AspDotNetStorefront vs Magento: The Payoff

By Jay Schneider

UPDATE (March 2016):  We just published an infographic comparing Magento Enterprise and AspDotNetStorefront version 10.  Check it out!

Editor’s note: This is the 5th and final installment of this series, addressing the business considerations of each platform. You can reference the ground-rules for the comparison here.

For any business looking for sizable growth from eCommerce, there’s really only one consideration when choosing an eCommerce platform: What revenue is produced for the investment made?

In this respect, for the first time, the platforms are very different.

Just a quick recap of where we’ve been, based on the Brilliance 3 pillars of eCommerce:

  • Attraction: SEO, responsive design for mobile and marketing through other shopping portals are all available for AspDotNetStorefront and Magento.
  • Conversion: Out of the box and other modules including reductive filtering, advanced search, one-page checkout, etc. help convert visitors to customers.
  • Maximization: Both tools offer to cross-sell, up-sell and related products, critical areas for maximizing the sale.
The Payoff
In terms of implementation, a business serious about eCommerce isn’t liable to see much difference in implementation costs.
 
According to this developer (see ‘Custom Magento Website’), the range for many businesses is in the range of $25-$60k for Magento.
 
For ease, let’s assume this is similar for custom stores on AspDotNetStorefront.
But the license—or subscriptions, as some vendors now call them—is a VERY different matter:
  • Magento Enterprise: $15,500 annually
  • AspDotNetStorefront: $1794 ($495 thereafter)
In other words, a business with a 25% margin would have to gross almost an additional $200k on a 3-year payoff…just to make up for the incremental license expenditure.

 
Summary
As mentioned from the first post, this is not an evaluation of AspDotNetStorefront or Magento from a technical standpoint.

But the real question has to do with how much money can be made. At the very least, AspDotNetStorefront Professional and Magento Enterprise are comparable platforms—with very UNCOMPARABLE licensing structures.

In the end, NOT choosing AspDotNetStorefront means you likely start out $200k behind.

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