Shopify vs. Shopify Plus: When Should You Upgrade?

More than 5 million ecommerce stores across 175+ countries rely on Shopify—making it one of the world’s leading ecommerce platforms. Whether you’re a startup in UAE or an enterprise expanding across the GCC, understanding the difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus is essential as your business scales.

In this article, we break down the key differences, costs in USD, and features of Shopify vs. Shopify Plus, and help you decide when it’s the right time to upgrade.

🛒 What is Shopify?

Shopify is a comprehensive ecommerce platform that lets you:

• Sell online, in-person, and across channels

• Localize your store by language, currency, and domain

• Manage inventory, orders, products, and customers from one dashboard

• Access a rich ecosystem of apps and integrations

Shopify is trusted by UAE entrepreneurs, DTC brands, and global sellers alike. However, if your business is growing fast and facing complex ecommerce needs, it might be time to consider Shopify Plus.

🚀 What is Shopify Plus?

Shopify Plus is the enterprise version of Shopify—built for high-growth, high-volume, and international brands.

It includes:

• Fully customizable checkout experiences

• Advanced B2B and wholesale selling features

• Priority support with a Merchant Success Manager

• Automation tools like Launchpad and Flow

• Access to 50 markets + 9 expansion stores

• Unlimited staff accounts and higher API rate limits

If you’re scaling across the GCC, managing multiple teams, or selling B2B, Shopify Plus offers the flexibility and performance you need.

💰 Shopify vs. Shopify Plus Pricing (USD)

Here’s how Shopify and Shopify Plus compare in pricing and features:

• Starting price: Shopify starts at $39/month, Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month

• Staff accounts: Shopify supports up to 15, Plus allows unlimited users

• Checkout customization: Shopify offers limited branding, Plus gives full control

• B2B support: Shopify has limited B2B features, Plus includes advanced wholesale capabilities

• International markets: Shopify supports up to 3, Plus supports 50 markets + 9 expansion stores

• Automation: Shopify offers Flow, Plus includes Flow and Launchpad

• Support: Shopify provides 24/7 support, Plus offers priority support with access to a dedicated Merchant Success Manager

• Inventory: Shopify supports 10 inventory locations, Plus supports 200

• Headless storefronts: Shopify supports 1, Plus supports up to 25

• Transaction fees: Shopify Plus offers lower rates overall

Shopify Plus Pricing Model

Starts at $2,300/month. Once you exceed $800,000/month in sales, pricing becomes 0.25% of your monthly revenue, capped at around $40,000.

Transaction Fees

Shopify Payments: approx. 1.6%–2.3%, depending on card origin.

Third-party gateways: Additional 0.5% fee per transaction.

🔁 When to Upgrade to Shopify Plus

Consider Shopify Plus if:

• Your store generates $750,000+ per year

• You need a custom checkout or advanced discounting logic

• You’re expanding into multiple global markets

• You’re managing wholesale or B2B sales

• You need automation at scale

• You have a growing team with advanced permission needs

Wavai has helped brands across Kuwait, the UAE, and KSA upgrade to Shopify Plus when their operations outgrew standard plans.

⚙️ Exclusive Features in Shopify Plus

✅ Checkout Extensibility

Create a fully customized checkout experience using Shopify Functions and UI extensions. Add logic, upsells, and custom fields.

✅ Wholesale & B2B Suite

Build B2B portals with tiered pricing, exclusive product visibility, net payment terms, and secure logins.

✅ Shopify Markets & Expansion Stores

Manage up to 50 international markets and run 9 expansion stores to tailor content and pricing per region.

✅ Automation with Flow & Launchpad

Use Flow to automate tasks like tagging VIP customers or flagging high-risk orders. Launchpad helps schedule product launches, sales, and marketing campaigns.

✅ Performance & Hosting

• Supports 10,000+ transactions per minute

• Unlimited bandwidth

• Powered by Shopify’s global CDN

• Fully hosted and secure with no server maintenance required

✅ Enhanced Admin & API Access

Get one centralized admin for all your stores, plus 10x higher API limits and advanced team permissions.

✅ Priority Support

Shopify Plus merchants get access to priority 24/7 support and (for high-volume stores) a dedicated Merchant Success Manager.

🧩 Apps, Integrations & Custom Development

With Shopify Plus, you can:

• Access Plus-only apps

• Build custom apps tailored to your workflows

• Reduce long-term costs by replacing third-party apps with custom solutions

At Wavai, we support ecommerce brands across the region with advanced Shopify Plus integrations, workflows, and automation.

🧘 Hosting, Security & Maintenance

Shopify Plus removes all the technical overhead:

• No server setup or scaling issues

• Built-in PCI compliance

• Shopify-managed security and SSL

• Fast performance through a global CDN

Your team can focus on growth instead of infrastructure.

🧠 Final Thoughts: Shopify vs. Shopify Plus

Shopify is powerful enough for most ecommerce businesses. But when you’re scaling rapidly, managing large teams, or entering multiple markets, Shopify Plus offers unmatched control, customization, and support.

🚀 Need Help Choosing?

At Wavai, we’re certified Shopify experts and Shopify Plus Partners. We help ecommerce brands across UAE, and the Gulf region evaluate, upgrade, and scale their Shopify operations.

Let’s talk about your ecommerce goals.

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