Every business owner knows that managing costs is crucial for success. When you choose an e-commerce platform, the monthly subscription fee is usually the first thing you look at. On the surface, some platforms might seem cheaper than others. But the sticker price doesn’t always tell the whole story. What might look like a good deal today could end up costing you more in the long run through hidden fees, missed opportunities, and growth limitations.
For many businesses on EKM, the initial pricing seems attractive. However, as your business grows, you might start to notice unexpected costs and constraints that hold you back. In contrast, Shopify’s transparent pricing and powerful features often provide a better return on investment.
This article will uncover the seven hidden costs of staying on EKM and explain how a well-planned EKM migration to Shopify can actually save you money.
The Hidden and Long-Term Costs of EKM
While EKM is a solid starting point, its pricing model and platform structure can create costs that aren’t immediately obvious.
1. Platform Limits and Forced Upgrades
One of the biggest hidden costs of EKM is its plan structure, which is often tied to your annual turnover. For example, their ‘Standard’ plan might only support sales up to a certain amount. Once your business becomes more successful and exceeds that limit, you are forced to upgrade to a more expensive plan to continue trading. This effectively becomes a tax on your growth. You are penalised for doing well, and your monthly costs can suddenly jump without you gaining significant new features.
2. The Cost of Limited Add-Ons
The modern e-commerce world runs on apps and integrations. You might need tools for email marketing, customer loyalty, advanced analytics, or inventory management. EKM’s app marketplace is very small compared to Shopify’s. This means you might have to pay for expensive third-party software and then struggle to connect it to your store. Or, worse, you simply can’t add the functionality you need, which costs you sales.
3. Transaction Fees (Indirectly)
EKM often promotes its “zero transaction fees” policy. This sounds great, but it can be misleading. While EKM itself doesn’t take a cut, your chosen payment gateway (like Stripe or PayPal) certainly will. Shopify also offers this, but with a key difference: Shopify Payments. By using Shopify’s own integrated payment system, you often get lower credit card rates than standard third-party gateways. Over thousands of transactions, even a small difference in these rates can add up to significant savings.
4. The High Cost of Growth Constraints
This is the biggest hidden cost of all: the cost of missed opportunities. If your platform prevents you from growing, how much money are you leaving on the table?
- Poor Mobile Experience: If your EKM site is clunky on mobile, you are losing sales every day.
- No International Selling: If you can’t easily sell in multiple currencies, you are missing out on a global market.
- Design Restrictions: If your site looks dated, you are losing customers to competitors with more professional-looking stores.
These constraints directly limit your revenue potential, which is a far greater cost than any monthly subscription fee. An EKM migration becomes an investment in unlocking this trapped revenue.
5. Wasted Time and Manual Work
Time is money. If your platform doesn’t automate simple tasks, you or your staff end up wasting valuable hours. On EKM, you might find yourself manually processing shipping labels, updating inventory across different channels, or struggling to get the sales reports you need. Shopify’s app ecosystem allows you to automate these tasks, freeing up your time to focus on marketing, customer service, and growing your business.
6. Sub-Par SEO and Lost Traffic
While EKM offers basic SEO tools, it often lacks the advanced controls needed to compete in a crowded market. Things like slow site speed, a less-than-perfect mobile experience, and limited control over your site’s technical structure can all hurt your Google rankings. Lower rankings mean less free, organic traffic. This forces you to spend more money on paid advertising to attract customers, a cost that can spiral quickly.
7. Difficult Integrations
As your business grows, you’ll want to connect your store to other systems, like accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks), warehouse management tools, or a customer relationship manager (CRM). EKM’s limited integration options can make this difficult or impossible. You might have to pay a developer for a custom solution or spend hours transferring data by hand. Shopify is built to connect with thousands of other business tools seamlessly.
Shopify’s Cost Transparency and Value
Shopify’s pricing is straightforward. You pay a clear monthly fee and, if you use Shopify Payments, a competitive transaction rate. There are no turnover limits that force you into expensive upgrades.
The real value, however, comes from what is included. Even the basic Shopify plan provides:
- Unlimited products.
- Powerful, built-in features like abandoned cart recovery.
- A world-class, fast, and secure hosting environment.
- Access to a vast app store to add any functionality you need affordably.
You are paying for a robust ecosystem that is designed to support your growth, not penalise it.
The Return on Investment (ROI) of a Migration
Moving your store to Shopify is an investment, not just an expense. The return on that investment comes from:
- Increased Sales: Better conversion rates from a faster, mobile-friendly site.
- Higher Traffic: Improved SEO capabilities leading to more organic visitors.
- Time Savings: Automation of manual tasks reduces operational costs.
- Future-Proofing: A platform that grows with you, so you won’t need to migrate again in a few years.
When you add up these benefits, the cost of the EKM migration often pays for itself within a few months.
How Media Mole Optimises Migration Costs
We understand that budget is a concern for any business. At Media Mole, we help you get the most out of your investment.
- Efficient Process: Our proven migration process for EKM migration and Sellerdeck Migration is efficient and streamlined, reducing the hours required.
- Smart App Choices: We recommend affordable, effective apps that give you the best bang for your buck, avoiding unnecessary monthly fees.
- Focus on Conversion: We design your new store with one goal in mind: to increase sales. This ensures you see a financial return as quickly as possible.
We provide a clear, upfront quote for our services, so there are no hidden costs in the migration process itself.
Conclusion
When comparing e-commerce platforms, looking beyond the monthly fee is essential. The “cheapest” option can often become the most expensive one due to limitations that stifle your growth, waste your time, and cost you sales. The hidden costs of staying on EKM—from forced upgrades to missed opportunities—can add up significantly.
Shopify offers a transparent, scalable, and powerful alternative that provides real value for money. By investing in an EKM migration, you are not just changing software; you are investing in a future where your business has no limits.