Handshake Wholesale Pricing: What Shopify's B2B Platform Actually Costs

Handshake Pricing Tiers

Hidden Costs You Won't See on the Pricing Page

• ⚠ Net terms apps: Shopify Plus does not include native net terms; third-party apps cost $50-200/month combined
• ⚠ Annual contract commitment: Shopify Plus bills annually, no monthly option
• ⚠ Developer costs: B2B checkout customizations require Shopify developer work
• ⚠ Per-transaction fees apply on lower tiers
• ⚠ B2B and retail orders share the same platform, requiring configuration to separate channels

What Handshake Actually Is

Handshake started as a standalone B2B wholesale marketplace — a place for brands to list products and retailers to discover and order from them. Shopify acquired Handshake in 2019. Since 2023, Shopify has rolled B2B wholesale capabilities into Shopify Plus directly rather than maintaining Handshake as a separate product.

For practical purposes: if you want to use Handshake’s B2B ordering features today, you need Shopify Plus.

The $2,300/Month Problem

Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month, billed annually. For a brand that runs retail ecommerce and wants a wholesale channel alongside it, that cost might already be justified by the retail side.

But for manufacturers and distributors who operate wholesale-only — no direct-to-consumer storefront, no retail customers — that math is different. You are paying for a retail ecommerce platform to access the wholesale ordering features buried inside it.

The gap between $2,300 and $20 is more than $25,000 per year.

Net Terms Still Require More Apps

Even on Shopify Plus, net terms for wholesale buyers are not included. Net-30 and net-60 billing — standard practice in wholesale trade — requires third-party apps. Those apps run $50-200/month on top of the Plus subscription.

A manufacturer offering net-30 terms to 50 dealer accounts needs an app to manage that workflow. That app costs extra. On OrderDock, net terms are included in the flat monthly rate.

B2B Checkout Customization

Wholesale ordering often looks different from retail. Buyers want to enter quantities across sizes, colors, or SKU variants in a grid format — what the trade calls matrix ordering. Shopify’s checkout was designed for retail transactions.

Getting Shopify Plus to handle matrix ordering and purchase order workflows typically requires custom development. Developer time is not included in the $2,300/month.

What You’re Actually Getting for $20/Month

OrderDock is built for wholesale ordering and nothing else. No retail storefront to configure around. Net terms are native. Matrix ordering grids are standard. Buyer-specific pricing tiers work without apps. Purchase order workflows are built in.

For a wholesale-only operation, the comparison is not Shopify Plus versus OrderDock. It is $2,300+/month for a retail platform with B2B features added on, versus $20/month starting price for a platform designed for B2B from the start.