If you're still on Shopware 5, you have a problem. Since July 2024 Shopware 5 has officially been unsupported. No security updates, no bug fixes, no new features. Shopware itself has made it clear: the future is Shopware 6.
But here's the twist: Shopware 6 isn't an upgrade. It's a completely new platform.
Many entrepreneurs think: "Then we'll just upgrade to Shopware 6, right?" Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. Shopware 6 has been rewritten from the ground up. The technical architecture is completely different:
What does that mean in practice? There's no upgrade button. You can't simply move from version 5 to 6. You have to rebuild your store.
The rebuild goes beyond the tech. Almost everything you've built in Shopware 5 doesn't work in Shopware 6:
Your current Shopware 5 theme doesn't work in Shopware 6. The templating system is completely different. You have two options: buy a new theme or have one developed.
Many Shopware 5 plugins simply don't exist for Shopware 6. The plugins that are available you have to buy again. And if you have custom plugins? They have to be developed from scratch.
Your ERP integration, your fulfilment integration, your marketing tools — everything that was hooked into Shopware 5 has to be configured again for Shopware 6.
Let's be honest about the costs. A Shopware 5 to 6 migration isn't a cheap project:
| Cost item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Shopware 6 licence costs | Rise from €600/month, Evolve from €2,400/month, Beyond from €6,500/month |
| Store rebuild | New theme, new configuration, data migration |
| New plugins | Repurchase or have developed |
| Hosting upgrade | Shopware 6 demands more server resources |
| Team training | Learn a completely new admin interface |
| Downtime & lost revenue | Your business is at risk during migration |
Add it all up and you're quickly looking at an investment of €30,000 to €100,000+ for a serious store. And then you still have Shopware — with all the complexity that comes with it.
Here's the core question: if you have to rebuild your entire store anyway, why would you stay on Shopware?
The investment in time and money is comparable to a switch to a different platform. But with Shopify (Plus) you get a lot more in return:
Shopify is fully hosted. No managing servers, no installing updates, no security patches. Shopify takes care of everything. You can focus on selling, not on tech.
Shopify guarantees your store is online. Always. No more stress about server crashes or performance problems during Black Friday.
Where Shopware 6 has a limited number of extensions, Shopify offers access to more than 30,000 apps. From marketing to fulfilment, from reviews to loyalty programmes — there's always a solution.
For larger stores Shopify Plus offers enterprise features like:
The biggest fear in a platform migration? Downtime. Lost orders. Frustrated customers giving up.
At Syncer we developed Live Sync® — our own technology that lets your Shopware store keep running while we build your new Shopify store.
How does it work?
Shopware is popular in Germany and the Benelux. We speak the language — literally and figuratively. Our team has experience with complex Shopware migrations and knows the specific challenges:
In a Syncer migration, nothing gets lost:
The reality is simple: as a Shopware 5 user you have to take action. End-of-life means your store can become vulnerable to security issues at any moment.
Shopware 6 is an option, but it means a complete rebuild. The same investment in time and money can also go into a migration to Shopify — a platform that gives you a lot more in terms of convenience, stability and scalability.
The question isn't whether you should migrate. The question is: to which platform?
Want to know what a migration from Shopware to Shopify means for your store? We're happy to make a no-obligation analysis:
Request your free migration scan →
