The verdict in three sentences
A Magento 2 site costing 2,500 EUR per month (about 2,700 USD) in maintenance, or 30,000 EUR per year, funds a migration on its own within two to three years. Three serious options exist in 2026: upgrading to Adobe Commerce, switching to Shopify Plus or a headless architecture on Medusa, for 30,000 to 90,000 EUR excl. tax (about 32,000 to 97,000 USD) and 4 to 7 months. The choice depends less on the upfront price than on your B2B rules (negotiated prices, multi-buyer accounts, quotes) and the total cost over three years.
Why Magento 2 gets expensive in B2B
Magento 2 costs add up: quarterly security patches, PHP version upgrades, third-party extensions that break after each update, hosting sized for resource-hungry software, and scarce Magento developers billing 550 to 750 EUR per day. For a B2B site with 10,000 SKUs and customer pricing modules, 2,500 EUR per month is common, without any new functionality.
Comparing the three options over three years
| Criterion (2026 estimate) | Adobe Commerce | Shopify Plus | Headless Medusa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migration project | 50,000 to 90,000 EUR excl. tax | 30,000 to 60,000 EUR excl. tax | 45,000 to 85,000 EUR excl. tax |
| Annual licence | 25,000 to 60,000 EUR depending on revenue | About 28,000 EUR (2,300 USD/month) + 0.25 to 0.4% of revenue | 0 EUR (open source) |
| Annual hosting | Included on Adobe cloud or 6,000 to 12,000 EUR | Included | 4,000 to 9,000 EUR |
| Maintenance and enhancements | 1,800 to 2,500 EUR/month | 600 to 1,200 EUR/month | 900 to 1,500 EUR/month |
| Native B2B features | Very complete | Good since 2024, limits on complex rules | To be built, full freedom |
| Timeline | 5 to 7 months | 4 to 5 months | 5 to 7 months |
| Total 3-year cost | 190,000 to 350,000 EUR | 105,000 to 190,000 EUR | 90,000 to 170,000 EUR |
Shopify Plus is the fastest route if your pricing rules stay standard. Medusa suits teams that want to own their code and integrate an ERP closely. Adobe Commerce mainly makes sense if you already use Magento's B2B modules heavily and do not want to redesign your processes.
Data migration and SEO: the items that derail projects
A successful migration depends on data. For 10,000 products, several thousand customer accounts and several years of orders, plan for:
| Workstream | Typical volume | Indicative 2026 budget | Risk if neglected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue migration (attributes, variants, images) | 10,000 products | 6,000 to 12,000 EUR excl. tax | Incomplete records, degraded search |
| Customer accounts and addresses | 3,000 to 8,000 accounts | 3,000 to 6,000 EUR excl. tax | Forced re-registration, lost customers |
| Order history | 3 to 5 years | 4,000 to 8,000 EUR excl. tax | No reordering from history |
| Negotiated prices and customer groups | 200 to 1,000 price lists | 5,000 to 12,000 EUR excl. tax | Wrong prices, disputes |
| 301 redirect plan | 15,000 to 30,000 URLs | 2,000 to 5,000 EUR excl. tax | 20 to 50% drop in organic traffic |
| Acceptance testing and parallel run | 3 to 4 weeks | 4,000 to 8,000 EUR excl. tax | Production bugs |
Customer passwords cannot always be migrated depending on the target platform: a well-prepared reset campaign with a personalized email keeps losses under 5% of active accounts. On SEO, keep the category URL structure where possible and monitor Search Console daily for six weeks.
Mini case study
Emily, managing director of a B2B medical supplies distributor in Toronto, generates 3.2 million EUR (about 4.7 million CAD) in online revenue on Magento 2, with 10,000 SKUs and 2,500 EUR per month in maintenance. She compares Shopify Plus and Medusa.
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With Shopify Plus: project at 48,000 EUR excl. tax, licence and variable fee of about 38,000 EUR per year, maintenance of 900 EUR per month. Three-year cost: 48,000 + 3 x (38,000 + 10,800) = 194,400 EUR. With Medusa: project at 70,000 EUR excl. tax, hosting at 6,000 EUR per year, maintenance at 1,200 EUR per month. Three-year cost: 70,000 + 3 x (6,000 + 14,400) = 131,200 EUR. Staying on Magento would cost 3 x (30,000 + 10,000 hosting) = 120,000 EUR, with no enhancements. Emily chooses Medusa, whose extra 11,200 EUR over three years compared with the status quo buys a modern platform and a direct ERP integration.
FAQ
How long does a B2B Magento migration take?
Plan 4 to 7 months, including 4 to 6 weeks of data migration and testing, and 3 to 4 weeks of acceptance testing with pilot customers.
Do you lose SEO traffic during a migration?
A temporary drop of 5 to 15% is common for 4 to 8 weeks. Without a complete 301 redirect plan, it can reach 20 to 50% and last several months.
Does Shopify Plus handle B2B negotiated prices?
Yes, through B2B catalogues and company-specific price lists. Complex rules (framework agreements, subsidiary conditions) often need a third-party app or development at 5,000 to 15,000 EUR excl. tax.
Should order history be migrated?
Yes for B2B, because customers reorder from their history. Three years of history is usually enough, for 4,000 to 8,000 EUR excl. tax of migration work.
Can you migrate in stages?
Yes, especially with headless: the storefront is replaced first, then the back office. This adds 1 to 2 months but reduces the risk of disruption.
Let's scope your project. We audit your Magento store and budget the three options (Adobe Commerce, Shopify Plus, Medusa, indicative budget 30,000 to 90,000 EUR excl. tax, 4 to 7 months). 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.
