Prestashop vs Magento

There are lots of e-commerce solutions to choose from. Some good, some not so. Why I like Prestashop.

Who is the strongest?
Who is the best?

I have been through a few e-Commerce solutions in my time. I have toiled at the cliff face of Actinic when it was based on Perl. I have rolled my own shopping carts in Perl and PHP. I have dallied in the dystopic realms of osCommerce and swam in the waters of Zen Cart. And finally, having tried them both, I plump for Prestashop in preference to Magento.

Reasons Why?

They’re both highly capable. But Prestashop seems to have slightly lower requirements as to server power, and that can make all the difference. More powerful servers, either dedicated or virtual (cloud based), cost more, need maintaining and keeping up to date. You can either run one yourself or pay a hosting management company to do it for you. Either way it’s another cost.

Prestashop also has more favourable options - you get the full version. Magento is run and controlled by eBay. The “Community” edition is free - other versions, not so.

Both have a range of modules or add-ons to enhance the base functionality of the store. Some are free, some not.