Magento Guide → Products

Magento 2 product types guide

Key takeaways

• Magento 2 includes six default product types: simple, configurable, grouped, virtual, bundle, and downloadable.
• The right product type depends on whether the item is physical, digital, customizable, grouped, or sold with variations.
• Product type choice can affect inventory tracking, shipping, product pages, SEO, and customer experience.
• Adobe Commerce also supports gift card products for stores using the enterprise platform.

Magento 2 gives you powerful options for structuring your product catalog, but only if you understand how the different product types work. From simple physical items to customizable bundles and digital downloads, each product type serves a specific purpose and unlocks a different customer experience.

Let’s walk through each Magento 2 product type, when to use them, and how to manage them effectively in your store.

What are Magento 2 product types?

Magento 2 product types are the product formats used to structure items in your catalog. They define how products are sold, shipped, customized, managed, and displayed to shoppers. Magento Open Source includes six default product types, while Adobe Commerce also supports gift card products.

The six default Magento 2 product types

Each Magento 2 product type supports a different selling need. Some work best for single physical items. Others help you sell product variations, grouped items, custom kits, services, or digital files.

1. Simple products

A simple product is the most basic type in Magento 2. It represents a single item with no customizable options. If your store sells items that come in just one size, color, or configuration, this is the product type to use.

Examples:

• A paperback book
• A USB flash drive
• A one-size yoga mat

You can set a SKU, price, weight, and inventory level for each simple product. These products can also be used as components in configurable, grouped, or bundle products.

Use simple products when the item can stand alone and doesn’t need shoppers to choose variations on the product page.

2. Configurable products

Configurable products let you sell multiple variations of a product, like size, color, or material, under one product page. Behind the scenes, each variation is actually a separate simple product with its own SKU and inventory level.

Example: A T-shirt that comes in 3 sizes (S, M, L) and 2 colors (red, black) is a configurable product made up of 6 simple products.

When the customer selects their preferred options from dropdown menus, Magento loads the corresponding simple product dynamically. This makes inventory tracking and order management more precise while keeping the shopping experience clean and unified.

Configurable products work well when shoppers expect to choose options from one product page instead of browsing separate listings for each variation.

3. Grouped products

Grouped products are a collection of simple products displayed on a single page. Unlike configurable or bundle products, grouped items are not variations of the same product. Each has its own quantity selector, and customers can add multiple items to the cart at once.

Example: A home office setup that includes a chair, desk, and lamp—all sold individually but grouped together for convenience.

This type is useful when you want to encourage bulk or complementary purchases without forcing the items to be bought as a kit.

4. Bundle products

Bundle products let customers build their own version of a product by choosing components from pre-set options. It’s ideal for kits and multi-part items where users want control over what’s included.

Example: A custom PC builder where the shopper selects CPU, RAM, storage, and graphics card options.

Each bundle component can be a simple or virtual product, and you can set whether a selection is required or optional. 

Bundle products work best when the customer needs to choose components before buying. Pricing can be fixed or dynamic, depending on how you configure the product.

5. Virtual products

Virtual products are items that don’t require shipping or inventory tracking. These are perfect for services, add-ons, or warranties that exist independently of physical goods.

Examples:

• Installation service
• Extended support plans
• Monthly consulting fees
• Memberships
• Subscriptions

You can sell virtual products on their own or as part of a bundle. Since they don’t involve fulfillment, Magento skips shipping and handling calculations automatically.

Use virtual products when the customer buys access, service, coverage, or time instead of a physical item.

6. Downloadable products

Downloadable products are digital files that customers can download after purchase. This type supports multiple files and lets you control download limits or link expiration.

Examples:

• eBooks and PDFs
• Audio tracks
• Software or design templates
• Videos
• Digital guides

Downloadable products are different from virtual products because the customer receives a file or link after purchase.

Adobe Commerce gift card products

Adobe Commerce supports gift card products for stores using the enterprise platform. Gift card products let customers buy digital or physical gift certificates with set amounts or customizable values, depending on your store configuration.

Inventory and shipping considerations

Product type choice affects how Magento handles inventory, SKUs, and shipping. Simple and configurable products often require inventory tracking and shipping when they represent physical goods. Virtual and downloadable products don’t require shipping.

Bundle and grouped products can create more inventory complexity because they involve multiple items or components. Magento also supports multi-source inventory, so stores can manage quantities across different sources depending on their setup.

Your product type should match how the item gets stocked, purchased, and delivered. This helps reduce catalog confusion and makes order management easier.

How Magento 2 product types affect SEO and customer experience

Product type structure affects how your catalog performs in search and how customers move through your site. For example, creating separate simple product pages for every size or color can make browsing harder and spread reviews, links, and product details across multiple URLs.

A configurable product keeps those variations on one page, which can create a cleaner shopping experience and a stronger product page. Grouped and bundle products can also support larger orders when they help customers find related items or build a package without leaving the page.

Choosing the right structure upfront can help reduce catalog confusion, support SEO, and make future catalog management easier.

How to add a product in Magento 2

To add a product in Magento 2, go to Catalog > Products > Add Product in the admin panel. From there, choose the product type you want to create.

Most product types require basic details such as product name, SKU, price, quantity, categories, images, and descriptions. More complex product types, such as configurable, bundle, and downloadable products, require additional setup because they involve variations, components, files, or links.

Learn more → How to import Magento products

Extra features that enhance product listings in Magento 2

Beyond choosing the right product type, Magento 2 offers several built-in features that improve how your listings look and perform:

• Product attributes: Attributes like size, material, and color can be used for filtering, sorting, and layered navigation. They also power configurable products and create more detailed product pages
• Custom options: When you don’t need full inventory tracking for each variation, custom options offer a lightweight alternative. These are fields like text boxes, radio buttons, and dropdowns that let users personalize a product without linking to separate SKUs
• Images and media: Every product can include multiple images, videos, and swatches. Use high-quality visuals to show products from multiple angles or demonstrate functionality
• Related, upsell, and cross-sell products: Suggest complementary or higher-value items to increase your average order value. Magento lets you assign these manually or via rules
• Tier pricing and customer groups: Offer quantity-based discounts or create price tiers for wholesalers, B2B buyers, or VIP members. This helps tailor pricing to different customer segments

Common mistakes when choosing Magento 2 product types

• Using simple products for variations instead of configurable products. This splits reviews and inventory across multiple URLs and makes the catalog harder to manage.
• Mixing up bundle and grouped products. If items sell independently, use grouped. If the customer is building one package, use bundle. The wrong choice can cause checkout and fulfillment issues.
• Assigning the wrong type for shipping. Virtual and downloadable products skip shipping calculations automatically. If you apply one of those types to a physical product, customers won’t be prompted for shipping at checkout.

Magento 2 product types and hosting performance

Product catalogs can become complex as stores add variations, bundles, grouped products, images, custom options, and inventory sources. That complexity can place more demand on hosting during product updates, indexing, search, checkout, and traffic spikes.

A well-structured catalog helps, but hosting still matters. When your Magento store grows, your infrastructure needs to support the catalog, the customer experience, and the backend tasks that keep everything working.

Magento 2 product type FAQs

Getting started with Magento 2 product types

Understanding Magento 2 product types helps you structure physical products, digital products, variations, grouped items, custom bundles, services, and downloads in a way that supports inventory, shipping, SEO, and customer experience.

Start with your catalog structure. Each product type should reflect how customers choose the item, how your team tracks it, and how the order gets fulfilled.

Complex catalogs need hosting that can support product updates, indexing, search, traffic, and checkout performance. Liquid Web Magento hosting gives growing stores the performance, support, and reliability they need as catalogs become more complex. Explore Liquid Web Magento hosting to find the right fit for your store.