Build vs. Buy on Shopify
Build, buy, customize, or wait — decided with numbers. Capability-by-capability verdicts with honest 3-year cost math.
Custom wins on 3-year cost or fit — with maintenance counted honestly.
The app wins your scenario — we say so plainly.
Buy the app, build the glue: very often the honest mid-market answer.
Shopify is shipping this natively. Don't spend yet; we'll tell you when it flips.
Latest Decisions
Do Your Installed Apps Share One Rate-Limit Bucket?
WAITEach app draws on its own Admin API bucket per store, at 40 requests standard and 400 on Plus (verified Sep 2026). More apps add no contention.
Platform & Architecture
Should You Build or Buy Per-Shipment B2B Invoicing on Plus?
WAITPayment requests per fulfillment are Plus-only, so each shipment of a split B2B order bills natively. No app does this; below Plus it's an accounting-system job.
B2B & Wholesale
Does One App Subscription Cover Every Plus Expansion Store?
DEPENDSApps bill per store, not per organization, so a five-store Plus portfolio pays five times for one app. The crossover math decides when to build instead.
Platform & Architecture
Do You Need a New Theme License for Every Expansion Store?
DEPENDSTheme licenses repeat per production store on Plus, and staging stores are exempt. The license is the cheap part; the customization behind it is what repeats.
Platform & Architecture
Should You Run Hydrogen and Your Theme in Parallel?
CUSTOMIZEHydrogen and an Online Store 2.0 theme can run against one catalog and cart. Shopify documents the compatibility; the routing layer between them is yours to build.
Content & Storefront
Should You Build Real-Time Pickup Eligibility on Plus?
BUYPickup eligibility beyond stock on hand needs the Plus-only Local Pickup Delivery Option Generator Function; the native toggle and pickup apps cover the rest.
Shipping, Delivery & Fulfillment
Should You Build or Buy a Local-Pickup Handling Fee?
BUILDCharging a pickup-specific handling fee inside checkout needs the Plus-only Local Pickup Charges Function; surcharge apps price carts, not the pickup option.
Shipping, Delivery & Fulfillment
Should You Bet on Shopify Plus Feature Test Drives?
WAITEarly access to unreleased Shopify features is a Plus benefit and a bet. Test-drive in a staging store now; commit the order path only at general availability.
Platform & Architecture
Does Plus's Bigger REST Bucket Remove the GraphQL Migration Case?
BUILDPlus multiplies the REST Admin API bucket tenfold, to 400 requests and 20 per second (verified Sep 2026). REST has been legacy since October 1, 2024.
ERP, Accounting & Integrations
Plus's 100 Themes vs. a Multi-Tenant CMS for Sub-Brands?
BUILDPlus allows up to 100 themes per account, so theme count rarely decides anything. What decides sub-brand storefront architecture is who maintains the divergence.
Content & Storefront