The verdict in three sentences
A store running on Magento 1 has had no official security patches since June 2020: every extra month exposes the data of your 50,000 customers and your GDPR compliance. Migrating costs EUR 15,000 to 40,000 excl. VAT to Shopify, EUR 40,000 to 90,000 for a custom build and EUR 80,000 or more to Adobe Commerce, depending on your B2B rules. Success depends less on the platform than on a clean migration of 8,000 products and the 2,000 301 redirects that protect your SEO traffic.
The three options compared
The owner of an Amsterdam professional equipment retailer (workshop equipment, tools, PPE) sells to tradespeople and SMEs, with customer group pricing, quotes and multi-user accounts. These B2B features strongly shape the choice.
| Criterion | Shopify (Plus for advanced B2B) | Custom build (Next.js + back office) | Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migration cost | EUR 15,000 to 40,000 | EUR 40,000 to 90,000 | EUR 80,000 to 200,000 |
| Annual platform cost | EUR 400 to 28,000 (Plus from USD 2,300/month) | EUR 2,000 to 6,000 hosting | Licence from EUR 25,000+ depending on revenue |
| Annual maintenance | EUR 3,000 to 8,000 | EUR 6,000 to 15,000 | EUR 15,000 to 40,000 |
| Timeline | 2 to 4 months | 4 to 6 months | 6 to 9 months |
| Customer group pricing, quotes | Native on Plus, apps otherwise | Built to fit | Native |
| Security and updates | Handled by Shopify | Your responsibility, under contract | Your responsibility, regular patches |
| Functional freedom | Limited by the ecosystem | Full | Very broad |
For most B2C or simple B2B SMEs, Shopify offers the best balance of cost and security. Once pricing rules and integrations (ERP, configurator, quotes) become specific, a custom build becomes competitive over three years. Adobe Commerce mainly makes sense above EUR 10 million of online revenue.
What the migration really costs
Migration is not just exporting CSV files. You need clean data, preserved rankings and a safe cutover.
| Workstream | 2026 estimate | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|
| Audit of current setup and data mapping | EUR 2,000 to 5,000 | Custom attributes, Magento 1 extensions |
| Migration of 8,000 products and variants | EUR 3,000 to 10,000 | Images, variants, PDF datasheets |
| Migration of 50,000 customers and history | EUR 2,000 to 6,000 | Passwords not transferable, reset campaign |
| Plan for 2,000 301 redirects | EUR 1,500 to 4,000 | Categories, products, CMS, URL parameters |
| Theme design and build | EUR 4,000 to 25,000 | Adapted theme or bespoke design |
| Integrations (ERP, carrier, payment) | EUR 3,000 to 20,000 | Depends on number of flows |
| Testing, cutover and 90-day SEO monitoring | EUR 1,500 to 5,000 | Search Console, 404 errors |
Expect a temporary organic traffic dip of 5 to 15% over 4 to 8 weeks, even with a careful redirect plan. Without one, 40% drops are not unusual.
The risk of doing nothing
An unmaintained Magento 1 is a known target for Magecart-style attacks, which inject card-skimming code into the checkout page. Beyond the breach itself, the Dutch data protection authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) can fine a security failure, and your payment provider can suspend your merchant account for PCI DSS non-compliance. Community patches (OpenMage, Mage One) reduce the risk but do not replace a maintained platform.
Mini case study
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Lars, owner of a professional equipment retailer in Amsterdam, generates EUR 2,400,000 of online revenue. His Magento 1 costs him EUR 14,000 a year in dedicated hosting and ad hoc fixes, with no security guarantee. He chooses Shopify with B2B apps: EUR 32,000 for the migration, then EUR 9,000 a year in subscription, apps and maintenance. Over three years he pays EUR 59,000 versus EUR 42,000 if he did nothing, EUR 17,000 more. In return, a 0.2-point conversion gain, from 1.6% to 1.8%, typical of a faster mobile-friendly store, would bring roughly EUR 300,000 of extra revenue a year: the decision is easy.
FAQ
Can customer passwords be migrated?
To Shopify, no: customers receive an account activation email. Expect 30 to 50% reactivation in the first month, more with a reminder.
Should we keep the same URLs?
Ideally yes with a custom build; Shopify enforces its own prefixes (/products/, /collections/), hence the 2,000 301 redirects for an 8,000-product catalogue.
How long does the cutover take?
Go-live happens overnight, with an order freeze of 2 to 4 hours. Most of the work happens upstream, over 2 to 6 months depending on the option.
Do Magento 1 extensions have equivalents?
Most do, through Shopify apps at EUR 10 to 300 a month. Custom-built extensions must be rewritten, EUR 2,000 to 10,000 each.
Should we move to Magento 2 out of habit?
Only if your team already knows the ecosystem and your volume justifies it. At EUR 2 to 3 million of revenue, total cost of ownership is often two to three times higher than the other options.
Let's scope your project. Share your URL, product count, customer count and extensions, and we will compare Shopify and custom and price the migration between EUR 15,000 and 90,000, redirect plan included. 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.
