Wholesale May 12, 2026

Shopify B2B: Native Features vs Apps

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Wesy

In April 2026, Shopify made a major move by opening its B2B features to all plans. Net payment terms, company profiles, and catalogs are no longer locked behind Shopify Plus. But does that mean you can run your entire wholesale operation with native tools alone? Not quite. Let’s break down what Shopify offers natively, where the gaps are, and when third-party apps make sense.

What B2B Features Does Shopify Offer Natively?

Shopify’s native B2B toolkit has grown significantly. Here’s what’s available across plans:

Available on All Plans (Basic, Grow, Advanced)

  • Company profiles: create B2B customer records with company name, location, and tax ID
  • Net payment terms: offer Net 30, Net 60, or custom payment deadlines
  • B2B catalogs: create up to 2 price lists with custom pricing per product (up to 2 catalogs)
  • Draft orders: manually create orders for phone/email wholesale requests
  • B2B checkout: a dedicated checkout experience for logged-in B2B buyers

Shopify Plus Exclusive Features

  • Unlimited catalogs: create as many price lists as you need
  • Quantity rules: set minimum, maximum, and increment values per product
  • Volume pricing in catalogs: tiered pricing within native B2B catalogs
  • Checkout extensibility: full control over the checkout UI for B2B flows
  • Blended stores: run DTC and B2B from the same store with separate experiences

Where Do Native B2B Features Fall Short?

Despite the improvements, Shopify’s native B2B tools have real limitations, especially on non-Plus plans:

1. Catalog Limits

On Basic and Grow plans, you’re limited to 2 catalogs. If you have more than two customer tiers (e.g., Silver, Gold, Platinum wholesale levels), you’ll need Plus or an alternative solution.

2. No Tag-Based Pricing

Shopify’s native B2B uses company profiles and catalogs for pricing. There’s no simple way to say “give 15% off to everyone tagged wholesale.” This tag-based approach is often the fastest and most flexible for merchants who don’t need the full company/catalog structure.

3. No Frontend Price Display

Native B2B catalogs adjust prices at checkout, but they don’t always show the adjusted price on the product page before the buyer adds to cart. This creates friction because B2B buyers want to see their price upfront.

4. Complex Setup for Simple Needs

If you just need “20% off for my wholesale customers,” setting up company profiles, catalogs, and price lists is overkill. Native B2B is designed for enterprise-scale operations, and the setup reflects that complexity.

5. No Request-for-Quote Flow

Some B2B transactions require negotiation. Native Shopify has no built-in way for buyers to submit a quote request, negotiate terms, and receive a custom invoice. You’ll need a third-party app for this workflow.

Native B2B vs Apps: Feature Comparison

FeatureShopify Native (All Plans)Shopify Native (Plus)Wezy Wholesale App
Customer tag-based pricing❌❌✅
Logged-in customer pricing❌❌✅
Company profiles✅✅Not needed
Net payment terms✅✅Not needed
Catalogs2 maxUnlimitedUnlimited rules
Volume pricing❌✅ (in catalogs)✅
Frontend price displayLimitedLimited✅ (app embed)
Minimum order amount❌✅✅
Minimum order quantity❌✅✅
Product tag targeting❌❌✅
Shopify Functions (server-side)N/AN/A✅
Request for Quote❌❌✅ (separate app)

When Should You Use Native B2B?

(For enterprise-level needs, see the official Shopify Plus B2B solutions page).

Native B2B is the right choice when:

  • You have a dedicated sales team that manages company accounts manually
  • You need net payment terms and formal invoicing
  • You’re on Shopify Plus and want everything in one admin
  • Your B2B operation is catalog-driven with fixed price lists per company
  • You need quantity rules (min/max per product) at the checkout level

When Should You Use a Third-Party App?

An app like Wezy makes more sense when:

Wezy Wholesale Rule Form

  • You want a quick setup without the overhead of company profiles and catalogs
  • You use customer tags to segment your buyers (the most common approach for small-to-mid B2B)
  • You need frontend price display so B2B buyers see their discounted price on product pages
  • You’re on a non-Plus plan and need more than 2 pricing tiers
  • You want server-side discounts via Shopify Functions for security and performance
  • You need Request for Quote functionality for custom or negotiated pricing

The Best of Both Worlds

Here’s the thing: native B2B and third-party apps aren’t mutually exclusive. Many merchants use both:

  • Shopify’s native B2B for company profiles, payment terms, and formal B2B checkout
  • Wezy for tag-based wholesale pricing, volume discounts, and the frontend pricing widget

This hybrid approach gives you the administrative structure of native B2B with the flexibility and simplicity of app-based pricing rules.

Wezy runs on Shopify Functions, which means discounts are processed server-side on Shopify’s infrastructure. This ensures zero performance impact and full compatibility with native B2B features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shopify B2B free on all plans now?

The core B2B features (company profiles, net payment terms, and up to 2 catalogs) are included in all Shopify plans at no extra cost. Advanced features like unlimited catalogs and quantity rules still require Shopify Plus ($2,300/month).

Can I switch from native B2B to an app later?

Yes. There’s no lock-in. You can start with native B2B and add an app like Wezy for additional features, or vice versa. They work independently and can complement each other.

Which approach is better for performance?

Both are excellent. Native B2B runs on Shopify’s infrastructure, and Wezy uses Shopify Functions, which also run server-side on Shopify’s infrastructure. Neither approach adds JavaScript to your storefront or impacts page load speed.

What’s Next?

#b2b #shopify #shopify-b2b #comparison #wholesale #shopify-plus
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