Adobe Commerce Agency: What They Do, Costs, and How to Choose One

An Adobe Commerce agency plans, builds, migrates, upgrades and runs online stores on Adobe Commerce, the platform once sold as Magento Commerce. A good one also connects the store to your back-office systems and keeps it patched and fast after launch. To choose one, check its standing in Adobe's Partner Directory and the certifications of the people who'll do the work. Then test how it scopes, prices and supports projects like yours.

This buyer's guide covers the services an agency offers, the types of agency and how they compare with an in-house team or a freelancer. It then shows how to check an agency, what to ask, how pricing works and how an engagement runs.

What does an Adobe Commerce agency do?

An Adobe Commerce agency covers the whole life of a store, from the first strategy workshop to support years after launch. Few buyers need every service at once, so it helps to know the menu before you write a brief.

A quick key to the acronyms: ERP is enterprise resource planning, PIM is product information management and OMS is an order management system. B2B is business-to-business, UX is user experience, CDN is a content delivery network and SLA is a service-level agreement.

Migration from Magento 1 or Magento Open Source

Migration is where many buyers first hire a Magento agency. Adobe shipped the final security patches for Magento 1 in June 2020, when its support ended. A store still on Magento 1 hasn't had an Adobe security patch since then.

Adobe's Data Migration Tool moves products, customers, orders, store settings and promotions from Magento 1 to Magento 2. Themes and customizations are another matter. Adobe says developers must change them, and that the effort depends on how heavily the site was customized. That's where an agency earns its fee.

Moving from Magento Open Source to Adobe Commerce is closer to an upgrade. Adobe's upgrade guide has you remove the Open Source package and install the Adobe Commerce one. The harder part is usually choosing a hosting model and putting the paid features to work.

Upgrades, integrations and B2B

Upgrades are steady, unglamorous work, and they matter. Adobe gives each release line three years of standard support. The 2.4.6 line left standard support on 11 August 2026. On Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure, Adobe says it may suspend traffic to environments on unsupported versions from 1 June 2027. That takes the store offline.

Integrations are usually the hardest part of a build. Adobe Commerce has GraphQL, REST and SOAP web application programming interfaces (APIs) for linking ERP and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. B2B features come from Adobe's B2B extension. Our guide to Adobe Commerce B2B capabilities explains how they work.

Taking over a store someone else built? Start with an Adobe Commerce audit before you agree any roadmap.

What types of Adobe Commerce agency are there?

Adobe Commerce agencies fall into four broad types. Each suits a different buyer, and plenty of firms blend two.

• Full-service agency: strategy, design, build, marketing and support under one roof. It suits replatforms and brands that want one accountable team. Expect more process and higher rates.
• Development specialist: often called an Adobe Commerce development agency. It focuses on code, integrations and upgrades. It suits companies that already run design and marketing in-house.
• Offshore or nearshore team: delivery from a lower-cost location. Offshore usually means many time zones away, while nearshore means a nearby country with shared working hours. It suits long build and support programmes, as long as someone senior leads them.
• Freelancer: one developer or a small group. Freelancers are fine for contained jobs, like fixing an extension. They're risky as the only support for a store that carries real revenue.

Blended teams are common, such as a local architect with an offshore delivery team. Adobe's own rules allow for this. A partner can count certified offshore staff toward a specialization in another region.

Agency, in-house team or freelancer: which fits?

An agency suits big pushes like a build, a replatform or a major upgrade. An in-house team suits steady change once the store is live. A freelancer suits small, well-defined tasks. Most mid-size and enterprise merchants end up with a mix.

Adobe's implementation guidance describes a common pattern. After launch, the development team ramps down and a smaller team takes over support. That team can be yours, the agency's or a blend of both.

Adobe's own support is part of the picture too. Expert support comes with an Adobe Commerce licence. But on cloud infrastructure, Adobe's shared responsibility model leaves custom code, extensions and applying patches with the merchant. In practice, that's the work you hand to an agency or to your own developers.

How do you check an Adobe Commerce agency's Adobe credentials?

Start in Adobe's Partner Directory, not on the agency's website. Look for the partner level, a Commerce specialization for your region, and the certifications held by the people named for your project.

Many lists of the best Adobe Commerce agencies are written by agencies. Treat them as a starting point. The directory lets you filter by location and specialization instead.

Partner level

Adobe now runs the Adobe Digital Experience Partner Program, launched for 2026. Its levels are Community, Silver, Gold and Platinum. You'll still see the older name, Adobe Solution Partner Program, on agency websites. Only paying partners at Silver and above get a directory listing. Our guide on how to choose an Adobe partner explains the levels in detail.

The Commerce specialization

For a Commerce buyer, the specialization matters more than the level. To earn one, a partner needs a set number of Adobe Certified Expert or Master certifications in the product. It also needs three customer references with high satisfaction scores. A specialized partner shows a Specialized ribbon in the directory.

Three details make it more useful than it first looks:

• It's regional. Adobe awards specializations separately for the Americas, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, for Asia Pacific and for Japan. If you want an Adobe Commerce agency in the USA, check for the Americas.
• It needs recent, real projects. References must come from projects the partner led through the whole cycle, or ran and operated, within the last 12 months. Projects where it subcontracted parts of the build to another firm don't count.
• It can lapse. Each specialization lasts two years. If a certified person leaves, the partner has 90 days to close the gap.

Certifications held by named people

Adobe Commerce certifications come in three levels. Professional and Expert each cover Business Practitioner, Developer and Front-end Developer. Master has one exam, for Architect. Each certification lasts two years, and the holder's credential page shows if it has lapsed.

So ask for the names, roles and credential links of the architect, the lead developer and the front-end lead. A company-wide certification count tells you little about your team.

What else should you check before you shortlist?

Credentials get an agency onto your list. Evidence of how it builds, hosts and hands over a store decides whether it stays there.

Case studies and references

Look for Adobe Commerce work at your scale, in your selling model and on your hosting model. Then call two or three references and ask what went wrong. Good references will tell you, and they'll tell you how it got fixed.

Code and architecture practices

Ask to see how the agency writes and reviews code. Adobe's implementation playbook expects reviews against coding standards. It says review shouldn't take more than 10% to 20% of development effort on average. It treats patches to core or third-party code as a last resort, to be replaced within 2 to 4 weeks.

Ask who will own extension licences, too. Adobe's security guidance is clear here. If your integrator buys an extension, make sure the licence can move to you if you change integrators.

Hosting and platform experience

Adobe Commerce runs in three ways, and each one changes the agency's job:

• Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure: Adobe's platform as a service. Adobe runs the platform, and you or your agency apply patches and own the custom code, extensions and integrations.
• On-premises: you host it all. Adobe supports the core application, but servers, databases, search, caching, the CDN, backups, upgrades and patching are yours.
• Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service: Adobe manages infrastructure, patching and upgrades. Updates reach production after a 30-day window to test them in sandboxes. Customizations follow Adobe's API-first model, built with tools like App Builder, and Luma storefronts aren't supported. Adobe calls it the recommended long-term home for its cloud customers.

Ask which of these the agency runs in production today, and whether it has moved a store between them.

What should you ask an Adobe Commerce agency, and what are the red flags?

Good questions make an agency show its working. Ask every firm on your shortlist the same ones, so you can line the answers up side by side.

• Who exactly will work on our store, and which Adobe Commerce certifications do they hold?
• Do you hold a Commerce specialization in our region?
• Can we speak to two clients with a catalog, integration load or B2B setup like ours?
• How do you choose between configuration, an extension and custom code?
• Which release line and hosting model would you recommend for us, and why?
• How do you test ERP and payment integrations before launch?
• What does support look like after launch, including hours and response times?
• Who owns the code, the extension licences and the documentation?

Watch for these red flags:

• A level or specialization you can't find in Adobe's directory.
• A fixed price for a complex build before anyone has seen your systems.
• Senior people in the pitch and unnamed "resources" in the contract.
• Core code changed by patches, or no clear plan for upgrades.
• References that only cover other platforms.

How much does an Adobe Commerce agency cost?

There's no standard price, because agency fees depend on scope, team and engagement model. What you can shape is the model and the scope.

These are the things that move an agency quote most:

• The number and type of integrations
• Catalog size, and the number of stores, languages and currencies
• B2B features and custom pricing rules
• Migration scope, including data volume, order history and redirects
• How much custom code you need versus configuration
• The storefront approach, from a theme to a fully headless front end
• The hosting model, and who runs it
• Team location, seniority and support hours

Licence costs sit on top. Adobe doesn't publish them, so they come from your own quote. Our Adobe Commerce pricing guide explains what moves that number. For the budgeting side of a build, see what an Adobe Commerce partner should own.

On complex work, ask for a short, paid discovery phase before a fixed quote. It turns guesses into a scope both sides can sign.

How does an Adobe Commerce engagement run?

Most engagements follow the four phases in Adobe's implementation playbook: planning, development, launch and maintenance. Agencies name them differently, but the shape holds.

These are indicative planning ranges, not Adobe figures. They assume one brand, a handful of integrations and quick decisions. More storefronts, B2B, a large data migration or slow access to third-party systems push them out. An upgrade is usually shorter. Taking over an existing store should start with an audit.

Knowledge transfer should run through the whole project, not just the final week. Adobe's guidance says the same and recommends user guides and a technology wiki along the way.

Your Adobe Commerce agency checklist

Run this list for each agency on your shortlist. Two or three agencies keeps the comparison manageable.

• Confirm the level, and a Commerce specialization for your region, in Adobe's Partner Directory.
• Get names, roles and credential links for the core team.
• Read two Commerce case studies at your scale, then call two references.
• Ask how they'd handle your release line, hosting model and integrations.
• Agree the engagement model, the scope assumptions and who owns code and licences.
• Settle the support model before launch, not after.

Where DWAO fits

DWAO is an Adobe Gold Partner with a team of Adobe-certified Commerce specialists. Our delivery teams work from the USA, India, the UK, the UAE and Thailand. Our Commerce work covers consulting, implementation, migration, audits, support and managed services. You meet the named consultants before you sign.

Alongside the Commerce team, we have Adobe-certified consultants across Analytics, Adobe Experience Manager, Real-Time CDP, Target, Campaign and Journey Optimizer. That helps when store data has to feed the rest of your Adobe stack. Ask us for the same evidence you'd ask of any agency: the named team, their credentials and work at your scale. You can read our case studies and see what we commit to.

If you'd like to test us against this list, start with our Adobe Commerce consulting page.