The Core Trade-off
Shopify Plus trades customization depth for operational simplicity: hosting, security patching and uptime are Shopify's problem, not yours, but deep customization runs into platform limits. Magento/Adobe Commerce is the opposite trade: full control over architecture, integrations and custom logic, in exchange for owning (or paying someone to own) the infrastructure and maintenance.
Where Shopify Plus Wins
Fast time-to-launch, lower ongoing DevOps overhead, and a large app ecosystem for common needs. It's the stronger default for a single-brand DTC store without unusual B2B, ERP or multi-entity requirements.
Where Magento / Adobe Commerce Wins
Complex B2B pricing and account hierarchies, deep ERP/PIM integration (SAP, Akeneo), multi-brand or multi-region catalogs with shared infrastructure, and any storefront logic that doesn't fit Shopify's app-based extension model. The cost is a real engineering and hosting commitment — which is exactly the kind of work covered under Ecommerce Platforms.