WooCommerce vs Shopify for B2B: An Honest Comparison From a Woo Agency

For B2B, Shopify Plus gives you the most complete wholesale feature set out of the box, and since April 2026 even the cheaper Shopify plans include basic B2B. WooCommerce has no native B2B, but with plugins and custom code it handles complex pricing, quoting and ERP-driven rules that Shopify can only approximate, with no platform fee on revenue. If your B2B rules fit Shopify's model and the budget covers Plus, Shopify is the lower-effort choice; if your rules are unusual or you want to own the system, WooCommerce usually wins.

We build WooCommerce stores for a living, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to be fair, including where Shopify is simply better.

What B2B features does Shopify have, and on which plans?

Until recently B2B was a Shopify Plus feature. On 2 April 2026 Shopify announced that Basic, Grow and Advanced plans now include native B2B features. The limits are what matter:

Sources: Shopify B2B features by plan and checkout apps by plan.

Three catalogs is enough for "retail, wholesale, distributor". It is not enough for customer-specific pricing, which is how most real B2B works. For that you need Plus, which starts at $2,500 per month on a 1-year term or $2,300 per month on a 3-year term, with a variable fee for more complex, higher-volume businesses.

How does WooCommerce handle B2B?

WooCommerce core is a B2C shop. B2B comes from extensions and custom development, which is both its weakness and its strength. Typical building blocks:

• All-in-one B2B plugins. B2B for WooCommerce costs $179 per year and bundles role-based pricing, quotes, registration approval, tax exemption and hidden prices. B2BKing has a free core with a paid version for order forms, subaccounts and approval flows.
• Single-purpose extensions. For example, Min/Max Quantities at $49 per year for minimums, maximums and pack sizes.
• Custom code. Price lookups from an ERP, contract pricing, quote workflows, credit limits, custom checkout fields and approval steps.

The catch: you or your agency are responsible for keeping these pieces working together through updates. That is the real cost of WooCommerce B2B.

WooCommerce vs Shopify for B2B: feature by feature

How do everyday B2B tasks compare?

Feature tables hide how the store feels to use every day. These are the tasks B2B buyers and sales teams repeat most:

• Fast reordering. Shopify includes easy reorders and quick order lists on all plans with B2B. In WooCommerce you add a quick order form through a B2B plugin or build one that matches how your buyers search, for example by SKU or by their own part numbers.
• PO numbers and order references. Native in Shopify B2B. In WooCommerce a simple checkout field, often passed straight to the ERP.
• Ordering on behalf of a customer. Shopify has sales staff permissions for B2B. In WooCommerce, staff can create orders in the admin or use a customer-switching plugin; custom sales rep portals are common in our projects.
• Hiding prices from guests and approving new accounts. A standard feature of WooCommerce B2B plugins. In Shopify it depends on your theme and setup.
• Different buyers, different catalogs. Shopify handles this through catalogs, with the 3-catalog limit below Plus. WooCommerce can restrict products per role, group or individual customer with no fixed limit.
• Bulk data updates. Both import CSV files. For thousands of customer prices, an ERP sync is better than manual imports on either platform.

None of these is a deal breaker on its own. Add them up, and they show whether your team will work with the platform or around it.

Where is Shopify Plus better for B2B?

Honest answer: in several places.

• Time to launch. Company profiles, catalogs, payment terms and quantity rules work on day one. No plugin choices, no compatibility testing.
• Blended B2B and DTC. One product catalog serves retail and wholesale buyers from the same store, and Shopify maintains that logic, not you.
• Payments. Vaulted cards, net terms, deposits and partial payments are built into checkout on Plus.
• Operations and uptime. Shopify runs hosting, scaling and checkout security. Peak traffic is not your problem.
• Lower maintenance. Fewer moving parts means fewer update surprises. For a small team without a developer, that is a real advantage.

If your B2B model is "company accounts, price lists, net 30, reorder" and you already sell DTC on Shopify, Plus is a very reasonable choice.

Where is WooCommerce better for B2B?

WooCommerce wins when the business rules do not fit a standard model:

• Pricing logic. Contract prices per customer and SKU, price agreements with expiry dates, prices calculated live from the ERP, customer-specific discounts on top of volume tiers. In WooCommerce this is code you own, not a workaround.
• Checkout and ordering flows. Approval by a buyer's manager, budgets per cost centre, required PO fields, split deliveries, custom shipping rules. You can change every step without a Plus contract.
• Complex catalogs. Configurable products, technical attributes, large option sets and product builders.
• Cost at scale. No revenue-based platform fee and no monthly Plus contract. You pay for development and hosting instead.
• Ownership. Your code, your database and your hosting. Useful when B2B data is sensitive or you need specific data residency.
• Content. WordPress handles technical documentation, catalogs, dealer portals and SEO content very well.

What does each cost over three years?

A rough model, before apps, payments and marketing:

• Shopify Plus: $27,600-30,000 per year in platform fees alone (from the published $2,300-2,500 monthly rates), plus apps and any agency work. Roughly $83,000-90,000 over three years before customisation.
• WooCommerce: a one-time build (in our price guide, a custom mid-size store is $12,000-16,000 and a complex platform starts from $25,000), plus hosting, plugin licences and a support plan (ours start from $300 per month).

WooCommerce is usually cheaper over three years for B2B, but not free. If you skip maintenance, the savings disappear in the first broken update.

Decision checklist

Choose Shopify Plus if most of these are true:

• Your B2B rules fit catalogs, quantity rules and payment terms.
• You already run DTC on Shopify.
• You prefer paying a platform fee to managing hosting and updates.
• You have no in-house or agency developer on call.

Choose WooCommerce if most of these are true:

• Prices are customer-specific and managed in an ERP.
• Ordering needs approvals, quotes or custom checkout steps.
• Products are configurable or have many technical options.
• You want to own the code and data, and avoid a monthly platform contract.
• You have, or will hire, a team to maintain the store.

Choose Shopify on a non-Plus plan only if three price lists are enough and you do not need deposits or checkout changes.

When to get help

If you are leaning toward WooCommerce, write down your pricing rules, ordering flow and ERP first, then check if a plugin covers them or custom work is needed. Our WooCommerce B2B and wholesale team can map that for you, including the ERP integration side, and give a fixed price before any work starts.