If you are comparing Shopify B2B vs. Shopify Plus, the first thing to know is that this is no longer a simple “standard plan vs. wholesale plan” decision.
Shopify now offers native B2B features on multiple plans, not just Plus. That means more merchants can start selling wholesale on Shopify without jumping straight into enterprise pricing. But that does not mean every wholesale setup will work equally well on every plan.
The real question is not whether Shopify supports B2B. It does. The real question is whether the plan you choose can support the way your wholesale business actually operates once pricing, buyers, and workflows become more complex.
Why this comparison matters now
For a long time, many merchants assumed Shopify Plus was the only serious option for wholesale. That has changed.
Today, merchants on lower Shopify plans can access core B2B functionality and get a wholesale program off the ground much earlier than before. That is a meaningful shift, especially for brands that want to validate wholesale demand, onboard trade customers, and test B2B without committing to a much higher monthly platform cost.
At the same time, Shopify Plus still matters. Once a B2B operation becomes more layered, the differences between standard native plans and Plus become much more important.
That is why this comparison deserves a closer look.
What Shopify B2B gives you on standard plans
For many merchants, Shopify’s standard B2B setup now covers the basics well.
A merchant can create company accounts, build catalogs, offer net payment terms, support purchase orders, set quantity rules and price breaks, and create a more structured ordering experience for wholesale buyers. For simple wholesale models, that can be enough to launch and run a working B2B channel.
This is especially useful for merchants who are:
- just starting wholesale
- adding a small dealer or distributor channel
- running a simple B2B program alongside retail
- trying to avoid a large platform commitment too early
In other words, standard Shopify B2B is now a real option, not just a placeholder until Plus.
Where Shopify Plus becomes different
The gap starts to show when a wholesale business needs more control, more flexibility, or more room to grow.
Shopify Plus is not just a more expensive version of the same thing. It is the plan where Shopify gives merchants more operational depth for B2B.
That matters most in four areas: catalogs, company-level pricing control, payment workflows, and scale.
1. Catalog flexibility
This is one of the clearest differences.
On non-Plus plans, merchants can work with a limited number of active catalog assignments across B2B markets. That may be enough for a small wholesale setup, but it can become restrictive once a business starts splitting pricing by buyer type, region, or account tier.
Shopify Plus is a better fit when a merchant needs more flexibility in how catalogs are structured and assigned.
2. Direct company-level control
Many wholesale businesses do not just need broad pricing groups. They need more precise control.
That might include customer-specific pricing, negotiated pricing for key accounts, or different structures for companies operating in different regions or under different terms. This is where Plus becomes more attractive because the business is no longer just managing wholesale at a general level. It is managing it account by account.
3. Advanced payment workflows
A simple B2B setup may be fine with standard net terms and straightforward ordering.
But more advanced wholesale businesses often need things like deposits, partial payments, or more flexible payment handling tied to how orders are fulfilled. These are the kinds of operational requirements that push merchants toward Shopify Plus.
4. Enterprise headroom
Some merchants do not need Plus because they want more features. They need Plus because they want fewer structural limits.
Once wholesale becomes a meaningful part of the business, the question shifts from “Can we start B2B on Shopify?” to “Can we run this cleanly without workarounds?” That is where Plus starts to make more sense.
When Native Shopify B2B is the right choice
Native Shopify B2B is often the better fit when the business has a relatively simple wholesale model.
That usually means:
- a small number of buyer groups
- limited pricing complexity
- straightforward ordering needs
- no strong need for customer-specific exceptions
- a goal of launching wholesale without a major platform upgrade
For merchants in that stage, starting on a standard Shopify plan can be the smarter move. It keeps costs lower, reduces commitment, and still gives the business a real way to test and build wholesale operations.
This is particularly true for brands that are still learning what their B2B channel needs.
When Shopify Plus is the right choice
Shopify Plus becomes the stronger option when wholesale is already important enough that the business needs more than a basic setup.
That usually looks like:
- multiple buyer tiers with different pricing logic
- regional or account-level complexity
- advanced payment requirements
- broader customization needs
- a wholesale channel that is already growing fast or operationally demanding
At that point, the decision is less about getting access to B2B and more about making sure the business can keep scaling without hitting avoidable limitations.
For those merchants, Shopify Plus is often the right long-term plan.
There is also a middle ground
This is the part many merchants miss.
The real choice is not always just “stay on a standard plan” or “upgrade to Plus.”
Some merchants do not need the full weight of Shopify Plus, but they do need more flexibility than Shopify’s native B2B setup gives them comfortably on a standard plan. In those cases, a wholesale app like Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B can be the more practical solution, which is built for merchants that need more control over wholesale pricing, discount structures, customer-specific setups, quantity breaks, and one-store wholesale workflows.
That can be a strong fit for merchants who are asking for more wholesale flexibility, but are not yet at the stage where a full move to Shopify Plus makes business sense.
Shopify B2B vs. Shopify Plus: a practical way to decide
A simple way to think about it is this:
Choose native Shopify B2B (any plan) if your wholesale model is still relatively clean and you want to launch or validate B2B without taking on enterprise costs.
Choose Shopify Plus if your business already needs deeper catalog control, more advanced payment workflows, or more operational room for a complex wholesale setup.
Consider an app like Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B if your main challenge is wholesale pricing flexibility and workflow control, but Shopify Plus feels too expensive or too heavy for what you actually need today.
That framing tends to lead to a better decision than treating Plus as the automatic answer.
Final thoughts
The comparison between Shopify B2B and Shopify Plus is much more practical now than it used to be.
More merchants can start wholesale on Shopify without Plus, and that is a real improvement. But Shopify Plus still matters for businesses that need more control, more flexibility, and more room to scale without workarounds.
For many merchants, the best path is not to rush into the highest plan. It is to choose the setup that fits the current stage of the business.
Sometimes that means starting with native Shopify B2B on a standard plan.
Sometimes that means moving to Shopify Plus.
And sometimes it means staying on a standard plan while adding a more flexible wholesale layer through an app like Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B.
The right answer depends less on what Shopify now offers in theory and more on what your wholesale business actually needs in practice.
