Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced: Which Plan Do You Actually Need?
Shopify Plus costs $2,500 USD/month. Shopify Advanced costs $399 USD/month. That's a $25,000/year difference. So when does Plus actually make sense?
Having built 200+ Shopify stores over 9 years, here's the honest answer based on what we've seen work (and not work) for Australian brands.
The quick comparison
| Feature | Advanced | Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (USD) | $399 | $2,500 |
| Transaction fees (Shopify Payments) | 0.5% | 0.2% |
| Staff accounts | 15 | Unlimited |
| Checkout customisation | Limited | Full (Scripts, Functions) |
| Expansion stores | No | Up to 10 included |
| B2B / Wholesale | Basic | Full B2B channel |
| Shopify Flow | Yes | Yes (advanced) |
| Shopify Audiences | No | Yes |
| Dedicated support | No | Merchant Success Manager |
| API rate limits | Standard | Higher |
| Launchpad (scheduled events) | No | Yes |
When Advanced is enough
For most Australian ecommerce brands, Advanced is the right plan. Specifically:
- Revenue under $2M/year: The transaction fee savings on Plus don't offset the higher monthly cost until you're doing serious volume.
- Simple checkout: If you don't need custom checkout logic (gift wrapping, post-purchase upsells, custom shipping rules), Advanced handles everything.
- Single storefront: No international expansion stores, no B2B channel alongside D2C.
- Small team: 15 staff accounts is plenty for most teams.
The transaction fee breakeven
Plus saves you 0.3% on transaction fees. On $1M in annual revenue, that's $3,000/year in savings, but Plus costs $25,000/year more. You need roughly $8M+ in annual revenue before the transaction fee savings alone justify Plus.
When you need Plus
Plus becomes necessary (not just nice-to-have) in these situations:
Checkout customisation
This is the biggest one. If you need custom checkout logic, including shipping rules, payment method visibility, post-purchase offers, gift wrapping, loyalty point redemption at checkout, or dynamic discounts, you need Plus. Advanced doesn't give you access to Checkout Extensions or Shopify Functions.
Multiple storefronts
Selling in Australia and the US? Running B2B alongside D2C? Plus includes up to 10 expansion stores. On Advanced, you'd need separate Shopify accounts (and pay for each).
B2B / Wholesale
Plus includes a dedicated B2B channel with custom pricing, payment terms, and company accounts. If wholesale is a significant part of your business, this alone can justify Plus.
High-volume automation
If you're doing 1,000+ orders/day and need advanced automation (Launchpad for flash sales, Scripts for complex discounting, higher API limits for integrations), Plus handles the load.
Shopify Audiences
If you spend significantly on paid advertising, Shopify Audiences can dramatically improve your ad targeting by leveraging Shopify's commerce data. Only available on Plus.
The honest recommendation
Start on Advanced. Most brands upgrade to Plus too early, spending $25k/year extra for features they don't use yet. Start on Advanced, build your store properly, and upgrade when you hit a genuine limitation.
The exceptions: if you know from day one that you need checkout customisation, B2B, or multiple storefronts, go straight to Plus. Retrofitting these later is more expensive than starting with them.
Not sure which plan you need?
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