Want to understand the difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus? Then you’ve come to the right place. This blog covers everything to know about Shopify and Shopify Plus, helps people make an informed decision. 

Statistics show that 26% of all e-commerce sites are built using Shopify, that is approximately 8.2 million Shopify websites.  

Shopify offers a user-friendly solution for launching and managing the online business. Shopify Plus provides advanced essential features for merchants, taking the e-commerce journey to the next level.

Shopify vs. Shopify Plus: A Detailed Comparison of Features

Let’s explore the core functionalities and differences between the platforms Shopify and Shopify Plus.

Pricing

Note: Shopify offers an annual billing option that can save you up to 25%. If users choose not to use Shopify Payments, transaction fees will vary depending on the plan (0.5% – 2%). Shopify also offers a free trial, allowing the user to test the platform before making a choice.

Customization

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App Exclusives

Shopify offers a vast number of over 8,000 third-party applications available in the Shopify app store. The apps can help with tasks like marketing, inventory management, shipping, customer service, and more. With so many options available, it’s important to carefully research and choose the apps that best suit the specific business needs and goals.

Shopify Plus allows users to access high-quality apps directly within the platform. While there are many valuable apps available, here’s a closer look at a few exclusive Shopify plus features for large businesses: 

• Launchpad: This app allows users to schedule theme and price changes in advance. This helps avoid the need for last-minute changes during busy periods or special occasions. Create a launch and schedule it for the desired date and time.
• Shopify Flow: It is a powerful automation tool. It helps create workflows to automate repetitive tasks within the Shopify store. For example, to set up abandoned cart emails with discount codes.It can be done with Flow, simply set a trigger (e.g., a customer abandons a cart), add a condition (e.g., abandoned cart value exceeds $50), and define the action (e.g., send an email with a discount code).
• Shopify Script: It allows users to write custom scripts to modify specific aspects of the checkout page. Here are the three main types of Shopify scripts: Line item scripts, shipping scripts, and payment scripts. 

Note: To modify this, knowledge of Javascript and familiarity with Shopify’s API is required. 

Get inspired to create your own high-converting store! See our blog post showcasing 21+ Shopify Plus website examples.

Account Management and Support

Integration and API Access

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Staff Management and Point of Sale (POS)

POS Definition: It is a sales app that allows the merchant to make sales in person and manage the store inventory directly from the Shopify account. This streamlines the sales process and keeps track of inventory.

B2B Wholesale Features

Shopify offers minimal features for B2B wholesale. While it allows to create customer groups and assign them specific pricing tiers, it lacks dedicated features for managing wholesale channels. 

Shopify Plus offers built-in B2B features designed for wholesale businesses, eliminating the need for third-party apps. It allows users to manage B2B transactions directly through the Shopify store. The Shopify B2B wholesale features include:

• Create custom catalogs. 
• Set unique payment terms and currencies.
• Manage multiple locations under one company profile.
• Include purchase order (PO) numbers.
• Additional features like discounts. APIs, and custom themes.

Features	Shopify	Shopify Plus
Pricing	$29 – $299/month	Starts at $2,300/month
Third-party Transaction fee	Up to 2%	Minimal Transaction Fee - 0.2%
Customization	Basic Customization	Advanced, including checkout
Checkout capacity	Up to 10x	40x
Exclusive API access and endpoints	Not Available	Available
POS	POS Lite	POS Pro
Staff Accounts	Up to 15 accounts	Unlimited
Customer Support	24/7 chat support	Priority 24/7 phone support
Inventory locations	10	200
Headless storefronts	1	25

Shopify Features in Summer Update 2024

Shopify just released a major update, the Summer ’24 Edition. This update focuses on unifying the platform for better workflow across all aspects of Shopify, making it faster, more resilient, and more tightly integrated. Watch the video to explore everything this “Unified Shopify” offers.

Conclusion: 

As a business owner, it is important to create a personalized and engaging shopping experience. If the store isn’t personalized and feels generic, users are more likely to leave. Thankfully, Shopify and Shopify Plus offer a variety of essential features for merchants to personalize the store and improve customer experience. 

Feeling overwhelmed by the complexities? Wait! We are there for you. At ColorWhistle, we have dedicated Shopify developers ready to help. We offer Shopify development services to transform the online store to the next level.