The verdict in three sentences
Build price is misleading: over five years, maintenance, major upgrades and extensions often cost as much as the initial project. Magento Open Source (EUR 40,000 to 90,000) fits when you want a broad feature set and accept a heavier stack, Sylius (EUR 50,000 to 120,000) is the best compromise once customer pricing, purchase approvals and ERP integration get complex, and custom development (EUR 60,000 to 150,000) is justified mainly when the ordering journey is a competitive edge. For a EUR 20 million distributor, the five-year total cost gap between options frequently exceeds EUR 100,000.
Functional and technical comparison
| Criterion | Magento Open Source | Sylius | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build cost excl. VAT | EUR 40,000 to 90,000 | EUR 50,000 to 120,000 | EUR 60,000 to 150,000 |
| Typical timeline | 4 to 6 months | 4 to 6 months | 5 to 8 months |
| Customer pricing and discounts | Extensions (B2B suite in Adobe Commerce) | Native or Sylius Plus | Built to spec |
| Multi-user accounts, approval | Adobe Commerce B2B or extensions | Good (Sylius Plus) | Full |
| ERP connection | Extensions or development | Solid API (Symfony) | API designed for the ERP |
| Extension dependency | High (15 to 30 extensions) | Low to medium | None |
| Developer day rates in Berlin | EUR 650 to 900 | EUR 600 to 800 | EUR 600 to 900 depending on stack |
| Hosting requirements | Heavy (Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, Varnish, Redis) | Moderate | Depends on design |
Magento offers the widest out-of-the-box catalogue and checkout features, but the true B2B module set sits in Adobe Commerce, whose licence starts in the tens of thousands of euros per year. Sylius, built on Symfony, is designed as a framework: fewer ready-made features, more flexibility and cleaner code. Custom development removes all dependency, at the cost of a higher initial budget and maintenance responsibility.
Five-year total cost
2026 estimate for a EUR 20 million distributor, 8,000 SKUs, 1,200 customer accounts and an ERP connection.
| Five-year item | Magento Open Source | Sylius | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build | EUR 70,000 | EUR 85,000 | EUR 110,000 |
| Licences and extensions | EUR 20,000 | EUR 0 to 45,000 | EUR 0 |
| Hosting and monitoring | EUR 36,000 | EUR 24,000 | EUR 24,000 |
| Corrective maintenance and security patches | EUR 45,000 | EUR 30,000 | EUR 36,000 |
| Major upgrades | EUR 40,000 | EUR 20,000 | EUR 15,000 |
| Business changes (estimate) | EUR 45,000 | EUR 40,000 | EUR 40,000 |
| Five-year total excl. VAT | EUR 256,000 | EUR 199,000 to 244,000 | EUR 225,000 |
Magento is not the cheapest to build, but it is the most expensive to run: heavier hosting, frequent security patches and upgrades where 30% to 50% of extensions need replacing or adapting. The main risk does not show in the table: an abandoned extension can block a critical feature for weeks.
Mini case study
Lukas, CIO of an electrical supplies distributor in Berlin-Spandau (EUR 20 million revenue, 35% online), is replacing an unmaintained Magento 1 site. His requirements cover 1,200 accounts, 300 price lists, two-level purchase approvals and a real-time connection to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
On Magento Open Source, the audit lists 22 required extensions, 7 of which need adapting: build estimated at EUR 78,000 excl. VAT, plus 15 days of custom work for approvals. On Sylius, build comes to EUR 92,000 excl. VAT with B2B rules handled natively. At a EUR 750 day rate, each Magento major upgrade represents about 25 days (EUR 18,750) versus 10 days on Sylius (EUR 7,500). Lukas picks Sylius: after two upgrades, the EUR 14,000 build gap turns into an advantage of about EUR 8,500 for Sylius, with far lower risk on EUR 7 million of annual online sales.
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FAQ
Is Magento Open Source enough for B2B?
For simple B2B, yes: customer group pricing, basic quotes, invoice payment. Shared catalogues, company accounts and approval workflows belong to Adobe Commerce B2B, or require extensions that raise maintenance costs by 20% to 40%.
Do we need Sylius Plus?
Not always. Sylius Plus adds multi-warehouse, roles and returns, under an annual subscription negotiated by revenue. For a targeted need, building those features on Sylius Open Source costs EUR 10,000 to 25,000 excl. VAT.
When is custom development the right choice?
When the ordering journey is unique (configurator, complex contracts, deep ERP integration) and the budget is at least EUR 60,000. It should then rely on a recognised framework to avoid vendor lock-in.
How long does data migration take?
Allow 3 to 6 weeks for 8,000 SKUs, 1,200 accounts and three years of order history. Preserving URLs and 301 redirects protects organic traffic, often 30% to 50% of visits.
Should we plan for e-invoicing?
Yes, Germany has required all businesses to be able to receive structured e-invoices (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD) since January 2025, with mandatory issuing phased in from 2027. The shop must pass order data to invoicing software that produces compliant formats.
Let's scope your project. Send us your SKU count, pricing rules and ERP: we will compare Magento, Sylius and custom over five years, with a build budget of EUR 40,000 to 150,000 excl. VAT and a 4 to 8 month timeline. 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.
