Pixel Union Shopify Themes: How to Pick and Set Up the Right One

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A Shopify theme is a one-time purchase you usually can’t refund. Spending 30 minutes comparing presets, catalog fit and support before you click “Buy” is the cheapest store improvement you will ever make.

If you are comparing Pixel Union Shopify themes, you are looking at one of the longest-running premium theme developers in the Shopify ecosystem. This guide explains who Pixel Union is, lists every theme they currently sell on the Shopify Theme Store with its official price and presets, and compares them side by side. Then it walks you through the exact steps to preview, buy, install and customize a theme, plus where to find documentation and support once you go live.

All prices and features below come from the official Shopify Theme Store listings and Pixel Union’s own site. Theme prices are in USD and are one-time payments, not subscriptions.

Who is Pixel Union?

Pixel Union is a Shopify theme and app developer based in Vancouver, BC, according to its designer profile on the Shopify Theme Store. Its website describes the company as helping Shopify entrepreneurs “sell more with premium themes” and says it is “trusted by 700k+ Shopify merchants worldwide.” That figure is the company’s own claim.

Pixel Union is part of the Tiny family of companies, which its site lists alongside Dribbble, MetaLab and Flow. Its storefront also sells themes from related theme brands, including Out of the Sandbox (Turbo, Flex, Superstore and others), Archetype (Impulse, Motion, Streamline, Expanse) and Clean Canvas (Symmetry, Enterprise, Mode and more). This guide focuses on the themes Pixel Union designs under its own name.

Pixel Union apps

Beyond themes, the Pixel Union site lists a set of Shopify apps. These are worth knowing about because a couple of them directly affect how you maintain a theme over time:

• Theme Updater & Backups: updates your theme while keeping customizations, and backs up store data. Its Shopify App Store listing (published under Out of the Sandbox) has a free Updater plan, plus paid Theme Sections, Updater Pro and Vault Backups plans.
• Uptime: listed on the Pixel Union site among its apps.
• B2B Wholesale Hub: for stores selling wholesale.
• Alliance Pro: listed on the Pixel Union site among its apps.
• USO: Ultimate Special Offers: for discounts and offers.
• Pixelpop: Popups & Banners: for popups and promotional banners.

Check each app’s Shopify App Store listing for its current plans before installing, since app pricing changes more often than theme pricing.

Pixel Union Shopify themes: the current lineup

The Pixel Union designer page on the Shopify Theme Store shows 22 presets, which are all styles of six base themes. A preset is a ready-made design (colors, fonts, layout and demo content) built on the same theme code. Because presets share the same underlying theme, the structure and feature set come from the base theme, so you are really choosing the base theme, not the preset.

Empire ($360)

Empire is Pixel Union’s flagship for big stores. Its Theme Store listing describes it as “optimized for big catalogs with advanced filters and shoppable images.” Pixel Union’s help center calls it a “marketplace-inspired theme optimized for large product catalogs.”

Presets: Empire, Circuit, Depot and Forma. The listing highlights a mega menu, enhanced search, product filtering and swatch filters for discovery, plus quick view, quick buy, a slide-out cart, pre-orders, trust badges, a countdown timer and a stock counter for conversion. It also lists multi-currency support and EU translations (English, French, Italian, German and Spanish). Industries mentioned include jewelry, cosmetics, apparel, beauty and home decor, plus dropshipping, wholesale and subscription brands.

Atlantic ($300)

Atlantic’s listing says it is “equipped to handle medium to large product catalogs.” Pixel Union’s own site positions it as clean, reliable and easy to use, for merchants who value simplicity and performance.

Presets: Atlantic, Plush, Cotton, Atrium and Parfum, which is the widest choice of styles in the lineup. Listed features include a slide-out cart, quick buy, in-store pickup, a countdown timer, product badges, a stock counter, a size chart, image galleries, enhanced search, a mega menu and swatch filters. At the time of writing, Atlantic also had the highest share of positive reviews among Pixel Union themes on the Theme Store.

Tailor ($300)

Tailor is the fashion specialist. Its listing describes it as “fast, modern, and conversion-focused for apparel brands” and “built for fashion merchants.” Presets: Tailor, Nylon and Lycra.

The features match clothing stores: color swatches, lookbooks, a size chart, product tabs, product videos and image zoom, plus cross-selling, trust badges, a stock counter and EU translations. Tailor is the newest-feeling theme in the range and had only a small number of reviews when this guide was written, so the review percentage is based on a much smaller sample than Empire or Atlantic.

Grid ($280)

Grid’s tagline on the Theme Store is “engage with stunning visuals and fast, conversion-ready features.” Pixel Union’s site describes it as a visually dynamic theme for brands that rely on imagery and texture. Its listing tags it for jewelry and accessories, and food and drink.

Presets: Grid, Flora, Knoll and Ember. Listed features include image rollover, image galleries, high-resolution images, product videos, in-menu promos, product badges, promo banners, quick view, a mega menu and swatch filters. If your photos do most of the selling, Grid is the one to preview first.

Editions ($100)

Editions is described on the Theme Store as a “mobile-first, customizable design to kickstart your store’s success.” Pixel Union’s site frames it as a refined theme for brands that sell through story, curation and visual clarity. Presets: Editions and Opal.

For a $100 theme, the feature list is long: lookbooks, product tabs, infinite scroll, a countdown timer, a stock counter, an age verifier, EU translations, slideshow, image rollover and swatch filters. It is tagged for jewelry and accessories, and food and drink.

Startup ($100)

Startup’s listing calls it a “sleek, minimalist design for single products and small catalogs.” Pixel Union’s site positions it as a streamlined theme for launching quickly. Presets: Startup, Travel, Duvet and Comfort.

Listed features include quick buy, in-store pickup, an FAQ page, promo banners, recommended products, tabs, videos, slideshow, a mega menu and swatch filters. If you sell one hero product or a tight range, Startup gives you a focused layout without paying for big-catalog tools you won’t use.

Pixel Union theme comparison table

Here is the whole lineup in one place. Prices are from the Shopify Theme Store listings (USD, one-time). “Best for” and features are taken from each official listing.

Theme	Price	Presets	Best for	Notable features (from the listing)
Empire	$360	Empire, Circuit, Depot, Forma	Large catalogs, wholesale, high volume	Advanced filters, shoppable images, mega menu, pre-orders, multi-currency, EU translations
Atlantic	$300	Atlantic, Plush, Cotton, Atrium, Parfum	Medium to large catalogs	Slide-out cart, countdown timer, size chart, enhanced search, stock counter
Tailor	$300	Tailor, Nylon, Lycra	Apparel and fashion brands	Color swatches, lookbooks, size chart, cross-selling, trust badges
Grid	$280	Grid, Flora, Knoll, Ember	Image-led brands, jewelry, food and drink	Image rollover, image galleries, in-menu promos, product videos
Editions	$100	Editions, Opal	Mobile-first, story-driven stores	Lookbooks, infinite scroll, product tabs, countdown timer, EU translations
Startup	$100	Startup, Travel, Duvet, Comfort	Single products and small catalogs	Quick buy, FAQ page, promo banners, tabs, slideshow

A note on prices: the Pixel Union website showed slightly different prices for two themes at the time of writing (Tailor at $360 and Editions at $120). The Theme Store listing is what you pay when you buy through Shopify, so always confirm the price on the listing itself before purchasing.

How to choose between them

Most theme regret comes from picking on looks alone. A preset’s demo store is built with professional photos and a full catalog, so it will always look good. A better approach is to filter by what your store actually needs, then compare looks among the themes that remain.

Start with catalog size

• One product or a handful: Startup is built for this. Editions also works if you want more storytelling.
• Dozens of products: Grid, Editions, Tailor and Atlantic all fit. Choose by industry and how image-heavy you are.
• Hundreds or thousands of products: Empire and Atlantic. Empire is the one explicitly designed for big catalogs and wholesale.

Then match your industry

Clothing brands should preview Tailor first, since lookbooks, size charts and color swatches are central to apparel. Jewelry, beauty and food brands with strong photography should look at Grid and Editions. Multi-category retailers, electronics stores and wholesale sellers usually get the most out of Empire’s filtering and search.

Weigh budget against features

The jump from $100 to $360 is real for a new store. Editions and Startup cover a surprising amount of ground at $100. Paying more makes sense when you need a specific feature that only the higher-priced themes list, such as Empire’s big-catalog tools or Tailor’s apparel focus.

If you are planning a new store alongside your theme choice, it helps to keep your product list, supplier notes and launch tasks in one place. The Retail Store HQ Notion template is built for exactly that kind of store operations planning.

How to try, buy and set up a Pixel Union theme

The steps below follow Shopify’s help center article on adding, previewing and buying themes, and Pixel Union’s help center article on previewing a theme before purchase. You need a Shopify store to try a theme, but you don’t need to pay for the theme until you publish it.

Step 1: Preview the theme in your own store

1. Check you have a free slot. Pixel Union’s help center notes that your online store can hold up to 20 draft themes, so remove an old draft if you are at the limit.
2. Open the theme’s page on the Shopify Theme Store. You can start from the Pixel Union theme collection and follow the link to the listing.
3. Select the preset you want to start with, then click Try theme.
4. Log in to your store when prompted, confirm the theme on the confirmation page, and click Try theme again to finish.
5. In your Shopify admin, click Online Store. In the Draft themes section, click the menu button next to the theme, then click Preview.

Shopify’s help center says you can preview up to 19 paid themes at the same time. Trial themes are marked with a “Theme trial” label, and you can’t edit theme code while a theme is on trial. You can still change theme settings in the theme editor, which is the main thing you need to judge fit.

Step 2: Test it with your real content

1. While previewing, click Edit theme in the preview bar to open the theme editor.
2. Swap demo images for your own product photos and logo, so you see how the theme handles your image sizes.
3. Open a product page and a collection page with your real products. Check how variants, swatches and filters look with your data.
4. Preview on a phone. Most store traffic is mobile, so the mobile header, menu and cart matter more than the desktop hero.
5. Repeat with a second theme if you are torn. Trying two themes side by side is free.

Step 3: Buy the theme from the Shopify Theme Store

1. Make sure your staff account has the right permissions. Shopify lists Themes, Manage and install apps and channels, and Approve app charges.
2. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store.
3. In the Draft themes section, find the theme you trialed and click Buy. (If you haven’t added it yet, click Add themes > Visit Theme Store, find the theme and click Try theme first.)
4. Approve the charge. The price is the one shown on the Theme Store listing.
5. Publish the theme to make it live. Shopify only lets you publish themes you have purchased.

Two important rules from Shopify’s help center: Theme Store purchases are final sale and the theme developer can’t provide refunds, and a purchased theme is licensed to the store where you bought it. That is why the preview step is so important.

Step 4: Customize it in the Shopify theme editor

Pixel Union themes use Shopify’s standard theme editor, so the core workflow is the same as any modern Shopify theme. According to Shopify’s help center on sections and blocks:

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store, find your theme and click Edit theme.
2. Use the page drop-down at the top (it starts on Home page) to switch to the product, collection or other template you want to edit.
3. Click Add section in the sidebar to add a new section, or use Search sections to find one.
4. Hover over a section and click Add block to add content inside it.
5. Drag sections and blocks by their drag handle to reorder them.
6. Open theme settings to set global colors and fonts, then click Save.

Each Pixel Union theme also has its own sections and settings. For example, Pixel Union’s Empire documentation includes guides on product and collection templates, subcollections, quick shop, the request quote block, collection page filters, the utility bar, the sticky header, the age gate and color swatches for variants. Read the docs for your theme before reaching for an extra app, because the feature you want may already be built in.

Step 5: Get docs and support from Pixel Union

1. Go to the Pixel Union Help Center at support.pixelunion.net (also linked from the theme’s Theme Store listing under support and documentation).
2. Open your theme’s section. Theme sections are organized into templates, sections, blocks, header and footer, theme settings and frequently asked questions.
3. Check the release notes for your theme version and the “Updating themes” topic before making big changes.
4. If you can’t find an answer, use Submit a request or Contact Support in the help center. The Theme Store listings also give support@pixelunion.net as the designer contact.

Shopify’s help center also notes that unlicensed themes don’t qualify for support or updates. Buying through the official Theme Store keeps you eligible for both.

Step 6: Plan for theme updates

Pixel Union’s help center states that Shopify’s own update method is not supported for Pixel Union themes. It lists three options instead:

• Theme Updater: recommended if you bought from the Shopify Theme Store and have changed few or no theme files. Some cases may need the Pro plan.
• Hiring a developer: Pixel Union names Storetasker as an option if you have heavily customized your theme files.
• Manual update: the fallback if neither option fits your situation.

The practical lesson: do as much customization as you can through the theme editor instead of editing code. That keeps future updates much simpler.

Checklist for choosing a Pixel Union theme

Run through this list before you click Buy. If a theme fails more than one or two items, try another.

• The theme’s stated catalog focus matches how many products you sell now and in a year.
• The features you need (filters, swatches, size chart, lookbooks, pre-orders, quick buy) are on the official listing, not just assumed.
• You have previewed it with your own photos, logo and at least five real products.
• The mobile menu, product page and cart feel easy on your own phone.
• You have tried at least two presets of the theme, so you can see how flexible its layout and styling are.
• You need translations or multi-currency? Check the listing mentions them (Empire, Tailor and Editions list EU translations).
• You have read the recent reviews on the Theme Store, filtered for problems similar to your store setup.
• You have skimmed the theme’s section in the Pixel Union Help Center to see how setup works.
• The price on the Theme Store listing fits your budget, remembering the purchase is final.
• You know how you will handle updates (Theme Updater, a developer, or manual).

A simple way to run this checklist is in a Notion database, with one row per theme and a checkbox column per item. Notion makes it easy to drop in screenshots of each preview and notes from your phone test. If you are launching on a deadline, the Product Launch OS template can hold the theme decision alongside the rest of your launch tasks.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Buying before previewing. Trials are free and purchases are final. There is no reason to skip the preview.
• Choosing a preset, not a theme. Circuit, Depot and Forma are all Empire. If you like a preset’s colors but not its structure, you need a different base theme, not a different preset.
• Overpaying for scale you don’t have. A ten-product store rarely needs Empire. Startup or Editions may serve you better for a third of the price.
• Editing code on day one. Code edits make updates harder. Exhaust the theme editor and the theme’s documentation first.
• Stacking apps for built-in features. Countdown timers, stock counters, age verifiers and promo banners are already listed in several Pixel Union themes.

Frequently asked questions

How much do Pixel Union Shopify themes cost?

On the Shopify Theme Store, as of October 2026: Empire is $360, Atlantic and Tailor are $300, Grid is $280, and Editions and Startup are $100. These are one-time payments in USD. Always confirm on the listing before buying, since the Pixel Union site showed different prices for some themes.

Can I try a Pixel Union theme for free?

Yes. Click “Try theme” on the Theme Store listing to add it to your store as a draft. You can preview it and change settings in the theme editor without paying. You only need to buy it when you want to publish it.

Do I get all presets when I buy a theme?

Presets are styles built on the same base theme. Atlantic, for example, lists Atlantic, Plush, Cotton, Atrium and Parfum. Each preset has its own Theme Store page and price, which matches its base theme. If you plan to switch styles later, check the listing or ask Pixel Union support how presets apply to your purchase.

Can I get a refund on a Pixel Union theme?

Shopify’s help center says Theme Store purchases are considered final sale and theme developers can’t provide refunds. Preview thoroughly before you buy.

Can I use one theme purchase on several stores?

According to Shopify, a purchased theme is licensed exclusively to the store where it was bought. You may be eligible to transfer it to another store, but a single purchase doesn’t cover multiple live stores.

Which Pixel Union theme is best for a large catalog?

Empire. Its listing describes it as optimized for big catalogs with advanced filters, and Pixel Union’s docs call it marketplace-inspired. Atlantic is the next option, listed for medium to large catalogs.

How do I update a Pixel Union theme?

Pixel Union’s help center says the Shopify update method isn’t supported for its themes. It recommends the Theme Updater app for Theme Store purchases with few code changes, a developer for heavily customized themes, or a manual update otherwise.

The bottom line

Pixel Union’s six themes cover the full range, from a single-product launch on Startup to a large catalog on Empire. Start with your catalog size, shortlist two themes that fit your industry, preview both with your real content, and buy only when one clearly wins. With documentation for each theme and a clear update path, you can set up and maintain a Pixel Union theme without touching code.