When it comes to building and scaling an e-commerce business, selecting the right platform is one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make. Shopify has long been a popular choice among entrepreneurs, offering a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for starting an online store. But as businesses grow and their needs become more complex, Shopify Plus—the enterprise-level version of Shopify—becomes a more attractive option for those seeking advanced features, customizations, and scalability.

In this post, we will show you some differences between Shopify vs Shopify plus to help you decide which option is the best for your business.

Shopify is a robust e-commerce platform used by businesses of all sizes, from small startups to well-established brands. It offers an intuitive interface, a wide range of customizable templates, and integrations with various third-party apps to streamline operations.

On the other hand, Shopify Plus is designed for high-volume businesses that require advanced features, greater customization, and premium support. Shopify Plus is a more powerful version of the platform, built to handle larger inventories, increased traffic, and complex workflows. It is tailored for enterprise-level needs and can support businesses that are scaling at a rapid pace.

The fundamental difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus lies in the level of customization, support, and scalability. Let’s dive deeper into these differences.

Shopify vs Shopify Plus Comparison

Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce platform designed for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) looking to establish an online presence with essential tools for store management.

Pros

• Ease of Use: Intuitive interface, suitable for beginners.
• Affordable Pricing: Plans start from $39/month.
• Comprehensive Features: Access to a vast app marketplace for added functionality like email marketing, SEO tools, and product bundling.
• Responsive Templates: Mobile-friendly themes with customizable options.
• Scalability: Supports growing businesses by upgrading to higher-tier plans.

Cons

• Limited Customization: Restricted access to the backend, limiting advanced customization.
• Transaction Fees: Unless using Shopify Payments, additional transaction fees apply.
• Scaling Challenges: May struggle with high-volume sales or complex requirements.

Target Audiences

• Startups: Ideal for entrepreneurs starting with e-commerce.
• Small to Medium Businesses: Suited for businesses with manageable sales volumes.
• Budget-Conscious Sellers: Offers essential features at an affordable price.

Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus is the enterprise-level solution tailored for high-growth and large-scale businesses. It provides advanced features, greater customization, and dedicated support.

Pros

• Unlimited Bandwidth: Handles high traffic and large order volumes seamlessly.
• Customization: Access to Liquid code for advanced design and backend changes.
• Dedicated Support: Includes a Launch Manager and 24/7 priority support.
• Automation: Tools like Shopify Flow for automating tasks and processes.
• International Expansion: Multi-currency, multi-store, and multilingual capabilities.
• Advanced API Access: Integrates with custom apps and third-party systems.

Cons

• High Cost: Starts at $2,000/month, which is a significant investment for smaller businesses.
• Complexity: Requires technical expertise or a dedicated team for setup and maintenance.
• Not Always Necessary: For smaller stores, the advanced features may be overkill.

Target Audiences

• Large Enterprises: Businesses with high sales volume and complex operations.
• Fast-Growing Brands: Companies scaling quickly and needing robust infrastructure.
• Global Retailers: Those looking to expand internationally with localized experiences.
• Businesses Needing Custom Solutions: Brands requiring advanced customization or integration with ERP/CRM systems.

Key Feature Comparison

Feature	Shopify	Shopify Plus
Pricing	$29-$399/month	Starts at $2,300/month
Transaction Fees	Yes (unless Shopify Payments)	No transaction fees (Shopify Payments required)
Customization	Basic theme editor	Full access to Liquid code
Support	Standard support	Priority 24/7 dedicated support
Automation	Limited	Shopify Flow and advanced tools
International Features	Limited	Multi-store, multi-currency, multilingual

Custom Scripts

One of the standout features of Shopify Plus is the ability to use custom scripts. These are unique pieces of code that allow you to automate processes, customize checkout behavior, and manage complex workflows. Shopify Plus users can create custom scripts to handle various aspects of their store operations, giving them the flexibility to implement personalized experiences for their customers.

Here’s how custom scripts can enhance your Shopify Plus store:

• Automation: You can automate various processes, such as pricing, discounts, or even inventory updates, based on customer actions or triggers.
• Checkout Customization: Shopify Plus allows for deep customization of the checkout process. You can modify the cart behavior, customize payment gateways, and even automate order processing.
• Advanced Analytics: Custom scripts can be used to track specific customer behaviors, enabling you to gather valuable insights into how users interact with your store.

While Shopify also offers a wide range of apps and integrations to automate processes, Shopify Plus’s custom scripts give businesses the flexibility to tailor their store to their unique needs.

Advanced Reporting and Analytics

When scaling your business, access to detailed and insightful analytics is key to understanding your customers and optimizing your operations. Shopify Plus offers advanced reporting and analytics that go beyond the standard reports available in Shopify.

With Shopify Plus, users can take advantage of:

• Deeper Insights: Get more granular data on sales performance, customer behavior, and conversion rates. These insights help businesses make more informed decisions and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Custom Dashboards: Shopify Plus users can create custom dashboards to track important metrics in real-time. This level of customization ensures that you’re always aware of your store’s performance and can quickly respond to changes in customer behavior or market trends.

While Shopify provides essential analytics to help businesses grow, Shopify Plus’s advanced reporting capabilities make it easier for large enterprises to track and optimize every aspect of their e-commerce strategy.

Customizable Checkout Pages

For many e-commerce businesses, the checkout process is a make-or-break element of the customer journey. Shopify Plus provides greater flexibility in customizing checkout pages, ensuring that they align with your brand and offer an exceptional user experience.

Key features include:

• Branding: Shopify Plus users can completely customize their checkout pages to match the branding of their store. This includes altering design elements, adding logos, and ensuring that the checkout process feels cohesive with the rest of the store.
• Custom Fields and Validation: Shopify Plus gives you the ability to add custom fields to the checkout page, such as asking customers for special requests or additional information. You can also apply custom validation rules to ensure data is entered correctly.
• Multilingual Support: Shopify Plus supports 20 languages for checkout pages, while the basic Shopify plan only allows for 5 languages. This makes Shopify Plus ideal for businesses with international customers, offering them a localized checkout experience.

For businesses that rely on creating a seamless, branded, and customized checkout experience, Shopify Plus offers the flexibility needed to improve conversions and customer satisfaction.

Cart Recovery Features

Cart abandonment is one of the biggest challenges e-commerce businesses face. However, Shopify Plus comes equipped with advanced cart recovery features designed to recover lost sales and re-engage customers who left without completing their purchase.

Shopify Plus offers:

• Abandoned Cart Recovery: Shopify Plus automatically sends abandoned cart emails to customers who add items to their cart but don’t complete the purchase. These emails can be fully customized, allowing you to remind customers of their abandoned cart and offer incentives to complete their order.
• Retargeting Ads: In addition to abandoned cart emails, Shopify Plus users can set up automated retargeting ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, encouraging users to return to their cart and finish their purchase.
• Automated Workflows: You can create automated workflows that trigger specific actions based on customer behavior, such as sending follow-up emails after a customer abandons their cart, or offering discounts to encourage completion.

While Shopify offers basic cart recovery features, Shopify Plus’s enhanced automation and retargeting options significantly improve the likelihood of recovering abandoned carts.

Better Scalability

As your business grows, you need a platform that can handle increased traffic, large inventories, and complex workflows. Shopify Plus is designed to provide scalability for large enterprises that experience high sales volumes and traffic spikes.

With Shopify Plus, you get:

• High Traffic Handling: Shopify Plus is built to handle high-traffic loads, which means you don’t have to worry about your store crashing during peak sales periods like Black Friday or holiday seasons.
• More Resources: Shopify Plus provides dedicated infrastructure to ensure that your store remains fast and reliable even as you scale.
• Greater Flexibility: Shopify Plus offers API access and integration capabilities that make it easier to connect with third-party systems, custom applications, and external software tools.

For businesses that require greater performance and reliability, Shopify Plus provides the resources needed to scale without sacrificing speed or functionality.

Dedicated Account Management

One of the biggest differentiators between Shopify and Shopify Plus is the dedicated account management that comes with the Plus plan. Shopify Plus users have access to a dedicated merchant success manager who provides personalized support to optimize your store’s performance.

This support includes:

• Strategic Guidance: Your dedicated account manager works with you to help you develop strategies to increase sales, improve marketing, and streamline operations.
• Priority Support: Shopify Plus users receive priority access to customer support, ensuring that any issues are resolved promptly and efficiently.
• Tailored Solutions: The account manager helps you implement custom solutions tailored to your business needs, ensuring that you get the most out of Shopify Plus’s features.

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This level of personalized support is ideal for businesses that need hands-on assistance and guidance as they scale.

Pricing Comparison

When it comes to pricing, Shopify offers several plans tailored to different business sizes, while Shopify Plus has a premium pricing structure suited for large enterprises.

Shopify Plans:

• Basic Shopify: $25/month
• Shopify: $65/month
• Advanced Shopify: $399/month

Shopify Plus:

• Starts at $2,300/month, with additional costs for transaction fees, apps, and third-party services.

While Shopify Plus offers more advanced features, it comes at a significantly higher cost, making it more suitable for large businesses or those with a high sales volume.

Shopify and Shopify Plus: Which One Suits Your Business?

Choosing between Shopify and Shopify Plus ultimately comes down to the specific needs of your business, its size, growth trajectory, and the level of customization and support you require. Both platforms offer a comprehensive set of tools for running an e-commerce store, but Shopify Plus caters to larger businesses with complex demands, while Shopify is an excellent choice for smaller businesses or startups.

When Shopify is the Right Choice:

If you’re just starting your e-commerce journey or have a small to medium-sized business, Shopify offers a highly affordable and easy-to-use platform with a wide range of essential features to help you get up and running quickly. Here’s why Shopify might be the best fit for your business:

• Affordable Plans: Shopify offers a range of pricing plans starting from just $9/month with Shopify Lite, which is a great option for those who only need basic e-commerce features or want to sell on social media. The pricing tiers (Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify) allow you to choose a plan that fits your budget and business needs.
• User-Friendly: Shopify’s intuitive interface and drag-and-drop builder make it easy to set up your store without needing coding knowledge. For business owners with limited technical expertise, Shopify simplifies the process of getting your store online.
• Sufficient Customization: Shopify provides access to a wide range of themes and apps, allowing you to customize your store and add features as your business grows. Although it doesn’t offer the level of customization available with Shopify Plus, it still allows for substantial flexibility for businesses starting out or in the growth phase.
• Scalable for Growing Businesses: Shopify is a flexible platform that can support your business as it grows. With tools to track sales, manage inventory, and integrate with marketing tools, it’s a great choice for those planning to scale over time without an immediate need for enterprise-level features.

When Shopify Plus is the Right Choice:

As your business expands and your needs become more complex, Shopify Plus offers the advanced features, scalability, and support required to manage high-volume operations effectively. Here’s why Shopify Plus might be the best option for your business:

• High-Volume Operations: Shopify Plus is specifically designed for businesses that experience high traffic, large inventories, and complex workflows. If your store has outgrown the capacity of basic Shopify plans and requires faster performance, Shopify Plus provides the infrastructure to handle large-scale operations without compromising speed or uptime.
• Advanced Customization: Shopify Plus allows for extensive customization of the checkout process, cart behavior, and other aspects of your store. Custom scripts and workflows enable you to automate processes and create a more personalized shopping experience for your customers. For businesses that need highly tailored solutions or have unique business models, Shopify Plus offers unparalleled flexibility.
• Dedicated Support: One of the key benefits of Shopify Plus is the access to a dedicated merchant success manager who works with you to optimize your store and provide strategic guidance. Additionally, Shopify Plus users get priority access to customer support and personalized assistance, making it ideal for businesses that require hands-on, expert support.
• Enterprise-Level Features: Shopify Plus includes features such as advanced reporting and analytics, customizable checkout pages, and multilingual support, which are essential for larger businesses with global operations. Shopify Plus also integrates seamlessly with enterprise-level systems, providing the scalability and flexibility that large businesses need to manage complex workflows.
• Greater Scalability: As your business grows and faces higher demand, Shopify Plus can support larger product catalogs, handle more orders, and scale as necessary. Whether you’re expanding internationally, adding new product lines, or increasing marketing efforts, Shopify Plus provides the resources and infrastructure to keep up with rapid growth.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business:

When deciding between Shopify and Shopify Plus, consider your current business size, growth potential, and unique needs:

• Small to Medium-Sized Businesses: If you’re just starting out or have a small to medium-sized business with manageable inventory and sales volume, Shopify is a perfect choice. It provides all the essential tools you need at an affordable price, allowing you to grow without feeling overwhelmed by unnecessary complexity.
  
• Enterprise-Level or High-Growth Businesses: If you’re running a large business or are rapidly scaling, Shopify Plus is likely the better option. It offers advanced features, customizable solutions, and dedicated support that can streamline your operations, improve customer experiences, and handle the demands of high-volume sales.
  

Ultimately, the decision should be based on your long-term goals. If you foresee rapid growth or have complex business needs, Shopify Plus will give you the flexibility and support needed to scale successfully. For businesses with simpler needs or those in the early stages, Shopify’s standard plans offer all the tools to get started, with room to expand as your business grows.

By evaluating your current needs and future plans, you can determine which Shopify plan is best suited to support your business in achieving its goals.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Shopify Plus is best suited for large businesses with complex needs and high sales volumes. It offers more robust features, greater customization, and premium support, making it ideal for companies looking to scale. Shopify, on the other hand, is perfect for smaller businesses or startups that don’t require advanced customization and are looking for a more budget-friendly option.

The choice between Shopify and Shopify Plus should be based on the size of your business, your specific e-commerce requirements, and your growth trajectory. If your business is already experiencing significant growth and requires advanced features and support, Shopify Plus could be the right investment for you. For smaller businesses, Shopify provides all the tools necessary to succeed without the hefty price tag of Shopify Plus.

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