For years, wholesale on Shopify meant a second store, a password page, or an app that faked customer-specific pricing with discount codes and tags. Shopify Plus changed that with native B2B: company accounts, catalogs with their own price lists, quantity rules, net payment terms and a checkout that knows who the buyer works for — all inside the same store that sells DTC. On the standard plan, none of that exists, and that is the market the wholesale apps serve.
So the honest comparison is not “which B2B app is best” but “native Plus B2B or an app, and if an app, which one”. We build both: B2B and wholesale on Shopify Plus for brands selling to retailers, salons and distributors, and app-based wholesale on standard stores that are not there yet. Here is how we decide.
Summary
- Shopify Plus native B2B: the best B2B on Shopify, no app, and often the reason a brand upgrades to Plus.
- SparkLayer: the most complete B2B layer for stores on any plan — quick order, pack sizes, ERP sync.
- Wholesale Gorilla: wholesale pricing, net terms and order forms for a standard-plan store.
- Wholesale Pricing Discount: tiered and customer-specific pricing with net terms; the lighter option.
- Wholesale Club and the marketplace route (Faire): mentioned for completeness; different jobs.
What B2B on Shopify has to do
Whatever the tool, a wholesale buyer needs the same things, and each is a place where the app-based approaches strain:
- Company accounts. One company, several buyers, several ship-to locations, each with its own permissions.
- Customer-specific pricing. A price list per account or tier, shown on the product page as the real price, not applied as a discount at checkout.
- Quantity rules. Minimums, increments, pack sizes, and a quick-order form for a 60-line order.
- Payment terms. Net 30 and net 60 with invoicing, and card or PO at the buyer’s choice.
- A checkout that behaves. No retail promotions, the right tax treatment, the right shipping rules.
- Back-office sync. Orders and customers into the ERP or accounting system, without a spreadsheet.
Shopify Plus native B2B
On Plus, all six are built in. Companies with locations and buyers; catalogs that pair a price list with a set of products and assign to companies; quantity rules and volume pricing on the catalog; net terms with due dates and automatic invoices; a company-aware checkout; and a customer-facing portal where the buyer sees orders, invoices and reorders. It runs on the same store as DTC, with catalogs deciding who sees which prices, and it costs nothing beyond the Plus subscription.
What it does not do without help: a true quick-order grid for very long orders (theme work, or SparkLayer on top), deep ERP integration (a connector or a custom integration), and sales-rep tooling. For most brands with a serious wholesale channel, native B2B is the answer and the apps below are the alternative on the standard plan or a supplement.
The apps
1. SparkLayer
SparkLayer is the most complete B2B layer that works on any Shopify plan, and it also runs on top of Plus for brands that want its ordering experience: customer-specific price lists, quick-order forms, pack sizes and case quantities, repeat-order tools, sales-rep ordering on behalf of accounts, and integrations with ERPs and accounting systems. It is priced as a platform rather than a widget, and it earns that when wholesale is a real channel — distributors, trade customers, retailers ordering monthly.
2. Wholesale Gorilla
Wholesale Gorilla gives a standard-plan store the essentials: wholesale pricing by customer tag, net terms with invoicing, order forms, wholesale-specific shipping rules and a wholesale sign-up flow. It is the pragmatic choice for a brand with a few dozen trade accounts that is not ready for Plus and does not need ERP sync.
3. Wholesale Pricing Discount
Wholesale Pricing Discount (by Wholesale Helper) covers tiered and customer-specific pricing, volume discounts, net terms and a quick-order form, at a lower price point than Gorilla and with a lighter footprint. The right fit when pricing rules are the main need and the account structure is simple.
4. Wholesale Club, and the marketplace route
Wholesale Club (by Orbit) is another long-standing option in the same category as Gorilla, with net terms and tiered pricing by tag. And for brands whose wholesale is small retailers rather than distributors, a marketplace such as Faire is a channel rather than an app: it brings the buyers, takes a commission, and syncs orders to Shopify. Many brands run both — Faire for discovery, their own B2B store for the accounts that grow.
Native Plus B2B vs the apps
| Need | Plus native B2B | SparkLayer | Wholesale Gorilla | Wholesale Pricing Discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan required | Shopify Plus | Any (also on Plus) | Any | Any |
| Company accounts, multiple buyers and locations | Native | Yes | Tag-based customers | Tag-based customers |
| Price lists shown as real prices | Native, in the theme | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Quantity rules and pack sizes | Native | Strong, with quick order | Basic | Basic |
| Net terms and invoicing | Native | Via Shopify or its own | Yes | Yes |
| ERP / accounting sync | Connector or custom | Built-in integrations | Limited | Limited |
| Cost | Included in Plus | Platform pricing | Monthly app fee | Lower monthly fee |
When native B2B pays for Plus by itself
The arithmetic we run with clients: count the accounts, the monthly wholesale revenue, and the hours spent invoicing, chasing terms and re-keying orders. Above roughly half a million a year in wholesale, or more than a few dozen active accounts, the Plus fee is usually smaller than the admin native B2B removes — before counting the checkout, the portal and the DTC benefits of Plus. Below that, a standard store with SparkLayer or Gorilla is the right size. Our Plus vs Advanced comparison covers the rest of the decision, and the pricing calculator gives a written estimate for a B2B build.
What the build actually involves
B2B is not switched on; it is built into the storefront. On a Plus store that means the theme showing company pricing and quantity rules on product and collection pages, a quick-order page, the company portal styled to the brand, checkout rules for terms and tax, and the integration into the ERP. On True Glory Hair’s Plus store, salons and stylists are the wholesale layer on a DTC catalogue; on retail-store builds, B2B and POS meet in the same inventory. It typically runs six to twelve weeks and sits in the middle tier of our Shopify Plus packages.
Common mistakes
- Running wholesale pricing as discount codes on the DTC store; buyers see retail prices until checkout and orders leak into retail promotions.
- A separate wholesale store with a copied catalogue that drifts out of sync within a quarter.
- Net terms with no invoicing workflow — the app creates the order, nobody sends the invoice.
- Migrating to Plus for B2B without moving the accounts’ order history, so buyers lose their reorder list.
- Selling internationally to trade accounts without the tax and duties set per market; our international expansion page covers the Markets side.
FAQ
Does Shopify have built-in B2B?
On Shopify Plus, yes: company accounts with multiple locations and buyers, catalogs with price lists and quantity rules, net payment terms, B2B checkout and a customer-facing company portal, all without an app. On the standard plan there is no native B2B, which is what the wholesale apps exist for.
Do I need a separate store for wholesale on Shopify?
Not any more. Plus B2B runs wholesale and DTC on one store with catalogs deciding who sees which prices, and the wholesale apps do a version of the same on the standard plan. A separate wholesale store only makes sense for a very different catalogue or currency.
Which wholesale app is best for a standard Shopify plan?
SparkLayer if wholesale is a serious channel and you want quick-order, pack sizes and ERP integration; Wholesale Gorilla or Wholesale Pricing Discount when you need wholesale pricing and net terms for a smaller trade list without rebuilding the storefront.
When does native B2B justify Shopify Plus?
When wholesale is more than roughly $500k a year or more than a few dozen accounts: the price lists, net terms, company portal and checkout rules replace two or three apps and the manual invoicing behind them, and the Plus fee is smaller than the admin it removes.
