The two editions share a codebase and a release calendar, and an upgrade from 2.4.6 to 2.4.9 touches the same composer constraints, the same template overrides and the same PHP jump on either. What differs is the clock, the tooling and, on this site, which agencies say they will take the work. This guide sets those three out from Adobe's pages and the agencies' own, read on 22 September 2026.
The support clock
| Version | Regular support ends | Adobe Commerce extended support ends | Adobe Commerce security-only period ends | Magento Open Source after regular support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4.4 | 12 Apr 2025 | 14 Apr 2026 | 31 May 2027 | No patches since 12 Apr 2025 |
| 2.4.5 | 12 Aug 2025 | 11 Aug 2026 | 31 May 2027 | No patches since 12 Aug 2025 |
| 2.4.6 | 11 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2027 | 31 May 2028 | No patches since 11 Aug 2026 |
| 2.4.7 | 31 May 2027 | 31 May 2028 | Not applicable | No patches after 31 May 2027 |
| 2.4.8 | 31 May 2028 | Not yet published | Not applicable | No patches after 31 May 2028 |
| 2.4.9 | 31 May 2029 | Not yet published | Not applicable | No patches after 31 May 2029 |
Dates are from Adobe's lifecycle policy page. That page lists extended support for Adobe Commerce and makes no mention of Magento Open Source, and no agency on this site publishes an Open Source extended-support offer, so the Open Source column above is the regular support date and nothing after it. The practical effect in September 2026 is that an Adobe Commerce store on 2.4.6 has extended support to 31 August 2027, at no additional cost according to the page, and then falls into a security-only period of isolated security fixes to 31 May 2028, which the page calls a one-time exception that will not be extended, while an Open Source store on the same version is already behind on patches. The page also states that from 1 June 2027 Adobe will no longer maintain Cloud environments running unsupported Commerce versions. The lifecycle page also notes PHP 8.1's end of life on 31 December 2025, which affects 2.4.4 through 2.4.6 where PHP 8.1 is in use, and PHP 8.2's on 31 December 2026.
The tooling
Adobe's documentation states that the Upgrade Compatibility Tool is available for Adobe Commerce instances only. It describes the tool as a check of a customized instance against a target version across all installed modules and core code, reporting the errors and warnings to fix before upgrading, and lists three ways to run it, from the command line, through the Site-Wide Analysis Tool, and from the PHPStorm plugin. An Adobe Commerce agency can put that report in front of you on the first call. On Open Source there is no equivalent from Adobe, so the compatibility audit is the agency's own work, meaning static analysis across composer constraints, a review of every third-party module against the target release, and a build on a staging copy. This is why the audit criterion on the ranking page rewards a published scope and price, which integer_net (3,999 euros excluding VAT) and Inchoo (3,000 euros) provide, and why scandiweb's upgrade page, which puts the compatibility check first among five steps, scores on the same criterion without a separate price.
The agencies by edition
| Agency | What its pages state about edition | Where |
|---|---|---|
| scandiweb | States that it upgrades Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce stores to 2.4.9; its IONTO write-up names no license; states Adobe Commerce Gold Partner status | Upgrade services page, IONTO case study, Adobe Commerce developers page |
| SwiftOtter | Stores available as Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce with managed cloud hosting; Adobe Commerce Specialized Partner | Adobe Commerce page, about page |
| Wagento | Upgrade service covers both Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce; Adobe Solution Partner; Lapp Tannehill case on Adobe Commerce | Upgrade service page, homepage, case study |
| Vendic | Magento only, 100% Magento 2 focus; publishes a page on moving from Adobe Commerce to Open Source | About page, migration page |
| integer_net | Magento 2 and Hyvä; no edition stated | Homepage, agency page |
| Inchoo | Publishes an Adobe Commerce to Magento Open Source migration page; Hootify described as built on Magento Open Source | Migration page, homepage |
| Elgentos | Magento 2 and Mage-OS with Hyvä | Homepage |
| Netresearch | Managed AWS hosting for Magento Open Source; the paid Commerce edition mentioned only for its cloud hosting, no Adobe Commerce work named | Magento page |
Staying against leaving the license
For an Adobe Commerce store on 2.4.6, the renewal decision is due before 31 August 2027 and is really an upgrade decision. A renewal bought to hold extended support, which Adobe's page says comes at no additional cost to Adobe Commerce customers on 2.4.6, pays the license for a year of patches on a version that still has to move to 2.4.8 or 2.4.9 afterward, so the alternative to price is the move to Open Source plus the same upgrade. Inchoo's migration page lists what a store gives up on leaving, namely the B2B suite with company accounts, shared catalogs, requisition lists and quotes, plus returns management, reward points, store credits and gift cards, and states that most can be replaced with third-party extensions or custom development; its four steps are a functionality audit, data and SEO preservation, codebase decoupling and a recommended move to Hyvä. Vendic's page gives a four-phase process, names Topa Verpakkingen at zero license cost per year after the move and times the go-live to the license end date. Neither publishes a price or a timeline. A store that uses the B2B suite heavily is the one for which the replacement line can exceed the license saving; the functionality audit on both pages exists to find that out before anything is decided.
Which edition to upgrade to
The edition does not change the target. Adobe's system requirements page lists the same PHP 8.5, OpenSearch 3 and Valkey 9 for 2.4.9 and the same PHP 8.3 or 8.4 for 2.4.8 on both editions, so the host decides between them for an Open Source store exactly as it does for a licensed one. What the edition changes is how much time there is to make that decision. On Open Source 2.4.6 there is none; on Adobe Commerce 2.4.6 there is extended support to 31 August 2027 and security-only fixes to 31 May 2028, which Adobe calls a one-time exception. On this site, scandiweb, Wagento and SwiftOtter state both editions; Vendic, Elgentos, Inchoo and Netresearch state Open Source or Mage-OS work and either publish a license-exit page or mention no Adobe Commerce work; integer_net states neither. For an Adobe Commerce Cloud store staying on the license, that narrows the shortlist to the first three before any other criterion is applied.