This guide breaks the cost down by workstream and surfaces the Adobe-specific cost drivers: B2B Edition complexity with company hierarchies and quoting workflows, MSI-to-Locations mapping for multi-warehouse brands, content-staging workflow migration where Shopify has no direct analogue, and the Adobe Experience Cloud integration decisions (Analytics, Target, Marketo).
The hidden cost on Adobe Commerce migrations specifically: integration breadth. Adobe Commerce installs typically run more integrated than open-source Magento installs because the Adobe stack pulls customers into Analytics, Target, Marketo, and other Experience Cloud products. Each integration is a workstream of its own; the combined breadth often exceeds discovery scope.
By brand size
Cost ranges by brand size tier
$5M-$15M Adobe Commerce brands
$150K-$220K
Adobe Commerce with modest B2B exposure, single warehouse, light Adobe Cloud integration. LitExtension managed-service tier with Matrixify reconciliation. Hydrogen rarely in scope.
$15M-$50M Adobe Commerce brands
$220K-$400K
Active B2B Edition with company hierarchies, multi-warehouse MSI, multiple Adobe Cloud products in production. iPaaS for B2B sync; Boomi or Celigo. Meaningful agency engineering on reconciliation.
$50M+ enterprise Adobe Commerce brands
$400K-$1.2M
Enterprise B2B, complex MSI, deep Adobe Cloud integration, multi-region. Enterprise iPaaS (Boomi or MuleSoft). Often paired with broader Adobe-stack decommissioning.
By workstream
Cost breakdown by workstream
| Workstream | Range |
|---|---|
Discovery and planning Four to six weeks. Discovery is heavier than Magento Open Source because of Adobe stack inventory, B2B Edition mapping, MSI configuration audit, and integration scope decisions. | $15K-$50K |
Catalog migration with B2B and MSI Standard catalog plus B2B customer-group migration plus MSI-to-Locations mapping. The B2B work is dominant; brands with active B2B operations cannot compress this line. | $25K-$80K |
B2B migration Companies, locations, catalogs, price lists, quoting workflows, requisition lists. Adobe Commerce B2B has more native features than Magento Open Source; the migration must reproduce the customer-facing functionality. | $25K-$80K |
Adobe Cloud integration decisions Decisions about which Adobe Cloud products survive post-migration (Analytics, Target, Marketo) and which retire. Each survival decision adds integration work; each retirement decision adds substitution work. | $15K-$60K |
Theme rebuild Premium template plus customisation. Adobe Commerce brands often have heavier theme customisation than Magento Open Source because of B2B-specific layouts and content-staging-driven content systems. | $20K-$80K |
Content-staging workflow migration Adobe Commerce content staging has no direct Shopify analogue. The decision is whether the workflow survives via metafield-backed alternatives, page-builder apps, or retires as part of operational simplification. | $10K-$40K |
SEO migration audit Adobe Commerce brands tend to have higher domain authority and more SEO exposure than Magento Open Source brands. The audit work is the same discipline but with higher stakes; budget proportionally. | $15K-$60K |
Enterprise iPaaS Celigo for mid-market Adobe Commerce; Boomi or MuleSoft for larger brands. Almost always justified on Adobe Commerce because of B2B and integration complexity. | $25K-$150K annually |
What drives the variance
Why cost ranges vary so much
B2B Edition usage
No B2B: subtract $30K-$60K. Standard B2B: baseline. Heavy B2B with quoting, requisition lists, and complex hierarchies: add $40K-$120K. The largest single variance driver on Adobe Commerce.
Adobe Cloud integration depth
No Adobe Cloud integration: subtract $20K-$40K. Standard Analytics + Target: baseline. Marketo + complex MOSS: add $30K-$100K depending on retention versus retirement decisions.
Multi-source inventory
Single warehouse: baseline. Multiple warehouses with MSI: add $15K-$40K for the Locations mapping work. Complex fulfillment routing: add $20K-$60K.
Content-staging workflow
No active content staging: subtract $10K-$20K. Active content workflow with multiple staged campaigns: add $20K-$50K for the alternative-architecture work.
Multi-region
Each additional region with localised pricing and tax: add $25K-$60K. International operations meaningfully complicate the migration.
Hidden costs
Cost lines operators forget to budget
Adobe Commerce licensing during overlap
Adobe Commerce licensing continues during the migration window and any dual-write period. Six to twelve months of licensing at enterprise rates is $30K-$150K depending on tier — substantial real money often missed from migration scoping.
Internal team time
$25K-$80K of internal time at loaded rates. Adobe Commerce migrations involve more stakeholders (finance, IT, marketing, customer success) than open-source Magento migrations because the Adobe stack reaches further.
Adobe Experience Cloud decisions
Decisions about which Adobe products retire as part of replatforming represent substantial vendor-management work beyond the technical migration. Often $10K-$30K of stakeholder coordination that does not appear on the migration agency invoice.
Stabilisation extension
Adobe Commerce migrations almost always extend stabilisation to 8-12 weeks rather than 4-8. The integration breadth produces longer tail of edge cases. Plan $15K-$40K of stabilisation engagement beyond the build phase.