Getting to Grips with Shopify Plus Pricing and Features

The across-the-board digitalization and the outburst of the global pandemic are the two primary factors that conditioned the exponential growth of ecommerce, turning the already promising realm into a booming business field. Today, over 20% of global retail sales occur online, which is likely to increase within the foreseeable future. Naturally, astute entrepreneurs want to jump on this train and launch their ecommerce websites by the dozen. 

Shopify is the most popular platform for building e-stores, accounting for over 3.7 million ecommerce websites globally (including behemoths like Sony, Unilever, Tesla, and many others) and owning almost a third of the market share in the US.

One of the reasons that makes the platform so attractive for budding actors in the niche is a flexible and affordable pricing system, which – coupled with essential feature enhancements – has become even more entrepreneur-friendly with the advent of Shopify Plus. 

Shopify Plus vs Shopify: Upgrades That Matter

Having profound expertise in Shopify Plus development, we would like to highlight the following characteristics that give Shopify Plus the edge over the lower-end versions.

Access to merchant success program

The company enables users to get in touch with merchant success managers who will assist them in the setup process, promptly forward technical complaints to experts in the field, suggest relevant tools for streamlining their workflow, and provide continuous support.

Access to Shopify Plus Academy 

This educational resource allows merchants to tweak their store design, enhance their marketing competencies, step up social commerce efforts, optimize site speed, and more.

In-depth checkout control

Thanks to the available checkout extensibility, Shopify Plus enables customization of the UI and content of your checkout pages. In this way, shop owners can minimize cart abandonment and encourage shoppers to complete the purchase.

Unlimited staff accounts

With the core Shopify, the number of staff accounts couldn’t exceed fifteen, which hamstrung vendor/customer interaction and slowed down order management. The Plus lifts that limitation and paves the way for a scalable e-store, permitting any number of employees to operate the dashboard. 

Headless commerce opportunities

In Shopify Plus, you can separate the backend from client touchpoints and create custom storefronts with immersive experiences for shoppers. 

More API integrations

In addition to the multitude of free and paid apps (both by the vendor and third-party ones) that Shopify enabled to utilize, the Plus provides a possibility to integrate your e-store with ERP, CRM, or other systems (like MailChimp or Yotpo) as well as use some unique apps (see below). 

See integration options here

Advanced B2B features

Unlike core Shopify, Shopify Plus offers plenty of features and apps that larger enterprises will find especially handy. 

• B2B on Shopify enables the creation of a separate storefront for wholesale clients.

• The Shopify organization admin functionality allows for managing multiple stores from a single login.

• The Overview feature provides top-notch analytics for all these stores.
• “Shopify POS Pro” synchronizes your POS with other stores (including brick-and-mortar ones).

• The Transporter app helps you ingest product and customer data into the store.

• The Launchpad feature streamlines restocking, promotions, product drops, and other events.

• “Bulk Account Inviter” is a great crutch after migrations when you can ask large groups of customers to activate accounts on your renewed store.

• The Script Editor functionality enables the creation of personalized experiences for different segments of your clientele.

In view of these advanced features (which totally justify higher Shopify Plus B2B pricing), Elogic Commerce, as an expert in the B2B ecommerce consulting, recommends opting for this version of the platform.

And speaking of Shopify vs Shopify Plus pricing: financial considerations are often a tipping factor in the business world, so the pricing for Shopify Plus deserves a closer look. 

Shopify Plus Pricing Review

Given the substantial perks users obtain compared to other products by this vendor, Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced pricing (the most expensive plan among the earlier Shopify versions) is not a chump change issue. You must fork out $2,000 monthly as a license fee to start using it. Yet, in terms of pricing, Shopify Plus displays a flexible approach to charging its clients. 

Shopify Plus pricing plans differ depending on the monthly sales volume funneled through your Shopify account. After crossing the threshold of $800,000 per month, Shopify Plus increases the pricing calculation pattern by progressively adding 0.25% of your monthly revenue to the basic amount. However, the maximum sum you will have to spend doesn’t exceed $40,000, which may be due if your monthly sales reach $16 million. Yet, this isn’t the final tally on the bill you will have to foot for working with Shopify Plus. 

First of all, Shopify Plus plan pricing doesn’t include the expenditures on building and designing a Shopify website (anything between $5,000 and $20,000) or its subsequent maintenance. 

Second of all, Shopify Plus manifests maximum efficiency when it is reinforced with various apps and tools that enable or boost certain aspects of the site’s functionality. Depending on your company’s needs, such additional products and extensions may cost you from $200 to $1,000 a month. 

Finally, you shouldn’t forget about Shopify Plus pricing for merchant services. If you rely on a third-party gateway, you will pay 0.15% per transaction (plus the provider’s own fees). For merchants who employ the Shopify Payments solution, each transaction will cost 1.6% of its amount plus $0.35 (Shopify Plus pricing in the UK will be £0.20 accordingly).

Evidently, Shopify Plus is a big-ticket item meant for enterprise-level ecommerce companies. Yet, the vendor sweetens the deal by extending some special offers. For instance, you can discuss lowering your license rate in case you have moved far beyond the basic monthly sum of $2,000. Another saving opportunity is to opt for the annual subscription instead of the monthly payment scheme, allowing you to cut down expenses by up to 25%. 

Before opting for Shopify Plus as your ecommerce platform, it makes sense to compare it against similar offerings from other vendors. 

Shopify Plus vs Other Platforms: Pricing Comparison

Shopify Plus is an unquestionable leader in the niche of ecommerce website creation. Yet, there are other alternatives for entrepreneurs who want to launch their e-store. How much is it going to cost them?

WooCommerce

It is not a standalone platform but a plugin by WordPress. The good news about it is that it is free (if we forget about paying for hosting services or domain name). The bad news is that you can use it in this way only to obtain a garden variety e-store. The more you want to upgrade it by leveraging additional features and themes and let it stand out among the competitors in the niche, the more you will have to fork out (like $227 a year for native shipping extensions or $79 a year for product recommendations).

Adobe Commerce

Formerly known as Magento Commerce, this platform is the only enterprise-level one on our list comparable with Shopify Plus regarding the roster of features and other advanced functionalities. Adobe Commerce pricing schemes are conditioned by the basic business indices of your e-store (namely, Gross Merchandise Value and Average Order Value). 

The vendor determines the precise sum for each case individually, so we can offer only tentative ballpark estimates. If your company’s average gross sales revenue is below $1 million, you will be charged around $22,000 a year. The greater the revenue is, the more money you will have to spend. The greatest annual license fee for enterprises that earn over $25 million can reach $125,000.

Salesforce Commerce

First of all, you should realize that there are two platforms by this vendor – a B2C and a B2B. Each of them offers three pricing plans (roughly, Starter, Growth, and Plus) based on Gross Merchandise Value where you pay between 1% and 3% of it. A more precise calculation is performed by the vendor depending on such parameters as the number of sites, the number of price books, and the number of on-demand Sandbox credits.

SAP Commerce Cloud

The vendor doesn’t disclose its pricing policy so it’s hard to make any assumptions. However, we can compare some additional bonuses and characteristics. For instance, unlike Shopify Plus, SAP doesn’t offer a free trial of its product. It provides a longer roster of features (61 vs 46) but can boast of only one integration, which is puny in the face of the solid 18 Shopify Plus grants.

BigCommerce

This platform is geared toward fast-growing ecommerce businesses that can enjoy a wide array of in-built sales tools and unlimited payment processing options. Naturally, such boons come at a price, which is a steep learning curve and higher licensing costs. Its Standard plan is $39 per month, Plus is $105 per month, and Pro is almost four times that much – $399 per month.

As you can see, your choice of an e-commerce platform largely depends on the size of your company. For small e-stores, Wix or Squarespace would be a sensible choice, whereas big e-commerce organizations with a B2B focus will benefit by harnessing either Shopify Plus or Adobe Commerce. The former has the edge thanks to its transparent pricing system.

Whatever software you will eventually decide upon, you will need professional expertise to build a robust and attractive website that will function seamlessly. We at Elogic Commerce have the necessary skills and rich experience in the niche to develop a first-rate online store that will live up to your expectations and oblige customers. 

Drawing a Bottomline

Online trade is a lucrative business domain whose rapid and sustainable growth makes it an attractive investment market. When selecting an e-commerce platform for building an e-store, you should consider your requirements and financial capacity. In view of its feature-rich nature and multiple extra perks, Shopify Plus is the number one choice for large enterprises with solid revenue and B2B specialization.