Shopify is a leading eCommerce platform that you can use to sell your products online without having to build an independent store of your own.
With everything you need to build an online store at its disposal, Shopify gives you an easy way to get going with your business, no matter how small or large the scale.
Meant for all kinds and sizes of businesses, including solo entrepreneurs and large-scale enterprises, Shopify could very well be the best place to begin, strengthen, and globalize your business endeavors.
The best part- depending on the size of your brand and its needs, you can further choose a suitable plan or switch between different plans as you go about expanding your business.
For instance, its starter pack allows you to initiate your business or sell your products instantly through social media, messaging apps, or a digital store.
Its advanced version, on the other hand, lets you grow and scale your business for exponential growth.
Similarly, Shopify is also available in its standard format, which is best suitable for smaller teams. Whereas, for more complex projects or businesses, you can always turn to its Plus plan, better known as Shopify Plus.
That said, in this post, we shall take a closer look at the last two that are rather common in the world of Shopify, i.e., Shopify and Shopify Plus.
What is Shopify?
While the term “Shopify” is used to refer to the eCommerce platform per se, in the current context, though, it only denotes one of the pricing plans called ‘Shopify.'
Meant for small-scale teams and businesses, it allows you to use all the basic features that one can expect from a fully functional digital store.
Some of these key features include:
- Up to 10 locations for stocking inventory.
- A round-the-clock chat support.
- Localized and global selling in multiple markets.
- Additional staff accounts (up to 5).
- Point of Sale (POS) lite for mobile users.
- Third-party payment gateways.
As you can see, the Shopify plan is not only packed with all essential features but also provides some of the key advanced features as well.
Costing about Rs. 5,599.00 a month, it is a perfect option for a small-scale business or a startup.
What is Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is the more advanced version of its enterprise solution that is designed for complex businesses that serve across multiple locations around the world.
As a full-scale business plan, Shopify Plus offers more features than any other plan. For instance,
- Custom reports and data analytics.
- 200 inventory locations.
- Top-tier and priority-based 24/7 telephonic support.
- Localized and global selling in up to 50 markets.
- Unlimited staff accounts for multinational corporations.
- Fully customizable checkout options.
- 200 POS Pro locations with Shopify Payments.
- Wholesale and B2B selling.
Given the wide array of high-end features and all-around technical support, the cost of the Shopify Plus plan is also a bit on the expensive side, with its monthly charges starting at Rs. 175,000.00 per month.
Now, while choosing the right plan is all about the scope and scale of your business, there are many other factors that you might want to consider before making your final call
Also Read: How to Start a Shopify Store?
Difference Between Shopify and Shopify Plus
The key differences between Shopify and Shopify Plus lie in their features, cost, and target audience.
Without further ado, let’s get to it:
1. Pricing Differences
When it comes to pricing, Shopify Plus certainly leans a lot on the expensive side due to the wide range of advanced features and unlimited customization.
This is why, of all the different plans ranging from basic (at Rs 1,400.00), standard (Rs 5,599.00), and advanced (Rs 22,680.00), the Plus plan is perhaps the most expensive costing about Rs 175,000.00 per month. But for all the good reasons.
Packed with some of the latest technologies and sophisticated features that you can customize as per your needs, Shopify Plus is a full-scale and comprehensive solution that is carefully curated for big brands or large-scale businesses.
The standard Shopify plan, on the other hand, is best suited for small-scale businesses running from a single location.
2. Customization and Flexibility
What sets them apart is not just the cost but also the level of customization that comes with the plan.
For instance, while the Shopify standard plan only allows limited customization of your eCommerce platform through built-in themes and basic Shopify apps, Shopify Plus gives you total control over your store’s customization with access to the Shopify Plus API.
Similarly, while Shopify only includes the essential eCommerce features such as inventory management, customer support tools, and integrated payment gateways, Shopify Plus comes with advanced customization tools, including liquid code, a dedicated API, Script script editor (for customizing checkout experiences), and Launchpad (for automating campaigns and flash sales).
3. Performance and Scalability
As far as the performance is concerned, stores made with Shopify Plus offer superior scalability compared to standard Shopify.
That is, while the latter only supports moderate traffic and transaction volumes with minimal downtime, Shopify Plus can handle huge traffic spikes and high transaction volumes without compromising the speed or reliability of your online store.
With advanced features such as high-capacity APIs, custom integrations, and unlimited bandwidth, Shopify Plus can ensure optimal performance at all times.
Plus, its specialized infrastructure and support tools let you manage increased demands during peak hours and festive seasons with zero downtime.
4. Dedicated Support
Speaking of which, Shopify and Shopify Plus vary largely in their support features, although both offer round-the-clock support.
Put more clearly, Shopify provides only standard 24/7 support through chat, phone, and email.
Whereas, Shopify Plus also comes with a dedicated account manager and priority support no matter the time or the day. This includes their dedicated account manager, Merchant Success Manager, and the Launch Engineer feature for high-level support and custom solutions.
In it, the launch manager is a unique Shopify feature that allows users to set up and optimize their digital store from time to time.
5. Integration and API Access
Third-party integration is an essential tool for businesses for various purposes, starting from online payments to shipping, marketing, and logistics to inventory management.
Again, the standard Shopify plan is a bit simpler as it only offers basic integration through the Shopify App Store to meet your third-party integration needs with limited API access.
On the contrary, Shopify Plus is capable of advanced integration through more robust and exclusive API access, like the Multi-pass API for single sign-on and the GiftCard API for gift cards, with even higher rate limits.How to Hire a Shopify Development Company?
At the same time, it allows you to build custom apps with deeper integrations through ERM, CRM, and other enterprise-level systems that offer greater flexibility, automation, and customization for complex business needs.
6. Advanced Features of Shopify Plus
Along with that, Shopify Plus, as the most advanced enterprise solution by Shopify, also boasts several advanced features that are not included in the standard plan.
For e.g.,
- Multi-store management allows business owners to manage multiple online stores from a single dashboard for both local and international audiences.
- Wholesale/B2B options are meant for big businesses dealing with other businesses on a wholesale level.
- Automation with Shopify Flow is yet another astounding feature of Shopify Plus using which you can automate several tasks at once to better streamline the entire workflow or process.
7. Checkout Customization
Since the checkout option is an integral aspect of the entire buying funnel, Shopify Plus gives you total control over its customization with features such as a Script Editor for a more personalized and tailored checkout experience.
It also lets you curate personalized promotions and custom discounts with way more flexibility in payment procedures than any other plan, including the Shopify standard.
Speaking of which, the standard Shopify plan has a basic checkout process with limited customization across all the stores.
8. International Expansion and Global Selling
Considering the regional differences in language and currency, Shopify allows users to choose the best plan based on the requisite selling features.
So those operating in multiple regions or channels can always go with the Shopify Plus plan, as it offers advanced multi-currency capabilities and supports multiple stores from a single dashboard.
Built for high volume businesses, it has all the essential tools needed to handle international domains, currencies, and tax regulations.
Standard Shopify, on the other hand, while also enhanced with multi-currency and multi-channel support, is somewhat limited in its scope as well as customization. This makes it suitable for businesses that are operating only in a single country or region with moderate sales volumes.
Also Read: How to Hire a Shopify Development Company?
Conclusion
As evident enough, Shopify is a full-scale solution that you can use to sell your products online.
Available in a wide range of plans, it can be used by businesses of all kinds and niches depending on your needs and goals.
In that, Shopify (standard) and Shopify Plus are the advanced and high-end versions of basic and enterprise solutions, respectively.
While Shopify is the more sophisticated type of basic plan that is suitable for small teams and businesses, Shopify Plus is the be-all and end-all of Shopify.
Enhanced with all the latest eCommerce features such as full customization, third-party integrations, and multi-level support, it is the most comprehensive plan that one can opt for a complex or multinational corporation.