5 Ways to Bypass Shopify’s 100-Variant Limit

Published on March 12, 2025 | By Chaim

If you’re running a Shopify store with customizable products, you’ve probably hit the frustrating 100-variant limit. Shopify only allows 100 variants per product, and while that works for many stores, businesses that sell highly customizable items—like apparel with multiple size and color combinations or products with personalized engravings—can quickly run into roadblocks.

The good news? There are several ways to work around this limit and keep your customers’ shopping experience seamless. Let’s explore five effective solutions.

1. Use Product Options Apps

Shopify’s App Store offers apps like Infinite Options, Hulk Product Options, and Bold Product Options to extend variant capabilities. These apps allow you to create additional options like text fields, checkboxes, and dropdowns without adding new variants.

While these apps work well for non-inventory-related customizations (like engraving text or gift wrapping), they don’t modify Shopify’s core variant structure, so they might not be ideal if you need to track inventory for each option.

2. Split Products into Multiple Listings

Another way to work around the variant limit is by splitting a product into multiple listings. For example, if you sell a t-shirt with 10 colors and 15 sizes (which would exceed 100 variants), you could create one product for “Small–Large” sizes and another for “XL–3XL” sizes.

This method requires careful organization, as customers might need to switch between listings to find the right option. However, it’s a simple and effective workaround when you need to track inventory at a variant level.

3. Use Metafields for Additional Customizations

Shopify Metafields allow you to store extra product data without relying on variants. You can use Metafields to let customers enter custom text, upload images, or select options that don’t require separate SKUs.

For example, if you sell custom furniture and want to offer leg styles, materials, and finishes, you can store these choices as Metafields rather than variants. This method ensures a smooth checkout experience while keeping your product structure clean.

4. Leverage Bundles and Custom Line Item Properties

For stores that need complex configurations, bundles and line item properties provide another way to bypass variant limits. Instead of creating a single product with dozens of variants, you can:

✔ Allow customers to “build their own” product using bundle apps
✔ Use line item properties to collect extra customization details

This method is especially useful for personalized or made-to-order products. It requires some customization but can be a powerful way to expand product offerings.

5. Use a Headless Shopify Setup

For businesses that require complete flexibility, headless commerce allows full control over the front-end shopping experience while still using Shopify’s back-end for order management. With a headless setup, you can create as many product variations as needed and pass the selected options to Shopify at checkout.

This is the most technical solution, but it provides unlimited customization for businesses that need more than what Shopify’s default structure allows.

How an E-Commerce Consultant Can Help

While these solutions can help you bypass Shopify’s variant limits, choosing the right one depends on your business needs, inventory management, and customer experience goals.

An experienced e-commerce consultant can:

✔ Identify the best approach for your store
✔ Implement seamless integrations
✔ Ensure scalability for future growth

If your Shopify store is struggling with variant restrictions, let’s chat. I specialize in building customized Shopify solutions that go beyond Shopify’s limitations—including hosting, variant workarounds, and integrations.