How to bypass Shopify variant

5 Ways to Bypass Shopify Variant Limit (Easiest > Difficult)

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The Kickflip Team

July 4th, 2025

4 min read time

Here's how to bypass Shopify variant limit and improve your product catalog with unlimited options and visual interface.

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A quick search on Shopify's variant limit shows concerns from frustrated merchants.

Shopify used to have a 100 variants limit, which made everyone pretty mad. Now, they offer up to 2048 variants.

Great right? Well, yes!

However, it's not necessarily easy to setup, and there's a few little caveats.

Great news, this guide shows you everything you need to know about Shopify variants.

How do I add more than 100 variants on Shopify?

Here's how to add more than 100 variants, from Shopify's help center;

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Products.

  2. Click the product that you want to edit.

  3. In the Variants section, click + Add options like size or color.

  4. In Option name field, enter a name for the option, such as Size. The option name is displayed to your customers.

  5. In Option values section, enter each option value, such as Small, Medium, or Large. The option values are displayed to your customers when they select a variant.

  6. Optional: To add another option to your variant, such as Color or Material, click + Add another option. You can have up to 3 options for each product.

  7. Click Done, and then click Save.

Great! Now you can add up to 2048 variants!

But only 3 options for each products..

It might be enough for you, but if not, keep reading!

There are ways to display your custom products that showcase them much better than just a few more variants on Shopify.

Ways to have UNLIMITED customizations...

How do I display unlimited variants for my custom products on Shopify?

1. Use a product configurator

Best for: Merchants requiring advanced product customization and a smooth shopping experience from customization to purchase

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A product configurator is an interactive software where consumers customize a product to their specifications while previewing it through a 2D image or 3D model in real time.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to spend thousands upfront or have coding skills to build it from scratch.

At $59+/month (with 1.95% to 0% per custom product sale), Kickflip offers unlimited variants, products, product page views, and storage regardless of your plan.

With a transparent pay-as-you-grow model, you'll never face hidden fees for additional variants. Instead, gain unlimited access to custom options — text and fonts, logos, images, colors, and more — that transform passive browsing into an interactive customer experience.

Plus, easily block combination of choices and eliminate design mix-ups using our advanced logic rules. From customers’ end, they’ll see the product changes and updated cost in real time.

You can also manage your inventory and bulk orders without leaving the platform. Our built-in Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solution turns customized product quotes into completed orders with a few clicks. 

Kickflip integrates natively with Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce, so setup is quick. Need help? Our human-powered customer support is on standby to troubleshoot issues.

Kickflip is the most capable customizer on the market. Start your free trial today.

2. Install a product options app

Best for: Store owners requiring simple customization
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A product options app is ideal for straightforward customization.

These third-party apps excel when selling customized products that don't require interactive previews (or when product variations follow a standard structure that can be managed through basic selection tools).

Popular product options apps include:

  • Globo: Create infinite product options, including text, color swatches, and file uploads. Starts free with paid plans from $12.90 to $59.90 per month.

  • OPTIS by BSS: Customize product variants, bundles, and even gift wraps to increase average order value (AOV). Starts free with paid plans from $9.99 to $49.99 per month.

  • Easify: Start with ready-made templates, let customers edit images instantly after uploading, and more. Starts free with paid plans from $9.99 to $19.99 per month.

    Note that these apps may restrict real-time product previews to premium plans. 

Other ways to add more variants

If you don't want to use a third-party app, there are a few other options for you.

1. Split products into multiple listings

Best for: Budget-strapped merchants with few products with minimum variations

Alternatively, turn your product into multiple connected listings (e.g., create separate pages for "Cotton Dress - Soft Blue Meadow" and "Cotton Dress - Forest Green"). Then implement internal links between them to maintain a cohesive user experience.

This zero-cost solution requires no technical skills but creates inventory and order tracking challenges. It could fragment your data across multiple product pages, causing confusion for you and your customers.

It might also lead to SEO issues like keyword cannibalization.

2. Use custom code

Best for: Merchants with development teams

You can also use Shopify's native toolkit (e.g., Meta fields, Liquid) and the Shopify API for advanced variant management.

However, with the sheer number of technical steps involved — you'll need to modify your Shopify theme code, add custom CSS, link a JavaScript file, etc. — we don't recommend it unless you have dedicated developers on your team. 

3. Outsource to build a custom product configurator

Best for: Merchants running enterprise-level stores

Custom-built configurators deliver unmatched flexibility, allowing you to tailor every aspect of the customization experience to your specific product line.

But with the average custom product configurator costing between $300,000 and $750,000+, it's absurdly expensive for most eCommerce stores.

This method also locks up your resources in a 12-18 month development cycle, delaying your time to market and potentially missing opportunities while competitors move ahead.

Consider using plug-and-play solutions like Kickflip instead. It delivers 95% of custom functionality at a fraction of the cost. You’ll launch your advanced product configurator in weeks, saving hundreds of thousands in development costs.

Use a visual product configurator like Kickflip to bypass Shopify's variant limit

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Choose Kickflip to eliminate costly upfront investments and technical headaches. Our product configurator delivers premium customization without requiring massive budgets or coding expertise.

Sign up today to unlock:

  • Unlimited capabilities: Enjoy unlimited products, product views, file storage, and variant combinations — giving customers thousands of customization possibilities

  • Smooth customizer UI: Get full control over your entire customizer experience without any coding skills

  • Advanced conditional logic rules: Quickly adjust questions and manage option combinations that prevent incompatible selections

  • Inventory and sales order management: Streamline your orders and inventory for single custom orders or large wholesale

...plus real-time pricing updates, native integration with your favorite eCommerce platform, and more for sustainable growth.

Kickflip is the fastest way to get your customized product to market. Start your free trial today.