The verdict in three sentences
For a B2B distributor on an ageing Magento 2, staying, migrating to Shopify Plus or going custom headless costs surprisingly similar amounts over 3 years: between 175,000 and 190,000 EUR. The decision should therefore rest on B2B complexity (customer pricing, quotes, multi-buyer accounts) and risk, not on licence alone. In every case, SEO migration of the 15,000 URLs is the line item never to cut, since a poorly redirected migration can cost 20% of organic traffic for several months.
The three scenarios compared
Magento 2 is still powerful, but version upgrades, security patches and incompatible extensions end up absorbing most of the budget. At 3,000 EUR a month in maintenance, the team mainly pays to keep the existing system alive.
| Criterion | Stay on Magento 2 (upgrade) | Migrate to Shopify Plus | Custom headless |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project cost | 20,000 to 35,000 EUR | 40,000 to 70,000 EUR | 80,000 to 130,000 EUR |
| Licence | None (Open Source) | About 2,000 EUR per month | None |
| Monthly maintenance | 3,000 EUR | 400 to 700 EUR | 1,000 to 1,500 EUR |
| B2B features (customer pricing, quotes, multi-buyer) | Good with extensions | Decent, limits on complex rules | Built to measure |
| Mobile performance | Average | Very good | Excellent |
| Timeline | 2 to 3 months | 4 months | 5 months |
| Main risk | Technical debt returns | App dependency | Budget and project steering |
Total cost over 3 years
| 3-year item (EUR) | Stay on Magento 2 | Shopify Plus | Custom headless |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project and data migration | 27,000 | 55,000 | 105,000 |
| SEO migration (15,000 URLs) | 3,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| Licences | 0 | 72,000 | 0 |
| Apps and extensions | 9,000 | 21,600 | 0 |
| Hosting | 28,800 | Included | 25,200 |
| Maintenance | 108,000 | 18,000 | 43,200 |
| Estimated total | 175,800 | 178,600 | 185,400 |
Order of magnitude for 2026. The gaps are small over 3 years but widen afterwards: the upgraded Magento will need re-migrating around 2029, Shopify Plus keeps charging its licence, and custom only costs maintenance, becoming the cheapest from year 4.
SEO migration of 15,000 URLs, the critical item
A successful migration keeps Google rankings. You must map every product, category and content URL, write 301 redirects, carry over title tags and structured data, then monitor Search Console for 3 months. Budget 8,000 to 15,000 EUR for 15,000 URLs depending on the number of page templates. Typical 5-month schedule: 1 month of scoping and SEO audit, 3 months of development and data migration, 1 month of acceptance testing with pilot customers before cutover.
Mini case study
Markus, CIO of an industrial supplies distributor in Berlin, generates 8 million EUR online per year, about 667,000 EUR a month. Without a redirect plan, a migration can lose 20% of organic traffic for 3 months: roughly 400,000 EUR of revenue at stake.
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With a 12,000 EUR SEO migration, the dip is usually limited to 5% over 2 months, or 67,000 EUR. The 12,000 EUR therefore protects about 330,000 EUR of sales. On the operations side, moving from 3,000 EUR to 1,200 EUR of monthly maintenance on the custom build frees 21,600 EUR a year, reinvested in B2B features requested by buyers.
FAQ
Is Shopify Plus suitable for a B2B distributor?
Yes for customer catalog pricing and simple payment terms. Beyond a few thousand pricing rules or with complex quotes, you need an app or middleware costing 10,000 to 25,000 EUR more.
What happens to customer accounts and order history?
They are migrated: accounts, addresses, 2 to 3 years of history. Passwords do not transfer, customers receive an activation link, with 70 to 85% reactivation in the first month.
Is headless too risky for a mid-sized company?
Not with precise scoping and 3 to 4 staged releases. The main risk is budget overrun, contained by a fixed price and acceptance testing at each stage.
Should we freeze enhancements during migration?
Ideally yes, for 2 to 3 months. Security patches continue on Magento until cutover.
Let's scope your project. We compare your three scenarios over 3 years, scope the SEO migration of your URLs and propose a 5-month plan, with a budget of 40,000 to 130,000 EUR depending on the option. 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.
