From 1 January 2027, Shopify ranks agency partners in five tiers set only by attributed GMV and shops, the same base that pays their revenue share. Select, Premier and Plus are retired.
November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Shopify is replacing its agency partner tiers. Select, Premier and Plus will be retired, and from 1 January 2027 every partner will be placed in one of five new levels (Registered, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond) based on two numbers only: the GMV and the number of shops attributed to it, according to the announcement on Shopify's partner blog published on 4 November.
According to Shopify, the new thresholds are:
| Tier | Attributed GMV | Attributed shops | Measured over | |---|---|---|---| | Registered | Join the programme | – | – | | Silver | $25K | 1 | 365 days | | Gold | $5M | 5 | 4 years | | Platinum | $50M | 20 | 4 years | | Diamond | $500M | 25 | 4 years |
A partner has to meet both conditions. Shopify sums up the rule as: if a shop earns the partner revenue share, it counts toward the tier, whatever plan the merchant is on. Shopify gives as the reason that partners had "told us the requirements had too many moving parts".
Benefits climb with the tier, according to the same post. Silver brings a listing and badge in the Partner Directory and advisory partner management. Co-marketing funds start at Gold and grow at Platinum and Diamond; Shopify does not publish the amounts. Platinum adds strategic partner management with planning and business reviews, and Diamond an embedded partner team.
The calendar: since 4 November, partners can see their projected tier and the GMV and shops they still need in the Dev Dashboard. The refreshed Partner Directory opens on 9 November showing current tiers. On 1 January 2027 everyone moves to the tier they qualify for, promotions become daily instead of quarterly, and a tier, once earned, is kept for at least six months. From that date only partners at Silver and above are listed in the directory. Shopify also notes that the old "Plus Partner" name led merchants to think it was tied to the Shopify Plus plan.
The tiers now sit on the same base as the money. Under the earning model Shopify introduced for deals signed from 10 August 2026, partners receive 20% of the subscription fee and 0.1% of eligible online GMV for four years, on every plan, plus a $2,500 one-off payout for a Plus upgrade referral, according to Shopify's post on the new earning model. The new tier rule counts exactly the shops that generate that revenue share. The GMV that pays a partner and the GMV that ranks it are now the same figure.
That changes what an agency has to show. Under a pure GMV-and-shops test, the type of merchant matters less than the volume that flows through it over four years. An agency with a handful of large merchants and one with many mid-sized stores can reach the same tier, but only if both conditions are met: Diamond needs $500 million and 25 shops, so a single very large client will not be enough on its own.
The directory change is the other half. From January, a partner with no attributed shop in the last year will not be listed. For small agencies that win work through the directory, Silver ($25K of GMV and one shop in 365 days) becomes the entry ticket.
For agencies on Shopify, the practical step is to check the projected tier now, while the current tier still applies until 31 December. The gap to the next threshold is a business target with a known deadline, and co-marketing funds only start at Gold ($5M and five shops over four years). Agencies that implement stores but let merchants sign up on their own may find that those shops are not attributed to them, and attribution is now what decides both the revenue share and the tier.
The daily promotions and the six-month lock also reward momentum: an agency that crosses a threshold mid-year does not have to wait for a quarterly review, and a slow quarter does not take the tier away at once.
For other commerce and martech vendors, Shopify's move is a reference point. It ties partner status to measurable customer outcomes rather than to certifications or self-reported activity, and makes the directory a reward for that outcome. Channel teams designing their own tiers will likely be compared against this model by the agencies they recruit, many of which already sell Shopify.
What Shopify has not published is also relevant for partners: the amounts of the co-marketing funds per tier and how today's Select, Premier and Plus partners map to the new levels. Shopify says the move is not a direct swap and that each partner's tier will be recalculated on 1 January.
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