Magento vs Shopify Cost Comparison 2026 — Which Platform Saves You Money?

Here's the bottom line for 2026:

FactorShopifyMagento 2

Build Cost (freelancer)$3,000 – $15,000$15,000 – $50,000
Build Cost (agency)$8,000 – $30,000$30,000 – $80,000+
Monthly Hosting$0 (included)$120 – $450
Monthly SaaS Fee$39 – $399$0 (open source)
Transaction Fee0.5 – 2%0%
Time to Launch4 – 8 weeks10 – 20 weeks
Best ForSMB, fast launch, <5K productsEnterprise, 10K+ products, B2B

Shopify costs less upfront and monthly for most businesses. Magento costs more to build but gives you complete control, no transaction fees, and handles massive catalogs. The crossover point is around $50K/month in revenue — above that, Magento's zero transaction fees start saving you more than its higher hosting costs.

Want your specific number? Try the free calculator → — select your platform and see an instant breakdown.

Shopify is dramatically cheaper to build. Its template system, built-in checkout, and app ecosystem mean you're assembling components rather than building from scratch. A mid-range Shopify store with premium theme, basic customization, and 50-200 products typically costs $5,000–$15,000 with a freelancer.

Magento 2 requires custom development for almost everything. Even "simple" setups need server configuration, theme development, extension installation, and performance optimization. A comparable Magento store starts at $15,000 and commonly reaches $30,000-50,000.

Why the 3-4x price difference? Magento's hourly rate is higher ($108-194/hr agency vs $91-164/hr for Shopify, based on our market data), AND it takes 2-3x more hours. The platform overhead multiplier in our calculator is 1.3x for Magento vs 0.85x for Shopify — a 53% difference in development effort.

Hidden cost: Extensions. Shopify apps cost $10-50/month each. Magento extensions cost $100-500 one-time but need developer installation. A store with 10 extensions: Shopify = $200/month recurring. Magento = $2,000 one-time + $500 installation labor.

For a detailed breakdown by project type, see our pillar guide on website costs.

This is where the comparison gets interesting. Shopify's monthly fees are predictable but never stop. Magento's upfront investment is higher but monthly costs are more controllable.

Shopify monthly:

• - Plan: $39 (Basic) – $399 (Advanced) – $2,300 (Plus)
• Transaction fees: 0.5-2% unless using Shopify Payments
• Apps: $100-500/month for a typical mid-range store
• Total: $200-$1,200/month

Magento monthly:

• - Hosting: $120-$450 (cloud managed like Nexcess, Cloudways)
• SSL: $0-10 (often included)
• Security: $20-50 (Sucuri, MageReport)
• Maintenance: $200-500 (updates, patches, monitoring)
• Total: $350-$1,000/month

At low revenue ($10K/month), Shopify wins — $300/month vs $500/month. At high revenue ($100K/month), Magento wins — $600/month vs $1,500/month (Shopify Plus + transaction fees). Our budget calculator can model this for your specific revenue level.

Already on one platform and thinking of switching? Migration adds significant cost:

Shopify → Magento 2: The most expensive common migration. Our data shows a 1.5x cost multiplier over a new Magento build. You're paying for data migration (products, customers, orders), URL redirect mapping (critical for SEO), custom feature rebuilding, and parallel testing. Typical cost: $25,000-$60,000 for a mid-range store.

Magento 1 → Shopify: Popular since Magento 1 is end-of-life. Simpler than the reverse because Shopify handles more out of the box. Cost multiplier: 1.25x over a new Shopify build. Many agencies specialize in this exact migration.

WooCommerce → Shopify: The easiest common migration. Product/customer data exports cleanly, and most WooCommerce features have Shopify app equivalents. Cost: $5,000-$15,000 for a typical store.

Use our cost calculator with the "Migration" option selected to get an estimate for your specific path. The calculator applies path-specific multipliers for 16 different migration routes.

Shopify is the right choice when:

• - You need to launch fast (weeks, not months)
• Your product catalog is under 5,000 SKUs
• You don't need heavy customization (80% of your needs met by apps)
• You want predictable monthly costs
• You're a D2C brand, subscription box, or dropshipping business
• You don't have a dedicated development team
• Your revenue is under $50K/month

Shopify Plus (starting $2,300/month) makes sense when you need: checkout customization, B2B wholesale, multi-currency with localized pricing, or Shopify Flow automation. It's essentially Shopify's answer to "we need Magento features but don't want Magento complexity."

Magento is the right choice when:

• - You have 10,000+ products with complex attributes
• You need B2B features (tiered pricing, quote system, company accounts)
• Multi-store/multi-brand from a single backend is required
• You need complete control over checkout, shipping logic, or tax rules
• Transaction fee savings justify the higher build cost (>$50K/month revenue)
• You have an in-house development team or agency retainer
• Compliance requirements need custom audit trails

The Magento tax: Budget 15-20% of the initial build cost annually for maintenance, security patches, and version updates. This is the "hidden cost" that surprises first-time Magento owners. For more on ongoing costs, see our cost index report.