Shopify Plus v/s Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Your online platform is a long-term investment you’re making for your business. Every unique set of requirements needs a platform that can help define its growth and scale.

The choice becomes all the more important when we reflect on Statista's research that shows that the revenue in the e-commerce market is projected to reach US$67.16bn in 2025 with an annual growth rate (CAGR 2025-2029) of 10.06%. This growth will further result in a projected market volume of US$98.55bn by 2029.

So, the question you need to reflect on is:

Which platform will help you scale faster and more efficiently?

Shopify Plus and Salesforce Commerce Cloud are two leading contenders, each offering unique advantages. Let’s delve into both!

Shopify Plus

Founded in 2006, Shopify is a cloud-based e-commerce platform built to help businesses scale and create experiences that last. A global force, Shopify is trusted by brands in 175+ countries and powers over 4.6 million active websites worldwide, with a market capitalization of $137.39 billion in 2025. 

Tasks such as inventory and customer management, order fulfillment, and shipping, often overwhelming for businesses, are seamlessly handled by Shopify’s intuitive platform.

A segment of Shopify, Shopify Plus, is built for high growth enterprise brands that helps them by offering unmatched scalability, automation, and customization. Advanced features help businesses streamline operations and create seamless shopping experiences. The simple yet powerful interface ensures brands focus on growth, innovation, and scaling without operational bottlenecks. To add to it, Shopify Plus’s interface is built in a way that businesses regardless of their technical expertise can easily manage their stores.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Salesforce helps enterprise merchants with AI-driven CRM, automation, and data-driven insights. Its scalable solutions streamline every part of a store’s operations with robust integrations, analytics, and personalized Salesforce helps enterprises personalize experiences. Salesforce Commerce Cloud is an enterprise-level e-commerce solution built specifically for creating highly customizable digital storefronts. Salesforce revenue is expected to reach $37.8 billion to $38.0 billion in 2025 from $34.9 billion in 2024. At the time of writing this, according to Store Leads, there are 5,303 live stores running on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform.

Additionally, Commerce Cloud helps brands with flexible options that help brands scale quickly however it does come with its own set of challenges: high implementation costs, a dedicated development team, and a complex tech stack to name a few. 

Let's break down their differences across essential factors to help you determine the best fit for your business.

• Pricing and Total Cost of Ownership

Shopify Plus operates on a transparent, subscription-based pricing model with enterprise-grade features included, allowing for predictable budgeting without hidden costs. Salesforce Commerce Cloud, on the other hand, follows a revenue-sharing model, which means costs scale with your business, leading to unpredictable expenses.

Salesforce’s total cost includes licensing fees, implementation, ongoing maintenance, and development, whereas Shopify Plus, with its all-in-one pricing structure, minimizes overheads.

Make an informed decision by checking out the pricing plans for Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Shopify for yourself.

• Ease of Use

Shopify Plus is designed for efficiency, featuring an intuitive interface that enables enterprise merchants to manage their stores effortlessly without deep technical expertise.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud requires a dedicated team for setup, maintenance, and customizations, adding to operational complexity. 

• Customization Flexibility

Shopify Plus provides powerful customization options through its theme editor, Liquid templating, and a robust app marketplace—without the complexity of custom development, ensuring faster go-to-market timelines.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud allows for deep customization but demands extensive developer involvement, leading to long implementation timelines. 

• Scalability

Both platforms support enterprise-level growth, but Shopify Plus offers automatic updates, unlimited bandwidth, and a global network of data centers to handle high traffic seamlessly. 

Salesforce Commerce Cloud, while scalable, requires substantial developer resources to optimize for performance and growth.

• App Ecosystem

Shopify Plus boasts a vast and highly vetted app ecosystem, ensuring seamless integrations with minimal effort. 

Salesforce Commerce Cloud also supports third-party apps but often requires significant customization and development work to ensure proper functionality. 

• Integration Support

Shopify Plus offers native integrations with major ERP, CRM, and marketing tools, simplifying adoption for enterprises. 

Salesforce Commerce Cloud’s integrations often require extensive API work and ongoing maintenance, increasing complexity and costs.

• Performance & Speed

Shopify Plus is built on a cloud-based infrastructure that delivers fast load times and optimized performance out of the box. 

In contrast, Salesforce Commerce Cloud’s performance depends on custom implementation, leading to potential inconsistencies and slower site speeds. 

Check out what Shopify has to say about migrating from Salesforce Cloud Commerce.

• B2B Capabilities

Both platforms cater to B2B e-commerce, but Shopify Plus provides built-in B2B tools for bulk ordering, custom pricing, and tax exemptions with minimal setup. 

Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers similar capabilities but relies on complex configurations and additional development work to achieve the same level of functionality. 

Check out the cost of ownership for Salesforce Commerce Cloud B2B capabilities and Shopify for yourself.

• Omnichannel Selling

Shopify Plus natively integrates with POS, social commerce, and multiple marketplaces, making omnichannel selling effortless.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud requires custom configurations and third-party tools to achieve similar functionality, increasing implementation time and costs.

• Global Expansion

Shopify Plus supports international growth with built-in multi-currency, multi-language, and global shipping options. 

Salesforce Commerce Cloud requires additional integrations and configurations to achieve the same level of global scalability.

• Security & Compliance

Shopify Plus is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant by default, ensuring enterprise-level security and fraud prevention. 

With Salesforce Commerce Cloud, businesses must implement and manage their own security measures, adding operational complexity. 

Each business has different needs and goals and hence choosing the right e-commerce platform is imperative to support that growth. As the landscape changes and evolves rapidly, this choice turns from just a decision to a long-term investment for your brand.

When scaling becomes a key goal, Shopify Plus is the first choice as it helps deliver its seamless and robust ecosystem from the backend to CRMs to its pricing models. Shopify Plus helps remove operational bottlenecks that are part and parcel of an e-commerce store.

On the other hand, Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers customization and AI-driven insights like no other but at a significantly higher cost, an even steeper learning curve, and also comes with dependence on a dedicated tech team. While it is a powerful platform, it also requires significant resources to maintain.

Your e-commerce platform is the stepping stone of your growth.

If a scalable, easy-to-use, and high-performance solution is the one wanted, Shopify Plus is the clear winner. If you prioritize deep customization and have the technical resources to manage it, Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a powerful alternative.

If you’re still confused, our team of experts can help you choose the correct platform. Let's connect to identify the correct platform for you!