Moving is cheaper on running cost for many brands, but the licence alone is the wrong comparison. A $120,000 renewal is roughly what Shopify Plus charges at about $34M of annual GMV on the 0.35 percent rate, so below that GMV the platform fee is lower. Hosting, the development retainer and the one-time migration cost decide the rest. Build the three-year model before you renew.
Below is that model with assumptions on show, the payback maths, the non-financial reasons to stay and the break-even GMV. See also our Adobe Commerce cost guide and the Shopify Plus vs Adobe Commerce answer for mid-market brands.
What the $120,000 buys, and what replaces it
Compare like with like.
| Cost line | Adobe Commerce | Shopify Plus |
| Platform | Licence, $120,000 in your renewal | Flat fee or percentage of GMV, whichever is greater |
| Hosting and infrastructure | Bundled in some tiers, otherwise $15,000 to $50,000 a year | Included |
| Security patches and upgrades | Your developers or a retainer | Handled by the platform |
| Extensions and integrations | Licences plus maintenance | Apps, plus integration upkeep |
| Development retainer | Commonly $8,000 to $25,000 a month for mid-market | Often lower, because less is custom to maintain |
Bands come from published agency quote ranges. Adobe does not publish prices.
Platform fee at different GMV
The licence is fixed. The Shopify fee scales.
| Annual GMV | Adobe licence | Shopify Plus fee at 0.35 percent | Difference | Read |
| $20M | $120,000 | $70,000 | $-50,000 | Move is cheaper on platform fees |
| $30M | $120,000 | $105,000 | $-15,000 | Move is cheaper on platform fees |
| $40M | $120,000 | $140,000 | $20,000 | Stay is cheaper on platform fees |
| $50M | $120,000 | $175,000 | $55,000 | Stay is cheaper on platform fees |
- Licence versus platform fee only: Shopify’s fee reaches $120,000 at about $34,285,714 of annual GMV.
- The 0.35 percent rate is industry-reported for a 3-year term and varies with term and B2B share. B2B GMV is reported at a lower rate.
- Shopify reportedly caps the monthly variable fee, which matters at very large GMV.
- A non-Shopify gateway adds a further per-transaction fee.
A three-year stay vs move model
Fill this in with your numbers.
| Line | Stay on Adobe Commerce | Move to Shopify Plus |
| Year one | Licence + hosting + retainer + extensions | Migration + platform fee + apps + retainer |
| Years two and three | Licence + hosting + retainer + extensions | Platform fee + apps + retainer |
| One-time costs | Upgrade projects | Migration and theme |
| Payback | Migration cost divided by yearly saving |
- Stay: $120,000 licence + $40,000 hosting + $180,000 retainer = $340,000 a year, or $1,020,000 over three years.
- Move at $30M GMV: platform fee about $105,000 + apps $15,000 + retainer $96,000 = $216,000 a year.
- Migration cost: $185,000 as a mid-point of a published mid-market band.
- Three-year move total: $185,000 + 3 x $216,000 = $833,000.
- Saving: about $187,000 over three years, with payback near 18 months.
These inputs are assumptions drawn from published ranges. Your hosting, retainer and extension costs will differ.
The non-financial reasons to stay
Money is not the only variable.
Rule of thumb: if the saving is thin and your logic is custom, renew and fix the upkeep first.
The break-even GMV
Where staying is right.
- On fees alone, Adobe’s $120,000 beats Shopify’s variable fee above about $34,285,714 of GMV.
- On total cost, savings from a lower retainer and no hosting can offset a higher platform fee.
- At very high GMV, check the fee cap and negotiate a rate.
- Run the model with your actual GMV, B2B share, hosting and retainer, then decide.
Adobe Commerce exits, and what we cannot show
We run the cost model and the migration. We do not have a published Adobe Commerce exit case that states the actual annual saving, so we cannot cite one.
Read more: our Magento to Shopify migration service
Send us your renewal, hosting and retainer costs, and our Magento to Shopify team will build your three-year stay-or-move model.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on GMV and upkeep. On licence versus platform fee alone, a $120,000 renewal is above a Shopify Plus fee until about $34M of annual GMV. Total cost also includes hosting, development retainer and migration.
The platform licence and support, and with some plans cloud infrastructure. It does not cover your developers, extensions or integrations, which usually cost more than the licence. See our Adobe Commerce cost guide.
A platform fee, commonly the greater of a flat fee or a percentage of GMV, plus apps and a smaller development retainer. Hosting and security patches are included by the platform.
One-time migration cost divided by annual saving. At the mid-range assumptions here, payback is under two years once the licence is $120,000 and upkeep is heavy.
If you rely on custom logic that no app or Function covers, run many unique store views or have light upkeep, the saving may not justify the disruption.
