The verdict in three sentences
Magento 2 is reaching end of life and its maintenance costs 20,000 to 40,000 EUR/year for an increasingly heavy stack. Migrating to headless (Medusa, Commercetools) demands 45,000 to 130,000 EUR over 4 to 7 months, but restores +50% page performance and erases technical debt. The call comes down to 3-year TCO: beyond 18 months, staying on Magento often costs more than migrating.
Migration cost and timeline, item by item
A B2B migration is not just a front-end swap: you must migrate the catalog, order history and integrations.
| Item | 2026 range (EUR) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Headless stack + front | 20,000 – 55,000 | 2 – 3 months |
| Catalog + accounts migration | 8,000 – 22,000 | 1 – 2 months |
| Order history migration | 5,000 – 15,000 | 3 – 5 weeks |
| ERP / payment re-integration | 8,000 – 25,000 | 1 – 2 months |
| SEO redirect plan | 4,000 – 13,000 | 2 – 4 weeks |
| Total | 45,000 – 130,000 | 4 – 7 months |
The redirect plan is the item CIOs most underestimate: done poorly, it wipes out months of earned ranking.
3-year TCO: stay vs migrate
The real trade-off is not the migration cost alone, but its cumulative figure against the cost of staying on Magento.
| 3-year cumulative (estimate) | Stay on Magento | Migrate headless |
|---|---|---|
| One-shot migration | 0 EUR | 85,000 EUR |
| Maintenance (3 yrs) | 90,000 EUR | 60,000 EUR |
| Licence / extensions | 24,000 EUR | 0 EUR |
| Infra / hosting | 30,000 EUR | 27,000 EUR |
| Tech debt / slowness | high | cleared |
| 3-year total | 144,000 EUR | 172,000 EUR |
Over 3 years the raw cost still tilts toward Magento, but the 28,000 EUR gap is quickly offset by the performance (+50%) and conversion gain. Beyond 4 years, migrating becomes clearly more profitable.
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Mini case study
Julien, CIO of a spare-parts distributor in Singapore (14,000 SKUs, Magento 2 since 2019), pays 34,000 EUR/year in maintenance and sees pages load in 4.2s. He migrates to Medusa for 92,000 EUR over 6 months. His pages drop to 2.0s (+52%), returning roughly +9% conversion. On 4.5M EUR annual volume, that is +405,000 EUR of volume/year and 14,000 EUR/year of maintenance saved. The project pays back in under 12 months.
FAQ
Can we keep our order history? Yes: history migration (5,000 to 15,000 EUR) is standard. Orders, invoices and customer accounts are migrated; this is essential in B2B for recurring orders and outstanding-balance tracking.
Will the migration break our SEO? Not if the redirect plan is done seriously (4,000 to 13,000 EUR). Every Magento URL is 301-redirected to the new one: earned ranking is preserved.
How long does the migration take? 4 to 7 months depending on catalog size and number of integrations. Data migration and B2B order testing are the longest phases to secure.
Why leave Magento now? Because its maintenance (20,000 to 40,000 EUR/year) and technical debt grow as end of support approaches. Headless restores performance and removes extension licences.
Is headless profitable under 3 years? Rarely on raw cost: the 3-year TCO gap stays modest. It is the performance (+50%) and conversion gain that tips the balance from year one.
Let's scope your project. Send us your Magento version, catalog size and integrations: we price the migration and a compared 3-year TCO. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
