Shopify, a comprehensive e-commerce platform, empowers individuals, creators, and enterprises to start, grow, and scale their online business. Such a platform quickly becomes one of the most popular all-in-one e-commerce solutions.

Shopify offers users various plans, such as Basic Shopify, Starter Shopify, Advanced Shopify, and Shopify Plus. Each plan comes with different features and costs, and merchants are advised to choose the one that best suits their business. They can always adjust their plan as their business evolves. Today, we look at how much Shopify Plus is.

The differences between Basic Shopify and Shopify Plus

Basic Shopify and Shopify Plus are two of the most commonly chosen plans. This section explains the differences between the two.

1. Target group

Basic Shopify and Shopify Plus target different groups. The former is mainly designed for beginners who want to dip their toes in the field of e-commerce. The latter, on the other hand, is more suitable for mature enterprises, which often conduct large-scale online business.

2. Pricing

The two plans also differ in pricing. The Basic Shopify plan costs $29 per month, and the fee is paid annually. The pricing of Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 per month. The cost difference seems significant, but the features of the Shopify Plus plan justify it.

3. Scalability and flexibility

As Basic Shopify is for beginners, it offers user-friendly functionalities and detailed guidance. It doesn’t require any coding knowledge. Shopify Plus, on the other hand, equips enterprises with more customization possibilities. For example, it allows users to control a store’s underlying code.

Is it worth upgrading to Shopify Plus?

Whether it is worthwhile to upgrade your plan to Shopify Plus depends on your business. If you are conducting a high-volume online business and are ready for a serious expansion, then Shopify Plus is your perfect choice. Here are a few factors to consider.

1. Business scale and growth

Shopify Plus is designed for large-scale businesses. If your business is growing rapidly and you are in need of a large platform for further expansion, then upgrading to Shopify Plus is a smart choice.

2. Customization and flexibility

Shopify Plus offers excellent customization and flexibility. Before upgrading to this plan, you can ask yourself whether you are already familiar with e-commerce platforms and want an advanced one that can handle complex integrations and high traffic while offering flexibility to design store structure and change the underlying code.

Shopify Plus also offers advanced features, like wholesale channels, multi-currency support, custom checkout, etc. However, the plan comes with higher costs. Therefore, it is recommended that merchants carefully weigh the costs and benefits to ensure the chosen plan aligns with the business.

How much does the Shopify Plus cost?

The total costs of Shopify Plus consist of the base costs of a Shopify Plus license and some side costs. Let’s have a closer look at each cost.

1. The cost of website building

In terms of website design and building, Shopify Plus offers various templates. However, if you want your store to stand out among your competitors, then you have to build a tailor-made site or a heavily modified template. This means more customization and personalization; you need to find professionals to design and build the site for you.

Depending on your needs, the average cost of building a Shopify Plus site is from $60,000 to $200,000, based on the scale and complexity of the project. Larger online business enterprises with high-volume orders and complicated needs will spend considerably more during the process of designing and building a website for their Shopify Plus plan.

2. The cost of Shopify Plus license

As mentioned earlier, the Shopify Plus annual licensing fee starts at $2,300 per month on a three-year term. The fee is $2,500 per month if paid on a one-year term. Such a cost covers access to powerful functionalities and capabilities of Shopify Plus.

Moreover, the Shopify platform charges variable fees for stores that earn over $80,000 per month. The variable fee is 0.25% of the total transaction. For example, if an enterprise with the Shopify Plus plan generates revenue of $200,000 each month, then its Shopify Plus licensing fee is $5,000.

3. The cost of payment processing

Every online business owner pays payment processing fees to a payment processor. With the Shopify Plus plan, there are two options.

The first is using Shopify Payments. It is an integrated payment service provided by the Shopify platform, allowing merchants to receive payments directly after successful orders from their online stores. Such a service supports a wide variety of payment methods, like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and many digital wallets (PayPal, Apple Pay, Facebook Pay, Google Pay).

With Shopify Payments, there is only a low credit card processing rate of 2.15% plus an additional $0.30 for domestic Visa and Mastercard transactions. If the transaction is done through AMEX or other international cards, an additional 1% applies.

The second is external gateways. If you use a third-party processor as your primary payment gateway, the rates you are charged depend on your sales volume, products, and the headquarters location.

4. The cost of additional apps

Shopify Plus is a robust plan for large-scale businesses, with a wide variety of features to boost sales. Also, third-party applications serve as practical tools for higher conversions and revenues—such applications charge monthly licensing fees from $50 to $500.

It is worth noting that if your business requires a specialized, customized application, you may have to pay a premium fee. For example, application development companies typically charge $90 to $175 per hour to build a build-from-scratch application. Such a cost also depends on the scale and complexity of the project.

5. The cost of maintenance 

Development and maintenance are covered in the licensing fee of the Shopify Plus plan, including bug fixes, hosting, bandwidth, order management, servers, feature implementation, and so on.

With the robust Shopify Plus plan, traditional IT and maintenance are unnecessary. The vast majority of a store’s cost of side maintenance goes to expand scalability and ensure security. However, with Shopify Plus, you do not need to worry about this because everything is taken care of.

Total Shopify Plus pricing

As mentioned earlier, the total costs of the enterprise-level version of Shopify comprise the base licensing fee and additional fees, such as those for website designing and building, additional applications, payment processing, and maintenance.

It is reasonable to say that the total Shopify Plus pricing is based on your needs and store features. For instance, if you focus more on having a unique, creative website, then you may spend more on website designing and building. Or, if you find the maintenance contained in the Shopify Plus package enough for the daily functioning of your company, you may not need to spend extra money on IT and maintenance.

However, because of the basic licensing fee for the Shopify Plus plan, the minimum pricing is $2,300 per month ($30,000 per year) on a one-year term and $2,500 per month ($27,600 per year) on a three-year term.

Do not be scared by the costs on top of the licensing fee because there are various helpers to save business costs. Channelwill undoubtedly stands out as a shining example. With applications in all processes of e-commerce transactions, like multi-currency support, logistics, back-in-stock notifications, and so on, Channelwill offers all-in-one e-commerce solutions, reduces business costs, and increases conversions and revenues.

Is there any room for negotiation?

Since the total pricing for Shopify Plus consists of two parts, the fixed licensing fee, and the flexible additional fees, the negotiation can only happen on part of the side costs.

Shopify does not haggle over its pricing for the various plans. The base of $2,500 per month on a one-year term or $2,300 per month on a three-year term cannot be negotiated. The regulations on variable fees are also determined by the e-commerce platform. A store that makes over $80,000 monthly must pay 0.25% as the licensing fee.

However, the additional costs are negotiable, depending on the business scale and needs. For example, if the company has just transformed from medium-scale to large-scale, there is no need to hire a professional team to design and build the website. The development department within the company can undertake the task.

Top 10 outstanding Shopify Plus stores

Learning from other’s success is always helpful when you enter a new field. If you are still wondering whether to upgrade from standard Shopify to Shopify Plus, here are some successful examples to analyze.

1. Allbirds

Selling comfortable, minimalist shoes with a focus on sustainable products, Allbirds leverages Shopify Plus to manage products, expand its international presence, and boost conversions.

2. Aloha

Focusing on plant-based protein powder and drinks, Aloha experienced a staggering 280%+ increase in sales after redesigning its website on Shopify Plus.

3. BlendJet

The portable blender giant has thrived since its launch in 2018, partly thanks to the powerful Shopify Plus.

4. Brooklinen

The luxury bedding brand Brooklinen is a direct-to-customer brand and a shining example of Shopify Plus’ applicability in DTC and bedding.

5. Fashion Nova

With its trendy clothing, Fashion Nova is a representative Shopify Plus enterprise in influencer collaborations and e-commerce shopping experiences.

6. Gymshark

The fitness apparel brand Gymshark maintains an excellent online presence and offers customers seamless online shopping journeys, partly thanks to Shopify Plus.

7. Rebecca Minkoff

Rebecca Minkoff sets itself apart from others in fashion accessories through unparalleled online shopping experiences and innovative design.

8. Bulletproof

Being an online giant in coffee, supplements, and lifestyle products, Bulletproof utilized Shopify Plus to ensure the best online shopping environment.

9. Kylie Cosmetics

Kylie Cosmetics leverages Shopify Plus to sell makeup products. Its strong brand identity and influencer marketing prove to be effective.

10. Heinz UK

Heinz UK’s Shopify Plus store sells ketchups and condiments, ensuring seamless shopping experiences and efficient advertising marketing.

Outro

Today, we covered how much Shopify Plus is. More specifically, the total costs are made up of the fixed licensing fee and flexible side fees.

Shopify Plus is an effective and efficient tool for large-scale enterprises. Suppose you are considering growing your small- or medium-sized business into one of them. In that case, the Shopify Plus plan is an excellent choice, with all the customization and flexibility it brings.

Never forget you have many excellent solution providers at your disposal. Channelwill, your Shopify expert, helps increase conversions and revenues with its all-in-one solutions and applications in all aspects of e-commerce.