The verdict in three sentences
For a New York fashion brand doing $6.5m in online revenue across 3 warehouses, the 3-year total cost of headless commerce is roughly $380,000 to $500,000 on Shopify Plus and $300,000 to $380,000 on Medusa. Shopify Plus is faster to launch and easier for a small team, while Medusa gives full ownership of the back office, custom wholesale B2B logic and no cut of revenue. The right choice mostly depends on expected growth and your ability to manage a technical team.
Context: why go headless
A brand at $6.5m online often hits the limits of a standard Shopify theme: heavy product pages, average mobile Core Web Vitals, lookbooks that are hard to stage and a wholesale channel run on the side in spreadsheets. A decoupled Next.js front end delivers load times under 1.5 seconds, rich editorial pages and a single product base for DTC and retailers. Each tenth of a second saved on mobile is worth, as an order of magnitude, 0.5 to 1% of conversion.
3-year total cost comparison
| Item (3 years) | Shopify Plus headless | Medusa headless |
|---|---|---|
| Platform licence | $2,300/month, about $83,000 | $0 (open source, MIT licence) |
| Revenue fee (0.25% of $6.5m) | About $49,000 | $0 |
| Next.js front-end build | $70,000 to $110,000 | Included in the project |
| Back office and B2B build | Apps and customisation, $20,000 to $35,000 | $95,000 to $160,000 (full project, front end included) |
| Hosting | Back end included, front end $200 to $500/month, $7,000 to $18,000 | $1,000/month, about $36,000 |
| Third-party apps (reviews, loyalty, B2B) | $1,500 to $2,200/month, $54,000 to $79,000 | $400 to $700/month, $14,000 to $25,000 |
| Maintenance and improvements | $2,500 to $3,500/month, $90,000 to $126,000 | $4,200 to $4,500/month, $151,000 to $162,000 |
| 3-year TCO (order of magnitude) | $380,000 to $500,000 | $300,000 to $380,000 |
Payment fees (Shopify Payments or Stripe, around 2.9% + $0.30 in the US, lower on Plus rates) are comparable on both sides and excluded. The key point is the 0.25% fee: at $6.5m it weighs about $16,000 a year, at $13m it weighs $32,000.
Functionality: what each does really well
| Criterion | Shopify Plus | Medusa |
|---|---|---|
| Time to launch | 3 to 4 months | 5 to 6 months |
| Wholesale B2B (price lists, net 60, minimums) | Native Shopify B2B, limited on complex price lists | Custom modules, unlimited logic |
| Multi-warehouse (3 sites) | Native, simple routing rules | Native, programmable routing rules |
| Data and code ownership | Exportable data, closed back-end code | You own the code and database |
| In-house team needed | 1 e-commerce manager is enough | 1 in-house developer or a retained agency |
| Scaling to $15m | Strong, rising variable costs | Strong, near-fixed costs |
| App ecosystem | More than 8,000 apps | Fewer plugins, more custom development |
Shopify Plus suits a team that wants to move fast without a technical project lead. Medusa suits a brand that sees wholesale as a real channel, with per-retailer price lists, collection pre-orders and deferred payment, and wants to own its roadmap.
Mini case study
Maya, e-commerce manager of a fashion brand in New York, targets $10m online within 3 years and $1.6m wholesale. On Shopify Plus, the 0.25% fee on average revenue of $8m is about $60,000 over the period, plus $2,300 a month and about $65,000 in apps: roughly $208,000 of recurring cost before front end and maintenance.
On Medusa, she invests $135,000 in the project and $36,000 in hosting. The 3-year gap comes out at around $80,000 to $110,000 in favour of Medusa, provided she accepts 2 extra months of build time and a technical partner on retainer. If growth stalls at $6.5m, the gap narrows to about $45,000.
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FAQ
Is Medusa mature enough for a $6.5m brand in 2026?
Yes, Medusa v2 runs in production for fashion brands doing tens of millions. You still need to budget $4,200 to $4,500 a month for maintenance and improvements.
How much does a Next.js front end on Shopify Plus cost?
Between $70,000 and $110,000 for a full front end with lookbook, search and customer account. Shopify Hydrogen sometimes cuts that by 10 to 15%.
Can Shopify Plus handle wholesale?
Yes, Shopify B2B handles catalogues, price lists and payment terms per company. Limits show beyond a few hundred price lists or with complex collection pre-orders.
How long does a headless migration take?
Plan 3 to 4 months on Shopify Plus and 5 to 6 months on Medusa, including order and customer migration.
Who owns the code and data?
With Medusa, you own all code and the database. With Shopify Plus, you own your data and front end, but not the back office.
Let's scope your project. Share your online revenue, wholesale share and warehouses: we will price both scenarios over 3 years, with a $95,000 to $160,000 Medusa budget and a 4 to 6-month 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.