Comparisons
Native B2B or A wholesale app
What I would pick: Native B2B, by default and on any plan that supports it: the price arrives at the theme already resolved instead of being recalculated on top, with no monthly fee and no third-party dependency. A public app only wins when you need per-account discounts and do not have Plus, or when the app brings the whole flow and its model suits you.
The differences
| What we compare | Native B2B | A wholesale app |
|---|---|---|
| How the price is calculated | In the platform; reaches the theme already resolved | On top, by the app, usually in the cart |
| Risk of showing one price and charging another | No: the HTML price is the catalog price | Yes, if the app applies the discount later |
| Per-account pricing without Plus | No: catalogs are assigned per market | Yes, it is their main use case |
| Recurring cost | None beyond the plan | A monthly fee per store |
| Order flow (table, SKU search) | Not included: it is front-end work | Depends on the app, and in its design |
| What happens if it is uninstalled | Not applicable | Prices go, and sometimes the script keeps loading |
What changed, and why the question is new
For years, selling wholesale on Shopify meant installing an app. Today Shopify’s documentation lists B2B on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus, and excludes it only from Starter and Retail. That turns the app, in most cases, into a layer you no longer need.
The technical difference has a very practical consequence: with native B2B, the catalog price is already resolved when the theme asks for it. With an app that calculates the discount in the cart, there is a window where the buyer sees one price and pays another, and that window is the source of half the support tickets on a wholesale portal.
Where an app still wins
One case, and it is specific: a negotiated price account by account without Shopify Plus. Without Plus, catalogs are assigned to B2B markets rather than companies, so a per-account list leaves two routes: move to Plus or use a public app. If the plan upgrade is not in the budget, the app is the right answer.
The second case is about the calendar rather than the technology: if you need the portal live next week and the app brings the whole flow with its own design, it can work as a bridge. It is worth knowing it is a bridge.
The mistake that costs money
Paying a monthly app fee expecting it to solve the order flow. Almost everything people ask a wholesale app for is not pricing: it is a per-variant order table with stock, SKU search, quantity rules on the field itself, reordering the last order. That is front-end work on the theme, it works on any plan with B2B, and no pricing app brings it ready-made for your brand.
It is where I have seen the most budget wasted: a monthly fee covering 20% of the problem, with the other 80% still missing.