Answered: Is Shopify Plus Worth Investing?

Shopify Plus, the enterprise-level ecommerce platform, is a great option for fast-growing online businesses. It’s more customizable, has many automation tools, is faster, and can handle a lot more traffic than the standard solutions. But with a starting price of $2,300 per month, are those tools worth the price? 

Let’s find out.

Is Shopify Plus Expensive?

To be honest, Shopify Plus is not cheap, no enterprise-level e-commerce platform is, but Shopify Plus can be cost-effective in the long run than other platforms such as Magento (Adobe Commerce), BigCommerce, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

Shopify Plus offers a transparent pricing structure. Here is the breakdown of the license fee:

Fixed Monthly Fee

• Applies to standard stores with lower sales volume.
• Starts at $2,500 per month (1-year term) or $2,300 per month (3-year term).

Variable Platform Fee

• Applies to high-volume stores with complex business models.
• Calculated as a percentage of your sales revenue or a minimum fee of $2,500 per month (whichever is higher):
  • 0.40% of direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales + 0.18% of business-to-business (B2B) sales (1-year term).
  • 0.35% of monthly sales volume (3-year term).

Other than license fees, there are some additional costs to consider:

• Transaction fees, which vary based on the payment gateway used 
• Customization and development costs for features like custom themes and functionality 
• Costs for third-party apps and add-ons to extend the platform’s capabilities 
• Data migration and launch services 
• Ongoing maintenance costs 

Shopify Plus has a higher license cost, but it has lower associated costs than other platforms. 

To know how much Shopify Plus really costs, read our comprehensive guide on Shopify Plus Pricing.

Shopify Plus Pricing: Is It Good for SMBs?

Shopify Plus is not recommended for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with revenue under $1 million annually. It offers advanced features that may only be useful to larger businesses with complex requirements and high sales volumes. 

Shopify Plus does have lower variable costs in areas like transaction fees and payment processing. However, this cost advantage only applies to high-volume merchants. For SMBs, the higher base price will probably outweigh the savings on variable costs.

When Does it Start Making Sense to Invest in Shopify Plus?

The correct answer is ”it depends” on the specific needs of your business and its growth trajectory. However, there are some general factors to consider:

Annual Revenue Threshold

For most businesses, Shopify Plus starts making sense when their annual revenue exceeds $1 million. At this point, Shopify Plus’s additional features and capabilities can add value and help streamline their business.

It is almost certain that if you generate more than $5 million and still don’t have Shopify Plus, you are paying more than you should.

Transaction Volume

Another key factor is the total transaction volume. Shopify Plus becomes cost-effective If your monthly transaction fees are greater than the Shopify Plus platform fee (starting at $2,300 per month). This is because Shopify Plus offers lower transaction fees, which can offset the higher platform cost.

Exceptions for Lower-Volume Stores

For businesses with less than $1 million in annual revenue, Shopify Plus can still be a good option if:

• You need B2B features.
•  You need several expansion stores.
• You need checkout extensibility or checkout.liquid 
• You need features in the organizational admin like Advanced user permissions, managed 2-factor authentication, and custom analytics and reports.
• You want to go headless.

Shopify Plus’s Total Cost of Ownership Compared

For a meaningful comparison of Shopify Plus and other platforms, you have to take all possible expenses into account. Considering all the costs involved, Shopify Plus is more cost-effective than its competitors. These include:

• Hosting
• Platform Fees
• Apps and add-on fees
• Third-Party Integrations Fees
• Payment Processing Fees
• Development Costs
• Support and Maintenance Costs
• Resources

In a study conducted on Shopify’s behalf, a leading independent consulting firm suggests Shopify Plus has a 33% lower total cost of ownership than its competitors on average. These competitor platforms include BigCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Commerce (Magento), and WooCommerce.

(Shopify TCO compared with Competitors, source: Shopify)

Here’s a breakdown of the cost advantages over competitors according to the study:

• Platform Fees and Ecommerce Stack Costs 

Shopify’s platform costs are 23% lower on average compared to competitors. For example, Adobe’s platform fees and ecommerce stack costs are 42% higher, while BigCommerce and WooCommerce are 32% higher​​.

• Operational and Support Costs 

Shopify’s operating costs are 19% better on average. WooCommerce’s operational and support costs are 41% higher than Shopify’s, while Adobe and Salesforce’s operational and support costs are 24% and 6% higher, respectively.

• Implementation and Setup Costs 

On average, Shopify’s implementation costs are 33% lower. BigCommerce’s implementation costs are 88% higher, and WooCommerce, Adobe, and Salesforce’s are 49%, 42%, and 16% higher, respectively.

• Hosting and Infrastructure 

Shopify Plus includes hosting in its pricing, simplifying the cost structure and reducing the overhead compared to platforms where hosting must be managed separately.

Overall, the total cost of ownership for Shopify Plus, when considering all these factors, often results in lower expenses and higher value capture compared to other major ecommerce platforms.

How Does Shopify Plus Improve ROI?

Besides lower transaction fees, Shopify Plus helps businesses reduce costs and increase sales in various ways:

Reduced Costs (Lower TCO)

• Shopify Plus includes hosting, security, and maintenance, so you don’t have to pay for multiple subscriptions.
• Extensive built-in features and simpler integrations minimize custom development expenses.

Increased Sales (Higher Conversion Rates)

• A user-friendly checkout process reduces cart abandonment. Studies show that Shopify’s checkout converts up to 15% better than competitors on average. 
• Frictionless one-click checkout with Shop Pay can increase conversion rates by 50% compared to guest checkouts.

Enhanced Marketing Efficiency

• Businesses can connect with major marketing and social media channels seamlessly with Shopify Plus for easy cross-channel campaigns.
• Shopify Audiences (paid feature) helps create targeted audiences for ad campaigns on Meta and Google, potentially lowering customer acquisition costs.

Global Growth and Scalability

• Shopify Plus’s international features, such as expansion stores, multi-currency support, localized content, and multiple languages, enable smooth global expansion.
• The platform scales with your business, reducing the expensive infrastructure upgrade costs.

Improved Operational Efficiency

• Shopify Flow and other tools automate repetitive tasks like sales campaigns, inventory management, and customer interactions. This reduces labor costs and increases efficiency. 
• Shopify Plus gives you advanced data-driven insights into customer behavior, sales trends, and marketing performance. You can use these insights to optimize marketing efforts, product offerings, and customer experiences.

Comparison of Shopify Plus, Magento Enterprise, and BigCommerce Enterprise

Feature	Shopify Plus	Magento Enterprise	BigCommerce Enterprise
Platform Fees	– Starts at $2,500/month for standard setups – Variable fee for higher volume business structures	– $22,000 – $125,000/year	– Custom pricing typically starts at $1,000/month and can go up to around $15000/month – Depends on GMV and desired configuration
Hosting	Fully hosted by Shopify	– Requires separate hosting- Estimated $500 – $6,500/year	Fully hosted by BigCommerce
Transaction Fees	– 0.2% per transaction for third-party payment processors- No transaction fees if using Shopify Payments- Card fees vary by country	– depends on payment processor	– Starts at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Apps/Extensions	– Wide range of free and low-cost apps- Average extension cost: $60 – $600	– Average extension cost: $60 – $600	– Wide range of free and low-cost apps
Third-Party Integrations	Seamless integration with hundreds of tools	Requires custom development for many integrations	Seamless integration with hundreds of tools
Development Costs	– User-friendly platform reduces development needs- Estimated $0 – $5,000+	– Estimated $10,000+ for custom development	– Estimated $0 – $5,000+
Support and Maintenance	– 24/7 support- Automatic platform updates	– Estimated $4,500 – $5,500/year for monitoring and maintenance- Additional costs for updates, bug fixing, etc.	– 24/7 support- Automatic platform updates
Sales Channels	– Unlimited online storefronts- Integration with Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Instagram, etc.	– Unlimited online storefronts- Integration with various sales channels	– Unlimited online storefronts- Integration with Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
B2B Features	– Built-in B2B tools- Headless commerce capabilities	– Requires custom development for B2B features	– Built-in B2B tools
Conversion Tools	– Shopify Audiences for reduced customer acquisition costs- Checkout extensibility	– Limited built-in conversion tools	– Limited built-in conversion tools

What Does $2,500 a Month Get You on the Shopify Plus?

With Shopify Plus, you get a comprehensive suite of features designed to maximize efficiency, scalability, and revenue potential. Here’s what you get:

• Hosting fees are included.
• Maintenance costs are included.
• Version upgrades are included.
• B2B and custom invoicing on customer-specific terms.
• Up to 10 storefronts, with more available for a small fee.
• Up to 25 headless storefronts are supported.
• Infinite scalability, processing up to 10,000 transactions per minute.
• Unlimited employee accounts are supported.
• Supports up to 200 inventory locations.
• Priority support via phone or live chat.
• B2B on Shopify combines D2C and wholesale channels in a single dashboard.
• Shopify Markets Pro helps launch products in 50 new markets.
• Shopify POS Pro is included for up to 200 locations if you use Shopify Payments; otherwise, it is free for 20 locations.
• Checkout extensibility allows customized checkout experiences.
• Shopify Audiences finds potential brand ambassadors.
• Bot protection safeguards the store during flash sales.
• Launchpad automates promotions, product releases, and store updates.
• Shopify Functions allows custom app design and implementation.
• ShopifyQL Notebooks provides better data visualization and analysis.
• Access to Shopify Plus Certified App Partners for complex enterprise needs.
• Access to Shopify Plus Academy workshops and courses to scale on Shopify Plus.

Shopify Plus Case Studies: Examples of Increased ROI 

Shopify has showcased numerous case studies highlighting how businesses have leveraged the power of Shopify Plus to drive remarkable growth and success. 

Here are some key examples:

Hunter Boots

Hunter is a British heritage footwear brand known for its iconic rain boots and outdoor apparel.

• Challenge: Hunter Boots required a new ecommerce website to modernize and evolve how they were reaching customers. Their previous platform required lots of manual handling and lacked integrated marketing tools.
• Solution: Hunter chose Shopify Plus for its efficiency, speed, and adaptability. They were able to set up their new online store in less than 60 days with all the necessary integrations.
• Results: Since moving to Shopify Plus, Hunter Boots has seen a 923% increase in sales one month after launch, a 1000% increase in orders within three months, and a 19% increase in conversion rate.

Mathieu Proust, Head of Ecommerce at Hunter Boots, said,

 “The technology is really self-explanatory for team members, enabling them to quickly change banners and pricing, update a product description, or otherwise alter the site, which saves time when we are not the biggest team. And with Shopify being integrated with so many different partners it makes our lives so much easier”.

Bobo Choses

Bobo Choses is a Spanish children’s and women’s fashion brand known for its whimsical, playful designs.

• Challenge: Bobo Choses’ Magento-based platform was labor-intensive to manage, requiring an internal technical team to spend 80% of their time fixing issues. They also couldn’t share customer data or offer in-store pickup across their physical and online stores.
• Solution: Bobo Choses moved to Shopify Plus to unify customer data and deliver a true omnichannel experience. They introduced Shopify POS, which seamlessly connected to their website.
• Results: The brand saw a 20% increase in mobile conversion rate and reduced time spent resolving technical issues by 80%. Shopify Plus allowed them to “stop wasting time resolving technical incidents” and focus on growth.

Jordi Ribas, Ecommerce Manager at Bobo Choses, mentioned,

 “When we saw Shopify POS, we didn’t hesitate. It provided the functionalities we needed in order to realize our omnichannel strategy without requiring any complex integrations or development work”.

Slinger

Slinger is a tennis equipment brand that offers innovative products like smart ball launchers and training aids.

• Challenge: Slinger’s existing website was difficult to modify, requiring outside developers even to make simple tweaks. They needed an intuitive, responsive ecommerce platform to showcase their product and provide a smooth purchasing journey.
• Solution: Slinger replatformed to Shopify Plus, which provided a customizable and scalable solution. They were able to improve site flow, integrate video and 360-degree images, and offer payment plans through Shop Pay.
• Results: Within four months of launching on Shopify Plus, Slinger saw a 43.5% increase in revenue, a 20% boost in conversions, and a 20% jump in site traffic without employing new marketing tactics.

Hoby Darling, CEO of Slinger, remarked,

 “Shopify Plus really changed the way we work by providing us with more time. We’re able to do the basic things fast and know that they will work so that we can focus on more complex things like developing and launching new products and launching into new markets”.

Learn more about 12 Reasons Why Brands Migrate to Shopify Plus.

What You Should Consider Before Upgrading to Shopify Plus?

Upgrading to Shopify Plus is a major decision, If you’re planning to make the move, Ask yourself the following questions to decide if it’s the right move for you:

• Can Your Business Afford the Costs?
• Are you experiencing rapid growth or frequent spikes in traffic and sales? 
• Do you require extensive customization for your storefront and checkout processes?
• Would advanced automation tools benefit your business?
• Do you plan to sell in multiple countries? ​
• Will localized storefronts enhance your customers’ experience and increase your global sales?​
• Does your business require multiple staff members to manage the store?
• Do You Require Extensive Integration Capabilities?
• Is Security and Reliability a Top Priority?

Final Verdict: Is Shopify Plus Pricing Worth It?

Investing in Shopify Plus can greatly benefit businesses exceeding $1 million in revenue and facing complex needs. The platform’s fees might seem higher at a glance, but considering associated extra costs and overall cost of ownership compared to other competitor platforms, it offers a better ROI.

Thinking about upgrading? Contact us for expert advice on whether Shopify Plus is the right move for your business.