Sylius vs PrestaShop - when to migrate?
Sylius vs PrestaShop - when to migrate?
We’ve been running PrestaShow since 2014 - over 10 years in the PrestaShop market, 1,269+ clients, 30+ modules. We know PrestaShop inside out. So why did we launch SyliusShow? Because we see that more and more companies need something PrestaShop doesn’t offer.
PrestaShop - when it still makes sense
PrestaShop is a mature platform with a huge ecosystem. It makes sense if:
- You need a ready-made solution - install, configure templates, add products, start selling. No coding required.
- Budget is limited - PrestaShop itself is free, modules cost tens to hundreds of euros.
- Simple business model - standard B2C store with one currency, one warehouse, simple discounts.
- No development team - PrestaShop can be managed without developers.
Sylius - when migration makes sense
Sylius is an eCommerce framework, not a ready-made product. It requires upfront investment but offers unmatched flexibility:
- Complex business logic - multi-variant pricing, multi-vendor, custom order flows, non-standard discounts. In PrestaShop, this means overrides and hack upon hack.
- Enterprise integrations - ERP, PIM, WMS, custom APIs. Sylius is built on API Platform - building integrations is natural.
- Scalability - Your store processes thousands of orders daily? Sylius scales horizontally, no database limits.
- Headless commerce - Want a frontend in React/Next.js/Vue/Nuxt? Sylius has API-first architecture.
- Code quality - Your team cares about tests, CI/CD, clean code? Sylius is built with the same tools: PHPUnit, Behat, PHPStan.
What you lose when migrating from PrestaShop
Let’s be honest - migration has its costs:
- Massive module ecosystem - PrestaShop has thousands of marketplace modules. Sylius has 80+. This is changing (that’s why we’re here), but the gap is still significant.
- Implementation costs - a basic Sylius implementation starts from several thousand euros vs a few hundred for PrestaShop.
- Ready-made templates - in PrestaShop you choose from hundreds of themes. In Sylius you build your own.
- Smaller community - fewer tutorials, fewer Stack Overflow answers, fewer freelancers.
Our recommendation
If your current PrestaShop store works and sells - don’t migrate for the sake of it. Keep developing it.
Migrate to Sylius if:
- PrestaShop starts limiting you technically
- You plan significant growth (new markets, new channels, headless)
- You have a development team or budget for implementation
- Your PrestaShop overrides started conflicting with updates
How we can help
As the creators of PrestaShow, we know both worlds. We offer:
- Free consultation - we’ll assess whether migration makes sense in your case
- PrestaShop audit - we’ll identify what to migrate, what to rewrite, what to drop
- Full migration - product data, customers, orders, SEO redirects
- Post-migration support - we don’t leave you after deploy