simplify complicated business structures, and provide an all-day portal for all customers. There are multiple payment options that increase accessibility for the customers.

There is also greater access to tracking order fulfillment procedures as Sana Commerce uses an ERP integrated system. Furthermore, it manages promotions and reordering of products thus creating consumer retention. Therefore, in the G2 crowd report of 2021, Sana Commerce had a proportion of 87% B2B features while Magento only had a score of 73%.

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Magento Vs Sana Commerce: Scalability

The scalability of Sana Commerce is done through optimization of the web store and the high consumer traffic on the eCommerce platform can be combated by the said feature. The two ways scalability can be applied on it is either vertically or horizontally. It can be scaled vertically by more hardware and horizontally by more servers.

Scaling via Sana Commerce is flexible, and it does not impose any restrictions on how much one can scale the software. Moreover, it provides ‘load balancing’ and ‘lazy loading’ that guarantee ideal utilization of the platform’s servers.

Magento practices scalability by extension of features however the free version keeps it restricted. Magento 2 allows the full expansion of features and thus it boosts the shopping experience on its eCommerce platform. However, due to the integration of the ERP system, Sana Commerce remains more scalable relative to Magento.

Magento Vs Sana Commerce: Mobile Experience

Magento websites consist of features such as customized video and image sizes, drag and drop function, and it is also touchscreen friendly. The web design of Magento 2 for a wide range of tablets and mobiles is optimized to fit the screen and is easy to use. Magento utilizes the HTML5 platform to optimize the consumer’s shopping experience.

Its shopping carts are specifically designed to fit different screens. Faster responses to customers and better cash management has also led to lower cart abandonment rates. Similarly, Sana Commerce also has a responsive web design thus it adjusts to different screen sizes. The features across all the devices that comply with Sana Commerce are the same. This leads to customer retention and repeat purchases.

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Therefore, for Magento Vs Sana Commerce, the mobile experience is similar and user friendly.

Magento Vs Sana Commerce: Ease of use

Magento is fairly difficult to use for beginners with no experience. However, developers find it easy to use as it is a local installation, and the menu contains all the note worthy categories of the platform. Sana Commerce is easier to use due to the active Sana support team and recent updates fixing bugs and constantly evolving the platform to better suit the customer needs. Moreover, one of its key benefits is consumer convenience as there is ensured consumer transparency and ease of use.

Magento Vs Sana Commerce: Capabilities

Magento consists of flexibility and scalability, high customization, advanced testing, good mobile experience, various extensions options, and numerous options of installable themes. On the other hand, Sana Commerce excels in easy navigation, reliable source of information, simplified pricing, primary focus on clients, and personalized or targeted marketing.

The Sana Commerce Cloud also aids in providing data insights therefore creating a coherent flow of information and enabling smooth online processing.

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Magento Vs Sana Commerce: SEO Performance

Sana Commerce provides tools to induce traffic on other pages therefore it has a good ranking of SEOs. This allows for greater scalability and expansion of businesses through Sana Commerce. SEO gives way for the eCommerce platform to have multistores and multisite. Some of the salient features of SEO performance in Sana Commerce are site maps and easily customizable marketing pages.

However, with Magento Vs Sana Commerce, Magento offers various SEO features that consist of Search URL, Layer Positioning, site maps, URL Rewrite, keywords, meta tags, meta descriptions, and product titles. The developers carry out weekly SEO site audits and the businesses are advised to update their sites daily after analyzing the SEO performance tools. Thus, in terms of SEO performance, Magento is ahead of Sana Commerce in the eCommerce world.

Magento Vs Sana Commerce: Support

Magento support and maintenance services are most effective when companies hire Magento developers. These services include consulting, updates, a help desk, installation, and configuration. Magento developers ensure urgency in fixing any discrepancies that the customers face. Alongside, there is continuous development catering to specific customer needs hence enhancing their shopping experience.

The main benefit of Magento is that the developers work closely with the retailers hence creating cooperation between the different operations of the eCommerce platform. The maintenance team provides continuous backups of Magento stores, enhanced security, and new extensions that make the Magento experience more intriguing.

With respect to security, they release security patches monthly and closely analyze the response on Magento sites using analytical tools such as Google pagespeed insights. Close monitoring also means developers will receive alerts upon power outage on any of the sites and thus fix them immediately.

Sana Commerce puts immense focus on a collaborative working environment. It uses customer service consultants to influence the experience of online buyers and sellers on the platform. It puts in place a ticketing system that enables consultants to be the first point of contact for customers and also to resolve their queries in a given time period.

They also assist in rectifying problems in the products offered on the platform and the Sana team is responsible for communicating via support channels- email and phone. Sana Online Help consists of all user guides and manuals that are needed to boost the Sana experience. Sana University also provides an e-platform for all customers to learn about web store installation and its management.

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The prime concern of Sana is to provide customer satisfaction through an efficient after-sales service. Therefore, in Magento Vs Sana Commerce, both have a different approach in providing support services to their customers.

Magento Vs Sana Commerce: Pricing

Sana Commerce has varied prices and no fixed pricing as it changes based on the services and customers. The prices revolve around the business requirements. The Sana pricing model consists of a one time set up fee which is fixed and then it is followed by monthly installments. These monthly costs include the hosting and support services costs. However, the consequence of such a pricing model is that there is no fixed cost of ownership hence plans to use Sana Commerce based on its pricing cannot be made prior to its acquisition.

Sana Commerce has 3 pricing editions- starter, standard, and pro. Each subsequent level has more features than the previous version and hence is pricey. Given its integration with ERP, it is considered cost effective. Although the pricing model is customized, it starts at $10,000 per year due to which the target customers are medium to large businesses. It is ranked 7/10 in terms of pricing as the initial cost is also relatively high.

On the contrary, Magento displays a clearer pricing model where total ownership cost can be calculated as the Open Source version is free of cost, while the Commerce and Commerce cloud have different but fixed prices.

Magento B2B Pricing

Startups and individual entrepreneurs choose to utilize the Magento Open Source as their Magento B2B pricing method. Although it has limited features but through paying additional charges for B2B extensions, the site can be amped up. Examples of businesses using this include Brand Alley and Christian Louboutin.

Larger companies make use of Magento Commerce that is priced at a minimum of $22,000 per year. Companies like Paul Smith and End Clothing use this pricing edition as it provides them with additional features and higher quality services.

The Magento Commerce Cloud is like Magento Commerce; however, the Cloud provides automatic updates. Therefore, the pricing for the Cloud starts at $40,000 per year. Large businesses that have a varied product range and multi-product catalog choose to use this option.

Other Magento B2B Purchases

Hiring a Magento developer will cost approximately $10-100 per hour depending on their expertise. External purchases of Magento themes on Magento Marketplace costs range from $0-499. Domain names are also extremely important and generally cost $10-15 per year.

Magento 2 costs are significantly higher than Magento 1. For example, purchase of Magento 2 themes cost between $599-3000 and B2B hosting on Magento 2 is also variable and higher. Therefore, in designing a Magento web development company, having sound knowledge of the features and their respective prices is essential.

Sana Commerce Vs Magento- Which one should you select?

Why use Magento?

The Open Source edition of Magento is free of cost and require minimal expertise to operate it. This makes Magento user friendly, and its price gives it a competitive advantage over its competitors. Magento is ‘rich in features’ hence it is expansive and caters to a greater target market. It ensures security of data, is controlled by one admin panel, and the size of its online stores can be largely scaled. Its SEO tools such as up-selling and cross-selling are useful in promoting the products and stimulating repeat purchases.

Moreover, it is widely used by the most successful companies in the world such as Lenovo, Olympus, and Ford. Its free feature encourages more startups as often entrepreneurs are hindered by high website designing costs. Its main dashboard is simple to understand. For its paid version, it integrates with Paypal and Authorize.net as well as has other options such as guest checkouts.

However, Magento also has relatively high hosting costs and it can be a time-consuming process to first understand and then use the platform in the absence of a developer. The customization feature of Magento is also time-consuming. Magento is best suited for bigger e-commerce stores that have the potential to invest time and finance in customizing their websites to better display their business. It is structured to deal with heavy order loads and website traffic thus it is only justifiable that bigger businesses that have the potential to expand in the future, choose Magento.

Why use Sana?

Retailers select Sana Commerce due to its flexibility, ease of use, scalability, enhanced security, and personalized self service for the customers. It is quick to solve problems of customers and also respond to them thus there is a sizeable order inflow on the platform. It has an in-page editor that customizes marketing campaigns and has different extensions options that enhance the experience.

The translation into other languages, and the ERP integration are primary reasons for selecting Sana Commerce. The information on products and other data is always up to date and there are constant bug fixes to further smoothen the flow of information.

However, the scope of customization in Sana Commerce is limited as to introduce new features and develop them takes up to three to four months. Some Sana Commerce users have also complained that it can be slow at times due to its integration with ERP. Wholesale and retail capture the large customer segments of Sana Commerce.

Final Thoughts

Sana Commerce is appropriate for manufacturing and wholesale companies while Magento is best suited for B2C companies that target niche markets. Before making the decision to choose either platform, the company should analyze its budget, objective, and scalability. It is also essential they keep substantial budget to hire a Magento developer if they aim to use a Magento web development company.

Folio3 is an example of a Magento company, and it provides Magento designing, integration, support, and other services. Similarly, the business should also analyze the extent to which ERP plays a role in its functions. Concludingly, the choice of Magento Vs Sana Commerce depends on the type and size of business. A large scale B2C business should select Magento, whereas a relatively small to medium sized B2B business should select Sana Commerce.

This decision is crucial to make as selecting the wrong platform could cause adversities for the business. For example, United Pacific Industries (UPI)- a car parts manufacturer- shifted from Magento to Sana Commerce as it is a B2B business and Sana better suited its needs.