# Variant limits on a Shopify product > Since 15 October 2025, a Shopify product accepts up to 2,048 variants, on every plan. The two ceilings that still shape a wide catalogue sit elsewhere: three options maximum per product, and only 250 variants exposed to Liquid in the theme. - Source canonique : [https://allaux.fr/en/shopify/problemes/limite-variantes-produit](https://allaux.fr/en/shopify/problemes/limite-variantes-produit) - Langue : EN - Dernière mise à jour : 2026-09-30 ## Direct answer > Count your options first: Shopify allows three at most per product, and that ceiling is what usually blocks a catalogue, not the total variant count. Past 250 variants the theme no longer receives them all in Liquid, so combinations have to be fetched on demand from the browser. Otherwise, split the product into several listings or move one axis into a metafield. ## How I approach a catalogue with wide combinations 1. **Count the options before the variants** — The number of combinations is no longer the main issue. I first look at how many axes of choice a product genuinely needs: past three, the native model stops following, whatever the variant count. 2. **Check what the theme can actually render** — Liquid only returns a product’s first 250 variants. I inspect the theme’s variant picker, size charts, and any code that assumes it holds the full list, before loading a very wide product. 3. **Choose between several approaches** — Depending on what each option really needs — some require their own stock and price, others don’t — I point towards separate listings, combined listings, or line-item properties, never one solution by default. 4. **Test the apps plugged into the catalogue** — Apps still using the older product APIs can behave in a degraded way past 100 variants. I test on a real product before rolling anything out. 5. **Document the choice** — I note down why a given product was handled one way rather than another, so the logic still makes sense as the catalogue keeps evolving. ## What I hear regularly - My product has more than 250 variants and the theme’s picker no longer shows them all - I need a fourth option (finish, length, print placement) and Shopify only accepts three - I was told Shopify caps products at 100 variants and I no longer know what’s current - An app plugged into my catalogue can’t see variants past the hundredth - Someone mentioned “combined listings” without explaining whether it fits my case ## What changed, and what didn’t The historic cap of 100 variants per product was raised to 2,048 on 15 October 2025, across every Shopify plan, Basic included. It isn’t something you pay to unlock: the limit is identical everywhere. In practice, a product with 10 colours and 12 sizes — 120 combinations — is no longer a problem to create, where it used to be blocked outright. Two constraints remain, and they are what shapes a wide catalogue today. First: three options maximum per product. Colour, size and material already fill the quota; a fourth dimension has no place in the native model, on any plan. Second: Liquid’s product.variants object only returns the first 250 variants. Beyond that, any theme code assuming it holds the full list — a hand-rolled picker, a size mapping table, a lowest-price calculation — starts answering wrongly with no visible error. The paginate tag lets you walk through the rest, but the theme has to have been written for it. There is a third fragile area, flagged by Shopify in the announcement itself: apps not using the in-support GraphQL product APIs may show degraded or broken behaviour on products with more than 100 variants. A wide catalogue has to be tested app by app, not just inside the Shopify admin. ## Being allowed 2,048 variants doesn’t mean you should use them > A very wide product slows down bulk editing, exports and apps, and requires a theme written to paginate variants. Splitting a product into several listings, on the other hand, scatters reviews and search visibility across multiple URLs. Combined listings need careful setup to stay consistent over time. Line-item properties don’t track stock or price per option: they suit a cosmetic choice, not a variant managed as stock. None of these routes is free in complexity, and I say so before picking one. ## Worth reading next - **Customising a Shopify theme** — When the variant picker has to be reworked in the theme’s Liquid. ([/shopify/problemes/personnaliser-theme-au-dela-editeur](/shopify/problemes/personnaliser-theme-au-dela-editeur)) - **Migrating to or from Shopify** — If restructuring the catalogue comes with a platform change. ([/shopify/problemes/migrer-vers-depuis-shopify](/shopify/problemes/migrer-vers-depuis-shopify)) - **Custom development** — For variant logic that falls outside the standard solutions. ([/services/developpement-sur-mesure](/services/developpement-sur-mesure)) - **Shopify: overview** — The other Shopify topics I work on. ([/shopify](/shopify)) ## FAQ ### Does Shopify still cap a product at 100 variants? No. Since 15 October 2025 the limit is 2,048 variants per product, on every plan. Anything still quoting 100 variants predates that change. ### Do I need a higher plan to go past 100 variants? No, the 2,048 cap applies identically on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Shopify Plus. It isn’t a paid option. ### How many options can I use per product? Three maximum, and that number hasn’t moved. For a fourth dimension you need separate listings, a line-item property, or a dedicated app. ### Why does my theme only show 250 variants? Because Liquid caps product.variants at 250 entries. Past that you have to paginate in the theme, or load variants through the API from the browser. ### Is a product with 2,000 variants a good idea? It’s possible, rarely advisable: bulk editing, exports and apps all slow down, and the theme has to be built to paginate. I look first at whether the catalogue is better split. ### Does an engraving or custom message option count as a variant? Not necessarily: if it doesn’t need its own stock or price, a line-item property is enough and avoids spending one of the product’s three options.