Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced: Which Plan Fits Your Store?

Choosing the right Shopify plan can make or break your online business. Shopify Advanced is perfect for growing stores, offering robust tools, detailed analytics, and advanced reporting to streamline your operations. But if your store is scaling rapidly or handling high-volume sales, Shopify Plus delivers enterprise-level features, powerful automation, and priority support to take your business to the next level. Picking the wrong plan can slow growth, limit flexibility, and impact your bottom line, while the right choice sets you up for long-term success.

In this blog, we’ll compare Shopify Plus and Shopify Advanced in detail, covering features, pricing, and benefits. So, you can confidently choose the plan that fits your store today and supports your growth tomorrow.

Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced

Choosing the right Shopify plan is key to your store’s growth. Shopify Advanced and Shopify Plus offer powerful tools, scalability, and advanced features, but serve different business needs. Understanding their differences in features, pricing, and value ensures you invest wisely. Let’s compare Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced, covering features, pricing, and pros and cons to help you pick the plan that fits your business today and supports future growth.

Overview of Shopify Advanced

Shopify Advanced is the perfect plan for medium to large businesses that have outgrown the basic Shopify plans and need more robust features to manage growing sales and operations. This plan is designed to provide detailed insights, advanced reporting, and third-party integrations that help businesses optimize their workflow and scale efficiently.

Key Features of Shopify Advanced:

• Advanced Reporting & Analytics: Shopify Advanced provides access to detailed reports that help you analyze sales, track customer behavior, and monitor marketing efforts. Reports include sales by product, sales by location, customer behavior, and more, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions.
• Third-Party Calculated Shipping Rates: This feature allows you to offer real-time shipping rates from third-party carriers, giving your customers accurate shipping costs at checkout, which can improve conversion rates.
• Staff Accounts: Shopify Advanced allows up to 15 staff accounts, making it easier to delegate responsibilities such as order fulfillment, inventory management, and marketing tasks.
• Automation & Integrations: Advanced businesses often use multiple tools for marketing, inventory management, and CRM. Shopify Advanced supports automation and seamless integrations with apps like Zapier, Klaviyo, and other third-party tools.
• Discounts & Promotions: The plan enables businesses to run advanced discount rules and promotions to boost sales, including automatic discounts and advanced coupon setups.
• International Selling Support: With Shopify Advanced, you can sell in multiple currencies and languages, making it ideal for businesses looking to expand internationally.

Pricing Overview of Shopify Advanced:

• Shopify Advanced costs $299 per month.
• Transaction fees are 0.5% per sale if not using Shopify Payments.
• Additional costs may include third-party apps, integrations, and Shopify Premium themes.

Pros of Shopify Advanced:

• Affordable for growing businesses
• Access to advanced analytics and reports
• Multi-channel selling support
• Moderate staff account limits for team management
• Suitable for international sales

Cons of Shopify Advanced:

• Limited automation features compared to Shopify Plus
• Fewer customization options for checkout and backend workflows
• Not ideal for very high-volume or enterprise-level businesses

Overview of Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus is the enterprise-level plan for high-volume merchants, offering features and capabilities far beyond the Advanced plan. It is designed for businesses that need maximum scalability, advanced automation, dedicated support, and customization capabilities that allow them to optimize every aspect of their store. Shopify Plus is perfect for rapidly growing brands, large eCommerce operations, or businesses looking for global expansion.

Key Features of Shopify Plus:

• Enterprise-Level Scalability: Shopify Plus can handle high-volume sales with thousands of transactions per minute, making it ideal for businesses with growing traffic and order volumes.
• Dedicated Account Manager & Priority Support: Every Shopify Plus merchant receives a dedicated account manager to guide them through setup, migration, and scaling. 24/7 priority support ensures any technical issues are resolved quickly.
• Advanced Automation with Shopify Flow: Shopify Plus includes Shopify Flow, which allows businesses to automate repetitive tasks, workflows, and processes. Examples include inventory updates, order management, and personalized marketing campaigns.
• Customizable Checkout: Unlike Advanced, Shopify Plus allows full customization of the checkout process, enabling personalized customer experiences and optimized conversion paths.
• Multi-Channel & International Selling: Sell across multiple channels like social media, marketplaces, and brick-and-mortar stores. Shopify Plus also supports multi-currency, multi-language, and local tax settings, ideal for global businesses.
• Enhanced API & Integration Capabilities: Shopify Plus provides advanced APIs for seamless integration with ERP, CRM, or custom tools, enabling complex operations and enterprise-level workflows.
• Launchpad & Script Editor: Automate product launches, flash sales, and other marketing campaigns with Launchpad. Use Script Editor to create custom pricing, discounts, and promotions for specific segments.
• High-Level Security & Compliance: Shopify Plus ensures enterprise-grade security, PCI compliance, and advanced fraud protection, crucial for large businesses handling sensitive customer data.

Pricing Overview of Shopify Plus:

• Shopify Plus pricing starts at $2,000 per month, though it can vary depending on store size, customization needs, and transaction volume.
• Transaction fees are 0% if using Shopify Payments.
• Additional costs may include premium apps, custom development, and third-party integrations.

Pros of Shopify Plus:

• Ideal for high-volume, enterprise-level businesses
• Extensive automation capabilities
• Customizable checkout and workflows
• Dedicated support and account management
• Advanced multi-channel and international selling

Cons of Shopify Plus:

• High monthly cost may be prohibitive for smaller businesses
• Complex features may require a dedicated team or Shopify expert

Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced: Feature Comparison

Comparing Shopify Plus and Shopify Advanced side-by-side helps businesses understand which plan aligns with their goals and budget.

1. Reporting & Analytics

• Shopify Advanced: Provides detailed reports including sales by product, customer analytics, and marketing performance. Suitable for businesses needing robust insights without enterprise complexity.
• Shopify Plus: Includes all Advanced reporting features plus more in-depth, customizable analytics. Access to advanced KPIs, real-time insights, and integration with external BI tools.

2. Automation & Workflows

• Shopify Advanced: Limited automation options, mostly through third-party apps.
• Shopify Plus: Full automation with Shopify Flow, enabling automatic order routing, inventory updates, email campaigns, and more.

3. Customization

• Shopify Advanced: Standard checkout and limited backend customization.
• Shopify Plus: Fully customizable checkout and back-end scripts for pricing, promotions, and special workflows.

4. Support & Account Management

• Shopify Advanced: Standard 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone.
• Shopify Plus: Dedicated account manager, priority support, and access to a Shopify Plus community for enterprise-level advice.

5. Scalability & Performance

• Shopify Advanced: Handles medium to large traffic volumes, but may face limitations with extremely high-volume stores.
• Shopify Plus: Enterprise-grade scalability, capable of managing thousands of orders per minute and global expansion needs.

6. International Selling & Multi-Channel

• Shopify Advanced: Supports multiple currencies, languages, and selling channels but with some limitations.
• Shopify Plus: Optimized for global selling with multi-currency, multi-language, local taxation, and multi-channel automation.

7. Pricing & ROI

• Shopify Advanced: $299/month, transaction fees 0.5% if not using Shopify Payments. Best for growing businesses looking for affordability with advanced features.
• Shopify Plus: Starting at $2,000/month, 0% transaction fees with Shopify Payments. Best for high-volume stores requiring enterprise features, dedicated support, and advanced automation.
  

Key Differences at a Glance

Conclusion

Choosing the right Shopify plan can significantly impact your store’s growth and efficiency. When comparing Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced, the decision depends on your business size, sales volume, and long-term goals. Shopify Advanced is ideal for growing businesses needing advanced reporting, multi-channel support, and moderate automation, while Shopify Plus is designed for high-volume, enterprise-level stores requiring full automation, customizable checkout, and dedicated support.

To maximize your store’s potential, pairing the right Shopify plan with a premium theme is essential. Vowel Web offers two best Shopify themes, Adorn Beauty Shopify Theme and Flaunt Clothing Shopify Theme. Adorn comes with 5 presets Adorn, Choice, Ace, Precious, Closet while Flaunt offers 5 presets Flaunt, Sundrift, Polish, Advance, and Clear ensuring your store not only performs optimally but also looks visually stunning.