This guide breaks the cost down by workstream and surfaces the WP-specific cost drivers: ACF and Meta Box custom-field complexity, multilingual configuration via WPML or Polylang, subscription tenure on WooCommerce Subscriptions, and the content rebuild for WP CMS pages that do not migrate cleanly.
The hidden cost on WooCommerce migrations specifically: brand profile. WP brands often arrive at the $5M migration threshold with less operational maturity than Magento brands at the same revenue. Internal team capacity to participate in the migration is consistently lower, which shifts cost from agency hours into internal time or stretched timelines.
By brand size
Cost ranges by brand size tier
$5M-$15M DTC brands
$50K-$100K
Under 5K SKUs, standard WP install with modest ACF usage, single locale, no subscriptions or simple subscriptions. Cart2Cart or LitExtension automated path with light Matrixify usage.
$15M-$50M DTC brands
$100K-$200K
Up to 25K SKUs, heavy ACF or Meta Box custom-field usage, multilingual via WPML, active WooCommerce Subscriptions. WP All Export + Matrixify pairing, agency engineering on subscription cutover and multilingual configuration.
$50M+ brands
$200K-$500K+
Larger catalogs, complex multi-site WP setups, custom plugin development to re-implement. Often paired with broader brand refresh making the migration part of a larger investment.
By workstream
Cost breakdown by workstream
| Workstream | Range |
|---|---|
Discovery and planning Discovery includes WP-specific work: ACF and Meta Box field inventory, WP All Export setup, multilingual scope assessment. Two to four weeks at typical agency rates. | $7K-$22K |
Catalog and customer data migration Automated migration platform fees plus the WP All Export → Matrixify reconciliation work. The custom-field extraction is the dominant WP-specific cost driver beyond what shows up on Magento migrations. | $12K-$50K |
Subscription migration (if applicable) Moving from WooCommerce Subscriptions to Recharge, Skio, or Bold is its own workstream. Active subscriber count and billing-cycle complexity drive the range. Most $5M+ brands with WooCommerce Subscriptions land at $20K+. | $10K-$45K |
Theme rebuild Premium template plus customisation. WP brands often have heavier custom CSS and content layouts than Magento brands, which can extend customisation hours. Page builders (Shogun, PageFly) cover marketing pages post-migration. | $12K-$60K |
App re-implementation WooCommerce plugin equivalents on Shopify. Standard WP plugins (Yoast, Mailchimp, Stripe) have clean Shopify equivalents; bespoke WP plugins may need custom implementation. | $6K-$25K |
SEO migration audit WP URL structures are more varied than Magento, making the redirect map work heavier per indexed URL. Eight-week post-launch monitoring is the same discipline as Magento. | $8K-$35K |
Multilingual setup (if WPML/Polylang) Shopify Markets configuration, translation migration, and the inevitable reconciliation between WP's translation model and Shopify's. Brands with WPML almost always pay this; the cost scales with locale count. | $5K-$25K |
What drives the variance
Why cost ranges vary so much
ACF / Meta Box custom field count
Under 10 fields: minimal impact. 10-50 fields: $5K-$15K extra. 50+ fields: $15K-$40K. The single biggest WP-specific cost driver and the most commonly under-estimated.
Active subscription count
Under 500 active subscribers: low. 500-5K: middle. 5K+: high end of subscription cost range. Vendor-managed migration tiers from Recharge or Skio justify themselves at the upper end.
Multilingual / multi-locale
Each additional locale via WPML or Polylang adds $5K-$15K of translation migration and Shopify Markets configuration work.
Custom WP plugin development
Each bespoke plugin that needs Shopify equivalent re-implementation adds $5K-$25K depending on complexity. Brands with 3+ custom plugins consistently land in the upper cost range.
Content depth (blog, landing pages)
Heavy WP content sites (200+ blog posts, 50+ landing pages) add $10K-$30K of content migration and theme rebuild work.
Hidden costs
Cost lines operators forget to budget
Internal team time
$10K-$35K of internal time at loaded rates across the 14-24 week timeline. WP brands often have smaller internal teams than Magento equivalents, making this proportionally heavier as a constraint even if not strictly larger in dollars.
WP hosting overlap
WP hosting subscription continues during the migration window and dual-write period. Three to six months of WPEngine or comparable hosting at $200-$2,000 per month is real money operators forget to include.
Subscription churn during cutover
Active subscribers who churn during the cutover represent revenue loss not in the migration budget. Brands with proactive subscriber comms see normal churn; brands without see 5-15% elevated churn during cutover. The lost revenue is often comparable to the entire subscription-migration line item.
Plugin licensing
WP All Export Pro, ACF Pro, and other licensed WP plugins need active licenses during the migration window. $1K-$3K in license costs that brands often forget about because the plugins are already installed.