The verdict in three sentences
A B2B distributor in Berlin still running Magento 1, with no official security patches since June 2020, carries a PCI DSS risk and a hacking risk that grow every month. Migrating 9,000 products and 2,000 customer accounts costs between 40,000 and 120,000 EUR excl. VAT depending on the target (Adobe Commerce, Sylius or custom), over 4 to 6 months. For a distributor of this size, Sylius usually offers the best balance between five-year total cost, B2B flexibility and code ownership.
Why staying on Magento 1 is no longer defensible
The e-commerce manager often hears "it still works". That is true on the surface, but known Magento 1 vulnerabilities are exploited by automated scripts, especially skimming attacks that steal card numbers at checkout. With PCI DSS 4.0, fully applicable since March 2025, a site running on an unmaintained platform can no longer reasonably attest compliance.
| Risk | Magento 1 situation in 2026 | Possible consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Official security patches | None since June 2020 | Known vulnerabilities left open |
| PCI DSS 4.0 compliance | Hard to attest | Higher fees or termination of the acquiring contract |
| PHP compatibility | Stuck on unmaintained PHP versions | Host refuses or charges for a legacy environment |
| Third-party extensions | Vendors gone or no updates | Unfixed bugs in the B2B pricing module |
| Hiring | Few developers accept Magento 1 | Day rates of 700 to 900 EUR for maintenance |
| Customer data leak | GDPR exposure | Notification to the Berlin data protection authority and possible fine |
A community fork like OpenMage extends the site's life, but it is a reprieve, not a strategy. It often costs 8,000 to 15,000 EUR excl. VAT a year in corrective maintenance without adding any new feature.
Adobe Commerce, Sylius or custom: the comparison
| Criterion | Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) | Sylius | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migration cost excl. VAT (9,000 products, 2,000 accounts) | 70,000 to 120,000 EUR | 40,000 to 80,000 EUR | 60,000 to 110,000 EUR |
| Annual licence | From about 22,000 USD a year depending on revenue (commercial edition) | Free (open source), Plus edition optional | None |
| Native B2B features | Very complete (company accounts, quotes, credit) | B2B plugin, flexible to adapt | To be built |
| Closeness to existing Magento 1 | High (similar data model) | Medium | Low |
| 5-year total cost (estimate) | 200,000 to 300,000 EUR | 90,000 to 160,000 EUR | 120,000 to 200,000 EUR |
| Timeline | 5 to 6 months | 4 to 5 months | 5 to 6 months |
| Developer pool in Germany | Large but expensive | Growing, strong European ecosystem | Depends on the agency |
Adobe Commerce makes sense for a distributor above 20 M EUR of online revenue that wants everything native. Below that, the licence weighs heavily. Sylius handles complex B2B pricing rules well (customer prices, tiers, restricted catalogues). Custom only makes sense if your business logic resembles no platform.
What really drives migration cost
Product volume matters less than data quality. The items that make a budget drift:
- poorly structured product attributes (10 to 20% of the budget for cleanup);
- customer pricing rules stored in in-house extensions, to be rewritten;
- customer account migration, without passwords (email reset to plan);
- URL redirects to protect search rankings, often 9,000 to 15,000 redirects;
- the ERP connection, to rebuild if it ran through a Magento 1 module.
Mini case study
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Thomas, e-commerce manager at an electrical equipment distributor in Berlin, makes 6 M EUR a year online. He pays 12,000 EUR excl. VAT a year in corrective maintenance on Magento 1, and his acquiring bank threatens a non-compliance surcharge of 0.2% of volume, or 12,000 EUR a year. A Sylius migration at 65,000 EUR excl. VAT removes those 24,000 EUR of yearly imposed costs. If the new product search and quick-order flow lift conversion from 2.1% to 2.4%, online revenue grows by about 14%, or 840,000 EUR. At a 25% gross margin, that is 210,000 EUR a year, and the project pays back in under four months of additional margin.
FAQ
How long do both sites run in parallel during migration?
Usually 2 to 4 weeks of parallel acceptance testing before cutover. The cutover itself happens over a weekend with an order freeze of 4 to 8 hours.
Will we lose our Google rankings?
Not if every URL is 301-redirected and meta tags are carried over. A temporary 5 to 15% dip in organic traffic for 4 to 8 weeks is common, then traffic recovers.
Will customers have to recreate their accounts?
No, the 2,000 accounts, addresses and order histories are migrated. Only passwords must be reset, through an email sent at launch.
Should we migrate the full order history?
Migrate 2 to 3 years of history online and archive the rest. That cuts data volume by 40 to 60% and speeds up testing.
Can we migrate in stages?
Yes: catalogue and accounts first, then B2B pricing and ERP. Splitting into 3 phases spreads the budget over 6 months and limits risk.
Let's scope your project. Send us your Magento version, your extension list and your ERP: we price the target, indicative budget and cutover plan. 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.
