How much does a Shopify Plus vs Medusa.js project cost?

Shopify Plus: license from €2,100/month + build from €25k + monthly apps + variable GMV fees. Medusa.js: no license, build from €30k depending on scope, hosting from €100/month depending on scale, proportional managed services. Over 5 years, Medusa becomes mechanically cheaper at equivalent TCO.

Can you migrate from Shopify Plus to Medusa.js?

Yes. We handle this case regularly. The migration follows 8 steps: functional audit, Medusa modeling, products/customers/orders import via Shopify Admin API, Next.js front-end rebuild, checkout rebuild, 301 redirect plan, parallel QA, DNS cutover. Targeted downtime: zero or under 1 hour. Timeline: 3 to 6 months.

Is Smotly a Shopify Plus Partner?

Smotly is a Shopify Partner. We are not enrolled in the official Shopify Plus Partner program (a premium invite-only program). It does not change our technical capability: we design custom Liquid themes, build private apps and operate Shopify Plus in production. Your Plus pricing is negotiated directly with Shopify.

Is Medusa.js really production-ready in 2026?

Yes. Medusa v2 (modular architecture) shipped in late 2024, is used by brands like Tekla, and has 25,000+ stars on GitHub. Smotly operates several Medusa projects in production, including our largest B2B account. Framework maturity is now comparable to SaaS on first-class e-commerce features.

Can you combine Shopify Plus AND Medusa.js on the same brand?

Yes. We recommend this on some omnichannel brands: Shopify Plus for the standard DTC channel, Medusa for the B2B BU or marketplace. Both engines coexist, feed a shared PIM and expose a unified API to mobile apps or back-offices.

What's the SEO difference between Shopify Plus and Medusa?

Shopify Plus offers decent default SEO (robots.txt, sitemap, basic schema.org, meta tags). To go further (custom SEO, advanced product markup, AEO/GEO) you typically need Hydrogen or a headless front. Medusa doesn't manage the front itself: with Next.js + Strapi for content, you have the most performant stack in 2026 for SEO and GEO.

How long to deliver an e-commerce project with Smotly?

Shopify Plus: 8-14 weeks for a custom Liquid theme, 3-6 months with IT integrations, 4-8 months for a full headless build (Hydrogen or Next.js). Medusa: 3-6 months for a standard B2C, 4-8 months for a complete B2B with ERP/PIM. Our AI-augmented method shortens these timelines by 20-30%.

Shopify or Medusa?

Shopify or Medusa? The right answer depends on your project, not on our catalog.

Smotly delivers both stacks: Shopify Plus for fast time-to-market and high-volume B2C, Medusa.js for complex B2B rules, IT integration and freedom to evolve. Our conviction: choosing a platform is not ideological. The project decides, not the agency.

Request a scoping audit Talk to an e-commerce expert

Scroll

2026 context

Why so many brands now ask Shopify vs Medusa.

Three deep shifts have reshuffled the e-commerce platform decision: the maturity of Medusa.js (modular v2 in late 2024), the functional and pricing ceiling of Shopify Plus on B2B or hybrid models, and the heightened data sovereignty requirements from European IT departments.

DTC brands hitting the Shopify Plus ceiling

Started on Shopify, moved to Plus at €1M revenue, hit the ceiling at €5-10M: variable fees explode, checkout doesn't follow specific rules, paid app ecosystem inflates TCO. Medusa becomes a credible exit.

B2B distributors looking to industrialize

Hierarchical accounts, negotiated price lists, online quotes, 30/60-day terms, tight ERP integration: Shopify B2B covers standard needs but constrains as soon as you step out. Medusa treats these rules as first-class commerce.

IT teams demanding sovereignty and zero vendor lock-in

Regulatory pressure (GDPR, Data Act, NIS 2) and skepticism toward US SaaS. Some IT teams require a self-hostable e-commerce engine with readable, modifiable code. Shopify Plus remains an imposed SaaS. Medusa is open source.

5 decision criteria

Decide honestly between Shopify Plus and Medusa.js.

The Shopify or Medusa question reduces to 5 operational criteria. None is binary, but together they give a clear orientation in under 30 minutes of analysis.

Standard B2C or complex B2B / hybrid?

Standard B2C (catalog < 50,000 SKUs, simple journey, immediate payment) → Shopify Plus is the fastest path. Hierarchical B2B (sub-accounts, approvers, negotiated pricing) or hybrid model (subscriptions, rentals) → Medusa absorbs these rules natively.

1. Commerce model

Catalog and orders

5,000 to 50,000 SKUs, < 100,000 orders/year → Shopify Plus holds without trouble. Catalog > 50,000 SKUs, > 100,000 orders/year, or complex product variations → Medusa has fewer technical ceilings.

2. Volume

Light or heavy?

Light IT (1-2 connectors, no custom ERP) → Shopify Plus + App Store apps are enough. Heavy IT (SAP, Dynamics 365, Sage X3, Odoo, Akeneo PIM, OMS, WMS, EDI) → Medusa aligns to your IT system rather than imposing its own model.

3. IT integration

Fast launch or strategic project?

Fast launch, budget from €30k → Shopify Plus and Medusa can open a store in 2-3 months. Strategic 6-12 month project, budget from €50k → Medusa is sized for custom builds and amortizes its initial cost over time.

4. Time-to-market

5th criterion, transversal

The integration method.

Whichever stack you pick, the integration method determines quality, timeline and 5-year total cost. Smotly's SmotFlow method is AI-augmented across every phase, framing, design, build, QA, run, evolutions, shortening timelines by 20 to 30% versus a traditional build, with no quality trade-off. On Shopify Plus and Medusa alike, that's what changes the delivery.

See the SmotFlow method

Comparison

Shopify Plus vs Medusa.js: synthetic view.

Synthetic table of structural gaps between the two platforms, on the 14 criteria that actually weigh in an e-commerce decision.

Criterion	Shopify Plus	Medusa.js
Business model	Proprietary SaaS, ~€2,100/month + variable GMV fees	Open source, self-hostable, no license, no variable fees
Vendor lock-in	High (Shopify infrastructure, data on Shopify)	Zero (your code, your infrastructure, your data)
Front-end	Liquid (default) or Hydrogen for headless	Free (Next.js recommended)
Native API	REST + GraphQL Storefront / Admin	REST + JS SDK + Admin API
Native B2B	Shopify B2B module (native to Plus), covers the standard	First-class: hierarchical accounts, negotiated pricing, quotes, deferred payment
Business logic customization	Limited (apps + Shopify Functions)	Total (custom TS modules)
Checkout customization	Restricted (Checkout Extensions, Functions)	Total
IT integrations	Through apps + API + middleware (n8n, Mulesoft)	Native (modules, custom connectors)
Multi-store	9 linked stores on Plus	Unlimited (multi-tenant or multi-instance)
Initial time-to-market	Fast (2-3 months for a Liquid theme)	Medium (4-6 months MVP B2C, 6-10 months B2B)
Initial build cost	From €25k depending on complexity	From €30k depending on scope
3-5 year TCO	Medium to high (license + fees + apps)	Low to medium (no license, managed-services team)
Hosting	Imposed Shopify (global CDN, 99.99% SLA)	Free (AWS, OVH, Scaleway, private cloud)
EU sovereignty compliance	Limited (Shopify is US-based)	Total (EU self-hosting possible)
Ideal use case	High-volume DTC, fast launch, standard multi-country	Complex B2B, hybrid, brands seeking freedom

In summary: Shopify Plus remains relevant when standard B2C dominates. Medusa becomes the right choice as soon as you step outside SaaS standards: B2B rules, deep IT integration, scale or sovereignty.

When Shopify Plus

When we recommend Shopify Plus.

DTC brand launching or expanding

You launch a DTC brand, you want to open an e-commerce channel in 2-3 months, your business rules fit Shopify's native features (standard catalog, immediate payment, standard shipping, multi-country via Markets). Shopify Plus is unbeatable on time-to-market.

Standard multi-country store

You operate in 5 to 50 markets and want to manage local currencies, taxes and regional payment methods without reinventing the wheel. Shopify Markets and Markets Pro cover 300+ countries natively. Shopify checkout is battle-tested on millions of sites.

Fast iteration, autonomous marketing team

Your marketing team wants to publish landing pages, run complex promotional campaigns, A/B test themes, without depending on a dev for every change. The Shopify app ecosystem (8,000+) and Shopify Magic provide strong marketing autonomy.

If Shopify Plus is the right answer, we deliver it as a Shopify Partner. We are not officially certified Shopify Plus Partner. Our value lies elsewhere: custom theme design, private apps, IT integration, run support.

When Medusa

When we recommend Medusa.js.

Medusa is our deep differentiator on headless e-commerce. It's the stack on which we signed Smotly's largest B2B account.

B2B distributor with complex rules

Catalog of 50,000+ SKUs, 5,000+ hierarchical customer accounts, per-account negotiated pricing, online quotes, internal approval, 30/60-day terms, mandatory ERP integration (SAP or Dynamics). Medusa absorbs these business rules natively.

DTC brand hitting the Shopify Plus ceiling

Shopify variable fees exploding at €5-10M GMV, custom checkout impossible without limited Functions, third-party apps stacking monthly costs, IT system that doesn't align. Medusa offers a credible exit with replatforming in 3-6 months.

Hybrid model not covered by SaaS

Multi-vendor marketplace, complex subscriptions, rental, services, ticketing, phygital model. Medusa is modular, activate the bricks you need, build the others, never fight the tool.

Scoping audit

Still hesitating? Our audit decides in 5 to 10 days.

On 30% of the projects we frame, the client arrives with an intuition (Shopify or Medusa) and we point them to the other choice after analysis. That's what doing our job honestly looks like.

01 / 01

E-commerce scoping audit

5 to 10 days · from €3k

Analysis of current and target commerce model (B2C / B2B / hybrid). IT inventory (ERP, PIM, OMS, CRM, marketing automation) and integration flows. Volume estimation. 3-5 year TCO analysis of both options. Sovereignty and compliance constraints assessment.

Request a scoping audit

Deliverable: Recommendation Shopify Plus or Medusa.js (or hybrid) + 90-day action plan + firm quote
Readout: Video call + PDF document + 2h workshop with your steering committee
Pricing: From €3k depending on project size and IT complexity

SmotFlow method

The Smotly method: the real differentiator.

Whether you choose Shopify Plus or Medusa.js, the project will run 4 to 12 months. Delivery quality depends as much, if not more, on method as on stack. AI-augmented method with internalized agents on every phase: framing, design, product modeling, build, QA, managed services. Faster data model generation and validation, parallel migration scenarios, instrumented and documented code, observability ready at go-live. No deliverable ships without senior review.

01Scoping

02Design

03Build

04Acceptance

05Run

06Evolution

See SmotFlow

FAQ

Shopify or Medusa FAQ.

Neither is universally better. Shopify Plus is the right choice for high-volume B2C, fast time-to-market and standard models. Medusa.js is the right choice for complex B2B, deep IT integration, hybrid models and data sovereignty. Our scoping audit decides in 5-10 days based on your file.

Let's talk

A Shopify or Medusa decision to make? Let's talk.

Scoping audit in 5-10 days, argued recommendation, firm quote. We call you back within 24 working hours with a senior contact who knows your context.

Request a scoping audit Book a 30-minute call

contact@smotly.com