Magento to Shopify Data Migration: The Complete 2026 Guide

Magento to Shopify data migration has one rule that explains most of the cost and most of the surprises: you migrate the data, not the code. Products, customers, orders, and URLs come across. Custom modules and bespoke checkout logic get rebuilt. The sooner you accept that split, the more predictable the project.

What actually transfers from Magento to Shopify

Data object	Transfers?	How
Products with EAV attributes	Yes	Custom script, attributes mapped to metafields, variants, or tags
Configurable, grouped, bundled products	Yes	Rebuilt on Shopify’s product model
Customers with groups and tier pricing	Yes	Migrated to Shopify B2B on Plus
Order history with split shipments and partial refunds	Yes	Status preserved per line item
Categories with layered navigation	Yes	Rebuilt as Shopify collections + Search & Discovery filters
SEO URLs and metadata	Yes	301 map for every indexed URL
CMS pages and static blocks	Yes	Rebuilt as pages or metaobjects
Reviews	Yes	Native, Yotpo, Trustpilot, or Stamped
Custom Magento modules	Rebuild	Theme code, apps, or Shopify Functions

The EAV problem, explained

Magento’s EAV (entity-attribute-value) model lets you attach arbitrary attributes to products, which is flexible and, for a migration, messy. Shopify uses a flatter model: each product has fixed fields plus metafields, variants, and tags.

The migration decision is, for every EAV attribute: metafield, variant option, or tag? Metafields preserve data but not native filterability; variant options change the product’s purchase options; tags are lightweight and filterable. Get this mapping right and your store feels the same on day one. Get it wrong and products lose their filter options or their variant structure.

Where the off-the-shelf tools stall

Cart2Cart, Matrixify (Excelify), and LitExtension are genuinely useful for a clean single-store catalogue. They seed a dev store fast via CSV or Excel import, and for a store with simple products and no B2B, they can handle most of the move.

Where they stall is exactly where Magento builds get complicated:

• EAV attribute sets that don’t flatten cleanly into metafields.
• Customer groups and tier pricing, which are Magento-native concepts Shopify handles only via B2B on Plus.
• Order history with split shipments and partial refunds, which needs per-line-item status handling.
• Adobe Commerce B2B price lists, which no off-the-shelf importer maps correctly.

For those, you need a custom script against the Shopify Admin API, REST for reads and GraphQL for bulk writes, with a dry-run import before the real cutover. The honest split most agencies skip: tell the client which parts are tool-safe and which are script-only before the review is over.

The Magento to Shopify data migration checklist

1. Export the catalogue with every EAV attribute, not just the flat product table.
2. Audit the attribute set and map each to metafield, variant, or tag.
3. Export customers including groups and tier pricing.
4. Export orders with line-item fulfilment status, split shipments, and refunds.
5. Build the 301 map for every indexed URL, in week one.
6. Re-wire integrations (ERP, PIM, OMS, search, reviews) to Shopify endpoints.
7. Dry-run the import on a dev store with a sample before the full cutover.
8. Validate against the source before DNS flips.

What it costs and how long it takes

A Magento to Shopify migration is quoted fixed-price after a free architecture review, because catalogue and attribute complexity, storefront count, and integration count drive the effort more than raw SKU count. Most mid-market migrations run 6-10 weeks; multi-region B2B builds run 12-16. The number that matters most is total cost of ownership, the typical mid-market brand replaces $80k-$150k a year in Magento hosting, licensing, and PHP retainer, so the migration usually pays for itself inside a year.

If you’re planning the move, start with a Magento to Shopify migration audit and read the full migration SEO playbook before anyone touches a script.