Adobe Commerce does not have one platform-wide end-of-life date in 2026. The decision depends on your installed version, support entitlement, underlying software and the work required to maintain it.
Check the version and support period first
Adobe's current lifecycle policy lists separate standard, extended and security-only dates for different releases. For example, it lists standard support for Adobe Commerce 2.4.7 through 31 May 2027. Verify the row for your release and the support your contract includes before describing a store as unsupported. Adobe Commerce lifecycle policy.
Ask the team managing the store to record its version, extensions, hosting arrangement, patch status and relevant dependencies. The fact that an upgrade is possible does not establish that it is simple; the fact that a release needs attention does not prove a migration is the better option.
Compare two defined scopes
- Upgrade: identify compatibility work, custom modules, integration tests, hosting changes, staging and release support.
- Migration: map catalogue data, customers, content, URLs, integrations and the features that need a replacement on Shopify.
- Both: include training, overlapping contracts, internal time and the support model after release.
Get written estimates against the same requirements. Use the same currency, tax basis and planning period. A broad hosting price or supposed industry cost premium cannot substitute for those quotes.
Protect the journeys that matter
Start with representative products and customers: variants, stock rules, price lists, delivery destinations and the integrations operations relies on. Document existing URL routes and the redirect plan. Agree how the new experience will be reviewed before any live cutover.
A successful redirect check establishes routing. Search traffic and commercial outcomes need their own measured comparison. Neither an upgrade nor a platform move guarantees rankings, revenue or lower operating costs.
Choose the next evidence to collect
Bring the current support record and the requirements the business cannot lose. Our Shopify migration and development work can be scoped against those needs. The Purvis Beer delivery story shows a documented platform transition without presenting a universal cost or sales uplift.
Sources and review
Guidance checked on 7 October 2026. Features and commercial terms can change; confirm availability for your own account and scope. These planning checks are recommendations and do not replace an assessment of the actual implementation.