# Worked example: a $35M GMV DTC apparel brand, 15% wholesale, selling in US+Canada, with a 2-person dev team. Advanced or Plus?

Reviewed by Martin Dejnicki, Director of SEO & AI Search · facts verified October 8, 2026 · canonical: https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/advanced-vs-plus-35m-gmv-dtc-apparel

## 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](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), October 2026). Converted Canadian prices add no catalogs, because percentage adjustments convert at exchange rates ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), 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 converted. Fixed prices stay in the price list's currency; percentage adjustments convert at exchange rates. Selling B2B in more than one currency requires Shopify Payments. ([Shopify Help Center, Selling internationally in B2B](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international); [Shopify developer docs, PriceList object](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/latest/objects/PriceList))
- **Catalog cap below Plus:** 3 across all B2B markets. The same on Basic, Grow and Advanced; Plus is unlimited, and direct company catalogs are Plus only. ([Shopify Help Center, Shopify B2B features by plan](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features); [Shopify, Pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing))
- **Plan-fee gap:** $1,901 to $2,101 a month. Plus 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). ([Shopify, Shopify Plus pricing](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing); [Shopify, Pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing))
- **Multi-currency app tier:** $64.99 a month. Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B lists multi-currency wholesale pricing only on its Global plan; its Basic plan starts at $24.99. ([Wholesale Helper, Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/wholesale-pricing-discount))

## 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.

**BUY: Move to Plus when**

- Canadian wholesale prices are set by hand, so two tiers make 4 catalogs against Shopify Advanced's 3 ([shopify.com/pricing](https://www.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](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/unlimited-b2b-catalog-count) 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](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features), October 2026).

**WAIT: Stay on Shopify Advanced while**

- Canadian buyers accept prices converted from your US tiers, which needs Shopify Payments ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), 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.

## 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](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features), October 2026). [The counting rule for that cap](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/advanced-3-catalog-limit-at-20m-gmv-b2b) 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.

**Only the currency row can push this profile past three catalogs (Deploi judgment)**

| 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 |

Sources: [Shopify Help Center, Selling internationally in B2B](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international); [Shopify Help Center, Shopify B2B features by plan](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features). Verified October 8, 2026.

## 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](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/latest/objects/PriceList), October 2026) and converts percentage adjustments at exchange rates ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), 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](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features), 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](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), 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](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/b2b-net-terms-currencies-international-buyers) 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](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/unlimited-b2b-catalog-count) 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](https://apps.shopify.com/wholesale-pricing-discount) 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](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/functions), 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](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing), October 2026). Advanced costs $399 a month billed monthly ([shopify.com/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), October 2026). Shopify says “More complex, higher volume businesses switch to a variable platform fee” ([shopify.com/plus/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing), October 2026), so price your own quote. Check [whether card rates repay the plan-fee gap](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/advanced-vs-plus-at-1m-per-month) 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](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing), October 2026). Below Plus, that store pays its own plan, $39 to $399 a month billed monthly ([shopify.com/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), October 2026). [Whether a dedicated wholesale store pays off](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/dedicated-b2b-store-vs-blended-store-break-even) 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.

> **When not to do this**
> - **When Canadian buyers accept prices converted from your US tiers.** Two tiers stay 2 catalogs, because percentage adjustments convert at exchange rates on Shopify Payments ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), October 2026).
> - **When you invoice all wholesale in US dollars on two tiers or fewer.** That is 2 catalogs. Revisit when a third tier or a hand-set Canadian price sheet appears.
> - **When wholesale is one distributor on one price.** That is 1 catalog, so the wholesale share does no work.
> - **When a named owner runs a pricing app as the price master.** [Our 3-catalog cap record](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/unlimited-b2b-catalog-count) scores the app BUY while the cap is the only Plus-only need (September 2026).
> - **When a replatform or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) cutover is already in the year's plan.** Sequence them. Don't stack them.

## Deploi's point of view

**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.

## 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.

## Sources

1. [Shopify, Pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), checked October 8, 2026
2. [Shopify Help Center, Selling internationally in B2B](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), checked October 8, 2026
3. [Shopify developer docs, PriceList object](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/latest/objects/PriceList), checked October 8, 2026
4. [Shopify Help Center, Shopify B2B features by plan](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features), checked October 8, 2026
5. [Shopify, Shopify Plus pricing](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing), checked October 8, 2026
6. [Shopify developer docs, About Shopify Functions](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/functions), checked October 8, 2026
7. [Wholesale Helper, Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/wholesale-pricing-discount), checked October 8, 2026
8. [Deploi Build vs. Buy, Should You Build or Buy Past Shopify's 3-Catalog B2B Cap?](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/unlimited-b2b-catalog-count), checked October 8, 2026, Deploi research