Options vs. Attributes: the key distinction

Updated Jun 3, 2026 Products & Catalog

Two TitanCart features sound similar but do opposite jobs, and mixing them up is the most common catalogue mistake. In short: Attributes describe a product and never change its price. Options are add-ons the shopper chooses at purchase, and they usually do change the price. This article makes the distinction clear and shows when to reach for each.

1. The short answer

	Attributes	Options
What they are	Properties that describe a product	Add-on choices the customer selects
Who sets the value	You, the store owner	The shopper, at purchase time
Affect the price?	No	Yes — each choice can add a fixed or percentage amount
Typical examples	Color, Size, Brand, Material	Gift wrapping, engraving, extended warranty
Main jobs	Storefront filters, product variations, brand, spec info	Paid extras and customisations
Managed at	Products → Attributes	Products → Options

2. Attributes — describing your products

Attributes are reusable properties you define once and reuse across products. You manage them at Products → Attributes (“Define filterable product properties — Color, Size, Brand, Material, and more”), and you assign each product’s values on the Attributes tab of the product editor.

Every attribute has a purpose that controls what it does:

Filter — appears as a filter shoppers can use to narrow the catalogue (this is what feeds the storefront filter sidebar via Product Filters).
Variation — used to split a product into selectable variations (for example Size: Small / Medium / Large), where each variation can have its own price, stock and product code. Variations are grouped together using a Product Group so the storefront shows one page with selectors.
Brand — marks the attribute that holds the product’s brand.
Info — informational only; shown on the product page as a specification (for example Material: Organic Cotton) without acting as a filter or a variation.

For dropdown-style attributes you define the allowed choices (Color → Red, Blue, Green) once, and they are reused everywhere that attribute is used. Attributes can also be scoped to specific categories so they only appear where they make sense.

Tip: Attributes are the foundation of both filtering and variations. If you want shoppers to filter by something, or you want one product to come in several versions, that is an attribute — not an option.

3. Options — add-ons the customer chooses

Options are reusable add-on services and customisations that a shopper selects when buying. You manage them at Products → Options (“Reusable add-on services and customizations — gift wrapping, engraving, warranty…”), and you attach them to a product on the Options tab of the product editor.

Each option has:

A set of choices the shopper picks from.
A price modifier per choice — either a fixed amount (for example +$5.00) or a percentage of the product price. This is added to the line total at checkout.
An optional weight modifier, so an add-on can affect shipping weight.
A required setting, for when the shopper must make a choice before adding to cart.

Because options are reusable, you can build a “Gift wrapping” option once and attach it to every product that offers it.

Note: Options change the price of the same product based on a buyer’s selection. They do not create separate variations with their own stock — that is what variation attributes are for.

4. Which one do I use?

You want shoppers to filter the catalogue by Color, Size or Brand → Attribute (Filter purpose).
A product comes in several versions, each with its own price, stock or product code (a T-shirt in S/M/L) → Attribute (Variation purpose) grouped via a Product Group.
You want to show a specification on the product page (Material: Leather) → Attribute (Info purpose).
You want to flag a product’s brand → Attribute (Brand purpose).
You want to offer a paid extra like gift wrapping (+$5) or engraving → Option.
You want a required choice that affects the price → Option (set it required).

A quick gut check: if the answer doesn’t change what the customer pays and is something you decide about the product, it’s an attribute. If the customer chooses it and it can add to the price, it’s an option.

Troubleshooting

My attribute isn’t showing as a filter on the storefront. Confirm its purpose is set to Filter and that it is added under Products → Product Filters, which controls what appears in the storefront filter sidebar.
I set an option but the price never changes. The price modifier lives on each choice within the option, not the option itself. Open the option and set the modifier (fixed or percentage) on each choice.
I want different stock levels per size, but options won’t let me. Sizes with their own stock are variations, not options. Use a variation-purpose attribute and group the products with a Product Group.
The Attributes or Options tab isn’t in the product editor. Both tabs appear only after the product has been saved once. Save the new product, then reopen it.