Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud for B2B eCommerce
Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a serious platform. It is also a percentage of your revenue, forever. For a $20M distributor, the difference between a GMV licence and a flat Shopify Plus subscription is a full-time hire every year — before you count the cartridge developers you can't find in Montreal.
We've replatformed teams off SFCC and we've scoped ones that should stay. This is the operator's version of that call: what each platform does natively for B2B, what it costs at your revenue, and where the line is.
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HEAD TO HEAD
Where the two platforms actually differ
| Dimension | Shopify Plus | Salesforce Commerce Cloud (B2B Commerce) |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting & upgrades | Fully managed SaaS; upgrades ship automatically | Managed SaaS; releases are yours to absorb (SiteGenesis → SFRA → PWA Kit cycles) |
| Licence model | Flat: ~US$2,300–2,500/mo (3-yr vs 1-yr term); variable fee only above ~US$800K/mo revenue — public list price | % of GMV: B2B Commerce Growth ≈1% GMV, Advanced ≈2% GMV, negotiated — third-party estimates; Salesforce does not publish a rate card |
| B2B native | Company accounts, catalogs, price lists, quantity rules, net terms, PO, draft orders, B2B checkout — included | Account-based pricing, contracts, reorder, buyer groups — included in B2B Commerce editions; Order Management and Success Plans priced on top |
| Cost at $10M GMV (yr 1, third-party estimates) | Subscription ≈US$30K (list price) + apps est. US$6–24K + build est. US$25–150K | Licence est. US$100–200K + Success Plan (~30% of licence) + OMS surcharge + build est. US$200–560K |
| Launch time | 12–24 weeks full replatform; 4–6 weeks to activate B2B on an existing Plus store | 4–6 months typical; 16–24 weeks in our SFCC → Plus migrations |
| ERP integration | Patchworks iPaaS or custom middleware to SAP, NetSuite, Dynamics, Tecsys, Cin7, Odoo; ServiceCentre Connector | MuleSoft (Salesforce-owned, separate licence) or partner middleware; strongest when Sales/Service Cloud already run the account |
| Checkout extensibility | Shopify Functions, Checkout Extensibility, B2B checkout rules; not fully custom | Fully custom via cartridges / ISML / SCAPI; the flexibility is also the maintenance bill |
| PIM | Akeneo (native connector); we implement it | Akeneo, Salsify; typically via partner connectors |
| Developer market | Large; Shopify Plus agencies in every city, Liquid + standard JS | Small and agency-concentrated; SFCC developers are scarce and expensive outside enterprise hubs |
| Security & compliance | Shopify's responsibility (PCI Level 1, uptime SLA on Plus) | Salesforce's responsibility; comparable |
Pricing verified August 2026. SFCC figures are third-party estimates; get your contract and run the numbers.
SCENARIOS · STAY PUT
When Salesforce Commerce Cloud still makes sense
We scope migrations we don't end up recommending. These are the situations where staying is the better commercial call:
- Sales Cloud and Service Cloud already run your account data — and your reps live in them. The unified customer record is worth real money.
- A global, multi-brand, multi-currency estate — with an in-house SFCC team you intend to keep.
- Margins high enough that 1–2% of GMV is noise — compared to the cost of change.
- Deep custom checkout logic — that Shopify's Checkout Extensibility can't express. Rare in B2B; check before you assume.
SCENARIOS · MOVE
When to choose Shopify Plus
- Your revenue is growing and your licence bill is growing with it — GMV pricing punishes success.
- You can't hire SFCC talent in your market — we're in Montreal; we know.
- You need B2B live in weeks — B2B Launch activates the nine native features on an existing Plus store in 4–6 weeks, for $20K CAD.
- You want the ERP, not Salesforce, to stay the source of truth — distributors and manufacturers running SAP, Dynamics, or Tecsys.
- You're consolidating D2C, wholesale, and POS onto one instance — Husky Boutique: four buyer experiences, one Plus store, powered by B2B Protocol.
- The next buyer might be an AI agent — Shopify's Catalog and agentic storefront infrastructure is ahead here.
REPLATFORMING
What an SFCC → Shopify Plus migration looks like
Sixteen to twenty-four weeks, five phases, sequenced so you never run two platforms longer than you have to. The full method is on our Salesforce Commerce Cloud to Shopify Plus migration page.
- 1
Discovery & readiness — weeks 1–4
Or the fixed-price Migration Roadmap, 4 weeks, $7,500 CAD: cartridge inventory, data map, integration architecture, URL/SEO plan, budget.
- 2
Build & integration — weeks 4–10
Theme, B2B configuration, ERP middleware, PIM.
- 3
Data migration & QA — weeks 10–16
Accounts, contracts, price lists, order history, redirects.
- 4
Soft launch — weeks 16–20
5–10 accounts live, reps trained.
- 5
Full launch & SFCC decommission — weeks 20–24
Stop paying two platforms.
De-risk the decision first
The Migration Roadmap is a fixed-price, four-week engagement — $7,500 CAD — that delivers the cartridge inventory, data and integration map, SEO plan, budget, and timeline before you commit to any build. Explore the Migration Roadmap →
Already on Shopify Plus?
B2B Launch activates all nine native B2B features — configured, migrated, and launched — in a fixed-scope 4–6 week engagement at $20K CAD. See B2B Launch →
Operations SFCC handled in cartridge code
Contract pricing at the counter, rep-driven ordering, POS parity with the web catalog — B2B Protocol covers what native B2B doesn't. See B2B Protocol →
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Salesforce Commerce Cloud more expensive than Shopify Plus for B2B?
Can SFCC B2B accounts, contracts, and price lists migrate to Shopify Plus?
What happens to our SFCC cartridges?
When should we stay on SFCC?
NEXT STEP
Run the numbers on your contract
Send us your GMV, your renewal date, and your cartridge list. We'll tell you whether moving pays for itself — and say so if it doesn't.
Talk to us about your migration →NEWSLETTER
B2B commerce, written by operators
Platform economics, native B2B releases, ERP and PIM field notes — the things we wish someone had written down before our first replatform.
Subscribe on Substack →KEEP COMPARING