# For a brand at $40M GMV with 20% B2B share and active international expansion into 2 new markets this year, do all three factors point the same direction, or do they conflict?

Reviewed by Martin Dejnicki, Director of SEO & AI Search · facts verified October 8, 2026 · canonical: https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/advanced-vs-plus-40m-gmv-b2b-international-expansion

## Short answer

All three factors point toward Shopify Plus; none argues for Advanced. Wholesale share and expansion multiply catalog demand only when new markets get hand-set prices, because each currency of fixed prices needs its own catalog ([Shopify developer docs](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/latest/objects/PriceList), October 2026). Two tiers hand-priced in three currencies need 6 catalogs (Deploi arithmetic); Advanced allows 3 ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features), October 2026).

- **Catalog cap below Plus:** 3 across all B2B markets. The same on Basic, Grow and Advanced. At the cap, adding catalogs to another market means removing or drafting an existing assignment first. Plus is unlimited. ([Shopify Help Center, Shopify B2B features by plan](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features))
- **What a new market costs in catalogs:** One per tier, only where prices are hand-set. Fixed prices stay in the catalog'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))
- **Extra storefronts:** 9 included on Plus; $39 to $399 a month each below. Plus includes a main store and 9 expansion stores, with one free B2B store per contract. Below Plus each extra store pays its own plan fee, billed monthly. ([Shopify, Pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing); [Shopify, Shopify Plus pricing](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing); [Shopify Help Center, Overview of expansion stores for organizations on the Shopify Plus plan](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/organization-settings/expansion-stores))
- **Markets per plan:** Not published by Shopify. Shopify's Markets requirements page lists no market count, and its pricing table shows Shopify Markets on all four plans with no quantity. ([Shopify Help Center, Requirements and considerations for using markets](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/markets/getting-started/requirements-and-considerations); [Shopify, Pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing))

## Deploi's call

All three factors point toward Shopify Plus, and two of them multiply once the new markets get hand-set wholesale prices in their own currencies. That is when delaying costs the most, so we would settle the route before the markets launch, not after. Choose a pricing app while the 3-catalog cap is your only Plus-only need, and Shopify Plus once the expansion adds a second. Otherwise a market launches with wholesale pricing you can't express, and you renegotiate with its distributors later.

**BUY: Price Plus against a pricing app before launch when**

- Distributors in the new markets want hand-set prices in their own currencies, and each currency of fixed prices takes its own catalog ([Shopify developer docs](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/latest/objects/PriceList), October 2026).
- Two tiers priced by hand in three currencies need six catalogs, against 3 below Plus (Deploi arithmetic).
- The expansion adds a second Plus-only need, such as a legal entity per market ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/markets/getting-started/requirements-and-considerations), October 2026). [Our record on the 3-catalog cap](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/unlimited-b2b-catalog-count) moves to Plus at that point.

**WAIT: Stay on Advanced this year while**

- Buyers in the new markets accept home-currency tiers converted at exchange rates, which needs Shopify Payments ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), October 2026).
- The new markets open direct-to-consumer only, with wholesale next year.
- Neither market needs its own storefront or legal entity.

## Do $40M in revenue, 20% wholesale and two new markets pull in different directions?

No: $40M in revenue, a 20% wholesale share and two new markets all pull toward Shopify Plus, and none pulls toward the Advanced plan. [Shopify's rule for counting the 3-catalog cap](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/advanced-3-catalog-limit-at-20m-gmv-b2b) sets one condition for compounding: hand-set prices in a new currency.

**All three factors point to Plus, and only the new markets can multiply the wholesale pull (Deploi judgment)**

| Factor | Direction | Strength |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $40M gross merchandise value (GMV) | Plus | Weak on its own. Revenue alone never decides this |
| 20% business-to-business (B2B) share, about $8M | Plus | Moderate. Enough wholesale to need more than one price structure |
| Two new markets this year | Plus | Strong only with hand-set prices in the new currencies, because then they multiply the wholesale share |

Revenue is the weak row because Plus's starting fee barely registers at this size. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 a month on a 3-year term or $2,500 on a 1-year term ([shopify.com/plus/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing), October 2026). Against Advanced at $399 billed monthly ([shopify.com/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), October 2026), that's $1,901 to $2,101 a month, about 6 basis points of $40M a year (Deploi arithmetic). Shopify moves more complex, higher-volume businesses to a variable platform fee, so price your own quote ([shopify.com/plus/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing), October 2026). Card rates are [a payments question with its own break-even](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/advanced-vs-plus-at-1m-per-month).

## When do two new markets multiply your catalog count?

Two new markets multiply your business-to-business (B2B) catalog count only when their wholesale prices are hand-set in their own currencies. A catalog's fixed prices sit in one currency ([Shopify developer docs](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql/latest/objects/PriceList), October 2026), while percentage adjustments convert at exchange rates ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), October 2026).

**Only hand-set prices in a new currency add catalogs, taking two tiers from 2 to 4 to 6 (Deploi arithmetic)**

| Wholesale pricing after launch | Price tiers | Hand-priced currencies | Catalogs used | Against the cap of 3 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Today, or new markets on converted prices | 2 | 1 | 2 | One spare |
| Hand-set prices in one new currency | 2 | 2 | 4 | One over |
| Hand-set prices in both new currencies | 2 | 3 | 6 | Double the cap |

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

Converted prices need Shopify Payments ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), October 2026). A new market can't bring catalogs of its own, because Shopify counts the 3 catalogs "across all your B2B markets" ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features), October 2026). So on the Advanced plan, hand-set prices in both new markets mean choosing which market gets proper wholesale pricing. [A US and Canada brand that hand-sets Canadian prices](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/advanced-vs-plus-35m-gmv-dtc-apparel) hits the same wall one currency sooner.

## What else does international expansion add to the Advanced versus Plus decision?

International expansion into two new markets adds three more lines to the Advanced versus Plus decision: storefronts, legal entities and per-market presentation. The first two favor Shopify Plus; Advanced already covers the third.

- **Storefronts.** "Free expansion stores" is a Plus-only row, "Up to 9", with none on Basic, Grow or Advanced ([shopify.com/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), October 2026). Below Plus, each extra store pays its own plan fee of $39 to $399 a month, billed monthly ([shopify.com/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), October 2026). Two market storefronts and a business-to-business (B2B) wholesale store add $117 to $1,197 a month (Deploi arithmetic).
- **Legal entities.** Selling through a local legal entity from the same store is Plus-only: Shopify gives "Customize business entities in different markets" to Plus alone ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/markets/getting-started/requirements-and-considerations), October 2026). Each entity can run its own Shopify Payments account ([Shopify developer docs](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/markets/multiple-entities), October 2026).
- **Presentation.** Contextual checkout and storefront, which tailor what wholesale buyers see through Shopify Markets, run on Advanced and Plus ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features), October 2026). So Advanced isn't the wrong plan for international wholesale presentation. It's the wrong plan for hand-set international wholesale pricing.

Settle [when a dedicated wholesale store pays off](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/dedicated-b2b-store-vs-blended-store-break-even) before you count one in.

## Does the Advanced plan cap how many markets you can open?

The Advanced plan has a market cap, but Shopify doesn't publish it for Advanced or any other plan. So a two-market expansion needs the number in writing. A Shopify staff reply in its developer community says the number of international markets "correlates to their plan type" ([Shopify developer community](https://community.shopify.dev/t/included-markets-per-plan/15121), May 2025). Shopify's Markets requirements page lists no count; it says "Creating Regional markets to help you to sell internationally is free for all Shopify plans" ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/markets/getting-started/requirements-and-considerations), October 2026). Shopify's pricing table shows "Localized selling with Shopify Markets" on all four plans, with no quantity ([shopify.com/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), October 2026).

The figures that circulate come from a community member's post in that developer community thread, not from a Shopify statement: 3 markets on Basic and Grow, 3 included and up to 50 on Advanced, and 50 on Plus. Shopify's staff reply neither confirms nor corrects them. Get your plan's count from Shopify in writing before an expansion budget rests on it.

## When does a $40M brand with two new markets still stay on Advanced?

A $40M brand with 20% wholesale still stays on the Advanced plan when the new markets add no hand-priced currency, no wholesale this year or no storefront of their own.

> **When not to do this**
> - **When the new markets buy wholesale at your home-currency tiers.** Invoice in your home currency, or let Shopify convert percentage-based tiers, which needs Shopify Payments ([Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/international), October 2026). Then the new markets add no catalogs, so nothing compounds.
> - **When the new markets sell direct to consumers only in year one.** Wholesale in a new market is a separate project with its own lead times. If wholesale follows next year, so does this plan decision.
> - **When neither market needs its own storefront or legal entity.** Shopify Markets translates the storefront and assigns local domains inside one store on every plan ([shopify.com/pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), October 2026), so no second subscription is needed.

## Deploi's point of view

**Where we disagree.** Standard tier advice treats international and wholesale as independent inputs and scores them separately. They stop being independent the moment a new market gets hand-set wholesale prices, because both then draw on one catalog allowance that Shopify counts across all business-to-business markets. Any model that adds their scores rather than multiplying their catalog demand will under-call the upgrade.

**What we tell clients to do first.** Put the market launch plan and the wholesale price list in front of the same people before either ships. They usually have different owners and different timelines, and both draw on the same three catalogs whenever a new market gets hand-set prices. That collision is cheapest to find on paper.

**What this page adds.** How international expansion meets the 3-catalog cap: a new market costs catalogs only when its wholesale prices are hand-set in its own currency, and the expansion brings costs the parent doesn't price, from extra storefronts and a legal entity per market to a market count Shopify doesn't publish.

## When this answer changes

- Shopify raises the 3-catalog allowance on Basic, Grow or Advanced, or starts counting catalogs per market.
- Shopify publishes a market count per plan, or changes how many international markets a plan allows.
- Shopify starts converting fixed B2B prices between currencies, or drops the Shopify Payments requirement for multicurrency B2B.
- Shopify changes the 9 expansion stores Plus includes, or the limit of one free B2B store per contract.
- Business entities per market reach plans below Plus.
- A distributor in a new market asks for hand-set prices in its own currency.

## Sources

1. [Shopify Help Center, Shopify B2B features by plan](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b/getting-started/plan-features), 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, Pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), checked October 8, 2026
5. [Shopify, Shopify Plus pricing](https://www.shopify.com/plus/pricing), checked October 8, 2026
6. [Shopify Help Center, Overview of expansion stores for organizations on the Shopify Plus plan](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/organization-settings/expansion-stores), checked October 8, 2026
7. [Shopify Help Center, Requirements and considerations for using markets](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/markets/getting-started/requirements-and-considerations), checked October 8, 2026
8. [Shopify developer docs, Manage multiple legal entities in a store](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/markets/multiple-entities), checked October 8, 2026
9. [Shopify developer community, Included markets per plan](https://community.shopify.dev/t/included-markets-per-plan/15121), checked October 8, 2026
10. [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