Date: 10.25.2012
Magento Import Comparison: Magento Admin VS Web Modules VS Import as Service On-Demand VS Store Manager for Magento
There exists a multitude of different Magento fast product import methods to handle the complex task of transferring data from the file to the database. There are default built-in bulk import methods and different modules and extensions for backend with the ability to perform Magento data appending. Also you may come across the import as services on-demand provided by specialists and tech engineers and desktop applications with import tools included. Thus, because of broad selection, you may be somewhat bewildered by the different means using which the import can take place. This article is the attempt to organize everything in minds of store owners for whom import is the necessity and high-priority task of updating their stores and help them choose the solution that suits their needs.
Product import is a complex process and each of the mentioned above methods approach it in a different way. Below you can see the table with comprehensive comparison of different means of Magento bulk import. The evaluation is based upon the parameters important for overall efficiency of the process as well as for convenience of ordinary businesspersons without special technical skills. For the objects of comparison are taken Magento Backend import, web-based modules (loose notion, not any specific), import as a service on-demand provided by tech-engineer for additional fee, for example - www.mag-manager.com/import-as-a-service/ and desktop application Store Manager for Magento.
| Criteria/Import Methods | Magento Backend Import | Web Modules Import | Import as a Service | Store Manager Import Try for Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price for single import | Free | Average price is from $100 to $4000 as well as there’s a number of free ones (but in most cases they do not support the latest version of Magento) | Price depends on number of products. Up to 20 000 products - $149, up to 100 000 products - $249 and more than 100 000 products - contact us for a quote | If you need to perform Magento fast product import for one time only, you can use Free trial version and import with no limitations and without any fee |
| Price for reimport | Free | Free | The same as the price of original import | Free |
| Price for regular import | Free | Free | You will be charged each time you will need to update products | $499 - price of Store Manager for Magento Primary License + Additional License |
| Price for automated import | Special skills required to set up cron job, so the price depends on your hosting service price or developer’s fee | Depends on the specific module you are using | Contact us for estimated price | Automated Product Import price $119 |
| Installation & configuration | Included in Magento, but the process of setting up is complicated | In most cases complicated installation as well as configuration | No installation, configuration presupposes file upload to make Magento database import, tech specialists do all work for you | Initial installation is as simple as any other desktop application installation. Import configuration is quite flexible, user friendly and offers you a number of hints |
| Support | Community support in the form of public forum users. Developers support is offered for additional fee | Depends upon the module and is offered for additional fee mainly | Free. In case person orders a service, the assistance is provided by tech engineers personally and can be done in real-time | Free. Assistance is offered on every step of the way free of charge |
| Documentation | Not available on official Magento site - check it yourself | Depends on product. For free products only general marketing articles are available | There’s no need for documentation and general information about service can be found in articles | Documentation is offered free of charge. There’s a number of useful articles with any specific solutions. |
| Server Resources Usage | Huge - number of server resources required | Huge - number of resources depending on the number of products | Minimum resources as product import as a service can be done locally and synchronization requires less resources | Minimum - import can be done locally with your local PC resources |
| File requirements | Has a lot of requirements including column names, data format, speicifc images folder, image path, etc. You can check here for all required columns | Usually supports Admin import/export format, thus has the same specific requirements. In case of specific data format in the file, additional addons to adjust it is required | No requirements. Modifications and file adjustments while Magento database import can be done by tech engineers, so no additional adjustments is required | No requirements at all. All columns can be merged, even if you have description in 2 files or want to upload images from external URLs from your supplier, price adjustments, etc... It is especially important in case you need to make this operation regularly |
| Functionality& Flexibility | No additional functionality | Either not possible or possible by means of additional plug-ins/fee | Customizations and additional work on the basis of clients’ requirements are charged separately | The tool has a lot of built-in features. It is very flexible and allows to do modifications on fly - e.g. merge 2 columns, replace categories, set visibility, sort order, etc. |
| MultiStore support | Available | Depending on the module | Available | Available. All stores can be updated simultaneously as well as separate stores import is available |
| Product types support | All product types | Some of them cannot handle downloadable nor bundled product types. For some of the products import additional plug-ins required | All types | All types |
| Images support | Image gallery with multiple images, but requires specific place for uploading images (media/...) | Local and remote. Sometimes additional addons required | Support of multiple images either local or remote ones | Support of multiple images for image gallery. Also no matter where images are stored - locally or at your supplier's site or on same server as shopping cart, they will be imported correctly |
| Import of attributes and Attribute sets | Need to be created manually | Attribute sets and their corresponding attributes need to be set up first | Can be done for additional fee | Attributes and attribute sets can be exported and imported |
| Custom Options import | Not supported | In most cases yes. Sometimes additional addon or module necessary | Can be imported | Custom Options can be easily exported and imported for products. Just SKU and custom options values are required |
| Do it for me option - “I want to save my time. Import it for me” | Not available | Not available | Available. The price depends on product quantity | Available. Import configuration can be set for additional fee. Once the service is provided you can use it further with same file with no additional payments |
| Criteria/Import Methods | Magento Backend Import | Web Modules Import | Import as a Service | Store Manager Import Try for Free |