Shopify vs PrestaShop: Which Is Really Worth It? The True Cost on €100,000 in Revenue
When evaluating which platform to choose for your e-commerce, people often stop at comparing Shopify’s monthly fee against the open-source and seemingly "free" nature of PrestaShop. But what are the real numbers once you account for servers, commissions, and agency updates?
Comparative Index (Click to expand)
The true economic sustainability of a store is measured by two decisive factors: transaction fees on payment methods and the hidden costs of maintenance, updates, and servers.
The Case Study: €100,000 Revenue (800 Orders)
Let’s analyze a real-world scenario with an average order value of €125 and the following payment distribution:
1. Transaction Fee Comparison (Italy / EU)
Fee cost for a single average transaction of €125:
| Payment Method | Shopify (Grow + Payments) | PrestaShop (Checkout) | Single Order Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU Cards | 1.8% + €0.25 (€2.05) | 1.2% + €0.35 (€1.55) | PrestaShop (-€0.50) |
| PayPal | 3.49% + €0.49 (€3.98) | 3.40% + €0.35 (€3.75) | PrestaShop (-€0.23) |
| Klarna (BNPL) | 2.99% + €0.30 (€3.29) | 4.99% + €0.40 (€5.39) | Shopify (-€2.10) |
| Scalapay | €5.34 + €1.00 (1% 3rd party fee) | €5.34 + €0.00 (Zero extra fee) | PrestaShop (-€1.00) |
- PrestaShop Checkout saves some on traditional cards.
- Shopify saves over €2 per transaction on Klarna thanks to native negotiated rates.
- Scalapay: Shopify applies a 1% third-party fee on the Grow plan, which is absent on PrestaShop.
• Shopify: €3,498.00
• PrestaShop: €3,249.20
Transaction fee savings on PrestaShop: €248.80/year
2. Fixed Costs, Server, and Actual Maintenance
While Shopify includes hosting and security in the plan, PrestaShop requires constant effort:
A. Hosting and Dedicated Server
• Shopify: Included in the monthly fee.
• PrestaShop: High-performance Cloud VPS to handle traffic spikes: €119.00/month (€1,428.00/year).
B. Major Release Updates (via Agency)
Moving between PrestaShop versions (e.g., from 1.8 to 9.1) is never automatic and requires a migration performed by a specialized agency every 2 years for security and stability.
➔ Annualized average (on €4,500 / 2 years): €2,250.00/year.
C. Business Care, Modules, and Themes
Renewing licenses and modules on the Addons Marketplace for security updates:
➔ Average cost: €300.00/year.
3. Annual Total Balance: Shopify vs PrestaShop
The complete economic picture calculated on an annual basis:
| Cost Item | Shopify (Grow Plan) | PrestaShop (Server + Agency) |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction Fees | €3,498.00 | €3,249.20 |
| Software / Server Subscription | €948.00 (€79/month) | €1,428.00 (€119/month) |
| Agency Updates | €0.00 (Automatic) | €2,250.00 (€4,500 / 2 years) |
| Module Business Care | €0.00 (Included) | €300.00 |
| TOTAL ANNUAL COST | €4,446.00 | €7,227.20 |
Conclusion: Real Savings of €2,781.20/Year with Shopify
Although PrestaShop allows for savings of about €250 per year on credit card transaction fees, the cost of server infrastructure and technical agency work completely shifts the balance.
Shopify (Grow Plan) guarantees net savings of about €2,780 per year compared to properly managing PrestaShop, while offering a stress-free infrastructure.
PrestaShop remains recommended only for businesses with dedicated internal development teams that need total control over the source code.
Want to calculate the true cost of your PrestaShop e-commerce?
Let’s analyze your data together (transactions, server, modules, and agency costs) to verify how much you could save by migrating to Shopify.
FREE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS →
