Five-year TCO analysis:
CAPEX and OPEX for SMB (~PLN 10M GMV), scale-up (~PLN 30M), and enterprise (100M+ GMV).
TCO report 2026 for e-commerce
Your SaaS store is growing. Why is your margin shrinking?
Scaling on platforms like Shopify hides costs that add up to millions over five years. We modeled it. See the hard data on when SaaS stops making sense - and how headless with MedusaJS can cut technology spend by up to 71%.
Leave your work email to get the 55-page report with full TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) calculations.
Trusted by teams at
Has your e-commerce hit the SaaS glass ceiling?
Launching on Shopify was the right move: fast time-to-market, themes, low CAPEX. But once annual GMV moves past roughly PLN 10 million, patterns emerge that vendors rarely highlight:
Transaction fees erode margin:
Percentage fees plus fixed charges on every order can mean hundreds of thousands per year at scale.
App subscriptions compound:
B2B, loyalty, and advanced flows often mean dozens of paid plugins.
Roadmaps constrain your ops:
You bend logistics and sales to platform limits while vendor lock-in slows your own roadmap.
Peak-traffic pressure:
Black Friday spikes can force jumps to far more expensive tiers (e.g. Shopify Plus from around PLN 10k per month base).
What you get in the GMI Software report
This is not a generic e-book. It is 55 pages of finance and engineering analysis comparing SaaS subscriptions with a custom/headless build on MedusaJS and Next.js. Inside:
Shopify Plus fee traps:
How hidden SaaS costs stack up in 2026.
A practical checklist:
Seven questions that show in three minutes whether migration timing is right.
A safe migration roadmap:
Move from SaaS to custom without stopping sales - pilot, MVP, rollout, with a kill switch.
Beyond finance:
Why data ownership and avoiding lock-in are strategic advantages.
SFD case study: architecture and business impact
How React Native, high traffic, and a scalable stack translate into 100,000+ downloads, a 4.9★ App Store signal, and a Mobile Trends Awards 2025 nomination - proof from a major supplements brand.
Worried about migration? We move the process in weeks, not years.
The biggest myth in e-commerce is that moving from SaaS to headless means rebuilding the business from scratch and months of downtime. At GMI Software, we changed that paradigm.
We do not ask for hundreds of pages of specs. We use advanced AI models to map your current business logic straight from your existing stack (Shopify, Shoper, IdoSell).
Krok 01
1. AI-driven process mapping
With AI, we analyze your live flows: cart paths, advanced promotion logic, and integrations with ERP and WMS. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we capture what already works and translate it into a MedusaJS architecture.
Krok 02
2. Modular development (headless)
A custom storefront no longer takes years. Using proven MedusaJS and Next.js modules, we ship mapped processes in weeks. Engineering focuses only on what creates a market edge.
Krok 03
3. Zero-downtime architecture
Migration does not mean turning off the old store. We follow the Pilot - MVP - Rollout methodology from the e-book. The new headless stack runs in parallel with SaaS. Traffic shifts gradually, with a guaranteed kill switch to roll back and protect sales continuity.
At roughly PLN 30M annual GMV, a MedusaJS-based custom stack can be about 2x cheaper over five years than Shopify Plus. At enterprise scale, savings can reach roughly PLN 30 million (about 71% lower).
GMI Software analysis
Who built this e-book - and why?
Report author
Piotr Graczyk
Head of Technology, GMI Software
Lead author of this e-book is Piotr Graczyk, Head of Technology at GMI Software. He owns the technical substance: TCO models, cost scenarios, and architecture guidance, including headless stacks with MedusaJS and Next.js.
The report distills our 16+ years of practice as a software house. Its findings are grounded in hard data from over 120 digital projects we delivered – including the architecture of the SFD app (100k+ downloads, Mobile Trends Awards 2025 nominee).
We see e-commerce teams lose cost control to SaaS lock-in. We design independent stacks on MedusaJS, an open-source, enterprise-grade alternative to Magento and Shopify. After a DDT (Discovery, Design & Technology) audit we offer fixed-price clarity, backed by a perfect 5.0 rating on Google.
16+
years shipping digital products
120+
delivered client projects
MedusaJS
headless commerce, ERP/WMS integrations
5.0
perfect Google reviews rating
5.0/ 5.0
Frequently asked questions about e-commerce migration
When does switching from SaaS (Shopify) to a custom stack (MedusaJS) become cost-effective?
GMI Software's TCO model suggests the cost crossover usually occurs between months 24 and 36 for stores with annual GMV above roughly PLN 15-20 million. Below that threshold, SaaS wins on a low barrier to entry.
Why does the e-book recommend MedusaJS over Magento?
MedusaJS is a modern Node.js architecture. It is lighter, faster to build on, and cheaper to run than a legacy Magento monolith. It cleanly separates the frontend (e.g. Next.js) from the backend and integrates smoothly with Stripe, ERP, WMS, and more.
Is headless e-commerce implementation expensive?
Upfront investment (CAPEX) is higher than SaaS - headless builds typically range from PLN 250k to 600k depending on scope. With no revenue share and fewer app subscriptions, five-year total cost of ownership (TCO) often drops by about 47-71% compared with Shopify Plus.
How does GMI Software manage platform migration risk?
We run migrations in phased stages from the e-book: a pilot on about 5% of traffic, then MVP, then full rollout. We keep a dual-run period and a rollback plan to protect sales continuity.
Stop paying a tax on your own growth
Download the report, rerun your numbers, and choose a 2026-2030 architecture with intent.