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05.10.20 5 min read Technology

Pimcore vs Akeneo - what's better for your company?

Pimcore vs Akeneo - what's better for your company? - blog post banner

Pimcore vs Akeneo - If you are looking for a way to improve your product information management, you are bound to come across these two systems. Both options are free of charge and available in an open-source form. They are based on Symfony Framework 4, but differ in many aspects. Which product should you decide on for your company, if each of them offers different functionalities? In this article, we present a comparison of these products, which will definitely help you decide.

Pimcore with more integration possibilities

With Pimcore (an amazing PIM system), you can collect all the files and integrate data in a company of any size and from any industry. The platform has a "connect anything" architecture, giving you great possibilities for integration via API. It enables integration with CRM, ERP, ESB, BI, Magento, Adobe Experience Manager, SAP, and other enterprise applications. There are also no restrictions when it comes to opening imported or exported files in a given format. 

Akeneo is not so comprehensive when it comes to integration possibilities. It has its own customized integrators. It does not support connections to Java Message Queues or Hotfolders. Data can only be imported and exported in Excel or CSV formats.

Flexibility and scalability

Pimcore is an extremely scalable platform

The Pimcore PIM system (Product Information Management system) allows you to modify data using typical APIs. For example, you can transform blogs and articles into content services. With the MDM (Master Data Management) system, you can easily have all resources relating to the offer descriptions, media, attributes, customer, product, and supplier information under control. It lets you easily manage products in multiple hierarchies, with access to unlimited and accurate product data and configurations. All data shaping is done using a convenient GUI (Graphical User Interface).

Pimcore is a scalable platform that can be used to work in a global environment. It also works well when managing large amounts of digital data, and digital resources. It even allows millions of users and editors who visit a site to maintain its functionality and performance. The system uses leading technologies. More on this topic in the article "How to use Pimcore in practice".

Flexibility of Akeneo

Akeneo does not use an MDM system (Master Data Management) but instead uses EAV (Entity Attribute Value) to manage products. You can only configure product families in a single-level hierarchy. When it comes to configuring products, there are only two differentiations available for each product variant.

The scalability of Akeneo is quite high. Using this platform, you can easily have an online store and manage all product catalogues. However, modelling and data processing is possible only to a limited extent.

Main features

What makes Pimcore and Akeneo so different?

Pimcore provides, among others:

  • A central product data warehouse;
  • Data quality control;
  • Flexible data modelling;
  • A high level of integration and information provision;
  • Improved product data quality and semantics;
  • Efficient workflow management;
  • Advanced power mechanism;
  • Scalability and performance.
     

Pimcore offers these and many other key features. It's PIM system is much more powerful than Akeneo. 

Akeneo provides:

  • Advanced rights management*;
  • Validation workflow for data quality control*;
  • Reference units for the creation of data and enrichment of the products made available*;
  • The Franklin Insights* API;
  • Organization and classification of products.

*Only in the paid version of the Enterprise Edition

Personalization opportunities in Pimcore and Akeneo

Pimcore allows you to personalize content based on user behaviour analysis. This means that your customers receive attractive messages, individually tailored to their preferences.

With Akeneo, only product data can be managed, so message personalization is not possible. However, it is possible to personalize content, but with the help of third-party applications.

Pimcore vs Akeneo price and offer comparison

Pimcore costs and functionalities

The cost associated with the paid version of Pimcore Enterprise Edition starts from 7,200 USD/EUR per year. This provides full access to SLA (Service Level Agreement), LTS (Long Term Support) and consulting.

However, the free version of the Open Source Community Edition includes extensive features as well, such as:

  • Omnichannel support,
  • Workflow management, unlimited products;
  • Unlimited number of users;
  • LDAP/SSO,
  • PIM/MDM product modelling;
  • DAM (Digital Asset Management – management of digital resources, image library, and workflow);
  • CMS (Content Management System);
  • E-commerce.

The free Pimcore solution can be fully used in the corporate environment, fulfilling all data management requirements and other business needs.

Price and possibilities of the paid version of Akeneo compared to the free version

The paid version of Akeneo Enterprise Edition costs at least USD/EUR 40,000 per year. One output channel and 10 users are supported. The free Open-Source version of the Akeneo Community Edition is very limited in terms of functionality. It supports up to two users and does not provide content in the form of images. Only simple directories can be used. An Enterprise Edition seems like a must-have for comfortable usage. Furthermore, DAM is available in a paid version with a limited number of possibilities. Akeneo users can't enjoy MDM systems, either in the free open-source system or the paid version.

Pimcore vs Akeneo: conclusions

The free version of Pimcore offers comprehensive support for PIM, CMS, MDM, DAM and e-commerce. It guarantees smooth data management, including product data, digital resources, available content and online activities. Data entry is effortless, the scalable application ensures effective management of workflow and information integration.

This complex PIM system with its vast capabilities is recommended for medium and large companies, including those operating on the international market, as it supports multiple language versions. Pimcore has enormous capabilities, which may affect the level of difficulty in implementing and managing it. The premium enterprise edition is even more complex, but both can be mastered.

With Akeneo, you can only manage product data (basics of the PIM system). Akeneo supports small- and medium-sized e-commerce companies and can meet their multichannel needs. The interface is easy to use, so you do not have to spend a large budget on training in this area.

Are you interested in a well-designed e-commerce portal?

Contact us to talk about e-commerce opportunities for your business.

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Maciej Pałubicki CEO
Maciej Pałubicki
CEO of Tandemite

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