Shopify vs Shopify Plus – 5 Key Differences You Must Know

Among the multiple e-commerce platforms out there, Shopify platform is known as one of the best on the market today. It helps millions of people build their own online stores and generates a combined total of $55 billion in sales.

The original Shopify platform is built for small to medium-sized businesses. And then we have Shopify Plus, essentially an upgraded version of Shopify, designed for large enterprise businesses.

So, how can you tell which Shopify platform works best for you? In this article, BSS Commerce Shopify will list 5 key differences between Shopify vs Shopify Plus you must know to make the right choice.

• Monthly price: Shopify starts at $25 per month, while Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 per month.
• Transaction fees: Shopify charges a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee for all payments. Shopify Plus offers lower transaction fees, starting at 2.15% + $0.30.
• Maximum sales volume: Shopify has a maximum sales volume of $800,000 per month. Shopify Plus has no maximum sales volume.
• Advanced features: Shopify Plus offers a number of advanced features that are not available on Shopify, such as Multiple currencies, Multi-channel selling, Advanced reporting, and Dedicated support. 
• Support: Shopify offers 24/7 support for all customers. Shopify Plus offers dedicated support for enterprise customers.

So, which Shopify platform is right for you? Let’s discover now.

About Shopify vs Shopify Plus

First thing first, to clear up any confusion: Shopify vs. Shopify Plus works in the same way. Both are a complete commerce platform that lets you start, grow, and manage a business. So they are technically the same. You can use the same dashboard, editor and help center for information.

Now you might wonder what exactly Shopify Plus does differently exactly?

The thing is, so many people fuss over Shopify Plus not because of how it works but because of what it can do. Before explaining any further, we want to show you the pros and cons of Shopify vs Shopify Plus.

Before explaining any further, we want to show you the pros and cons of Shopify vs Shopify Plus.

Shopify vs Shopify Plus – Which one is more suitable for you?

We have a compare table with 5 key differences for you to have a quick look at the difference between two platforms:

For more detail of each difference, please read the content below.

Shopify vs Shopify Plus: 5 key differences

#1 Help and Support

Shopify vs Shopify Plus: Different Levels of Support

Shopify offers 24/7 support to all of its users via phone, email, and live chat. This is a significant advantage over other ecommerce platforms, which often only offer email or phone support.

Shopify Plus takes support one step further by offering dedicated support for enterprise customers. This means that Shopify Plus customers are assigned a dedicated customer support specialist who can help them with everything from store setup and migration to ongoing store management. This personalized support can be invaluable for large businesses that need help with complex tasks.

Click to Shopify Support Chat

The Shopify Plus Launch Manager is a key part of the dedicated support offering. It is a customer support specialist who can help you and/or your dev team with everything from implementation to post-launch. They are part of the Shopify Plus launch team, which consults on best practices for re-platforming and building your new online store. They can also advise you on unique customer use cases, international storefronts, custom integrations, and data migration.

⚡ Shopify vs Shopify Plus’s Help and Support
👉 Shopify Plus wins!

#2 Shopify vs Shopify Plus: Themes and design customization

Shopify and Shopify Plus offer similar levels of design customization, but there are some key differences.

Shopify offers a library of over 200 themes with prices ranging from $100 to $400, including 10 free themes. These themes can be customized using the Shopify Theme Editor, which allows you to change colors, fonts, and other elements. You can also use Liquid, Shopify’s theme coding language, to make more complex customizations.

Shopify Plus offers the same theme library as Shopify, but it also allows you to create custom themes. This is done with the help of a Launch Manager, who is a dedicated customer support specialist who can help you with the design and development of your custom theme.

You may concern:

Top 15 Best Converting Shopify Themes in 2023

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Discover Top Best Shopify Themes For One Product Store

In addition, Shopify Plus allows you to customize your checkout page with Script Editor. This is a powerful tool that allows you to add custom code to your checkout page. This can be used to create personalized experiences for your customers, such as offering discounts or coupons based on their location or purchase history.

Shopify vs Shopify Plus, which platform is right for you?

The level of design customization that you need will depend on your business and your budget. If you are a small business and you are happy with the standard Shopify themes, then Shopify may be a good option for you. However, if you are a large enterprise business or you need a custom theme, then Shopify Plus is a better choice.

⚡ Shopify vs Shopify Plus’s Themes and design flexibility
👉 Shopify Plus wins!

#3 eCommerce Features

eCommerce features are what truly separate Shopify vs Shopify Plus.

There are some important features available to both platforms, which are:

• Multi-Channel Integration:

Shopify helps you sell your products directly on marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, and social media, like Facebook and Instagram.

More about Shopify Plus marketplaces

• Abandoned Cart Recovery:

Sometimes, a customer visits your online store, adds items to their cart but then leaves without checking out. In that case, Shopify will send your customers an automated email as a reminder if they’re still interested in buying the products.

• Multi-Currency Selling:

When you use Shopify Payments – Shopify’s own payment processor, on your online store, the currency shown for your products will automatically adjust based on the customer’s location.

And now, we will show you some exclusive features for Shopify Plus only.

• Shopify Flow

Shopify Flow helps you track your customer’s purchases and alter your homepage to match the products they may be interested in.

• Launchpad

Launchpad is an automation tool, which allows you to handle thousands of event tasks to impressively launch your business.

• Script Editor

We mentioned the Script Editor in the designing part, but it has loads more uses. Besides giving you greater control over shipping, you can also create scripts for line items and payment methods.

⚡ Shopify vs Shopify Plus’s eCommerce features
👉 Shopify Plus wins!

Do you know: Shopify vs GoDaddy: Which one to choose?

#4 Wholesale channel

Wholesaling is the business of distributing goods in bulk to other businesses (B2B) or customers (B2C). As your business grows, it’s important that your store can facilitate wholesale sales. So, another highlight difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus is the wholesale channel.

Shopify platform offers a variety of ways to wholesale your products, like using discount codes or sending invoices with a wholesale app. But one of the best ways is using the wholesale channel, which lets you expand your business into wholesale. It will help you create a separate, password-protected storefront that’s an extension of your online store. That means you can offer the same products at exclusive prices to wholesale buyers or exclusive wholesale-only products. The wholesale channel also helps you track all your wholesale customers and orders are under your current store’s Shopify admin.

There are three main features of the wholesale channel:

• Separate storefront

Your wholesale store is separate from your online store. You and your customers need different login details to access it. Your customers can’t go to your online store from your wholesale store. Your customers can only see and order the products that you assign to them in a price list.

To sell your online store products in your wholesale store, you need to add them to a price list and assign a customer to it. Also, your wholesale store pages and products are not searchable online. Search engines won’t index them or show them in search results.

• Customized pricing

There are 4 different ways for you to customize the prices that you offer your wholesale customers. For more details, read here.

• Order processing

Your customers’ wholesale orders appear as draft orders in your Shopify admin. When you receive those draft orders, you can process it in 2 different ways. For more details, read here.

As you can see, the wholesale channel is a great option for you to sell wholesale on Shopify. The most important thing is, the wholesale channel is available to Shopify Plus plans only. That is one of the biggest differences between Shopify vs Shopify Plus.

⚡ Shopify vs Shopify Plus: Wholesale
👉 Shopify Plus wins!

Searching for a trusted Shopify Plus Agency, BSS Commerce is truly worth a try!

#5 Analytics

Analytics uses data and math to help answer business questions. It’s the most important thing to improve your business. Both Shopify and Shopify Plus provide an overview dashboard with business insights through analytics.

In the overview dashboard, you can view stats like sales, top products, landing pages or referrers, returning customer rate, and more.

Of course, with Shopify, the higher plan you use, the more detailed the reports will be. But Shopify Plus takes the game to another level by including more in-depth analysis and detailed information. Shopify Plus partners with some industry-leading analytics companies, like Glew or Looker, to name a few. And they will bring you up-to-date, expert data and insight.

The collected information will be the game-changer, which helps you make big business calls in a split second.

⚡ Shopify vs Shopify Plus: Analytics
👉 Shopify Plus wins!

#6 Pricing and transaction fees

Pricing is a significant difference between Shopify vs Shopify Plus.

As expected, Shopify pricing comes in at a lower overall price point than Shopify Plus. Currently, Shopify has three main plan:

• Basic Shopify: Starting at $25 per month
• Shopify: $65 per month
• Advanced Shopify: $399 per month

You also have a 3-day free trial option to test it out before upgrading to any plan. For a full list of features per plan, please check out the Shopify website.

Shopify Plus costs so much more than Shopify because of the features and support it offers.

Shopify Plus plans start at $2300 per month, but Shopify Plus has no fixed plan. It offers you customized plans based on the revenue. So, based on your Shopify Plus store’s sales volume, here is what you can expect to pay:

• $0 to $800,000 – you’ll pay $2,000
• $1,000,000 – you’ll pay $2,500
• $5,000,000 – you’ll pay $12,500
• $12,000,000 – you’ll pay $30,000
• $16,000,000 and more – you’ll pay $40,000

From this information, you can think about your business model, monthly turnover, and marketing needs to come to an agreement over a suitable price.

One more thing you need to know is transaction fees. Shopify’s transaction fees are also lower with Shopify Plus. If you don’t use Shopify Payments but use a third-party payment provider, like Stripe for example, you’ll pay 1.6% plus 35 cents per transaction, as well as an additional 0.15% per transaction.

And once again, unlike Shopify with standard plans, with Shopify Plus, you never pay a fixed fee. It alters based on your store’s revenue for the given month. In order to get a quote about the exact pricing transaction fees, you have to contact Shopify Plus directly.

⚡ Shopify vs Shopify Plus’s Pricing and Transaction fees
👉 Shopify wins!

Curious about Top 10 Must-Have Shopify Apps for a New Store

Conclusion

When to Choose Shopify vs Shopify Plus?

Shopify and Shopify Plus are both e-commerce platforms that can help you sell your products online. However, they are designed for different types of businesses.

Shopify is a good choice for small to medium-sized businesses. It is easy to use and affordable. It offers a variety of features and tools that can help you set up and manage your online store.

Shopify Plus is a good choice for large enterprise businesses. It offers more features and tools than Shopify, such as the ability to handle high volumes of traffic and sales, and the ability to integrate with ERP systems.

You should know: Top Shopify Plus Features To Check Out

So, how do you know which platform is right for you? Here are a few things to consider:

• The size of your business: If you are a small to medium-sized business, Shopify is a good option. If you are a large enterprise business, Shopify Plus is a better choice.
• Your needs: What features and tools do you need for your online store? Shopify offers a basic set of features, while Shopify Plus offers a more comprehensive set of features.
• Your budget: Shopify is more affordable than Shopify Plus.
• Your future growth plans: If you plan to grow your business in the future, you may want to choose Shopify Plus. This will give you the flexibility to scale your store as your business grows.

The best thing about Shopify is that you can always upgrade or downgrade your plan if your needs change. So, if you are not sure which platform is right for you, you can start with Shopify and then upgrade to Shopify Plus if your business grows.

Do you have a brilliant idea or a grand vision for your online business? Do you need a reliable and professional partner to help you turn it into reality? Look no further than BSS Commerce, a leading development agency with over 12 years of experience in eCommerce website development. We can help you build an online store that is user-friendly, sales-oriented, and powerful. Let’s check out with Our Shopify Website Development Services. 

Or if you already have a stunning Shopify and want to scale your business with Shopify Plus, go with our Shopify Plus Development Services to transform your website to the new level.

And if you have decided which Shopify plan is suitable, you can always contact us for a FREE consultation on how you should build and grow your Shopify store, we’re here to help!