Best Shopify B2B Alternatives in 2025: Why Choose B2B First Platform

Shopify’s reputation in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) world is undisputed. It powers sleek, fast storefronts and enables thousands of brands to launch online quickly. But when B2B sellers try to use it for complex, high-volume trade operations, things start to break down.

That’s because Shopify’s B2B offering isn’t native. It’s layered on top of a fundamentally B2C platform. It works fine for basic wholesale pricing and restricted access, but real-world B2B operations demand far more than that—especially for brands managing large catalogs, distributor networks, negotiated contracts, or custom price lists.

If your B2B commerce involves workflows, multiple storefronts, or hybrid models (DTC + B2B), Shopify will eventually fall short. It’s built for simplicity, not complexity.

When Shopify B2B Works—and When It Starts to Break

Shopify’s B2B solution, especially through its Shopify Plus plan, is marketed as a way to extend DTC setups into wholesale. It allows customer-specific logins, price lists, net payment terms, and draft orders. For a small brand adding wholesale as a second revenue stream, this gets the job done.

But that only works under certain conditions:

• You only have a few wholesales customers
• You don’t require account hierarchies or tiered permissions
• You’re not running parallel DTC and B2B catalogs
• Your inventory and fulfillment process is centralized and simple

For manufacturers and distributors selling across regions, managing multi-brand catalogs, and offering custom deals to different buyers, Shopify B2B isn’t enough. It lacks native support for:

• Catalog segmentation
• Region-based inventory
• Contract pricing and volume discount logic
• Multi-storefront and brand hierarchies
• Workflow-based approvals, quotes, and negotiation

You can patch these features through apps, but every patch comes with cost, coordination, and technical debt. Eventually, the workaround becomes the problem.

The B2B Checklist: What You Actually Need

Scaling B2B commerce requires more than gated logins and simple price lists. Real B2B commerce platforms must be able to model how businesses actually buy—from discovery to negotiation to reordering.

Here’s what you should expect out of the box:

• Customer-specific catalogs and pricing: Not every buyer should see the same price, product, or inventory.
• Approval workflows and multi-user accounts: Large customers have purchasing managers, procurement heads, and finance reviewers.
• Quote management: Not every transaction starts with “add to cart.”
• Multi-brand and regional storefronts: Some brands operate several websites and cater to different markets.
• Order automation: Reorders via WhatsApp, email attachments, or CSV uploads should be processed instantly.
• Real-time inventory and pricing from ERP/OMS: B2B buyers expect accurate data before they place large orders.

A platform like Shopify Plus may offer DTC brands a quick entry into B2B—but lacks the depth and flexibility for those who rely on wholesale, distributor sales, or hybrid models as their core business.

Shopify B2B vs BetterCommerce: What You Get and What You Don’t

Let’s break down the differences between Shopify’s B2B solution and BetterCommerce’s modular commerce platform purpose-built for manufacturers, wholesalers, and hybrid brands.

Shopify does have an impressive ecosystem and a vast app store. But piecing together a reliable B2B solution using apps can lead to integration issues, slow performance, and unclear ownership when something breaks.

BetterCommerce, by contrast, offers native capabilities under one modular, composable platform. That means less dependency on third-party plugins and more control over your customer experience.

Where BetterCommerce Wins: Real-World Use Cases

Manufacturer Managing 5 Brands Under One Backend
BetterCommerce allows the creation of multiple branded storefronts from a single backend. Each storefront can have its own domain, branding, catalog rules, and pricing logic—all without duplication.

Distributor Selling Across 10 Regions with Tiered Price Lists
You can define pricing by region, buyer type, or specific accounts. Products can be segmented by warehouse availability, compliance rules, or language preferences.

Hybrid Brand Selling DTC and B2B
BetterCommerce allows you to operate both DTC and B2B channels in parallel, using shared data models but customized logic. One backend, multiple experiences.

Field Sales Using WhatsApp to Close Orders
With native WhatsApp commerce, your reps can confirm pricing, share product images, and close deals—all within a chat interface. Customers can reorder with a message.

Bulk Orders via Email
Buyers can email a spreadsheet or old PO, and BetterCommerce’s Smart Inbox converts it to a valid, ready-to-review order. No need for back-and-forth emails or manual data entry.

These use cases are built into the platform, not bolted on.

Composable Wins: Modular Approach Over One-Size-Fits-All

Shopify is a closed, opinionated system. What you can do is often determined by what’s available in their app store or what’s exposed via their APIs.
BetterCommerce is composable, meaning you pick only the modules you need:

• Start with Commerce + PIM
• Add OMS, Analytics, CPQ, or WhatsApp as you scale
• Integrate with any ERP, CRM, or WMS
• Use your own CMS or go headless with React/Vue/Next.js

You’re not locked into one vendor’s frontend, CMS, or logic. If you change your ERP in a year, BetterCommerce adapts. That flexibility is vital in B2B where systems evolve, mergers happen, and new customer expectations emerge constantly.

Alternatives to Shopify B2B Worth Exploring

If you’re currently on Shopify or considering it but realize it might not fit your B2B strategy long-term, here are a few platforms worth considering:
 

Among these, BetterCommerce is the only one that offers composable architecture, built-in automation tools, multi-channel readiness, and native conversational commerce without heavy implementation cycles.

When to Pick BetterCommerce Over Shopify B2B

Choose Shopify B2B if:

• You are a DTC brand testing the waters of wholesale
• You don’t need advanced catalog controls or workflows
• You’re fine with handling complexity via third-party apps

Choose BetterCommerce if:

• B2B is core to your business (not an extension)
• You manage contracts, volume pricing, and segmented catalogs
• You want automation tools like WhatsApp and Smart Inbox
• You need a stack that can grow with you—modular, headless, API-first

B2B Deserves Better Than B2C Rebrands

B2B eCommerce isn’t a modified version of DTC. It’s a different model entirely. From how products are priced, to how orders are placed, to how relationships are managed—B2B requires a platform that understands the nuances.

Shopify B2B is an extension, not a foundation.

BetterCommerce is engineered from the ground up for complex commerce—B2B, DTC, or hybrid—with faster setup, better flexibility, and lower operational friction.

If you’re growing fast and looking to future-proof your commerce stack, BetterCommerce is the Shopify B2B alternative that will actually grow with you.