The verdict in three sentences
Running PrestaShop 1.6 in 2026 means operating a store without security patches, with abandoned modules and PHP compatibility that degrades with every hosting update. For an Amsterdam supplier of catering equipment with 5,000 products and 15,000 customers, migrating to Shopify costs 8,000 to 30,000 EUR excluding VAT and takes 8 to 12 weeks. The real risk is not technical: it is losing SEO traffic if 301 redirects and B2B features (trade prices, company accounts) are poorly prepared.
What the migration costs in 2026
2026 order of magnitude for the Dutch market, specialist provider, excluding content creation and photography.
| Item | Range (excl. VAT) | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Audit and scoping | 1,000 to 3,000 EUR | Inventory of modules, URLs, data, B2B features to reproduce |
| Catalogue migration (5,000 products) | 2,000 to 6,000 EUR | Variants, attributes, images, duplicate cleanup |
| Customer migration (15,000) and order history | 1,000 to 4,000 EUR | Accounts, addresses, customer groups; passwords cannot be transferred |
| Theme and design adaptation | 2,000 to 10,000 EUR | Adapted premium theme or custom theme |
| B2B features (trade prices, company accounts, quotes) | 1,500 to 6,000 EUR | Native on Shopify Plus, through apps on other plans |
| 301 redirects and SEO | 500 to 2,000 EUR | Full redirect plan, tags, sitemap, Search Console monitoring |
| Testing and training | 500 to 1,500 EUR | Order, payment and email tests, team training |
| Total | 8,000 to 30,000 EUR | Depending on B2B complexity and design level |
Customer passwords do not transfer: plan an account activation email campaign before and after the switch. Out of 15,000 customers, 30 to 50% of active accounts reactivate within the first 3 months, which covers most regular buyers.
Monthly cost after migration
The second calculation covers recurring costs, to compare with your current bill (hosting, modules, PrestaShop maintenance).
| Monthly item | Shopify standard plan | Shopify Plus B2B | Current PrestaShop 1.6 (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription or hosting | 79 to 399 USD | about 2,300 USD | 50 to 200 EUR hosting |
| Apps or modules | 50 to 400 USD (B2B, reviews, search, ERP) | 100 to 400 USD | Module licences paid off, no more updates |
| Transaction fees | 0.5 to 2% outside Shopify Payments | Reduced | Depends on payment provider |
| Technical maintenance | Low, vendor manages the core | Low | 300 to 1,000 EUR, manual security fixes |
| Trade prices per customer | Third-party apps | Native (company catalogues) | Native customer groups |
| Indicative total | 150 to 800 USD | 2,400 to 2,700 USD | 350 to 1,200 EUR |
For a catering equipment supplier with 3 to 5 price groups (restaurants, institutions, resellers), a standard Shopify plan with a B2B app is often enough. Shopify Plus becomes relevant beyond a few dozen specific catalogues or when several buyers per company must order with approval.
If you prefer a custom store over a subscription platform, Kolonell offers Premium websites from 3,050 to 5,340 EUR (2,000,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA) and medium complexity applications from 6,100 to 10,670 EUR (4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA) for B2B stores with specific pricing rules.
Mini case study
Thomas, e-commerce manager of a catering equipment supplier in Amsterdam (illustrative persona), generates 1.4 M EUR of online revenue per year. His PrestaShop 1.6 costs him 650 EUR per month in corrective maintenance, and a payment module failure blocked orders for 3 days last year, or about 11,500 EUR of lost sales.
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Calculation: migration estimated at 18,000 EUR, then Shopify standard at about 450 EUR per month all in, against 650 EUR today. Recurring saving: 200 EUR per month, or 2,400 EUR per year. Adding a single avoided outage of 11,500 EUR and a mobile conversion rate rising from 1.2 to 1.6% (about +30% mobile orders, which account for 35% of revenue), the potential gain exceeds 150,000 EUR of revenue in year one. The migration pays back within a few months, provided SEO traffic is preserved through the redirect plan.
FAQ
Do you lose search rankings when migrating to Shopify?
A temporary drop of 5 to 15% in organic traffic for 4 to 8 weeks is common, even with complete 301 redirects. Without a redirect plan, the loss can exceed 40% and last several months.
Can we keep the same URLs?
Not exactly, Shopify enforces prefixes such as /products/ and /collections/. Every old URL must therefore be 301 redirected, often 6,000 to 10,000 redirects for 5,000 products with their categories.
Why not just upgrade to PrestaShop 8 or 9?
It is a serious option, often between 10,000 and 25,000 EUR, since most 1.6 modules and the theme must be replaced. It keeps your independence but also the maintenance burden of 300 to 1,000 EUR per month.
Does Shopify handle trade prices?
Yes, natively on Shopify Plus through company catalogues, and through B2B apps at 30 to 300 USD per month on other plans. Check that the app handles prices excluding VAT, quantity discounts and EU reverse charge VAT.
How long is the store offline during the switch?
A few hours at most. The new store is built and tested in parallel for 8 to 12 weeks, then the domain is switched, preferably on a Sunday evening.
Let's scope your project. Send us your store URL, product count and trade pricing rules: we will price the migration, from 8,000 to 30,000 EUR depending on scope, with a redirect 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.
