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Shopify Grow vs. Advanced: Which Plan Actually Matches Your Biz in 2025?
Last modified: April 10, 2025
Okay, so you’re on Shopify’s Grow plan—or maybe you’re eyeing it—but that little voice in your head keeps whispering, “Wait… is it time for Advanced?”
Valid question.
Because while Grow gives you solid tools for scaling, Advanced is built for brands that are deep in the ecommerce trenches: bigger sales, bigger teams, bigger problems (like shipping, taxes, and data headaches).
This review is here to answer one thing:
When should you stay with Grow—and when does it make sense to jump to Advanced?
Let’s break it down, receipts and all.
| You Should Choose… | If You… |
|---|---|
| Grow | Need scalability without complexity |
| Have < 5 staff and <$25K/month in revenue | |
| Don’t use live shipping rates | |
| Want solid but not custom data | |
| Advanced | Run high-volume ops + multiple warehouses |
| Need real-time shipping + global tools | |
| Want to build custom reports for better ROI | |
| Are scaling a full ecommerce operation |
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Grow vs. Advanced — At a Glance
| Feature | Grow Plan | Advanced Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Price (annual/month) | $79/month | $299/month |
| Staff Accounts | 5 | 15 |
| Reports | Standard reports | Custom + Advanced reports |
| Credit Card Fees | 1.9% + 30¢ | 1.6% + 30¢ |
| Shipping Rates | Manual only | Third-party carrier-calculated rates |
| Global Sales Tools | Basic international pricing | Duties, taxes, regional pricing |
| POS Access | Standard POS | Full POS w/ staff permissions |
| Inventory Locations | 5 | 8+ |
| Automation & Data | Limited | Advanced filtering + custom logic |
| Analytics | Product + sales reports | Customer LTV, cohort analysis, etc. |
Real Talk: When Does Grow Still Work?
Stick with Grow if you’re:
- Doing under $25K/month in revenue
- Operating with a small team (under 5)
- Focused on local/domestic sales
- Not shipping with live rate carriers
- Fine using pre-built reports
Example:
An accessories brand making ~$12K/month with 3 team members.
They use Shopify reports to track top-selling SKUs and restock based on demand.
Grow gives them everything they need—no extras eating into their margins.
When Advanced Becomes a Need (Not a Flex)
Time to upgrade to Advanced if:
- You’re doing $25K–$100K/month
- You sell globally and need tax-inclusive pricing + duties
- You’re managing complex logistics with multiple warehouses
- You want custom reports to analyze retention, AOV, lifetime value, etc.
- You use apps or systems that require live shipping rates
Example:
A clean skincare brand doing $48K/month upgraded from Grow to Advanced because:
- They needed to offer live UPS and DHL rates
- Their marketing team needed custom cohort reports
- They hired a 10-person team and maxed out Grow’s user limit
Within 2 months, they saw better inventory accuracy + higher repeat purchase rate from smarter retention strategies.
Cost vs. Value Breakdown
Example: Doing $40K/month
- Grow fees: 1.9% = ~$760 in transaction fees
- Advanced fees: 1.6% = ~$640 → Saves $120/month
That $120/month already offsets a third of the upgrade cost.
Add better reporting + team control? It pays for itself if you’re serious about growth.
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