What is Shopify Plus?

If your Shopify store is scaling rapidly, you've likely wondered whether upgrading to Shopify Plus is worth the significant investment. With pricing starting at $2300/month (approximately 3530 AUD), it's a major decision that requires careful consideration.

This comprehensive guide breaks down everything you need to know about Shopify Plus in 2025 - from exclusive features like custom apps and B2B wholesale capabilities to honest comparisons with standard Shopify plans. We'll help you determine if Shopify Plus is the right investment for your growing e-commerce business.

TL;DR Is Shopify Plus Worth It?

Shopify Plus is worth it if:

• Your store generates at least 1M USD/year in revenue
• You need B2B wholesale alongside retail operations
• You require custom checkout experiences
• Your business has complex automation needs
• You're expanding internationally with multi-currency/multi-store requirements
• You process 5,000+ orders per month
• You're scaling physical locations with Shopify POS

Shopify Plus is NOT worth it if:

• Your annual revenue is under $500K
• You're satisfied with standard Shopify themes and checkout
• Your business model is straightforward retail only
• You don't need advanced automation or custom apps
• Standard Shopify features meet your current needs
• You're using a lot of apps - most apps will get more expensive when you upgrade, make sure you've included this in your calculations.

How does Shopify Plus compares to other plans?

What is Shopify Plus?

Shopify Plus is far more than just an upgraded Shopify plan; it is a powerful, enterprise-level eCommerce platform engineered for high-growth businesses and established brands. While standard Shopify serves small to medium-sized businesses well, Plus is built to handle the complexities of scaling. It delivers the enhanced power, flexibility, and customisation needed to manage high volumes of sales and traffic.

Key differentiators include robust features such as native wholesale channels, significantly higher API call limits for sophisticated integrations, and the ability to launch additional storefronts at no extra cost, perfect for internationalisation or sub-brands. Combined with a fully customisable checkout and dedicated priority support, Shopify Plus equips large-scale businesses with the infrastructure to automate operations, expand into new markets, and maintain a competitive edge.

Why Shopify Plus Remains the Top Choice for High-Growth Brands in 2025

Shopify Plus consistently remains the platform of choice for ambitious brands because it has evolved beyond a simple toolset into a strategic growth engine.

In today's competitive landscape, scaling businesses face three core challenges:

• standing out with unique customer experiences,
• managing operational complexity,
• expanding globally

Shopify Plus directly addresses these challenges with a commitment to continuous innovation.

Which features are exclusive to Shopify Plus?

Custom Checkout Experiences

One of the most powerful Shopify Plus features is complete checkout customization. Fortunately there's no longer a checkout.liquid file to modify, Last year Shopify released new checkout extensibility that gives Shopify Plus unique features for modifying the checkout.

Branding API

Branding API allows for deeper customization of the checkout experience, enabling changes to forms, typography, and visual elements like rounded corners and the favicon. These customizations ensure that the checkout, customer account pages, and installed extensions maintain a consistent visual style, enhancing the overall user experience.

Checkout UI Extensions

Checkout UI Extensions empower developers to create unique visual modules or "blocks" that can be used to build a customized checkout process. These extensions allow you to modify all or specific steps of the checkout process, such as product information, shipping, payment options, and order summaries. Examples of what you can create include upsell sections, subscription modules, additional data fields, and personalized notifications.

Shopify Functions

Custom apps with Shopify functions are exclusive to Shopify Plus. Shopify Functions allow developers to customize the backend logic of Shopify. With custom apps, Shopify app developers can bring custom features to your store.

Would you like to have custom discounts? No problem. Maybe discounts that are spread across multiple products? Maybe you need to restrict some products to just 1 customer per purchase?

Shopify functions can deliver the business logic you need to scale.

B2B with Shopify

Shopify Plus includes native B2B functionality that allows you to run wholesale and retail operations on the same platform and even on the same theme.

B2B Features:

• Seperate context that can use the same storefront for B2B and DTC sales
• You can also run a seperate store with included price
• Customer-specific pricing and catalogs
• Minimum order quantities and bulk pricing tiers
• Net payment terms (invoice/purchase order support)
• Company accounts with multiple buyers
• Self-service customer portal for reordering
• Wholesale-specific checkout experience

Why this matters: Instead of paying for separate B2B platforms or managing wholesale through spreadsheets, everything runs natively in Shopify Plus with connection to the same inventory and locations.

ROI calculation:

• B2B platform cost saved: $1,000/month average
• Annual savings: $12,000
• This alone covers ~42% of Shopify Plus annual cost

Unlimited Custom Apps

Unlike standard Shopify plans that limit custom app installations, Shopify Plus allows unlimited custom apps.

What you can build:

• Custom inventory management systems
• Bespoke CRM integrations
• Automated fulfillment workflows
• Custom reporting dashboards
• Specialized product configurators
• Advanced loyalty programs
• Integration with ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics)

Development considerations:

• Requires developer resources (in-house or agency)
• Average custom app cost: $5,000- $50,000 depending on complexity
• Ongoing maintenance: from $50/month

When custom apps make sense:

• You have unique business processes that off-the-shelf apps can't handle
• You need deep integration with legacy systems
• Your competitive advantage depends on proprietary technology

Launchpad

Shopify Plus offers Launchpad - a way to automate and schedule sales events, product launches, and promotions and end them when needed. Which frees up your team to work on other, mission-critical objectives rather than staying late at night to turn on a planned promotion.

Features:

• Schedule theme changes for sales events
• Automatically publish/unpublish products at set times
• Script-based price changes for flash sales
• Revert changes automatically after promotion ends
• Plan multiple campaigns in advance

Perfect for:

• Black Friday/Cyber Monday preparation
• Product launches with countdown timers
• Flash sales and limited-time promotions
• Seasonal inventory changes

Multiple Stores (Expansion Stores)

Shopify Plus includes up to 9 additional stores at no extra platform cost (you only pay for apps).

Use cases:

• Separate stores for different countries/regions
• Brand-specific stores under one corporate umbrella
• Distinct wholesale and retail storefronts
• Testing store for new features
• Regional pricing and product catalogs

Cost savings: Each additional Shopify Advanced store would cost $399/month. With 3 expansion stores, you save $14,364/year.

Scaling your physical locations

If you want to scale physical locations using Shopify POS, the Shopify Plus can give you a leg up. On other plans each location with Shopify POS Pro cost 89$ with Shopify Plus you have 20 or 200 (when using Shopify Payments) locations for free.

This can save you up to 213,600 USD/year, making Shopify Plus a great match.

Streamlined Team Management with Custom User Groups

For growing organizations, maintaining control over who can access what is critical. Shopify Plus introduces Custom User Groups, allowing you to build permission templates for different roles within your company.

You can create a "Content Editor" group with access to products and blog posts but not customer data, or a "Finance" group with access to reports and gift cards but not theme code.

This system not only accelerates onboarding but also enforces the principle of least privilege, tightening your store's security and reducing the risk of costly human errors.

Built-in Bot Protection for Fair Sales Events

During high-stakes events like a limited-edition product drop or a Black Friday flash sale, your store becomes a prime target for scalper bots. These automated programs can snatch up your entire inventory in seconds, leaving genuine customers frustrated and empty-handed.

Shopify Plus provides native Bot Protection to combat this. This feature automatically identifies and challenges suspicious, high-volume traffic at checkout, effectively ensuring human shoppers are prioritized. By leveling the playing field, you protect your brand's reputation, ensure loyal fans have a fair chance to purchase, and prevent your limited stock from instantly appearing on resale sites at inflated prices.

Shopify Plus vs Other Plans

Transaction Fee Savings

One of the most overlooked Shopify Plus benefits is dramatically reduced transaction fees.

Transaction fee comparison (with Shopify Payments):

At $2M annual revenue:

• Advanced plan transaction fees: $10,000
• Plus transaction fees: $3,000
• Savings: $7,000/year (25% of Plus annual cost)

At $5M annual revenue:

• Advanced plan transaction fees: $25,000
• Plus transaction fees: $7,500
• Savings: $17,500/year (63% of Plus annual cost)

Staff Account Savings

Standard plan limitations:

• Basic: 2 staff accounts
• Shopify: 5 staff accounts
• Advanced: 15 staff accounts

Additional staff accounts cost: $5/month per additional account on Advanced plan

Plus advantage: Unlimited staff accounts included

For a 25-person team:

• Advanced plan: 10 extra accounts × $5 = $50/month = $600/year
• Plus: Included

API Rate Limits Matter for Custom Integrations

Shopify APIs use several different rate-limiting methods. Here's an overview table straight from Shopify's developers documentation.

Shopify uses GraphQL under the hood, and points mentioned in the table is the total cost value of the query. Mutating data is more expensive (10 pointes per operation), each object costs 1 point. The amount of queries you can run depends on the query.

In Layman's terms: With Shopify plus you can perform 10x the calls to the GraphQL Admin API - an API responsible for managing products, inventories, discounts, customers and other data. If your store is scaling, and you're using custom integrations you might need more overhead to process all events quickly.

When API limits matter:

• Real-time inventory syncing with multiple warehouses
• High-frequency price updates
• Complex ERP integrations
• Custom reporting dashboards
• Advanced marketing automation

Who Should Upgrade to Shopify Plus in 2025?

Revenue-Based Guidelines

$500K-$1M annual revenue: Probably too early unless you have specific technical requirements such as B2B sales, complex automations, or business specific logic that can only be implemented with Shopify Functions.

$1M-$3M annual revenue: Makes sense if:

• You're growing 50%+ year-over-year
• You need B2B wholesale capabilities
• Transaction fee savings partially offset the cost
• You have development resources for custom apps

$3M-$5M annual revenue: Strong candidate if:

• You're hitting limitations on Advanced plan
• International expansion requires multiple stores
• You're spending significant time on manual processes
• Your team is growing and you need more accounts

$5M+ annual revenue: Shopify Plus almost always makes financial sense when crossing 5MLN USD a year if you're not on Shopify Plus you need to start considering it!

Key Takeaways

1. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month but transaction fee savings can offset 25-65% of the cost at scale
2. B2B wholesale capabilities alone can save $12,000-24,000/year versus separate B2B platforms
3. Custom checkout access might improve conversion rates directly impacting revenue
4. The break-even point is usually $1M-1.5M in annual revenue depending on business model
5. Expansion stores (up to 9 included) save $43,000/year if you need multiple storefronts
6. Technical requirements matter more than revenue - if Shopify Plus offers capabilities that are critical to achieving your goals, it's worth to try it out.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Shopify Plus cost in 2025?

Shopify Plus pricing starts at $2,300/month for 3 year contract, or costs 2500 USD/month on a yearly contract.

Can I negotiate Shopify Plus pricing?

Yes, Shopify Plus pricing is negotiable for:

1. High-volume merchants ($5M+/month in revenue)
2. Multi-brand enterprises needing many expansion stores
3. Annual vs monthly commitments (annual saves ~5-10%)
4. Referrals from existing Plus merchants

Typical negotiation results:

• $2,000-2,200/month for established brands
• Custom pricing over $10M/month
• Transaction fee reductions for very high volume

How long does it take to upgrade to Shopify Plus?

It's instant. You can sign up today, and get it running within 24 hrs.

What happens to my existing apps when I upgrade?

Good news: Nearly all Shopify apps work on Shopify Plus.

Changes to expect:

1. Some apps offer Plus-specific pricing tiers (often more expensive)
2. Plus-exclusive apps become available
3. Better app performance due to higher API limits
4. Some apps may have Plus-specific features

Apps to reassess:

• Checkout apps: May be unnecessary with native checkout customization
• Wholesale apps: May be replaced by native B2B functionality
• Automation apps: May be replaced by Shopify Flow

Cost impact: Budget for 10-20% increase in app costs due to Plus tiers.

Can I downgrade from Shopify Plus?

Yes, but it's complicated and comes with significant limitations.

What you lose when downgrading:

• Custom checkout modifications (reverts to standard)
• Shopify Scripts and Functions
• B2B wholesale channel
• Expansion stores (each becomes paid subscription)
• Unlimited staff accounts (drops to 15 max)
• Unlimited automation (Flow becomes paid)
• API rate limits drop dramatically
• Merchant Success Manager support

Technical challenges:

• Checkout customizations break immediately
• Scripts stop working (discounts may break)
• Custom apps may exceed API limits
• Wholesale customers lose access

When downgrading makes sense:

• Your revenue dropped significantly below $500K
• You're shutting down the business
• You never utilized Plus features

Better alternative: If cost is the concern, negotiate lower Plus pricing rather than downgrade.

Can I use Shopify Plus for dropshipping?

Technically yes, but Shopify Plus is overkill for most dropshipping businesses.

Shopify Plus makes sense for dropshipping if:

• You're doing $3M+/year with multiple suppliers
• You need complex automation for order routing
• You operate multiple dropshipping brands
• You have custom supplier integrations via API

For most dropshippers: Shopify Basic ($39/month) or Shopify ($105/month) is more appropriate.

Exception: Hybrid models (dropshipping + wholesale + private label) may benefit from Plus features.