Worked example: a $35M GMV DTC apparel brand, 15% wholesale, selling in US+Canada, with a 2-person dev team. Advanced or Plus?
Short answer
Shopify Plus wins this profile only if Canadian wholesale prices are hand-set. Two tiers in two hand-priced currencies make 4 catalogs against Shopify Advanced's cap of 3 (shopify.com/pricing, October 2026). Converted Canadian prices add no catalogs, because percentage adjustments convert at exchange rates (Shopify Help Center, October 2026). Past the cap, we'd move a 2-person team to Plus rather than run a pricing app as a second price book.
- Catalogs on two wholesale tiers
- 4 if Canadian prices are hand-set, 2 if convertedFixed prices stay in the price list's currency; percentage adjustments convert at exchange rates. Selling B2B in more than one currency requires Shopify Payments.Sources: Shopify Help Center (Selling internationally in B2B); Shopify developer docs (PriceList object)
- Catalog cap below Plus
- 3 across all B2B marketsThe same on Basic, Grow and Advanced; Plus is unlimited, and direct company catalogs are Plus only.Sources: Shopify Help Center (Shopify B2B features by plan); Shopify (Pricing)
- Plan-fee gap
- $1,901 to $2,101 a monthPlus from $2,300 on a 3-year term or $2,500 on a 1-year term, against Advanced at $399 billed monthly: about 7 basis points of $35M (Deploi arithmetic from the figures above).Sources: Shopify (Shopify Plus pricing, Pricing)
- Multi-currency app tier
- $64.99 a monthWholesale Pricing Discount B2B lists multi-currency wholesale pricing only on its Global plan; its Basic plan starts at $24.99.Source: Wholesale Helper (Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B on the Shopify App Store)
Deploi’s call
Shopify Plus, on the currency arithmetic rather than the revenue, and only when Canadian wholesale prices are set by hand. The $35M number is the least informative fact in this profile. Two hand-priced currencies against a hard cap of 3 catalogs decide it, and would decide it identically at $12M. A pricing app would clear the cap, but it is a second pricing system a 2-person team runs for good. Converted Canadian prices keep two tiers at two catalogs, so Shopify Advanced holds.
BuyMove to Plus when
- Canadian wholesale prices are set by hand, so two tiers make 4 catalogs against Shopify Advanced's 3 (shopify.com/pricing, October 2026).
- With a 2-person team, nobody can own a pricing app's price book as the price master. Our 3-catalog cap record warns that app prices and native catalogs drift apart without one (September 2026).
- Key accounts want their own prices: below Plus each one takes a whole catalog, because direct company catalogs are Plus only (Shopify Help Center, October 2026).
WaitStay on Shopify Advanced while
- Canadian buyers accept prices converted from your US tiers, which needs Shopify Payments (Shopify Help Center, October 2026).
- You invoice all wholesale in US dollars on two tiers or fewer.
- A replatform or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) cutover lands this year.
Basis: Should You Build or Buy Past Shopify's 3-Catalog B2B Cap?, our Build vs. Buy decision record, scored BUY.
How does the $35M apparel profile score against Shopify Advanced's 3-catalog cap?
The $35M apparel profile scores against Shopify Advanced's 3-catalog cap on one row: whether Canadian wholesale prices are set by hand. Advanced allows 3 active catalogs across all business-to-business (B2B) markets (Shopify Help Center, October 2026). The counting rule for that cap counts each price tier once per currency you price by hand. So revenue, wholesale share and team size point toward Shopify Plus only once that row pushes a two-tier program past three catalogs.
| Factor | Reading | Points toward |
|---|---|---|
| $35M gross merchandise value (GMV) | About $2.9M a month; revenue alone never decides the plan | Neutral |
| 15% wholesale, about $5.25M a year | Large enough to have its own terms and tiers | Plus, weakly |
| US and Canada, two wholesale tiers | 4 catalogs if Canadian prices are set by hand; 2 if they are converted | Plus only if set by hand |
| 2-person dev team | Can't absorb a second pricing system | Plus, once past three catalogs |
When does selling wholesale in Canada double the catalog count?
Selling wholesale in Canada doubles the catalog count only when you set Canadian wholesale prices by hand. Shopify keeps a price list's fixed prices in one currency (Shopify developer docs, October 2026) and converts percentage adjustments at exchange rates (Shopify Help Center, October 2026). So a two-tier apparel wholesale program makes 4 catalogs with hand-set Canadian dollar price sheets, and 2 with converted prices. Shopify Advanced allows 3 active catalogs across all business-to-business (B2B) markets (Shopify Help Center, October 2026).
Two moves keep a two-tier program at 2 catalogs on Shopify Advanced:
- Convert Canadian prices from your US tiers. Multicurrency B2B selling needs Shopify Payments, and Shopify Markets rounding rules don't apply to B2B buyers (Shopify Help Center, October 2026). So Canadian buyers see prices that follow your exchange rate and skip your rounding rules. Settle who carries the currency risk on wholesale terms first.
- Invoice all wholesale in US dollars, Canadian accounts included. That is a commercial concession, not a setting, and Canadian apparel buyers may refuse it. Test the concession with your two largest Canadian accounts before it justifies staying on Advanced.
Why does a 2-person dev team point at Plus, not away from it?
A 2-person dev team points at Shopify Plus, not away from it, because Shopify Advanced past its 3-catalog cap means a second system to run. That system is a pricing app's price book, or a second store. Our record on the 3-catalog cap scores the app BUY when the cap is the only Plus-only need (September 2026). The same record names the catch: app price groups and native business-to-business (B2B) companies “drift apart unless one is declared the master”. For US and Canadian tiers, the app plan matters too. Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B lists multi-currency wholesale pricing only on its Global plan, at $64.99 a month (Shopify App Store, October 2026).
A custom pricing layer doesn't avoid the plan question either. Only Shopify Plus stores can use custom apps that contain Shopify Functions (Shopify developer docs, October 2026), so the custom build in our record needs the upgrade first.
Our judgment: a 2-person team that keeps two price books in step has spent part of its capacity for good. Plus is a plan change followed by native catalogs that Shopify maintains, so for a small team native beats owned.
What does Shopify Plus cost a $35M apparel brand over Advanced?
At Shopify's published starting prices, Shopify Plus costs a $35M apparel brand $1,901 to $2,101 a month more than Shopify Advanced billed monthly, about 7 basis points of revenue (Deploi arithmetic). Plus starts at $2,300 a month on a 3-year term and $2,500 on a 1-year term (shopify.com/plus/pricing, October 2026). Advanced costs $399 a month billed monthly (shopify.com/pricing, October 2026). Shopify says “More complex, higher volume businesses switch to a variable platform fee” (shopify.com/plus/pricing, October 2026), so price your own quote. Check whether card rates repay the plan-fee gap separately.
A wholesale storefront of its own narrows the gap. Plus includes your main store and 9 expansion stores in its platform fee (shopify.com/plus/pricing, October 2026). Below Plus, that store pays its own plan, $39 to $399 a month billed monthly (shopify.com/pricing, October 2026). Whether a dedicated wholesale store pays off is its own decision.
When does the $35M apparel profile flip to Shopify Advanced?
The $35M apparel profile flips to Shopify Advanced when two wholesale tiers stay at two catalogs, or when someone can own a second pricing system.
Deploi’s point of view
Our own position, from building on Shopify. Kept apart from the sourced facts above.
- What we’ve seen
- The US-plus-Canada apparel profile is where the cap surprises people, because Canada does not feel like international expansion. Once Canadian wholesale prices are set by hand it is a second currency, and Shopify's catalog count does not care how close the border is.
- Where we disagree
- Small dev teams are routinely advised to delay Plus because migration is work. That advice ignores what the alternative costs them every month afterwards. A parallel pricing system is a permanent tax on a 2-person team; a plan change is a one-time project.
- What this page adds
- The parent gives the counting rule. This page applies it to a US and Canada apparel brand: the cap binds only if Canadian wholesale prices are set by hand, converting them keeps two tiers at two catalogs, and past the cap a 2-person team is better served by Plus than by a pricing app run as a second price book.
Decision records behind this answer
When this answer changes
- Shopify raises the 3-catalog allowance on Basic, Grow or Advanced, or opens direct company catalogs below Plus.
- Shopify changes how B2B catalog prices convert between currencies, or applies Markets rounding rules to B2B buyers.
- Shopify changes the Advanced or Plus price, or quotes this brand a variable platform fee.
- A key Canadian account refuses both converted prices and US dollar invoices, and asks for a hand-set price sheet.
- A pricing app starts writing its prices into native Shopify catalogs, which ends the second-price-book problem.
Related questions
This follows from For a brand at $20M GMV where B2B/wholesale is 10%-30% of revenue, is Advanced's 3-catalog limit already a real constraint?
- At $1M+/month in online sales, is staying on Advanced actually leaving money on the table by not upgrading to Plus?
Shopify Advanced at $1M a month leaves money on the table with a third-party processor or a funded Plus-only capability.
- What's the actual breakeven point where a dedicated B2B expansion store starts making more sense than a blended single store?
A dedicated business-to-business (B2B) expansion store has no revenue breakeven, because Shopify Plus charges no platform fee for one B2B store per contract (Shopify Help Center, October 2026).
- What currencies can net payment terms actually be issued in? Does this work the same for international B2B buyers?
Net payment terms on Shopify carry no currency: a term is a type and a day count, so it runs in whatever currency the order is in (Shopify developer docs, October 2026).
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these. Official and vendor pages are checked on the date shown; Deploi records are our own published decisions.
- Shopify, Pricing
- Shopify Help Center, Selling internationally in B2B
- Shopify developer docs, PriceList object
- Shopify Help Center, Shopify B2B features by plan
- Shopify, Shopify Plus pricing
- Shopify developer docs, About Shopify Functions
- Wholesale Helper, Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B on the Shopify App Store
- Deploi Build vs. Buy, Should You Build or Buy Past Shopify's 3-Catalog B2B Cap?