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Comparison of innovative PIM solutions - Akeneo, Pimcore and Egonode

July 12, 2021

Nowadays, many companies rely significantly on innovative PIM solutions (PIM - Product Information Management system) to boost their sales and improve the efficiency of marketing measures. Currently, there are more than 50 PIM system providers in the market that help owners of eCommerce marketplaces to handle their extensive product data easily.

To make a choice a little bit easier, today we will compare Akeneo, Pimcore, and Ergonode, which help users manage product data of any type and any size, and integrate data with minimum effort. These systems offer a vast range of features. Deciding which of the three platforms - Pimcore, Akeneo, and Ergonode - will be the better choice depends heavily on your business needs and future goals. 

Let’s assume you have difficulty picking the right PIM system for your online store. In that case, it is better to find out which solution offers more features and tools that cover your overall data management requirements or which one has more flexible pricing plans that suit your current budget constraints.

What is Akeneo?

Akeneo is an open-source PIM and Product Experience Management (PXM) solution that has evolved beyond traditional PIM capabilities to help companies deliver unique product experiences across all channels. The platform provides teams with a reliable and efficient foundation for collecting, enriching, and distributing product information while leveraging AI-powered tools for content generation and optimization. By offering multi-channel import and export capabilities along with advanced workflow management, Akeneo serves as the central place for product data that drives omnichannel growth and brand consistency.

Akeneo is now available in four packages: Community Edition (free, open-source), Growth Package (Starting at $45.000/year), Advanced Package (custom pricing), and Premium Package (also custom pricing). The Community Edition remains free for users and is an excellent option for small-scale businesses. For companies looking for more extended PIM features, the Growth, Advanced, and Premium packages provide increasingly sophisticated tools and support designed for growing and enterprise-level organizations, such as Rules Engine, Asset Manager, and Data Quality Insights. 

Main features

Some unique features of Akeneo are:

  • Advanced marketplace integrations (Google Shopping, eBay, Walmart, Best Buy)
  • Asset Manager with CDN delivery for direct channel asset serving
  • Teamwork assistant 
  • Versioning and publication
  • Accurate data/Data quality review
  • Edit and translate engine supported by AI
  • Validation workflows

Pros and Cons of Akeneo 

Pros:

  • User-friendly
  • Highly compatible with multiple web services
  • Easy-to-understand and straightforward user interface
  • A vast community of users
  • Expanded user rights management
  • Easy integration with third-party applications
  • Efficient data management
  • AI-powered content generation and translation 
  • Comprehensive Product Experience Management (PXM) approach beyond traditional PIM

Cons:

  • Automatic updates are only available on paid plans
  • Expensive for mid-sized companies or large-scale businesses
  • It costs a lot when many retailers are required

Who uses Akeneo?

Many verified companies trust the Akeneo PIM system to efficiently manage their company's accurate product data and boost sales. The companies using Akeneo are mostly found in America and the computer software industry. Some of the prominent clients of Akeneo product information management software are:

  • Auchan
  • Sephora
  • Jabra GN
  • Bentley
  • Frankfurt Airport shopping 

What is Pimcore?

Pimcore is one of the oldest and most reliable PIM solutions available, serving as a unified solution for Product Information Management (PIM), Master Data Management (MDM), Digital Asset Management (DAM), Customer Data Platform (CDP), Digital Experience Platform (DXP), and Digital Commerce. Similarly to Akeneo, Pimcore has evolved into the global leader in Product Experience Management (PXM), offering the only unified PXM Suite that delivers all critical functionalities in one seamless platform.

Pimcore now offers three main editions: Professional Edition for commercially compliant small projects (€8.400/year), Enterprise Edition for advanced features with full infrastructure control (€25.200/year), and PaaS Edition as a fully managed solution with 24/7 support (€34.200/year). Additionally, a Community Edition remains available as an open-source option, though it now requires an additional license for certain UI components.

With Platform Version 2025.1, Pimcore has introduced interesting features, including the new Pimcore Studio interface and advanced Custom Reports powered by Statistics Explorer. Moreover, it transitioned from GPLv3 to the Pimcore Open Core License (POCL).

Main features

Some of the unique features of Pimcore are:

  • Unified PXM Suite covering PIM, MDM, DAM, CDP, DXP, and Digital Commerce in one platform
  • Pimcore Studio interface for enhanced user experience
  • Creating a printable PDF product carts
  • Publishing the product on a set date in the future
  • Efficient workflow management
  • Multi-domain and multi-channel content distribution
  • Flexible data modeling 
  • Advanced Custom Reports powered by Statistics Explorer

Pros and Cons of Pimcore

Pros:

  • It offers vast capabilities and covers almost all the needs of a digital transformation project
  • Easy catalog management and master data management (MDM system)
  • Open-source
  • Easy product data management
  • Handles any type of digital data
  • Easy to develop and implement
  • Offers various ready-to-use functions

Cons:

  • Relatively small community of users
  • Limited number of plugins

Who uses Pimcore?

Many companies worldwide use Pimcore product information management software to improve, update their content regularly, and promote their offers. Pimcore is a one-stop solution for more than 10,000 companies all around the world. It is a central place for all their business activities. Some of the prominent companies using Pimcore are:

  • Ikea
  • Burger king
  • T-Mobile
  • Bloomberg
  • Falkensteiner Hotel Group
  • Interspar

What is Ergonode?

Ergonode is a modern PIM system built around the concept of "human-centric design" that facilitates and improves eCommerce management of digital resources. This PIM solution helps product content teams create, edit, manage, and distribute product content across all online sales channels with simplicity and efficiency at its core.

What sets Ergonode apart is its flexible architecture based on microservices, allowing the system to be freely customized to meet specific business needs. The platform entered the market as a simple, ergonomic, and efficient system that prioritizes user experience while maintaining powerful functionality.

Ergonode is available in the following editions: Free Edition, Essential (€5.990/year), Advance (€9.990/year), Scale (€19.990/year), and Enterprise (Custom pricing). Most editions are offered as cloud software (SaaS), while the Enterprise edition also provides self-hosting options through PaaS deployment.

Main features

Some unique features of Ergonode include:

  • Product content management with intuitive design tools
  • Access control
  • Multi-language support with AI-powered translation tools
  • Teamwork facilitation with product statuses and role assignments
  • API-first architecture for seamless integrations
  • AI tools for content generation and optimization
  • Flexible workflow management
  • Attribute flows
  • Category trees for organized content segregation

Pros and Cons of Ergonode

Pros:

  • User-friendly with human-centric design
  • API-first architecture ensures easy integrations
  • Flexible microservices-based architecture
  • Strong multi-language capabilities with AI assistance
  • Effective workflow and team collaboration features
  • Regular updates and continuous feature development
  • Suitable for teams of various sizes and expertise levels
  • Cloud-based solution with enterprise self-hosting options

Cons:

  • Relatively newer in the market compared to established competitors
  • Limited community size due to recent market entry
  • Pricing may escalate quickly for growing businesses

Who uses Ergonode?

Ergonode serves leading companies across many industries, ranging from traditional manufacturing to modern eCommerce and technology sectors. The platform is particularly popular among businesses going through digital transformation and those implementing modern, scalable product data management solutions.These companies are, for example:

  • AFRISO 
  • home&you
  • Alpinus
  • Husse
  • 3MK 

Akeneo Pimcore vs Ergonode - What is the best PIM solution for your company?

If you are looking for a way to manage your product data efficiently and increase your sales, or resign from manual data entry, you are bound to come across Akeneo, Pimcore, and Ergonode PIM solutions. All three platforms offer comprehensive features, modern interfaces, and can handle complex projects, but each takes a fundamentally different approach to product information management. Which system to choose for your business when each provides different strengths and market positioning? A detailed comparison based on current market realities will help you choose the right solution for your company.

Akeneo vs Pimcore vs Ergonode: Flexibility and Scalability

Pimcore stands out in data modeling versatility, supporting multi-level hierarchies, unlimited attribute configurations, and customizable relationships between data entities. This comprehensive approach makes it valuable for organizations with complex product structures, though it requires significant technical ”know-how” and longer implementation times.

Akeneo focuses primarily on product information management with strong scalability capabilities, though its data modeling and processing options are more limited compared to Pimcore's comprehensive approach.

Ergonode takes a different approach with its microservices-based architecture, providing exceptional flexibility through an API-first design that allows businesses to customize the system according to their specific needs while maintaining excellent performance as they grow. The modular structure enables independent scaling of components, making it particularly suitable for rapidly growing businesses.

Akeneo vs Pimcore vs Ergonode: Team Productivity and Usability

Akeneo offers easier entry with its user-friendly interface and focused functionality, making it suitable for teams with limited technical resources, though complex implementations still require significant training and technical knowledge.

Pimcore is complex and code-heavy, requiring developers for most customizations and changes. The platform demands strong technical knowledge, and basic modifications often require development tickets rather than direct user actions.

Ergonode, in turn, prioritizes usability through its human-centric design philosophy, specifically created to empower non-technical users, including eCommerce merchandisers, content editors, and product marketers. The interface allows users to create attribute templates, translate content with built-in AI, and perform bulk operations without requiring IT support.

Akeneo vs Pimcore vs Ergonode: Implementation and Maintenance

Both Akeneo and Pimcore offer open-source versions alongside their commercial SaaS offerings, while Ergonode is available exclusively as a SaaS solution, providing full hosting support without code modification options.

However, traditional implementations of Akeneo and Pimcore often create agency dependency, where businesses become locked into custom integrations and billing structures. This creates long-term cost implications, especially for SMEs and rapidly growing brands that need flexibility.

Worth pointing out that Ergonode offers transparent pricing with flexible monthly plans: Free Edition, Essential (€499/month), Advance (€899/month), Scale (€1699/month), and Enterprise (Custom pricing), while Pimcore and Akeneo enterprise features often require custom quotes and consultation.

Akeneo vs Pimcore vs Ergonode: AI and Modern Features

Akeneo has evolved to include AI-powered content generation and translation options, along with advanced marketplace integrations, positioning itself as a comprehensive Product Experience Management platform beyond traditional PIM functionality.

Pimcore provides extensive customization capabilities and comprehensive data management, though implementing modern AI-driven features typically requires significant development work and technical resources.

Ergonode leads in AI integration with built-in capabilities for generating SEO-friendly product descriptions, instant translation into multiple languages, and automated bulk updates for seasonal attributes. The platform transforms many manual tasks into automated processes.

Which PIM system to choose?

Technology advances rapidly, and the choice of a PIM system increasingly depends on your team's technical capabilities and desired level of independence.

  • Choose Akeneo if you prioritize ease of use and integration options suited for dynamic multichannel environments, particularly if you have technical resources available for ongoing maintenance and customization.
  • Choose Pimcore for its comprehensive functionalities and scalability if you are a large enterprise with complex data management needs and dedicated technical teams to handle extensive customization requirements.
  • Choose Ergonode if you are looking for a modern solution that combines ease of use with powerful features. It is particularly suitable for SMEs and growing businesses that want to strengthen their teams rather than depend on external agencies for basic operations.

Conclusion

The PIM systems market is evolving rapidly, and the differences between individual solutions are becoming increasingly clear. Akeneo and Pimcore, as mature platforms, offer proven functionalities but may require significant investments in technical resources. Ergonode, on the other hand, takes a completely different approach - combining ease of use with advanced technology.

Before making a final decision, it's worth testing each solution in practice. Check how quickly your team will be able to perform daily tasks, how long implementation will take, and what the actual costs of maintaining the system will be over the first two years. It's precisely these practical aspects - not just the feature list - that determine the success of PIM implementation in a company.

<div class="rtb-text-box is-blue-100">With every passing day, customer's expectations are also getting higher and higher. A good PIM solution will help you meet them and boost your sales. However, if you don't know how to integrate a PIM solution into your business, we can help you do it. We have helped many local businesses and companies implement PIM software. Our certified developers can help you design a PIM solution tailored to your business needs. If you feel we can help you - contact us!</div>

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