Shopify B2B vs WooCommerce Wholesale: Choosing a Platform for Wholesale Ordering

If you sell to other businesses, a regular online store usually isn't enough. Wholesale buyers expect their own prices, minimum order quantities, payment terms, and a quick way to reorder what they bought last month. The two platforms small and mid-size sellers most often consider for this are Shopify and WooCommerce, and they approach wholesale in very different ways.

This comparison focuses on wholesale ordering only. It reflects each platform's published documentation at the time of writing; both change often, so confirm the details on the linked pages before you commit.

The short version

• Shopify has wholesale (“B2B”) features built in. Since April 2026 they are available on the Basic, Grow and Advanced plans, not just Shopify Plus. The trade-off is less flexibility below Plus and ongoing monthly fees.
• WooCommerce is a free, open-source plugin for WordPress. Wholesale features come from extensions you add, such as role-based pricing, quote requests and order forms. You get more freedom, but you (or your developer) are responsible for hosting, updates and making the pieces work together.

How Shopify handles wholesale

Shopify's B2B features are part of the admin. You set up each wholesale customer as a company, with one or more locations and the people allowed to order for it. Each company can get its own pricing, payment terms and shipping options. You can run wholesale and retail from one store or use a separate wholesale-only store.

According to Shopify's B2B features by plan page, every plan that includes B2B (Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus) gets:

• Business accounts with multiple locations and location-level permissions
• Quantity rules (minimum, maximum, increments) and quantity price breaks
• Net payment terms, payment reminders, vaulted credit cards and ACH payments (U.S. only)
• Checkout to draft order, draft order to invoice, purchase order numbers and easy reorders
• A quick order list on the storefront and a wholesale-oriented theme

What stays on Shopify Plus

The main limits below Plus are around price lists. On Basic, Grow and Advanced you get up to three active catalog assignments per active B2B market, assigned through Shopify Markets. Plus adds unlimited catalogs and direct catalogs for individual companies, which is what you need if many customers have their own negotiated prices. Deposits, partial payments and payment requests per fulfillment are also Plus-only. Sales staff permissions start at Grow, and contextual storefront and checkout through Markets start at Advanced.

Shopify's pricing page lists Plus as starting at $2,300 per month, well above the other plans, so the catalog limit is the main thing to check before you choose a plan.

How WooCommerce handles wholesale

WooCommerce itself has no dedicated wholesale module. Instead, the WooCommerce Marketplace and other vendors offer extensions that add it. Typical building blocks:

• Role- or customer-based pricing: different prices or discounts for a “wholesale” user role or for a specific customer.
• Tiered (quantity) pricing: lower unit prices at higher quantities.
• Registration and approval: wholesale customers apply and you approve them before they see trade prices.
• Hide prices or add-to-cart for guests, often with a request a quote button instead.
• Order forms for buyers who know their SKUs, and tax-exempt handling for resellers.

Some extensions bundle all of these. For example, B2B for WooCommerce (by Addify) combines quotes, role-based pricing, registration approval, price hiding and tax exemption, sold as a yearly subscription. Smaller extensions such as Role Based Pricing cover a single piece.

The upside and the catch

Because WooCommerce runs on your own WordPress site, you can model almost any pricing rule, connect to almost any system and change the ordering experience as you like. Customer-specific pricing for hundreds of accounts doesn't require a higher plan; it requires the right extension and data setup.

The catch is responsibility. You choose and pay for hosting, keep WordPress, WooCommerce and every extension updated, handle security and backups, and test that extensions from different vendors work together after each update. For many businesses that work goes to an IT partner or developer, and it should be budgeted.

Side-by-side comparison

	Shopify (Basic to Advanced)	Shopify Plus	WooCommerce + extensions
Wholesale features	Built in	Built in, full set	Added through extensions
Customer-specific price lists	Up to 3 catalog assignments per B2B market, via Markets	Unlimited, assigned directly to companies	Depends on extension; no plan limit
Net terms and invoicing	Yes	Yes, plus deposits and partial payments	Via extensions or invoice/payment gateway add-ons
Quick order / reorder	Quick order list, easy reorders	Same	Via extensions
Hosting, security, updates	Handled by Shopify	Handled by Shopify	Your responsibility
Costs	Monthly plan + apps	From $2,300/month + apps	Hosting + extension subscriptions + maintenance
Flexibility	Within Shopify's rules	More, including checkout customization	Very high, with custom code

Questions to settle before you choose

1. How many different price lists do you really have? If it's a handful of tiers (retail, wholesale, distributor), Shopify below Plus may be enough. If most accounts have negotiated pricing, compare the cost of Plus with a WooCommerce build.
2. Do buyers pay by card, or on terms? List the payment methods your customers actually use (net 30, ACH, checks, deposits) and confirm each platform supports them.
3. Where does your inventory and accounting live? If you use an ERP or QuickBooks, check that a reliable connector exists for the platform you pick, and who maintains it.
4. Do you also sell retail? Both platforms can run retail and wholesale side by side. Decide whether you want one store or two before you build.
5. Who will maintain it? Shopify needs less technical upkeep. WooCommerce needs someone to own updates, security and backups every month.
6. How do your buyers order today? If they send spreadsheets or call in SKUs, make sure there's a fast order form. If they need approval from a manager, check for approval workflows.

Which one fits?

Shopify is usually the easier choice when you want a dependable store with little technical upkeep, your pricing fits into a few tiers, and you're comfortable with a monthly platform fee. Its B2B features now cover the basics (net terms, quantity rules, quick ordering, reorders) on every paid plan that includes B2B.

WooCommerce is usually the better fit when you need unusual pricing logic, many customer-specific price lists without a premium plan, deep integration with an existing WordPress site or internal systems, or full control over where your data lives, and you have technical support to look after it.

Either way, run a small pilot first: set up three real customers with their real prices and have them place a few orders. Gaps show up quickly.

Getting help

Right On Tech builds and maintains e-commerce sites and B2B ordering systems on both platforms, including ERP and accounting integrations. If you're weighing the two and want an honest opinion based on how your customers actually buy, reach out and we'll help you map it out.