Magento 1 reached the end of life in June 2020, yet many eCommerce stores are still running on the legacy platform in 2026. For US retailers, the risks now extend beyond outdated technology to security exposure, PCI compliance pressure, slower performance, and rising maintenance costs.
Security compliance requirements, checkout speed and performance, mobile environment and scalability have all significantly changed today. PCI DSMagento 1 reached end of life in June 2020, yet many eCommerce stores are still running on the legacy platform in 2026. For US retailers, the risks now extend beyond outdated technology to security exposure, PCI compliance pressure, slower performance, and rising maintenance costs.S 4.0 became effective in March 2025, and organizations still working on Magento 1 are facing challenges in their day-to-day operations, security and compliance.
The primary question for the store owners who are in the midst of migration remains the same till now: "So, what is the Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration cost in 2026?"
The changes in the Magento ecosystem in the past couple of years have been significant, and if you are not moving to Magento 2 now, then you are facing higher risks than benefits.
On June 30, 2020, Magento 1 officially reached its end of life, which means that Adobe no longer supports it. Magento 1 stores are not supported with security patches, bug fixes or platform updates since that time.
That means, businesses that have not migrated away from Magento 1 are utilizing out-of-date applications and platforms that may be vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, lack integration with modern payment methods, and do not support newer systems.
When eCommerce companies process customer payment data, PCI DSS 4.0 made more stringent demands on payment security. Retailers who operate on unsupported systems have higher compliance risks and may have a problem maintaining payment gateway compliance.
Migration is no longer a technical upgrade — it’s a lifeline for many online retailers. It has now become a compliance requirement.
Magento 2 has significantly enhanced the checkout speed, indexing performance, caching system, API structure and mobile friendliness as well as scalability.
Magento 2’s infrastructure is capable of handling much greater amounts of traffic, quicker page loading times and enterprise-level catalog management capabilities than Magento 1.
On average, the cost to migrate to Magento 2 in the USA depends on the size of the eCommerce store and the extent of customization: $5,000 to $20,000 for smaller stores and more than $150,000 for enterprise stores with a high level of customizations.
The price greatly relies on the level of intricacy, integration, customization, ERP systems, and infrastructure needs of the shop.
Migration costs can vary dramatically depending on the size of your store, the number of integrations involved, and the level of customization required.
| Store Complexity | Estimated Migration Cost |
|---|---|
| Small Store | $5,000 – $20,000 |
| Mid-Sized Store | $20,000 – $60,000 |
| Enterprise Store | $60,000 – $150,000+ |
| Migration Component | Small Store | Mid-Sized Store | Enterprise Store |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theme Migration | $2K – $5K | $5K – $15K | $20K+ |
| Data Migration | $1K – $3K | $3K – $8K | $10K+ |
| Extension Migration | $1K – $5K | $5K – $15K | $25K+ |
| Custom Development | $2K – $8K | $10K – $30K | $50K+ |
| ERP / API Integrations | $1K – $5K | $5K – $20K | $40K+ |
| QA & Testing | $1K – $3K | $3K – $10K | $20K+ |
One of the biggest cost drivers is design migration, as Magento 1 designs can’t simply be copied across to Magento 2. A lot of stores need to be redesigned to a certain extent or entirely.
Extension migration also is a significant cost. There are lots of Magento 1 extensions that won’t work with Magento 2 and will require either a rebuild or replacement with new modules.
Infrastructure improvements can further drive up Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration expenses, particularly for companies that are transitioning to cloud-native infrastructure, CDN optimization or enterprise-scale operations.
The pricing for migration varies significantly, as no two Magento stores are architected and designed in the same manner.
The expense of a simple catalog-based store is considerably less than that of a multi-vendor or B2B store with thousands of SKUs and complex workflows.
Some of the common functionalities like custom-built checkout, pricing engine, loyalty system and efficient search functionality, typically need to be redeveloped in Magento 2.
ERP systems, CRMs, payment gateways, and warehouse and shipping systems add to the complexity of migrations and require additional testing.
For many businesses, migrating is a time for modernization and to tweak the UI/UX and mobile performance for better conversion rates.
Large databases of products and customer history, orders, and inventory systems make migrations and testing more challenging.
There is a trend where businesses use migration as an opportunity to also move to cloud hosting, set up DevOps pipelines, and modernize their infrastructure at the same time.
For businesses evaluating a Magento migration company in the USA, understanding these cost drivers early prevents unrealistic budgeting expectations.
Businesses often fail to account for the full cost of migration in their budgets, and the project ends up being costlier than initially planned.
Extension replacement is a one-time expense that catches many off guard. Lots of Magento 1 extensions are no longer supported, leaving businesses needing to find alternatives.
Another underestimated area is downtime management. Retailers with lots of traffic can benefit from simulated stores, phased deployment strategy, and performance testing to help reduce business interruption when launching a new store.
SEO preservation is also important during migration. The correct handling of URL redirects, URL mapping, and metadata migration can have a huge effect on the organic rankings.
VT Netzwelt successfully carried out a Magento 2 migration for ResMart.
ResMart had a need to upgrade its eCommerce infrastructure, as well as upgrading ERP systems to improve the efficiency of its operations, ease platform scalability and enhance customer experience.
To ensure smooth migration without significant disruptions and optimize Magento 2 system performance, VT Netzwelt adopted a phased approach to the migration. The migration included:
The outcome of the project was the enhancement of the scalability, performance and smooth operation of the eCommerce system. In a multi-business system migration, it is crucial to choose the appropriate service provider.
Reducing migration costs does not have to mean a decrease in quality. Making strategic prioritization is the key.
When moving to Magento 2 many companies try to transfer each and every feature, extension, and workflow from Magento 1, even though some might no longer be useful for them. This unnecessarily makes the projects appear like they are more complex.
When you opt for Magento migration services providers that have experience in building your structure, you can minimize rework, downtime, and performance problems after your migration, also saving you money down the road.
VT Netzwelt offers turnkey Magento migration services for companies aiming to upgrade their old eCommerce platforms while minimizing disruption. We take a security, scalability, performance, management, and business continuity perspective in our migration approach all throughout the migration lifecycle. We have the following Magento Migration Services:
VT Netzwelt is a trusted Magento migration company in the USA, helping businesses move from legacy systems to powerful, scalable commerce ecosystems with minimal disruption. Our migration approach is tailored to your operational needs, whether you run a growing online store or an enterprise-level commerce platform. We also bring proven Magento expertise backed by industry recognition, including our Migration Award at Meet Magento 2024, which reflects our commitment to delivering secure, performance-focused, and future-ready Magento solutions.
The cost of not migrating outweighs the cost of migration in 2026. Over time maintaining Magento 1 is more difficult: because infrastructure becomes increasingly unsupported, because of the PCI compliance burden, because it’s an outdated performance architecture and because of the increasing vulnerability to cyber threats.
While only thinking in terms of the development expenses you are likely to incur with migrating to Magento 2, you should also factor in operational efficiency, modernization of infrastructure, scalability and business expansion.
Businesses can lower the dangers associated with migration, reduce downtimes and put in place an expandable trade system with the assistance of a proficient Magento migration company in the USA.
Still running your online store on Magento 1 in 2026? In this episode, we explain why migration is no longer just a technical upgrade for US eCommerce businesses.
We break down the real Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration cost, what affects your budget, and which hidden expenses most retailers miss, from extension replacement and data migration to SEO protection, integrations, and PCI DSS 4.0 compliance.
Listen to this podcast and plan your Magento migration with more clarity and confidence.
Reduce operational risks and improve scalability with expert-led Magento migration services tailored for secure, high-performance, and future-ready eCommerce growth.
Get a free Magento 1 to 2 migration audit from VT Netzwelt.
The Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration cost varies from an average of $5K to upwards of $150K, depending on the Magento 1 store complexity, integrations, custom development and configurations that have to be upgraded to Magento 2, and the infrastructure that may need to be upgraded.
The durations for most migrations usually are a period of 2 to 8 months, which depend on factors such as the size of the store, level of complexity of data, compatibility of extensions, and amount of testing required.
Since June 2020, Magento 1 has no support, making it increasingly vulnerable, non-compliant and unsafe. Requirements in PCI DSS 4.0 will also hinder the possibility of safely maintaining unsupported systems.
Some of the factors to take into account are extension replacement costs, SEO preservation costs, infrastructure and system upgrades, performance optimization, QA testing and employee retraining costs.
The most cost-effective migration approach is to do it in a phased manner, with a feature audit. There are many extensions and processes that can be eliminated, which can be a huge help in managing migration costs.
Magento 2 may be a better pick for organizations that require customizations, B2B procedures, and advanced integrations and enterprise flexibility. Shopify Plus might be more appropriate for businesses that are interested in more basic features and quicker deployment. For a detailed comparison, read our Magento vs Shopify vs WooCommerce guide.
Adobe Commerce is the enterprise version based on Magento 2. Magento’s basic platform is Magento Open Source, and Adobe Commerce offers advanced enterprise features and support.
Mostly, due to changes in the architecture, Magento 1 extensions won’t work with Magento 2. Most extensions need to be replaced with Magento 2 alternatives or rebuilt. For more on this, see our complete Magento migration guide.
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