Best Ecommerce Platform for B2B Sales

How B2B Ecommerce Differs from B2C

Business-to-business selling has requirements that consumer ecommerce platforms were not originally designed to handle. B2B buyers expect volume-based pricing where the unit cost decreases as order quantity increases. They expect to log into an account that shows their negotiated prices, not the retail prices that the general public sees. Many B2B buyers need to submit purchase orders and pay on net terms (net 30, net 60, or net 90) rather than paying by credit card at checkout. And they often need to request quotes for large or custom orders before committing.

A B2B ecommerce platform needs to support customer groups with custom pricing tiers, minimum order quantities, purchase order payment methods, net payment terms with invoicing, quote request and approval workflows, restricted product visibility (some products only visible to approved accounts), tax-exempt purchasing for resellers, and quick reorder from past purchase history. The platforms that handle these requirements natively are the strongest B2B options.

BigCommerce: Best Overall for B2B

BigCommerce is the strongest B2B ecommerce platform for small to mid-sized businesses because it builds critical B2B features into its standard plans rather than gating them behind enterprise pricing. The customer group system, which is the foundation of B2B selling, is available on every BigCommerce plan starting at $39 per month.

Customer Groups and Price Lists

BigCommerce lets you create unlimited customer groups with distinct pricing, payment methods, and catalog access. A typical setup might include a Retail group (full retail prices, credit card payment), a Wholesale group (30% discount, purchase order and credit card payment), a Distributor group (50% discount, net 30 terms), and a VIP group (15% discount, loyalty perks). Each group sees their own prices when logged in. Guests see retail prices.

Price lists in BigCommerce provide even more granular control. You can set specific prices for specific products for specific customer groups, overriding the percentage-based discount when needed. This lets you offer a flat $10 price on one product for wholesalers while applying a standard 30% discount on everything else. Price lists support bulk import via CSV, making it practical to manage custom pricing for thousands of products across multiple customer groups.

Catalog Visibility and Restrictions

BigCommerce lets you restrict product and category visibility by customer group. You can create a "Wholesale Only" category that is invisible to retail customers and guests. Products in this category only appear when a wholesale account logs in. This feature lets you run a hybrid B2C and B2B store on a single website without showing wholesale products and pricing to the general public.

Purchase Orders and Payment

BigCommerce supports purchase order payments on standard plans. B2B customers can select "Purchase Order" at checkout, enter their PO number, and complete the order without immediate payment. You then invoice the customer according to your agreed payment terms. Combined with the manual payment method option, you can set up net 30, net 60, or custom payment terms for approved business accounts.

Quote Management

BigCommerce Enterprise includes a request-for-quote feature that lets B2B customers submit quote requests from product pages. Your sales team reviews the request, adjusts pricing if needed, and sends a quote back to the customer. The customer can then accept the quote and complete the purchase at the quoted price. This workflow is essential for businesses that negotiate pricing on large or custom orders.

Shopify Plus: Best for Enterprise B2B

Shopify Plus is the premium option for large B2B operations. At $2,300 per month, it is significantly more expensive than BigCommerce, but it includes features designed for high-volume wholesale businesses.

B2B on Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus includes a dedicated B2B channel that creates a separate wholesale storefront alongside your retail store. The B2B channel supports company accounts with multiple buyers under a single company, custom price lists per company, net payment terms (net 15, net 30, net 60, net 90), draft orders for phone and email sales, and a streamlined wholesale checkout optimized for bulk ordering.

The B2B channel uses the same product catalog as your retail store but displays wholesale pricing, packaging quantities, and B2B-specific product information. B2B customers log in to see their company's negotiated prices. They can browse your catalog, add items in bulk quantities, and check out with purchase orders or credit cards depending on the payment terms you have set up for their company.

Shopify Plus Advantages for B2B

Shopify Plus provides a more polished B2B buying experience than BigCommerce for large-scale operations. The platform handles high-volume B2B transactions reliably, with infrastructure that supports flash sales and peak ordering periods. Shopify Flow, the automation engine, lets you create workflows like automatic account approval, tiered pricing updates based on order history, and notification sequences for payment reminders.

Shopify Plus also integrates with major ERP and CRM systems through its robust API and pre-built connectors. Integrations with NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and QuickBooks Enterprise are available through Shopify's technology partner ecosystem.

Why Most Small B2B Businesses Should Skip Shopify Plus

At $2,300 per month ($27,600 per year), Shopify Plus is expensive for small to mid-sized B2B operations. BigCommerce provides comparable B2B features starting at $39 per month. If your B2B revenue does not justify the Plus investment, BigCommerce delivers more value. Shopify Plus makes sense when your wholesale revenue exceeds $1 million annually, when you need dedicated support and custom checkout scripts, or when your operation requires deep ERP integration and high-volume automation.

WooCommerce: Most Customizable B2B Platform

WooCommerce offers the most flexible B2B configuration, though it requires more setup work than BigCommerce or Shopify Plus. The base WooCommerce plugin does not include B2B features, but a combination of extensions transforms it into a capable wholesale platform.

Essential WooCommerce B2B Extensions

WooCommerce Wholesale Suite ($148/year for the bundle) includes three plugins that cover the core B2B requirements: Wholesale Prices (tiered pricing for wholesale user roles), Wholesale Order Form (one-page ordering optimized for bulk purchases), and Wholesale Lead Capture (registration form for wholesale account applications with manual approval).

YITH WooCommerce Request a Quote ($119/year) adds a quote request system where B2B customers can build a list of products, submit a request, and receive a custom quote from your team. The plugin replaces the "Add to Cart" button with a "Request Quote" button for specified customer roles.

WooCommerce Memberships ($199/year) can restrict catalog sections to approved B2B accounts, similar to BigCommerce's catalog visibility feature. Combined with role-based pricing from Wholesale Suite, you can create a complete B2B and B2C hybrid store.

WooCommerce B2B Advantages

WooCommerce's flexibility means you can build exactly the B2B workflow your business needs, even if it does not match what other platforms offer out of the box. Custom product types, custom checkout fields, custom order workflows, and integrations with any ERP or CRM through the WooCommerce REST API are all possible. For businesses with unusual B2B requirements, like configurable products that require engineering review before pricing, or complex tax-exempt purchasing rules, WooCommerce can accommodate workflows that neither BigCommerce nor Shopify Plus can.

Cost is also an advantage. A WooCommerce B2B store with managed hosting ($25/mo), Wholesale Suite ($148/year), and a request-a-quote plugin ($119/year) costs roughly $567 per year. That is less than one month of Shopify Plus and comparable to BigCommerce Standard, while offering more customization flexibility.

Platforms to Avoid for B2B

Squarespace and Wix do not support B2B selling in any meaningful way. Neither platform offers customer group pricing, purchase order payment, net terms, or catalog restrictions. If B2B is a significant part of your revenue, these platforms are not viable.

Shopify's standard plans (Basic, Shopify, and Advanced) offer limited B2B functionality. Third-party apps like Wholesale Club ($24/month) and Bold Custom Pricing ($19.99/month) add basic wholesale pricing, but the experience is less polished than BigCommerce's native features and far less capable than Shopify Plus. If you need B2B on Shopify without Plus, you are patching together app-based solutions that may not integrate smoothly.

Choosing Your B2B Platform

Small to mid-sized B2B with retail hybrid: BigCommerce. Native customer groups, price lists, and catalog restrictions on the $39 plan give you everything you need without enterprise pricing.

Large B2B operation with high volume: Shopify Plus. Dedicated B2B channel, enterprise infrastructure, and deep ERP integrations justify the $2,300 per month cost when wholesale revenue exceeds $1 million.

Custom B2B requirements: WooCommerce. Build exactly the workflow you need with plugins and custom development. Best for businesses with unusual pricing structures, approval processes, or integration requirements.

Testing B2B on a budget: BigCommerce Standard or WooCommerce. Both let you launch a B2B capability for under $50 per month and scale from there.