The verdict in three sentences
For a B2B merchant at GBP 1.7 million in revenue, leaving PrestaShop makes sense once updates and modules cost more than GBP 13,000 a year and block progress. Shopify Plus fits if your pricing rules stay simple, while custom build wins as soon as quotes, account-level discounts and ERP integrations become core to the business. In both cases SEO loss stays under control with a complete, tested 301 redirect plan before cutover.
Why PrestaShop becomes a brake in B2B
The typical store is seven years old with 45 modules installed, about ten of them abandoned by their vendors. Each major update breaks a B2B pricing or quote module, and the team keeps postponing PrestaShop 9. The result: late security patches and a freelance developer called in emergencies several times a year.
| Symptom | Indicative annual cost 2026 | Commercial impact |
|---|---|---|
| Corrective module maintenance | GBP 5,000 to 10,000 | frozen features |
| Paid module licences | GBP 1,300 to 3,400 | reliance on fragile vendors |
| Optimized hosting | GBP 2,000 to 5,000 | slowdowns at peak |
| Major version upgrade | GBP 7,000 to 17,000 every 2 to 3 years | regression risk |
| Internal time lost | 150 to 300 hours | re-keying, pricing bugs |
| Slow pages (LCP above 3 s) | 5 to 10% lower conversion | abandoned carts |
Shopify Plus or custom build: the numbers
The figures below are 2026 market estimates for a B2B store with 3,000 to 6,000 SKUs and 800 active customer accounts.
| Criterion | Shopify Plus | Custom platform |
|---|---|---|
| Migration or build cost | GBP 13,000 to 38,000 | GBP 35,000 to 85,000 |
| Annual licence | USD 2,300 a month minimum, about GBP 21,500 a year | GBP 0 |
| Hosting and maintenance | included, plus apps GBP 2,500 to 8,500 a year | GBP 7,000 to 15,000 a year |
| Account pricing and discount tiers | native B2B catalogues, limited advanced logic | unlimited |
| Quotes and multi-level approval | third-party apps | native |
| ERP integration (Sage, NetSuite, Odoo) | existing connectors or middleware | dedicated API |
| Three-year total cost | GBP 85,000 to 128,000 | GBP 56,000 to 130,000 |
| Timeline | 10 to 14 weeks | 14 to 20 weeks |
Shopify Plus wins on speed and managed security. Custom wins once your business rules leave the standard path, and it avoids a licence that grows with revenue past a certain threshold.
Protecting search rankings during migration
Most post-migration traffic losses come from forgotten URLs. A serious plan lists every indexed URL (often 3 to 5 times the product count once variants and filters are included), maps each one to its new address and checks 301 redirects on a staging environment.
Key steps: export URLs from Search Console and server logs, keep the titles and descriptions that perform, carry over product structured data, then monitor 404 errors daily for 6 weeks. With this method, organic traffic usually dips 0 to 10% and recovers in 4 to 8 weeks.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: James, managing director of a packaging supplies wholesaler in London, turns over GBP 1.7 million, GBP 1 million of it online. He currently spends GBP 19,000 a year on PrestaShop maintenance, licences and fixes.
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- Shopify Plus option: GBP 26,000 migration plus 3 x GBP 27,000 licence and apps = GBP 107,000 over 3 years
- Custom option: GBP 64,000 build plus 3 x GBP 10,000 maintenance = GBP 94,000 over 3 years
- Status quo: 3 x GBP 19,000 = GBP 57,000, with no conversion gain
If the new platform lifts conversion enough to add about 8% to GBP 1 million of online sales, the gain reaches GBP 80,000 a year. Custom is justified here because James runs 40 discount tiers and quotes approved by his sales reps.
FAQ
How much does a PrestaShop to Shopify Plus migration cost?
Between GBP 13,000 and 38,000 in 2026 depending on data volume, customer accounts and B2B apps to configure. Order history migration often adds GBP 1,700 to 4,300.
Can we keep customer accounts and passwords?
Accounts and history migrate, but hashed passwords usually cannot be transferred. Plan an email activation campaign, which typically reaches 60 to 80% reactivation within a month.
What SEO loss should we expect?
With an exhaustive 301 redirect plan, the dip stays at 0 to 10% and recovers in 4 to 8 weeks. Without one, losses of 30 to 50% are common.
Should we just upgrade PrestaShop instead?
It makes sense if fewer than 10 modules are critical and your B2B rules are simple. Budget GBP 7,000 to 17,000, but the problem returns at the next major version.
What timeline should we plan for cutover?
10 to 14 weeks to Shopify Plus, 14 to 20 weeks for custom. Avoid peak months, often September and January in B2B.
Let's scope your project. Send us your module list, ERP and pricing rules, and we will define the scope, migration method and timeline through a free quote. 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.
