Shopify Plus: Is It Worth the Upgrade for Your Business?
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In the increasingly competitive e-commerce landscape, expanding your business means overcoming all the hurdles from handling massive traffic, optimizing complex processes, to expanding to global markets while maintaining smooth operations. In this article, NextSky will explore with you the definition of what is Shopify plus to determine whether this is the right strategy to help your brand grow exponentially.
What is Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is Shopify’s enterprise-level eCommerce platform, designed for high-growth brands and businesses with complex operational needs. Unlike standard Shopify plans, Shopify Plus provides greater customization, automation, and scalability, making it ideal for merchants handling large transaction volumes or expanding into global markets.
Launched in 2014, Shopify Plus competes with other enterprise solutions like Adobe Commerce (Magento), Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and BigCommerce Enterprise. The platform is cloud-based (SaaS), eliminating the need for self-hosted infrastructure, maintenance costs, or security concerns.
Shopify Plus is trusted by leading brands like Gymshark, Allbirds, Heinz, and Kylie Cosmetics, thanks to its customization flexibility, enterprise-grade support, and omnichannel commerce capabilities. It enables businesses to scale seamlessly while maintaining performance and brand identity.
Read more: What is Shopify? All Information About The Platform from A-Z
How much does Shopify Plus cost?
Shopify Plus pricing is flexible and scales based on your business’s revenue and transaction volume. Below are the key costs to consider:
Shopify Plus pricing
Unlike standard Shopify plans, Shopify Plus doesn’t have a fixed fee but is revenue-based. The starting rate is $2,000/month (billed annually) for businesses with monthly sales under $800,000. Businesses exceeding this threshold pay a variable fee based on revenue.
- Instead of a flat rate, you pay 0.25% of monthly revenue. For example: $1 million in sales → $2,500 Shopify Plus fee for that month.
- Costs scale with revenue but are capped at $40,000/month.
- Contracts begin with a 1-year commitment, followed by month-to-month billing.
Transaction fees
- Using Shopify Payments → no transaction fees.
- Using third-party processors → additional 0.15% per transaction.
Shopify Payments fee examples:
- Domestic Visa/Mastercard: 2.15% + $0.30 per transaction.
- Amex & international transactions: 3.15% + $0.30 per transaction.
Shopify Payments is the most cost-effective option unless you operate in restricted industries like alcohol.
Included benefits at no extra cost
Unlike standard Shopify plans, Shopify Plus includes:
- Shopify POS Pro (typically $89/month per location).
- Unlimited staff accounts.
- Support for up to 20 store locations.
- 9 free expansion stores for testing new markets.
- Automated tax calculations for international sellers.
- Priority 24/7 support with faster response times.
These features are especially valuable for businesses with multiple stores, using Shopify POS, or needing advanced automation, offsetting the higher Shopify Plus costs.
Read more: Shopify pricing: Which plans are for you?
What are the key features of Shopify Plus?
1. Scalability and performance
Shopify Plus delivers unmatched scalability, handling thousands of transactions per minute with unlimited product listings and bandwidth, ensuring website stability even during peak traffic. With the Summer 2024 update, the platform evolves into a unified commerce operating system, supporting D2C, B2B, retail, and multi-channel growth from a single platform.
2. Advanced API resources
Shopify Plus offers higher API limits for deep customization of both storefront and back-end processes. Seamless integrations with ERP, CRM, and third-party tools enable fast synchronization of large product catalogs and order data. Popular Shopify APIs include Gift Card, Multipass, and User for REST.
3. Shopify POS Pro for retail
Shopify POS Pro is free for up to 200 locations, turning pop-ups into permanent stores with seamless online-to-offline sync. Exclusive to Shopify Plus, this feature offers unlimited staff accounts, smart inventory management, in-store sales analytics, granular staff permissions, and multi-channel fulfillment.
4. Automation with Shopify Flow
Shopify Flow automates repetitive tasks like inventory management, order tagging, and fraud risk detection. Add-on apps like Launchpad for flash sales and Shopify Transporter for customer data migration optimize operations, saving millions of work hours annually.
5. B2B and wholesale capabilities
Previously, businesses handling both B2B and B2C needed separate platforms. Shopify Plus unifies these models with features like custom wholesale pricing, flexible payment terms, and bulk order options, all managed within one store. Capabilities for t-shirt stores:
- Set custom pricing for bulk t-shirt orders for retailers or teams.
- Define minimum order quantities for wholesale purchases.
- Automatically apply volume-based discounts to encourage larger orders.
6. Shopify Scripts
Without third-party apps, Shopify Plus automates pricing strategies at checkout—from quantity-based discounts and loyalty promotions to customized shipping and payment options, maximizing conversion rates.
7. Multi-currency and international selling
Shopify Plus empowers brands to expand globally without barriers. Products display in local currencies, checkout experiences are localized, and region-specific payment methods are pre-integrated, enabling rapid market testing without separate stores.
8. Unlimited staff accounts
Lower-tier Shopify plans limit staff accounts to 2–15, creating challenges for businesses with multiple departments, agencies, or external partners. Shopify Plus addresses this with:
- Unlimited staff accounts for large teams
- Role-specific access controls to protect sensitive data
- Secure third-party access for agencies and developers This ensures flexible, secure, and scalable operations without restrictions.
8. Branded checkout for conversion optimization
Fully customizable checkout pages help brands stand out and enhance customer experiences. Add upsells, cross-sells, tailored payment and shipping options, and integrate tools like Google Card Manager for seamless multi-channel selling.
9. Multi-store management dashboard
Instead of switching between multiple accounts, you can now manage the entire system from a single dashboard: assign permissions, synchronize processes, and monitor settings easily. This feature is especially useful for brands with stores or regional franchises, making operational hassles simple.
10. Branded checkout, optimized conversions
Fully customizable checkout pages help your brand stand out and optimize the customer experience. You can add upsells, cross-sells, customize payment and shipping methods, and even integrate Google Card Manager to expand omnichannel sales.
11. Advanced Customization
- Checkout extensibility: Replaces the legacy checkout.liquid (end of support August 2025) with an app-based solution that allows for custom branding, upsells, loyalty integrations, and dynamic fields, with over 400 apps ready to use.
- Shopify functions: Implement discount, shipping, and payment logic without a server – faster, more secure, and more flexible than traditional scripts.
- Headless Shopify: Decouple the frontend using the Storefront API (e.g., React) while leveraging the full power and features of the Shopify Plus backend.
Read more: Shopify Features: The Complete Guide for Optimizing Your Store
Shopify Plus vs Shopify vs Advanced Shopify: A Comparison
| Feature | Shopify Plus | Advanced Shopify | Grow Shopify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | Starting at $2,300 USD | $399 USD | $65 USD |
| Merchant Success Manager (MSM) | Dedicated MSMs for ongoing support and optimization | Not available | Not available |
| Shopify Plus Academy | Access to advanced courses and webinars | Not available | Not available |
| Checkout Customization | Full access to checkout extensibility for complete customization | Limited customization (depends on the theme) | Limited customization (depends on the theme) |
| Staff Accounts | Unlimited | 15 | 5 |
| API Integrations | More flexible API integrations, including ERP/CRM systems | Limited API integrations | Limited API integrations with apps |
| Discounts & Promotions | Advanced features via Launchpad (automated campaigns, flash sales) | Basic discount features, no automation tools | Basic discount features available |
| B2B Selling Features | Advanced B2B features like custom pricing, access controls, and automation | Limited B2B support, no specific tools for bulk selling | Limited B2B support |
| Headless Commerce | Full headless commerce capabilities (Hydrogen & Oxygen for custom storefronts) | Not available | Not available |
| Number of Storefronts | Up to 10 storefronts for international expansion or testing | 1 storefront | 1 storefront |
| Multi-Currency & Localization | Supports multi-currency, localized storefronts, and tailored payment methods | Limited multi-currency support | Limited multi-currency support |
| Shopify POS Pro | Omnichannel POS system integration | Basic POS features, upgrade to Pro available | POS Lite included, upgrade to Pro with additional cost |
| Shopify Flow & Launchpad | Advanced automation with Shopify Flow & Launchpad | Not available | Not available |
| Dedicated Support | 24/7 priority support, early access to features, exclusive resources | Standard support, limited customization support | Standard support via email and chat |
Nextsky's Verdict:
- Grow is ideal for growing businesses needing essential tools to manage their store, without the advanced features of Shopify Plus or Advanced.
- Shopify Plus is designed for large businesses with complex needs, offering full customization, multi-store management, and advanced automation.
- Shopify Advanced is for scaling businesses that need advanced features but don’t require enterprise-level tools like those in Shopify Plus.
What are the pros and cons of Shopify Plus?
Advantages
- Significantly reduce operating costs such as hosting, maintenance, upgrades and security.
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage, 99.99% stable operation.
- Automate work with Launchpad and Flow, helping businesses focus on marketing and development.
- The platform is constantly updated with new features, providing a modern e-commerce experience.
- Easy to customize and integrate applications to suit individual needs.
- Each customer is supported by Success Management, ensuring attentive service.
- User-friendly API and SDK, convenient for expanding and developing features.
Disadvantages
- Limited content management capabilities.
- Requires technical knowledge to take full advantage of advanced features.
- Does not yet support advanced multi-store architectures such as Magento or Salesforce.
- Some products are limited when using Shopify Payments.
- SEO features are not really comprehensive.
Top 3 popular brands using Shopify Plus for beginners to explore
- Gymshark: A sportswear brand operating in 131 countries, Gymshark leverages Shopify Plus for seamless international operations, flexible interface changes tied to marketing campaigns, and optimized global shipping.
- PetHQ: One of the UAE’s largest pet retailers, PetHQ uses Shopify Plus to manage high-volume orders, custom pricing, and streamlined supplier partnerships. Its automated B2B system enables fast customer verification and ordering, showcasing Shopify Plus’s scalability for both B2B and B2C.
- Kylie Cosmetics: A globally renowned cosmetics brand, Kylie Cosmetics employs Shopify Plus to centrally manage online stores, pop-ups, and physical retail. The platform supports flexible marketing campaigns, product bundles, and reliable promotions.
Who is Shopify plus plan suitable for?
- Your current Shopify plan lacks the flexibility and automation you need.
- You experience significant traffic spikes and need a scalable, high-performance platform.
- You require multi-store management, advanced B2B capabilities, or deeper API integrations.
- You want priority support and a dedicated Merchant Success Manager to help optimize growth.
In essence, Shopify Plus stands as the premier choice for thriving e-commerce enterprises seeking a potent, adaptable, and feature-laden platform to propel their online store to unprecedented heights.
