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BigCommerce vs Shopify – Two Industry-Best SaaS Ecommerce Site Builders Compared

Shopify or BigCommerce – Which eCommerce platform is suitable for my online store? If this question is coming into your mind, then here’s a detailed Shopify verses BigCommerce comparison guide that will help you choose the right eCommerce platform for your project. Let’s take a look.

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BigCommerce vs Shopify – Comparing the Two Best Hosted Ecommerce Platforms

BigCommerce vs Shopify comparison is one of the hottest topics of discussion when it comes to choosing between the two of the industry-best hosted eCommerce software. However, once you get to know which user base each platform is targeting, you will come to know the key differences between them. BigCommerce largely focuses on larger eCommerce stores and brands. It is much easier to manage web content and tons of SKUs with BigCommerce as compared to Shopify. Conversely, Shopify is an ideal solution for smaller boutiques or dropshipping.

In this comprehensive BigCommerce vs. Shopify comparison guide, we’ll compare both of these platforms to help you choose the best one for your eCommerce store.

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Shopify versus BigCommerce

BigCommerce

Summary Ratings
Highly flexible and scalable Value for Money — 4.0
Excellent multi-channel selling Ease of Use — 4.8
Highly SEO-friendly platform Design & Themes — 3.8
Inconsistent page loading speed Features & Functionalities — 3.9
Large-scale online stores pay more. Seamless Integrations — 4.2
No one-click selling Site Performance — 4.5
Overall Score
4.3 – star rating

Shopify

Summary Ratings
Fastest page loading time Value for Money — 4.0
Quick and easy setup Ease of Use — 4.9
One-click selling apps are available Design & Themes — 4.0
Not good at SEO/Content Marketing Features & Functionalities 3.8
Checkout not customizable Seamless Integrations — 4.6
Costly Apps Site Performance — 3.9
Overall Score
4.2 – star rating

BigCommerce

In the Shopify vs BigCommerce comparison, BigCommerce is considered as the best overall eCommerce software. Founded in 2009, BigCommerce is a SaaS eCommerce platform that is best suited for large-scale online retail brands aspiring to expand and grow their business. It comes with a robust product search feature that is ideal if you want to sell many products. If you have a well-defined brand and planning to scale your business, BigCommerce is the best option for you.

Pros Cons
Easy to use Design and selling limitations
Risk-free 15-days trial period Fewer and expensive apps and integrations than Shopify
Facilitates multi-channel sales No built-in 1-click selling
Provides real-time shipping quotations and gift cards
Better cart abandonment recovery setup
Advanced SEO and marketing tools built to make marketing your site easy

Shopify

Just like BigCommerce, Shopify can also be used by anyone without necessarily taking help from experts. Founded in 2006, Shopify is an ideal solution for those who are entering into the world of eCommerce. If you’re new to eCommerce and don’t have a well-defined brand and marketing strategy, using Shopify is the best bet for you.

Pros Cons
Unlimited selling You need third-party apps to extend the functionality of your website
Risk-free 14-days trial period Weak SEO functionality
More integrations and apps Transaction fees for third-party payment gateways

Pricing is an important factor that you need to consider when comparing Shopify versus BigCommerce as you will have to pay for other eCommerce tools along with your shopping cart. Hence, you need to choose one that does not burn a big hole in your pocket. Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer multiple subscription options, and free trial periods so that you can test them before you buy the plans.

BigCommerce

  • $29.95/Month – Standard
  • $79.95/Month – Plus
  • $299.95/Month – Pro
  • Custom pricing – BigCommerce Enterprise

Shopify

  • $9 – Shopify Lite Plan – Embeddable cart, enabled face-to-face purchases, and a buy button that you can place on social media pages, no standalone store website.
  • $29 – Basic Shopify Plan/Month
  • $79.95 – Shopify/Month
  • $299.95 – Advanced Shopify/Month
  • Custom quote – Plus Reserved for enterprise-level customers.

Both platforms offer plans that provide users with more features and admin accounts. However, each platform comes with its own set of differences. Since the pricing plans of both platforms are virtually equal, you should consider drawbacks with each plan.

On both platforms, each step up in plan grants users more features and admin accounts. But each platform has a key difference from the other. Since the prices on each are virtually identical, you’ll need to pick your poison when it comes to these drawbacks.

  • On BigCommerce, each pricing plan has got a sales limit. The monthly charges that you’ll pay will increase as your revenue increases.
  • On Shopify, you need to pay transaction fees ranging from 0.5% to 2% of each sale that you make. Luckily, if you choose and are eligible to use Shopify’s in-house payment processor, Shopify Payments, you don’t need to pay the extra commission per sale.

Overall, both platforms are competitively priced, providing unlimited online storage, bandwidth, and products on each of their pricing plans. If you understand the key differences between BigCommerce vs Shopify, you can select the best-suited platform and its pricing plan.

BigCommerce

Features Standard $29/month Plus $79/month Pro $299/month
Landing Page Builder Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Digital Products Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Product Export/Import Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Rating & Reviews Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Real Time Shipping Rates/Tracking Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
SEO Tools Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Zoomable Product Images Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Abandoned Cart Email Not Available Included in Plan Included in Plan
Product Search Not Available Not Available Included in Plan
Personalized Products Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Reward Points Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Subscription/Recurring Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Upselling & Cross Selling Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
1-Click Upsells Not Available Not Available Not Available
Winner – BigCommerce
Considering the features and plans of both BigCommerce vs Shopify, it’s almost a tie between the two. However, BigCommerce offers more built-in and free features than Shopify.

Shopify

Features Basic Shopify $29/month Basic Shopify $79/month Advanced Shopify $299/month
Abandoned Cart email Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Product Export/Import Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Ratings & Reviews Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Real Time Shipping Rates/Tracking Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Zoomable Product Images Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Digital Products Free Add-On Free Add-On Free Add-On
1-Click Upsells Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Landing Page Builder Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Personalized Products Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Product Search Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Reward Points Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
SEO Tools Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Subscription/Recurring Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Upselling & Cross Selling Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed

BigCommerce

Integrations Standard $29/month Plus $79/month Pro $299/month
Amazon 2 Way Sync Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Amazon Checkout Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Amazon FBA Integration Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Ebay 2-Way Sync Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Google Ecommerce Analytics Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Google Product Data Feed Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Facebook Sync Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
PayPal Checkout Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
USPS Integration Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
WordPress Integration Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Review Snippet Structured Data Not Available Not Available Included in Plan
Fulfillment Center Integration Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Drop Shipping Integration Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Email Marketing Automation Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Printing On Demand Integration Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
User Generated Content Automation Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
Winner – Tie
Although Shopify offers slightly more apps and options for integrations than BigCommerce, both platforms offer essential integrations.

Shopify

Integrations Basic Shopify $29/month Basic Shopify $79/month Advanced Shopify $299/month
Amazon 2 Way Sync Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Amazon Checkout Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Amazon FBA Integration Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Fulfillment Center Integration Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Ebay 2-Way sync Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Facebook sync Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Google Ecommerce Analytics Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
PayPal Checkout Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
USPS Integration Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
WordPress Integration Included in Plan Included in Plan Included in Plan
Drop Shipping Integration Free Add-On Free Add-On Free Add-On
Email Marketing Automation Free Add-On Free Add-On Free Add-On
Printing On Demand Integration Free Add-On Free Add-On Free Add-On
User Generated Content Automation Paid App Needed Paid App Needed Paid App Needed
BigCommerce Shopify
Offers an extensive list of themes, including 7 free themes. A large number of free and paid themes, 11 are free themes
Multiple categories for industries and styles. Significant variations between the themes
Responsive and customizable themes Responsive and fully customizable themes
130 paid templates costing between $165 -$235 64 paid templates costing between $120 – $180
64 paid templates costing between $120 – $180 Contemporary designs
Mobile UX Score – 94 Mobile UX Score – 97
Design & Themes Rating – 4.0 Design & Themes Rating – 4.0
Winner – Shopify
In the Shopify versus BigCommerce battle, Shopify is the winner here because of the higher mobile UX score and more free themes.
BigCommerce Shopify
Ease of Use Rating 4.8 4.9
Phone Support Yes Yes
24/7 Support Yes Yes
Chat Support Yes Yes
Community Rating 4 5
No. of Apps & Plugins 1000 5000
User-friendly Admin Panel Yes, out-of-the features and functionalities Yes, content editing with WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing tools.
Online forums, video tutorials, a knowledge base Yes Yes
Winner – Shopify
Both BigCommmerce and Shopify offer features, functionality, ease of use, and navigation that a top-level shopping cart solution should offer. However, Shopify may be considered as a winner since it is a simpler out-of-the-box software and is ideal for amateurs. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide between the two platforms based on your preferences. You just need to evaluate and try their free trials to find which one is the best fit for your project.
BigCommerce Shopify
Built-in blogging functionality Built-in blogging functionality
Provides the basic blog section for eCommerce Store. Shopify’s blog section interface, however, is more user-friendly and easy to understand.
No RSS Feeds No Blog Categories
Can integrate third-party blog – WP Can integrate third-party blog – WP
Does not allow integration with SEO plugins like the Yoast. Does not allow integration with SEO plugins like the Yoast.
Winner – Tie
Does not allow integration with SEO plugins like the Yoast.
BigCommerce Shopify
It’s abandoned cart saver lets site owners to send up to three automated follow-up emails. The platform claims that it helps eCommerce stores recover up to 15% of the lost sales. It only allows site owners to send one automated follow-up email to users who abandon the cart.
It lacks the feature of sending emails at regular intervals. Shopify offers an interesting feature that allows site owners to send follow up emails at a particular time interval. That is, you can send follow up emails after 1, 6, 10, or 24 hours.
Shopify offers an interesting feature that allows site owners to send follow up emails at a particular time interval. That is, you can send follow up emails after 1, 6, 10, or 24 hours.
Winner – Shopify
Sending multiple emails may annoy customers. With Shopify’s interesting feature, you can send follow-up emails at regular intervals which will help you reduce cart abandonment rate and recover a lot of lost sales.
BigCommerce Shopify
Built-in SEO tools Built-in SEO tools
Allows for managing basic SEO functionality including page title changes, meta descriptions, alt text, and headings, among others. Allows for managing basic SEO functionality including page title changes, meta descriptions, alt text, and headings, among others.
Provides SEO-friendly URLs that are short and contain relevant keywords. Provides SEO-friendly URLs that are short and contain relevant keywords.
Winner – BigCommerce
Both Shopify and BigCommerce excel with SEO functionalities to make your eCommerce store SEO-friendly. However, BigCommerce wins here because of the clean URL structure and Google AMP.
BigCommerce Shopify
Allows users to deliver product pages in the AMP format. Allows users to deliver product pages in the AMP format.
Allows the use of AMP natively on both category and product pages. You can easily implement AMP on any free BigCommerce templates. Allows the use of AMP natively on both category and product pages. You can easily implement AMP on any free BigCommerce templates.
Winner – BigCommerce
BigCommerce is the clear winner here because of its greater customization capabilities and native support for Google AMP.
BigCommerce Shopify
Offers integration with over 100 payment gateways including Worldpay, 2Checkout, Stripe, PayPal, and Quickbooks. Offers integration with over 100 payment gateways including Worldpay, 2Checkout, Stripe, PayPal, and Quickbooks.
BigCommerce has PayPal Powered by Braintree. Created Shopify Payments to address the issues of integration complexity and monthly charge
Expensive credit card processing rates in the US Cheaper credit card processing rates in the US
Multi-currency support, built-in functionality in its stencil template, or use a third-party app. Multi-currency support features available in the Shopify Plus plan, or use a third-party app like Bold Multi-Currency.
Zero transaction fee Transaction fees – 2% of sales
Winner – BigCommerce
Both platforms offer excellent payment integration and multi-currency functionalities. However, BigCommerce has an edge over Shopify because of zero transaction fees and an open partner ecosystem.
BigCommerce Shopify
Offers two main apps, including Shopify and Shopify POS, available on both Android and iOS app stores. Offers two main apps, including Shopify and Shopify POS, available on both Android and iOS app stores.
You can deliver the best mobile shopping experience with a native shopping app for iOS and Android integrated with your BigCommerce shop. Offers many apps to help you manage the basic aspects of your eCommerce store, including order fulfillment, add products, access various reports, etc.
Shopify POS mobile apps allow you to unify your retail store with your online store and accept credit card payments, sync products, email receipts, etc.
Winner – shopify
Shopify is a clear winner in this round because of its comprehensive set of features backed by two official mobile app stores and several third-party apps. Its point of sale mobile app is the USP that BigCommerce doesn’t offer. However, BigCommerce store owners enjoy the benefit of an open partner ecosystem with open APIs.
Idea Valuation

When Should You Choose BigCommerce Over Shopify?


You should opt for BigCommerce:

  • If SEO is your primary focus: Sites built on Shopify rank lower than BigCommerce sites, despite offering a quite similar search engine optimization features.
  • If BigCommerce offers the features that you need out-of-the-box: The Shopify plans that include gift cards, discounts, reviews, and ratings as advanced features are the more expensive plans.
  • If you’re looking for product option customizability: If you’re looking for product option customizability:
  • If you’re looking for product option customizability: The integrated product customization option on the BigCommerce store provides more options and delivers an enhanced UX.
  • If you prefer BigCommerce themes better over those offered by Shopify.
  • If you value online sales tools.

There are a few drawbacks of BigCommerce that you need to consider before you go with the platform. You should choose Shopify


Wix focuses more on web building than eCommerce. However, its decent web builder functionality and e-commerce capability make it a suitable option for small-scale businesses and personal websites. For those who want to create an online presence with a strong focus on branding and marketing, then Wix is an ideal solution to go for.

Here are the top reasons to choose the Wix platform:

  • If you want one-click upsells: BigCommerce doesn’t offer one-click upsells after purchase.
  • If you don’t want to be charged on the monthly transaction-basis: If you are selling more, BigCommerce automatically shifts you to the higher pricing.
  • If you want more apps and a larger customer support community: Many eCommerce developers and marketers know Shopify as it is easy to learn and use. Hence, more apps work great with Shopify.
  • If you love Shopify themes more than BigCommerce themes.
  • If you want to scale your eCommerce business.
Idea Valuation
Idea Valuation

BigCommerce or Shopify – Which is Better?


Both BigCommerce and Shopify cater to major requirements for the online shopping cart. Small merchants, drop shippers, and people who are new to the eCommerce world, should opt for Shopify as it offers user-friendly features and ease of use. Large-scale enterprises, small-medium businesses earning over $500,000 in annual sales, and those using third-party payment gateways should go with BigCommerce.

However, at the end of the day, the debate on which eCommerce site builder is the best option – BigCommerce or Shopify, comes down to personal preference and your business model. You can’t go wrong with BigCommerce or Shopify. You just need to know what features you’re expecting from your preferred platform. If you need professional consultation on choosing the right eCommerce platform for your project, you may reach out to our eCommerce development experts.

Frequently Asked Questions


Shopify has two main drawbacks. First, you need to pay transaction fees if you’re using a third-party payment gateway, unlike its competitor BigCommerce. Second, it sets a limit of three options per product, which is not ideal for selling products.
Here are some of the best examples of BigCommerce stores:
  • Skullcandy
  • EZPZ
  • Rollie Nation
  • Natori
  • Camelbak
  • Pandora, and more
Yes, of course. Our experts ensure fast, smooth, and secure BigCommerce migration from any of the platforms including Magento, Prestashop, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.
Want to Ask More Questions? Feel Free to Ask Us Right Away!