The shopify variant limit by product type question is one of the most googled and most important question for a shopify merchant. A limit of 2048 variants sounds high, however for example a jewelry store with 20 types of stones, 12 types of bands and 8 types of metals would reach the limit with just one more stone.
Let’s break down the variant math as it applies to each of the 6 Shopify categories and illustrate it with real-world examples from 6 Core products. You can take notes, or just enjoy the ride. We won’t tell.
In this post
Apparel
Classic axes for clustering, classification and prediction: color, size, fit. A typical t-shirt SKU has 8 colors and 6 sizes. 48 variants. Well under the cap. No problems.
Where apparel gets really hard is when you have premium items like high-end premium denim. For every style, you’ve got color options, waist options, inseam options and sometimes even the rise of the jean. When you wash it, you can even offer different versions of that. That’s 5 dimensions, way too hard to configure in a 3 option type interface. The way to deal with this is to setup combined listings. Here you can setup 3 separate jean products (each with 3 options), but list all of them at once, in the same shopping experience for the customer.
Jewelry
Variants are just plain wild with variant math for the advanced variants. In the case of the ring product shown above, there are 12 different metals to choose from, 20 different stones, 6 different sizes, and 3 different finishes. Multiply all that out together and that’s 12*20*6*3 = 4320 combinations. Remember we are well over 2048 so we can’t build all of those in a single product, even with the updated 4GB limit.
Only 3 options slots allowed. Double whammand with only 3 slots AND only 3 fields allowed for each option. This is a complete disaster because a single product could have 3 options with 3 fields each. The only way to even somewhat cope with this is to have combined listings. For these beads, products could be split by metal with then individual listings for stone, size and finish (3 options per product) – 360 total product listings. Then all 12 products could be listed with Rubik Combined Listings so they are treated as a single product in search results.
Furniture
Design furniture also has dimensions or parameters: wood species, finish, fabric, leg style, cushion firmness etc. These can easily be described using 5 axes (linear, angular and relational) and then also the size, so 6 axes in total. There is zero chance that you could fit design furniture in the 3 option types.
Typically we offer the range split by frame (wood or metal) with then fabric, size and cushion options within each. These are then listed as separate products on the website and grouped together on the website and on the storefront for customers to easily compare. This way it is easy to administer and customers can compare the variations easily on the website and in store.
Cosmetics
Cosmetics do not have to follow the variant limit. Examples of this would be a lipstick with 30 different shades, 1 size (although typically boxed separately). An example of something slightly more complicated would be a foundation with 40 different shades, 2 different sizes (0.25fl oz, 0.5fl oz), 2 different finishes (satin, matte). This would make 160 variants. Still easy.
Instead of worrying about another innovation to enhance human beauty, perhaps the greater challenge to the cosmetics industry is image filtering and the proliferation of images found in their product pages, e.g. 40 different swatch images for one product. Install the Rubik Variant Images app to filter gallery images by shade.
Print on demand
Print-on-demand is where the old 100 variant cap destroyed stores. A tee design with 12 colors, 7 sizes, 3 fits (men/women/kids) = 252 variants. Dead before 2024. Now? Totally fine under 2048.
POD mockups usually have different colors and require separate mockups for each color. Example shown below. 12 colors shown here equals out to 60+ images for 1 product (front, back, closeup, lifestyle, details) unless you implement per-variant image filtering. The #1 complaint from POD sellers is the gallery is unusable without it. Fix at the variant image level.
demo_store, tutorial, documentation
Food & beverage
Examples of types of businesses that might offer variations of products. Coffee roasters, wine shops, spice blenders. A roaster might have: 10 origins, 4 grind types, 3 bag sizes. 120 variants. Fine. Wine shops usually just have size + vintage (2 options). Totally chill.
The weird one: subscription coffee boxes that you get to build your own mixes. Thats a line item properties, not a variant.
Summary table
| Product type | Typical axes | Typical variants | Hits the limit? | Recommended fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apparel (basic) | Color, size | 48 | No | Variant image filtering |
| Apparel (premium) | Color, waist, inseam, rise | 400+ | 4 options = yes | Combined listings |
| Jewelry | Metal, stone, size, finish | 4000+ | Yes | Combined listings |
| Furniture | Wood, fabric, size, leg, cushion | 500+ | 4+ options = yes | Combined listings |
| Cosmetics | Shade, size | 80 | No | Variant image filtering |
| Print on demand | Color, size, fit | 250 | No | Variant image filtering |
| Food & beverage | Origin, size | 20 | No | None needed |
First planning your variant tree? Check out our Variant Calculator and SKU Generator while planning your Shopify product variations.
FAQ
Which product type most often hits the variant limit?
Jewelry. So many dimensions (metal, stone, size, finish) leading to very rapidly increasing variant trees.
Can apparel stores stay under the 100 limit after 2024?
The 100 limit is gone. The cap is 2048. Most apparel stores are not affected.
Do cosmetics brands need combined listings?
Typically not used for variant counts, but can be used to filter by variant images on products with multiple shades.
Is print on demand limited by Shopify or by the POD provider?
Both. Both shopify and Print On Demand providers have limitations to the amount of code you can place in styles (e.g. shopify limits styles to 2048 characters). Check your POD provider for specific details per style.
What is the biggest hidden cost of lots of variants?
Images. An image managed 400 variant product with 5 images per color turns into a usability disaster if there is no filtering per variant.
Can furniture stores use line item properties for finishes?
These are ONLY for custom painting and should NOT be used as real finishes in your inventory. Use variants or combine multiple finishes together if you want to put actual listings with these finishes in your store.
Does Shopify count bundle components against the variant cap?
No. Bundles are their own product with their own variant count.
Related reading
- The 2048 variant limit explained
- 3 option type limit workarounds
- Bypass variant limit without Plus
- Combined listings bypass workflow (rubikify.com)
- Rubik Variant Images site
product_type . Remember that the best architecture for an app isn’t the Shopify admin interface. It’s the variant math. If your app can be implemented within 3-4 options, and less than 2048 combinations, it’s best to stick with native functionality. Anything more and it’s time to start thinking about how to combine existing features to deliver on your vision. Everything else is just noise.
