Shopify Plus encompasses everything included in the basic Shopify plan and offers even more. Therefore, instead of highlighting similarities, we'll focus on the unique features and benefits that Shopify Plus offers. This will allow us to illustrate the main differences between Shopify vs Shopify Plus and help you understand which platform is best for your business.
1. Personalized account management (Launch Manager/Engineer)
While Shopify offers support to its users via phone, email, and live chat, Shopify Plus goes even further with personalized, dedicated support for your store. A launch engineer is assigned to your website to guide you through the entire store setup and migration process. Whether it's third-party integrations or looking for partners to work on projects tailored to your business, the launch engineer will be there to provide support at every stage.
2. Unlimited staff accounts
When considering the differences between Shopify vs Shopify Plus, another notable aspect to consider is staff accounts. While the basic Shopify plan only allows for a limited number of staff accounts, Shopify Plus offers the option to add an unlimited number of staff accounts and provides additional permission settings.
With Shopify Plus, you can give access to any number of team members to work on your online store, and you'll have greater control over their actions in store administration. This means you can expand your team without worrying about hitting a limit on the number of accounts or losing control over the actions taken.
3. Advanced checkout customization
As a business owner, it's critical to provide personalized attention to high-spending customers and their actions on your checkout page. With Shopify Plus, you can customize the checkout experience based on cart value or any other condition.
Additionally, Shopify Plus users have access to Shopify Scripts, which provides additional control over the checkout process. Script Editor allows you to customize shipping methods, customer fields, and payment options with finer control, unlike the regular version of Shopify where you would need special apps to achieve the same level of customization.
4. Enhanced API integrations
APIs are the backbone of third-party application integrations on any website. Shopify Plus offers enhanced API resources like GiftCard, User, and Multipass to help users take full advantage of third-party applications.
GiftCard is an alternative payment method, while Multipass login seamlessly redirects website visitors to the Shopify store without requiring separate login credentials or the synchronization of any customer database. User allows you to add, delete, edit, and retrieve staff account information.
Shopify Plus also allows integration with custom applications or the ability to create your own private applications, offering greater flexibility and customization options.
5. Exclusive applications
Shopify Plus users get access to exclusive apps through their app store that regular Shopify users don't have. These include:
- Wholesale channel: Designed to help businesses make high-volume B2B sales.
- Shopify Flow: An e-commerce automation platform that automates numerous tasks related to customers and office processes in your store and on your applications. It stores and executes triggers, conditions, and actions that you specify without requiring coding.
- Launchpad: Useful for planning and automating flash sales, product launches, or sales campaigns. You can go back to all changes instantly after the event is over.
- Script Editor: Allows you to create personalized experiences at the cart/checkout stage by using small pieces of code to apply discounts or customize shipping and payment options for customers. This helps to reduce the number of abandoned carts.
- Transporter app: Imports customer, product, and order records into your Shopify store, making it easy to send customer records between stores.
- Bulk Account Invite: Invites your customers, imported from another platform or store, to activate their accounts for your online business. This application is useful once you have imported customer accounts from another platform or store.
6. Integrations with existing platforms
When it comes to integrating your Shopify store with existing platforms, the possibilities are endless. This is especially beneficial for complex, fast-growing businesses. The Shopify API allows for seamless integration with a variety of platforms including, but not limited to:
Inventory management systems
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
Customer relationship management (CRM) systems
Accounting software
Shipping carriers
Marketing automation platforms
7. Wholesale channels
One of the key things to consider when comparing Shopify to Shopify Plus is the Wholesale Channel.
As your business grows, you're likely to encounter customers who want to buy your products in bulk. An enterprise-grade platform should facilitate wholesale sales, and that's where Shopify Plus comes in.
The wholesale channel allows you to create a separate, password-protected storefront based on your online store. This means that you can offer exclusive prices for the same products to bulk buyers or offer products only in bulk. Additionally, you can create custom price lists or discount codes. In summary, Shopify Plus merchants can manage both B2C and B2B businesses, send invoices, track orders, use existing product data, and integrations, all from one place.
8. Shopify Plus Merchant Success Program
Shopify Plus comes with a program Merchant Success Shopify Plus that offers users comprehensive support to maximize the benefits of the platform. The program offers support for third-party integrations, products, and platforms, as well as training to help users unlock their full potential. A dedicated merchant success manager will work closely with you to provide advice and support whenever needed.
In addition to 24-hour support, the team is always available to help you find Shopify Plus partners approved to keep you up to date with industry trends and assist you with events such as flash sales.
9. Exclusive access to other resources
In addition to the Merchant Success program, Shopify Plus users have exclusive access to other valuable resources, including a Facebook community where they can exchange experiences with other users, a partner directory offering access to technology, agency, and solution partners, and early access to beta programs. Additionally, the Shopify Plus Academy is available to provide advice on using the platform to its full potential.
10. A unified dashboard to manage multiple stores
Shopify Plus introduced a unified dashboard that allows users to manage all of their stores, analytics, staff accounts, user permissions, and automation tools like Shopify Flow in one centralized place. This dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of your business, promotes collaboration, and improves automation, especially when managing multiple stores or sites.
11. Advanced analysis options
While Shopify offers a comprehensive analytics dashboard that shows important metrics like sales, hot products, landing pages, referrers, and customer return rate, among others, this may not be enough for fast-growing businesses.
Shopify Plus offers a range of options for staying up to date with the latest trends and making informed decisions. They collaborate with leading analytics companies to provide more advanced features that allow users to deepen their store's performance, monitor customer behavior, track marketing campaigns, and more. This helps merchants make data-based decisions that can further improve their business.
12. Shopify Plus pricing - Higher prices (which vary based on sales)
While not a new feature, one of the significant differences between Shopify and Shopify Plus is the pricing structure. The basic Shopify service offers fixed pricing plans regardless of your sales volume. In contrast, Shopify Plus pricing varies based on your sales volume and requires consultation with a sales representative to get a specific cost.
Pricing starts at a minimum of $2,000 per month or 0.25% of sales volume per month, capped at $40,000. For example, if your store has $2 million in sales per month, you should pay $5,000 per month. However, if you only make $100,000 per month, you should pay the minimum of $2,000 instead of 0.25% of sales.
In summary
To summarize the comparison between Shopify and Shopify Plus, both platforms offer similar core eCommerce features via their dashboard. However, Shopify Plus offers greater flexibility, additional support options, and access to your store code.
Nonetheless, Shopify Plus is a more expensive option with a minimum monthly cost of $2,000, which may not be feasible for small businesses unless they need the specific features that the Plus version provides. For most businesses, the basic Shopify platform is sufficient. If you are interested in using Shopify, you can follow our Shopify tutorial to set up your store.
