Shopify Plus Migration: Timeline, Cost & ROI (2026)

The business case comes down to weighing migration costs against potential savings and returns. Research conducted by EY in October 2025 surveyed more than 300 organizations with gross merchandise value (GMV) ranging from $50 million to more than $500 million, all of which had changed platforms in the prior three years. Brands that moved to Shopify implemented 20% faster on average, budgeted 23% less, and reported 15% incremental revenue as a direct result of switching.

Below you'll find the information you need to evaluate a migration: migration timelines and their drivers, platform fees versus implementation costs, conversion and total cost of ownership (TCO) benchmarks, platform-specific migration considerations, what data transfers, and a launch checklist you can adapt for a project plan.

How long does a replatform take?

A Shopify Plus migration timeline depends on the complexity of your existing setup, including integrations, customizations, and data requirements. Across the EY study, brands moving to Shopify implemented 20% faster on average than those moving to competing platforms. That means a migration scoped at six months elsewhere lands closer to 4.8 months on Shopify.

That average, however, hides some variance. Even if two brands have identical GMV, one can take months longer to migrate if a lot of their current build is custom.

Factors that affect migration timeline

Catalog size matters less than many people expect. Even a million-SKU catalog can be imported with reasonable predictability. What extends a timeline is everything wrapped around the catalog:

• Integration count and depth: An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, an order management system (OMS), and a product information management (PIM) system each require mapping, testing, and a cutover plan.
• Historical order volume: Historical data is necessary to support future personalization and recommendation features. Importing two to five years of orders is a good start, and with Shopify, that import runs through the API, so even large volumes don’t cost engineering hours.
• B2B complexity: B2B companies, locations, catalogs, and price lists represent a separate workstream to be moved over.
• Market count: The first market can require the most setup, but subsequent launches may be more straightforward once that work is complete.

Migration timelines can also change depending on which features you choose to migrate and which you choose to replace. For example, Skullcandy had a five-step custom checkout that could have been difficult to migrate, but because they adopted Shopify Checkout, they were able to remove an annual optimization cycle from the roadmap.

How Shopify implementation timelines compare

The platform you choose can affect implementation speed, alongside the complexity of your existing setup. The EY figures below compare migrating to Shopify against migrating to each named platform.

Note: Figures describe the advantages of implementing Shopify compared with implementing the named platform, not migration durations from those platforms.

Real-world examples illustrate how timelines vary. Apparel brand Serge Blanco, for example, moved more than 50 European stores off Magento (now Adobe Commerce) in five months. Skullcandy completed a migration from BigCommerce in 90 days. David's Bridal finished in nine months what the team had anticipated taking years.

What a phased migration looks like

A phased migration means sequencing markets or channels and launching one phase before starting the next. The timeline for the first phase of a migration might look like this:

• Weeks 1 through 3, focus on discovery: Integration inventory, data audits, redirect mapping, and a determination of what gets rebuilt versus retired.
• Weeks 4 through 8, focus on parallel data migration and development, and using the ERP as a checkpoint.
• Weeks 9 through 12, focusing on quality assurance: Delta migration planning, go-live, and post-live metrics.

Repeat this pattern with the second market, channel, or phase, and so on. The first phase can help inform subsequent launches. Skullcandy, for example, achieved a full global footprint roughly seven weeks after their initial 90-day US migration, because the groundwork was already in place.

Cost of migration

Migration costs generally fall into two main categories: a recurring platform fee, and an up-front implementation cost that varies with an organization’s specific scope and requirements. Both need to be accounted for when estimating the cost of a replatform.

Platform fee vs. implementation cost

Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 per month on a three-year term, or $2,500 per month on a one-year term. More complex or higher-volume businesses may pay a variable platform fee based on revenue and business model, with different rates for B2B and direct-to-consumer (DTC).

Implementation cost is separate and varies per project. It covers data migration, theme or headless build, integration work, quality assurance (QA), and any custom development, much of which can be delivered by a Shopify Plus Certified Partner. Ranges vary by origin platform and integration count, so treat the platform fee as only one part of the overall migration budget.

When comparing two platforms, one might have a higher platform fee, while the other platform has a higher implementation cost. Accounting for both costs gives businesses a clearer picture of the initial investment.

Cost drivers: Data complexity, integrations, and custom development

Three things tend to influence an implementation quote more than anything else:

• Data complexity: This includes whether products and customers are imported through CSV or a migration app. Data can include historical orders, gift cards, and subscriptions, and B2B companies may require additional API integration work.
• Integrations: The number and complexity of integrations can further increase costs. One platform might offer more integrations out of the box, which can reduce development costs.
• Custom development: Every rebuilt extension adds cost. Many brands reduce the number of apps during migration because native functionality now covers what a plugin used to provide.

Organizations migrating to Shopify can often use existing connectors in the Shopify App Store instead of commissioning a custom one. Shopify's Global ERP Program includes certified apps that can reduce the need for custom integrations.

To estimate implementation costs, businesses can use these factors to define the scope of work and request quotes that account for data migration, integrations, custom development, and testing.

Ongoing cost comparison: Shopify Plus vs. legacy platforms

Ongoing costs also affect the total expense of operating an ecommerce platform. When comparing ongoing costs, account for platform fees, maintenance, integrations, and ongoing development. Shopify's total cost of ownership (TCO) is 33% better than competitors on average, according to research commissioned from an independent consulting firm. You can model your own numbers with the TCO calculator.

Individual brands have also reported cost savings after migrating. Rainbow Shops, for example, cut platform fees by 80% after leaving Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and Bombas recorded $108,000 in annual platform cost savings after moving off Adobe Commerce.

ROI after migrating

Post-migration return on investment (ROI) comes from four primary categories: checkout conversion, lower operating costs, site performance, and reclaimed engineering capacity. Together, these can contribute to increased revenue and lower expenses.

Checkout conversion lift

According to research conducted with a global management consulting firm, Shopify Checkout converts up to 36% better than competing checkouts, with an average advantage of 15%.

Shop Pay can further improve conversion. It converts at up to a 50% higher rate than guest checkout, and outpaces other accelerated checkouts by at least 10%.

TCO improvement

Beyond direct platform costs, reducing maintenance and development work can free up internal resources. That last category is the one finance teams often under-model because it falls under headcount and doesn’t appear on an invoice.

Rainbow Shops provides a useful example. "We can stand things up in 15 minutes that would have taken multiple months and hundreds of thousands of dollars on Salesforce Commerce Cloud,” says David Cost, VP of digital and ecommerce.

Site performance gains

Research shows that Shopify sites render up to 2.4 times faster than stores on other platforms. The average across the research is 1.8 times faster, and even a half-second improvement in load time can affect conversion.

For peak events, Shopify Plus averages 99.99% uptime worldwide during the year’s biggest flash sales, with load-tested capacity exceeding 10,000 checkouts per minute.

Average revenue growth post-migration

According to EY research, brands that migrated to Shopify reported a 15% increase in revenue as a direct result of the switch.

Individual results vary by category and starting platform. Skullcandy, for example, posted 45% year-over-year revenue growth in their first full holiday season after migrating. Grace and Lace was able to set a target of 20% year-over-year growth after leaving BigCommerce.

Murad, a health and beauty brand, provides another example. "In the year since we've migrated to Shopify, we've seen a plus 56% increase in conversion rates, and we've also seen an increase in average order value of plus 17%," says Sharine Perrier, senior ecommerce and digital marketing manager. “This has been really, really positive for us.”

Migrating from Adobe Commerce / Magento

Adobe Commerce, previously known as Magento, is a popular ecommerce platform, but TCO is one reason businesses consider migrating to Shopify Plus.

Why brands leave Adobe Commerce

On Adobe Commerce, customization can increase maintenance requirements and costs. Adobe Commerce operating costs run 24% higher than Shopify's on average, with platform and stack costs 42% higher. Branch8 has direct experience helping brands migrate, and they found that, compared to Adobe Commerce, “Shopify Plus delivers faster time-to-market, lower total cost of ownership, and operational simplicity that frees teams to focus on growth rather than infrastructure.”

Serge Blanco illustrates the potential cost savings. The brand runs more than 50 stores across France and Europe, and after moving off Magento, they cut platform costs by 75% to 80%, achieved a 5% conversion rate during peak seasons, and took operational control back in-house over five months.

Polywood is an outdoor furniture manufacturer with more than $500 million in revenue. The brand increased conversion by 22% and eliminated platform maintenance after leaving a custom Magento build.

What the migration involves

Migration difficulty varies depending on store complexity, as does the best approach to the migration. For Adobe Commerce migrations, this can involve transferring product and customer data, reviewing existing integrations, and deciding which custom functionality to rebuild or replace.

Organizations will still need to validate data mappings, test outputs, and plan for potential downtime. As stores grow and migration complexity increases, it’s often best to work with a Shopify partner agency for support.

What to watch for

Possible issues include:

• URL structure changes: Magento URLs often include .html extensions and category paths (e.g., /catalog/category/product.html), and Shopify uses a different URL structure (/products/product-handle).
• Layered navigation: Magento uses layered navigation (faceted filtering by attributes), which works differently from Shopify's collection filtering.
• Attribute handling: Magento's attribute sets are more granular than Shopify's default product options.

Custom Magento modules may be replaced with apps, Shopify Functions, or Shopify Flow automations. Compare native coverage against your extension list before committing to rebuilds.

Migrating from Salesforce Commerce Cloud, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Lightspeed

Each of these platforms has different migration considerations, including its data structures, integrations, and operational requirements.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Migrating from Salesforce Commerce Cloud to Shopify can offer several benefits:

• Higher conversion: Shopify Checkout converts 36% better than Salesforce Commerce Cloud’s checkout.
• Better TCO and ROI: Platform costs are 14% higher on Salesforce.
• Faster innovation: Shopify implementations are 22% faster than Salesforce Commerce Cloud implementations, according to comparative research.

The commercial driver for migration is often consolidation and its benefits. Rainbow Shops, for example, left Demandware (now Salesforce Commerce Cloud after a 2016 acquisition) after a decade of working with it, and cut platform fees by 80%.

Similarly, Orveon Global consolidated three beauty brands as they migrated off Salesforce Commerce Cloud and onto a single platform, which VP of ecommerce and site experience Carney Nir described as replacing a "hodgepodge" of different technologies.

BigCommerce

Migrating from BigCommerce to Shopify means:

• Higher conversion: Shopify’s checkout converts 12% better than BigCommerce's.
• Better TCO: Shopify’s TCO is 31% lower than BigCommerce’s.

Shopify implementations are also 10% faster and 4.4 times more likely to stay within budget than BigCommerce implementations, though data-mapping can require additional work. Product options don't map directly to Shopify's variant format, and BigCommerce categories don't translate one-to-one into Shopify collections. Custom fields might need to be remapped to metafields, which sometimes requires manual CSV work or a migration tool.

Skullcandy provides a useful reference. They migrated from BigCommerce to Shopify and collapsed a five-touchpoint checkout into one step. “It used to take us an entire day to launch a single product across our four regions,” says Jenny Buchar, Skullcandy’s director of global digital experience. “That's now condensed down to one hour complete with quality assurance so that we can move on to the next region.”

WooCommerce

Migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify can reduce costs across several areas:

• WooCommerce has 49% higher implementation and setup costs, on average.
• WooCommerce has 32% higher platform fees and ecommerce stack costs, on average.
• WooCommerce has 41% higher operating costs, on average.

Additionally, Shopify TCO is 36% better than WooCommerce, on average, making it a potentially more cost-effective option for many brands. But it’s not always a decision driven solely by price. Shopify renders 2.4 times faster than WooCommerce on average, the widest speed gap in an independent study’s comparison set.

If you’re migrating, check whether you can use Shopify’s Store Migration app, which can help import products from another platform. Note that Shopify supports up to three options per product, so products with more options may require additional migration planning. You can address this with third-party apps or metafields.

Lightspeed

Migrating from another point-of-sale (POS) system such as Lightspeed to Shopify can benefit brands because:

• 73% of business owners agree Shopify POS increases efficiency compared to other POS software.
• 40% of business owners have saved five or more hours per week on reporting since switching to Shopify POS.

Lightspeed migrations tend to benefit from a retail-first approach, so the point-of-sale transition drives the timeline. Some existing hardware carries over, so check the supported hardware list before budgeting replacements. The Shopify Plus plan covers up to 200 Shopify POS Pro locations, which is often an important consideration for multi-location retailers considering migration.

What transfers and what doesn't

Generally, products, customers, historical orders, gift cards, blogs, and pages can be migrated to Shopify using supported import methods or migration tools. Themes, custom code, platform extensions, and stored payment credentials do not move via ordinary export, and payment data has its own specialized migration process. Understanding these differences helps businesses estimate migration scope, identify potential risks, and plan for continuity.

What typically transfers

Our migration documentation specifies the data types that move the most cleanly, along with the method for each:

• Products: Product CSV import or a migration app, including variants and collections.
• Customers: Customer CSV import, migration app, or the Customer API.
• Historical orders: Order and Transaction APIs. Import at least everything inside your return window.
• Gift cards and store credit: Use the Gift Card API or a migration app, and run the import immediately before launch.
• Blogs and pages: Migration app or the Blog, Article, and Page APIs.
• B2B companies and catalogs: Created in the admin or imported in bulk with Shopify-formatted CSV files.

Sequence matters. Generally, you want to import your store's content and data into Shopify, then verify and organize your products, and only then start designing your website, setting up shipping, configuring taxes, and more. Import your products first, then your customers, and then any historical orders. This helps ensure that your products and customers are connected to the orders.

What requires manual work or rebuilding

Platform-specific functionality may need to be rebuilt or replaced. That includes:

• Theme code
• Stylesheets
• Custom scripts
• Third-party extensions without an import path

The better question, however, isn’t whether something can be moved, but whether Shopify already has native functionality or an existing app that meets the same need. Shopify provides many core ecommerce features out of the box and works with thousands of partners via the app ecosystem and supports additional integrations through its APIs.

Payment data: What to know

Credit card data can be migrated to Shopify Plus through a PCI-approved process. Migrating primary account numbers requires the Shopify Plus or Enterprise plan and runs through Shopify Professional Services. Cardholder data is accepted only in encrypted form via a PCI-approved import flow, never via email or SMS.

Payment tokens are different. Those can be migrated on any plan with support from your subscriptions app developer, and they're a simpler option when your gateway supports it. Accelerated wallets, however, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo, aren't supported, and PayPal billing agreements import separately through the API.

Shopify Plus launch checklist

The plan below builds on the Shopify Plus launch checklist. Use it as a starting point and adapt it to your brand’s specific needs, assigning owners and validation steps for each phase.

Pre-launch

Everything here should be done and signed off before launch week starts:

• Stand up a development store and confirm staff and collaborator permissions.
• Run the data migration in order: products, customers, historical orders, then B2B companies and catalogs.
• Create and import 301 redirects by CSV for every important existing URL.
• Place test orders covering discount codes, logged-in and guest sessions, each payment method, each shipping rate, multiple devices, and deliberately failed transactions.
• Configure checkout customizations, B2B on Shopify catalogs, Shopify Flow automations, and Shopify POS Pro locations.
• Plan the delta migration for data created after your cutoff point.
• Reduce DNS TTL to 300 with your host about a week out.
• Configure SPF and DKIM records, remove unused apps, and back up store data.

Make sure that you confirm your B2B constraints early if you sell B2B. B2B on Shopify requires the current version of customer accounts, and subscriptions and Shopify POS aren't compatible with it.

Go-live day

The cutover itself should follow a coordinated plan. Deactivate test mode on Shopify Payments, switch your primary domain, point DNS records at Shopify, then remove the password page.

Run your gift card import immediately before launch, and deactivate checkout on the old store while DNS propagates, so no orders land in a place you'll have to reconcile later. Submit your sitemap to Google once the site is live.

Post-launch (first 30 days)

The first week is about catching what your testing missed. Validate 301 redirects, resolve 404s as they surface, and monitor indexing so Google indexes the new structure. Send customer account invites and B2B access notifications so shoppers and buyers can reach their order history.

Weeks two through four shift to optimization. Compare conversion, load time, and average order value (AOV) against your pre-migration figures, then prioritize improvements that take advantage of Shopify's capabilities.