Shopify Advanced vs. Shopify Plus: The Key Differences

Shopify Advanced vs. Shopify Plus: Choosing the Right Platform for Your Growing Business

As your e-commerce business expands, you’ll reach a point where standard Shopify plans may no longer meet your needs. Shopify Advanced and Shopify Plus are designed to cater to larger, more complex businesses. This article will outline the key differences between these two plans, focusing on information directly from Shopify’s official documentation.

Shopify Advanced: Enhanced Features for Growing Businesses

Shopify Advanced is ideal for businesses experiencing significant growth and requiring more advanced features than the standard Shopify plans.

• Advanced Reporting: Gain deeper insights into sales, customer behavior, and inventory with detailed reports, customizable dashboards, and a custom report builder. (Similar to Plus, but with potentially fewer data points and lower API limits)
• Shipping:
  • Third-Party Calculated Rates: Offer accurate, real-time shipping rates from carriers like UPS and FedEx. (Same as Plus)
  • Shopify Shipping Discounts: Access discounted shipping rates (if eligible). (Same as Plus)
  • Basic Shipping Features: Set up shipping zones, offer free shipping, use flat-rate or weight-based shipping.
• Staff Accounts: Provides for up to 15 staff accounts, facilitating team collaboration.
• Lower Transaction Fees: Benefit from reduced transaction fees compared to lower-tier Shopify plans.
• Shopify Markets: Access basic features of Shopify Markets to support international selling.
  • Sell to customers in multiple countries and currencies.
  • Offer translated storefronts.
  • Manage international pricing and domains.
  • Lacks advanced features like localized payment and shipping options, duty/import tax calculations, and automated compliance.
• B2B Functionality: B2B functionality is not included.
• Tax Calculations: Offers automated tax calculations and reporting through Shopify Tax.
  • Automatic tax rate calculations based on your shipping origin and the customer’s shipping address.
  • Support for product-specific tax rates and exemptions.
  • Real-time tax calculations at checkout.
  • Automated tax reporting to help with filing.
  • Manual tax overrides are available for specific needs.
  • Third-party tax apps can be used for more complex scenarios.
• Avalara Integration: Can integrate with Avalara for Shopify, a third-party app that provides automated tax calculations, but this requires a separate Avalara subscription.
• Focus: Designed to improve reporting, shipping, and basic international capabilities for growing businesses.

Shopify Plus: Enterprise-Level Scalability and Customization

Shopify Plus is Shopify’s enterprise-grade solution for high-volume merchants with complex operational needs.

• Scalability and Performance: Built to handle massive traffic spikes and high transaction volumes, ensuring smooth performance.
• Automation:
  • Shopify Flow: Automate complex workflows and tasks across your business.
  • Launchpad: Automate and schedule product launches and marketing campaigns.
• Customization:
  • Checkout Extensibility: Utilize Checkout UI extensions and Shopify Functions to customize the checkout experience. This is the current and recommended approach for checkout customization.
  • Shopify Functions: Build custom backend logic that runs on Shopify’s edge network, improving performance and customization.
• Wholesale Channel: Create a dedicated, password-protected storefront for wholesale customers.
• Expansion Stores: Manage multiple storefronts from a single dashboard, ideal for businesses with multiple brands or international operations.  Also available to setup a staging environment to test apps and settings.
• Dedicated Support: Receive personalized support and strategic guidance from a dedicated account manager.
• API Access: Higher API call limits for deeper integrations with third-party systems. (Plus has significantly higher limits than Advanced)
• B2B: Includes comprehensive, built-in B2B features: dedicated wholesale channel, company accounts, custom price lists, volume discounts, and advanced B2B order management.
• Security: Enhanced security and performance.
• Unlimited staff accounts:
• Shopify Markets:
  • Includes access to Shopify Markets Pro, offering advanced features for international selling:
    • Localized storefronts: Provide a tailored shopping experience for each market, including language, currency, and payment options.
    • Duties and import tax calculations: Display accurate costs to customers at checkout, reducing surprises and abandoned carts.
    • Advanced currency conversion: Manage pricing and optimize profits with dynamic currency conversion.
    • Automated compliance: Simplify international selling with automated tools to manage local regulations and taxes.
    • Streamlined cross-border logistics: Offer a seamless international shipping experience.
• Tax Calculations:
  • Access to more advanced tax features and integrations.
  • Can integrate with sophisticated tax engines for precise calculations and automation.
  • Better equipped to handle complex tax scenarios, including international sales tax, exemptions, and reporting.
• Avalara Integration: While the legacy AvaTax integration is being deprecated, Shopify Plus merchants can transition to the new Avalara for Shopify integration for continued automated tax calculations and compliance.
• Shipping:
  • Third-Party Calculated Rates: Offer accurate, real-time shipping rates from carriers like UPS and FedEx. (Same as Advanced)
  • Shopify Shipping Discounts: Access discounted shipping rates (if eligible). (Same as Advanced)
  • Advanced Shipping Features: Leverage Shopify Functions, carrier-calculated shipping, custom shipping apps, and greater API access for more complex shipping needs.

Key Differences: Advanced vs. Plus

• Customization: Shopify Plus offers advanced customization through Checkout Extensibility and Shopify Functions, providing far greater control than Shopify Advanced.
• Scalability: Shopify Plus is designed for high-volume, enterprise-level operations, while Shopify Advanced caters to growing businesses.
• Automation: Shopify Plus provides robust automation tools like Shopify Flow and Launchpad.
• Support: Shopify Plus merchants receive dedicated account management and priority support.
• Checkout: Shopify Plus uses Checkout Extensibility, and Shopify Advanced utilizes the standard checkout.
• Shopify Markets: Shopify Plus includes Shopify Markets Pro with advanced features for localized selling experiences, while Shopify Advanced offers basic international selling tools.
• B2B: Plus has built-in full B2B, advanced has a paid addon with fewer features.
• Tax: Plus offers more robust tax integrations and automation compared to Advanced’s basic tax tools.
• Avalara:
  • Shopify Advanced: Can install and utilize the “Avalara for Shopify” app, but requires a separate Avalara subscription with costs based on transaction volume.
  • Shopify Plus: Can also utilize the “Avalara for Shopify” app, often with a smoother transition due to prior AvaTax usage and potential for negotiating better pricing with Avalara.
• Shipping: Plus provides more advanced shipping customization and integrations for complex needs, while the core features are the same as Advanced.
• Reporting: Plus may offer greater data access and API limits for more complex reporting, along with access to a wider range of custom reporting app integrations.

Choosing the Right Platform:

• Shopify Advanced: Suitable for growing businesses needing enhanced reporting, shipping, basic international capabilities, and limited B2B.
• Shopify Plus: Ideal for high-volume, enterprise-level businesses requiring maximum scalability, customization, automation, dedicated support, robust international sales with localized experiences, comprehensive B2B functionalities, and advanced tax management.

Important Note: Features and pricing are subject to change. Always refer to the official Shopify website and help documentation for the most up-to-date information.

• Shopify Plus
• Advanced vs Shopify Plus Pricing

Shopify Advanced vs. Shopify Plus