Prices, limits and dates are from Shopify’s pricing page, help centre and developer documentation, checked on 27 October 2026. Shopify changes them, so check Shopify’s pricing page before you decide. Sources are listed at the end.
Brands ask us the same three questions at every event: what is the difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus, which one do we need, and when should we upgrade? This guide answers all three, from a Shopify Platinum Partner that builds on both. It also covers what changed in 2025 and 2026, because several things that used to be reasons to choose Plus no longer are.
The short answer
- Shopify’s standard plans (Basic, Grow and Advanced) run most online stores well, including stores selling in several countries and to trade customers.
- Shopify Plus is Shopify’s plan for larger and more complex brands. It adds checkout customisation on every step, custom Shopify Functions, up to nine expansion stores, fuller B2B, unlimited staff, up to 200 locations, higher API limits, lower online payment fees and priority support.
- Plus costs from £1,800 a month on a three-year term or £1,950 on a one-year term. Some higher-volume brands pay a variable platform fee instead. The minimum term is one year.
- Since 2026, Shopify Flow and B2B basics are on every plan, and Shopify Scripts no longer exist. Choose Plus for what it does now.
- Upgrade when you need what only Plus does, or when the payment savings cover most of the price difference.
The four plans at a glance
Basic
For a new brand selling online
- Card rates from 2% + 25p
- No extra staff accounts
- 10 inventory locations
- Standard checkout changes
Grow
For small teams
- Card rates from 1.7% + 25p
- Up to 5 staff accounts
- 10 inventory locations
- Standard checkout changes
Advanced
For brands selling across markets
- Card rates from 1.5% + 25p
- Up to 15 staff accounts
- Live third-party shipping rates
- Standard checkout changes
Plus
For larger and more complex brands
- From £1,800 a month
- Card rates from 1.3% + 25p
- Unlimited staff accounts
- Checkout customisable on every step
- Up to 9 expansion stores
Shopify shows standard-plan prices that vary by visitor and billing period, so check Shopify’s pricing page for the price you would pay. Plus pricing is the same for everyone in the UK.
Shopify vs Shopify Plus, feature by feature
| Basic | Grow | Advanced | Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff accounts | Not included | Up to 5 | Up to 15 | Unlimited |
| Inventory locations | 10 | 10 | 10 | 200 |
| Checkout: branding, Thank you and Order status pages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Checkout: apps on the information, shipping and payment steps | No | No | No | Yes |
| Shopify Functions from public apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shopify Functions in your own custom apps | No | No | No | Yes |
| B2B companies, net terms, quick order | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| B2B catalogues | Up to 3 | Up to 3 | Up to 3 | Unlimited |
| Expansion stores | None | None | None | Up to 9 |
| Staging stores | None | None | None | Unlimited |
| Headless storefronts | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25 |
| API rate limits | Standard | Standard | Up to 2x on select APIs | Up to 10x on select APIs |
| Shopify Flow | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| POS Pro | £69 a month per location | £69 a month per location | £69 a month per location | 20 locations included |
| Support | Live chat | Live chat | Enhanced live chat | Priority 24/7 phone and chat |
Payment fees in the UK
| Basic | Grow | Advanced | Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online card (Shopify Payments) | 2% + 25p | 1.7% + 25p | 1.5% + 25p | 1.3% + 25p |
| Online Amex and international cards | 3.1% + 25p | 2.7% + 25p | 2.5% + 25p | 2.3% + 25p |
| In-person card | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Klarna | 4.99% + 30p | 4.99% + 30p | 4.99% + 30p | 3.79% + 30p |
| Fee if you use another payment provider | 2% | 1% | 0.6% | 0.2% |
Plus saves on online payments, not in-person ones: in UK shops, Advanced and Plus pay the same rate.
Shopify Plus vs Advanced
Most brands weighing up Plus are already on Advanced, so this is the comparison that decides it. Advanced is Shopify’s top standard plan, and Plus is the plan above it. Here is what changes when you move up.
| Advanced | Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | See Shopify’s pricing page (it varies by visitor and billing period) | From £1,800 (three-year term) or £1,950 (one-year term) |
| Staff accounts | Up to 15 | Unlimited, with custom user groups |
| Inventory locations | 10 | 200 |
| Checkout | Branding, plus apps on the Thank you and Order status pages | Also apps on the information, shipping and payment steps, and the Checkout Branding API |
| Shopify Functions | From public apps | From public apps and your own custom apps |
| B2B | Companies, net terms, quick order, up to 3 catalogues, B2B pricing by market | Unlimited catalogues assigned to companies and locations, deposits, partial payments, payment requests per fulfilment |
| Stores | One store, with Shopify Markets | Up to ten (main plus nine expansion stores), and unlimited staging stores |
| API limits | Up to 2x on select APIs (200 GraphQL points a second) | Up to 10x on select APIs (1,000 GraphQL points a second) |
| Online card rate (UK) | 1.5% + 25p | 1.3% + 25p |
| In-person card rate (UK) | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Fee if you use another payment provider | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| POS Pro | £69 a month per location | 20 locations included |
| Support | Enhanced live chat | Priority 24/7 phone and chat |
What Advanced can’t do
- Run checkout apps on the information, shipping or payment steps, such as delivery date pickers, trade fields or upsells before payment.
- Run Shopify Functions from a custom app built for your store, the way to rebuild logic that used to live in Shopify Scripts.
- Give trade customers more than three catalogues, or take deposits and partial payments.
- Run separate stores for other countries or channels under one contract.
- Give more than 15 people their own accounts, or stock more than 10 locations.
- Use Combined Listings, Launchpad, bot protection or Plus-only APIs such as the GiftCard API.
What Advanced does as well as Plus
- Live third-party shipping rates at checkout.
- Shopify Markets, for selling in other countries from one store.
- B2B basics: company accounts, net terms and quick order.
- Shopify Flow, and the same in-person card rate in UK shops.
Shopify says there is no revenue level at which you have to move to Plus. Move when you need something on the first list, or when the lower payment fees cover most of the price difference (see the worked example below).
What changed in 2025 and 2026
Much of what was written about Shopify Plus before 2026 is now wrong. These are the changes that matter when you compare the plans.
| Date | Change | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 28 August 2025 | checkout.liquid and additional scripts end on the Thank you and Order status pages | Every store moved to checkout extensibility for those pages |
| 2 April 2026 | B2B basics reach every plan | Companies, net terms, vaulted cards, quick order and draft orders no longer need Plus |
| 30 June 2026 | Shopify Scripts stop working | Discount, shipping and payment logic now runs as Shopify Functions |
| 26 August 2026 | Deadline for non-Plus stores to finish the checkout upgrade | Every store is now on checkout extensibility |
| 29 October 2026 | Shopify Academy is sunset | Training is no longer a Plus benefit to weigh |
Two other changes: Shopify Flow is a free app on every plan, and Multipass, the Plus-only single sign-on, is no longer available to new stores.
What every Shopify plan includes
All plans include Shopify’s hosted checkout, hosting and security, unlimited products, discount codes, gift cards, abandoned cart recovery, Shopify Flow and Shopify Markets for selling in other countries with local currencies, languages and domains.
Every plan can now run B2B: company accounts, net payment terms, vaulted cards, a quick order list, purchase order numbers and draft orders turned into invoices, with up to three catalogues below Plus. Apps from the Shopify App Store can add Shopify Functions on any plan, and branding, the Thank you page and the Order status page can be customised on every plan.
For many brands, that is enough. A single store with Shopify Markets can sell to most of the world without Plus. See Shopify Markets vs expansion stores for when it isn’t.
What Shopify Plus adds
Checkout you can change at every step
Only Plus can run checkout apps on the information, shipping and payment steps, which is where most conversion work happens: delivery date pickers, gift options, trade fields such as a VAT or account number, and upsells. Plus also has the Checkout Branding API for deeper visual changes and different checkout flows for B2B and direct customers in the same store.
Your own Shopify Functions, the replacement for Scripts
Shopify Functions control discounts, shipping options, payment methods and checkout validation. On any plan you can use them through public apps. Only Plus can run Functions in a custom app built for your store. If you ran Shopify Scripts before June 2026, custom Functions are how you rebuild logic that no off-the-shelf app covers, such as tiered trade pricing or rules that hide a payment method for some customers.
Expansion stores and staging stores
Plus covers up to ten stores on one contract: your main store and nine expansion stores. Shopify’s rules say expansion stores must carry the same brand name and branding and sell the same types of goods, so they suit separate country or wholesale stores rather than a second brand. Staging stores for building and testing don’t count towards the ten, and Plus includes as many as you need. Ceva runs four brands, more than 20 sites and eight countries on one Shopify Plus codebase that we built.
Fuller B2B
B2B basics are on every plan, but Plus adds unlimited catalogues, catalogues assigned directly to companies and locations, deposits, partial payments and payment requests per fulfilment. Those matter once trade customers have their own price lists and payment arrangements. Funkin Cocktails runs direct and trade sales on Shopify Plus. See Shopify B2B.
Scale and control
Plus has unlimited staff accounts, custom user groups and organisation settings for managing several stores and their users in one place. It allows up to 200 inventory locations, includes 20 POS Pro locations (up to 200 with Shopify Payments) and up to 25 headless storefronts with Hydrogen. Its API limits are up to 10 times the standard plans on select APIs, which matters when an ERP, warehouse system or product data platform is syncing all day. Shopify says Plus checkout is load-tested for more than 10,000 checkouts a minute and includes bot protection, both relevant to brands that run limited drops. Cordings runs Shopify Plus with Shopify POS in its Piccadilly shop and Genesis ERP behind both.
Plus-only tools
Combined Listings show several products, such as colourways, as one listing. Launchpad schedules sales, theme changes and product releases. Plus Certified apps are apps Shopify has approved for Plus brands. You can also test new Shopify features before launch, and some APIs, such as the GiftCard API, are available only on Plus.
What Shopify Plus doesn’t give you
Some reasons still given for choosing Plus no longer hold:
- Shopify Flow is on every plan.
- B2B companies, net terms and quick order are on every plan.
- Shopify Scripts no longer exist on any plan.
- Multipass is closed to new stores.
- Shopify Audiences is available only to Plus stores based in the US or Canada, so UK brands can’t use it.
- Shopify doesn’t promise a named account manager on Plus. Expect priority support, and plan your own launch and growth support.
- In-person card rates in the UK are the same on Plus as on Advanced.
How much does Shopify Plus cost?
| Billing currency | Three-year term | One-year term |
|---|---|---|
| GBP (UK) | £1,800 a month | £1,950 a month |
| USD | $2,300 a month | $2,500 a month |
| EUR | €2,100 a month | €2,250 a month |
Source: Shopify help centre, ‘Shopify Plus plan fees by currency and term length’.
A one-year term costs £150 a month more than three years. Either way you can cancel when the term ends, so the minimum commitment is one year.
The variable platform fee
Shopify says more complex, higher-volume businesses may pay a variable platform fee based on revenue and business model instead of the flat fee, and that it differs for B2B and direct-to-consumer sales. Shopify doesn’t publish the rate or the revenue level where it starts. Figures you will find online, such as 0.25% above $800,000 a month, are third-party estimates and often out of date. Ask Shopify for a written quote based on your own sales mix.
The total cost of running Shopify Plus
The plan fee is only part of the cost. Over a three-year term, add:
- payment processing on every order;
- apps, some of which Plus features replace;
- the build, or the migration from your current platform;
- ongoing development, testing and SEO;
- your team’s time.
Our Shopify Plus total cost of ownership calculator adds them up.
A worked example: when do payment savings cover the plan?
Using Shopify’s published UK rates, Plus charges 0.2 percentage points less than Advanced on online card payments (1.3% against 1.5%). If Plus costs about £1,500 a month more than Advanced, the card saving alone covers the difference at about £750,000 a month in online card sales. If you use another payment provider, the third-party fee drops from 0.6% to 0.2%, a 0.4-point saving that covers the difference at about £375,000 a month.
Most brands that move to Plus do so below those levels because they need a Plus feature, such as checkout changes, expansion stores, custom Functions or B2B catalogues. The payment saving then reduces the real cost of those features. Shopify itself says there is no revenue threshold for Plus.
When Shopify Plus is worth it
- You need checkout changes on the information, shipping or payment steps.
- You relied on Shopify Scripts and need custom Functions to rebuild that logic.
- You sell in several countries or channels and need separate stores, catalogues or promotions under one brand.
- Trade customers need their own catalogues, deposits or payment arrangements.
- You have more than 15 people who need access, or more than 10 locations.
- Your ERP, warehouse or product data systems need higher API limits.
- You run drops or sales where checkout capacity and bot protection matter.
- Your online sales are high enough that the payment savings cover most of the difference.
Represent runs separate UK, US and EU sites on Shopify Plus, with NetSuite behind them. Allbirds moved its Canada and South Korea stores from a headless build to native Shopify Plus, with Shopify POS.
When Advanced is enough
- One store with Shopify Markets covers your countries.
- Branding and apps on the Thank you and Order status pages cover your checkout needs.
- Your B2B fits within three catalogues and the standard B2B features.
- Your team and locations fit within Advanced’s limits.
- Your payment saving on Plus wouldn’t cover the higher fee, and you don’t need a Plus-only feature.
How upgrading to Shopify Plus works
If you are already on Shopify, upgrading is a plan change, not a rebuild. Your theme, products, customers and orders stay where they are, and Plus features take effect as soon as you select Plus under Settings > Plan.
- Shopify may offer a Plus trial of one to two months. If you take no action by the end of it, the store moves onto a full Plus plan.
- The trial doesn’t include organisation settings, expansion stores, unlimited staging stores or bot protection.
- You choose a one-year or three-year term when you upgrade.
- Update your billing currency before upgrading. Shopify runs an identity check when you select Plus.
- A new theme, checkout changes or expansion stores are separate projects after the upgrade.
If you are on another platform, see moving to Shopify.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Will we pay the flat fee or a variable platform fee, and at what point would that change?
- What does the three-year term save against one year, and what happens at renewal?
- Which of our apps do Plus features replace, and which still need paying for?
- Which checkout changes do we need on the information, shipping and payment steps?
- Did we use Shopify Scripts, and which of those rules need custom Functions?
- Do we need expansion stores, or will one store with Shopify Markets do?
- Who will build, launch and run the Plus features once we upgrade?
FAQs
What is the difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is Shopify’s plan for larger and more complex brands. It adds checkout customisation on every step, custom Shopify Functions, up to nine expansion stores, fuller B2B, unlimited staff, up to 200 locations, higher API limits, lower online payment fees and priority support.
How much is Shopify Plus a month?
From £1,800 a month on a three-year term or £1,950 a month on a one-year term in the UK, according to Shopify in October 2026. In US dollars it is $2,300 or $2,500. Some higher-volume businesses pay a variable platform fee instead.
Is Shopify Plus worth it?
When you need a Plus-only feature, such as checkout changes on every step, custom Functions, expansion stores or fuller B2B, or when the payment savings cover most of the price difference. Otherwise Advanced usually does the job.
Should we choose Shopify Plus or Advanced?
Advanced suits most single-store brands with up to 15 staff and simple checkout needs. Choose Plus when you need checkout changes before payment, custom Shopify Functions, expansion stores, more than three B2B catalogues or more than 10 locations.
Can I do B2B without Shopify Plus?
Yes. Since April 2026, B2B is on every Shopify plan, with company accounts, net terms, quick order and up to three catalogues. Plus adds unlimited catalogues, deposits, partial payments and catalogues assigned to specific companies.
We used Shopify Scripts. Do we need Plus now?
Scripts stopped working on 30 June 2026. Public apps with Shopify Functions may cover what your scripts did on any plan. If they don’t, custom Functions need Plus.
Can we downgrade from Shopify Plus?
You can leave when your one-year or three-year term ends. You lose Plus-only features, such as expansion stores, checkout apps on the information, shipping and payment steps, custom Functions and Multipass, so plan what replaces them first.
Do I need an agency to use Shopify Plus?
No, but most Plus brands work with a Shopify Partner to build, integrate and grow the store. See our Shopify Plus agency page for how we work.
Sources
Checked on 27 October 2026: Shopify UK pricing; Shopify help centre pages on the Shopify Plus plan, checkout extensibility, Shopify Scripts, B2B plan features, Shopify Flow, expansion stores and the Plus trial; Shopify developer documentation on Shopify Functions and Multipass; and Shopify’s articles Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced and When to upgrade to Shopify Plus.
