BigCommerce VS Shopify: Find Out What’s Really Different
Trying to decide between BigCommerce or Shopify for your online business? Read our guide to discover the best fit for you!
eCommerce business owners looking to upgrade from a free online selling solution or just breaking into the eCommerce world will find BigCommerce and Shopify, two huge eCommerce platform companies, in their research.
Keep reading our BigCommerce VS Shopify comparison to decide which store builder is right for your business model and budget.
BigCommerce | Shopify | |
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Ideal For |
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Pricing | $29.95/month-$299.95/month | $5/month-$299/month |
Payment Processing |
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Standout Features |
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What’s Missing |
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Start Trial Read Review |
Start Trial Read Review |
Table of Contents
- BigCommerce VS Shopify At A Glance
- What’s Really The Difference Between BigCommerce & Shopify?
- BigCommerce VS Shopify Pricing
- Shopify VS BigCommerce Features
- Shopify VS BigCommerce Complaints & Reviews
- Which Is Best for My Business Needs?
- Comparing BigCommerce VS Shopify: The Final Verdict
- BigCommerce VS Shopify: FAQs
- Is BigCommerce or Shopify cheaper?
- Is Shopify or BigCommerce better for a large inventory?
- Is Shopify or BigCommerce better for a business that sells digital downloads?
- Is there a plan similar to Shopify Lite in BigCommerce?
- How much does BigCommerce Enterprise cost?
- Can you have two Shopify stores?
- What is Shopify pricing?
BigCommerce VS Shopify At A Glance
Shopify and BigCommerce are online sales software for business owners to sell on their own websites, online marketplaces, social media, and in person. Shopify offers fewer built-in software features but offers more website add-ons and a low-cost monthly plan. BigCommerce offers more built-in software features and lower payment processing fees, which is good for higher-revenue businesses.
Pros & Cons Of BigCommerce
Pros
- Several payment processing options
- Extensive product offering customizations
- Real-time shipping estimations on all plans
- Unlimited staff accounts on all plans
- High-risk businesses can use BigCommerce
Cons
- Design limitations and basic online store themes
- Multiple storefront options only available on highest-level plan
- Annual sales caps may automatically increase monthly payments
BigCommerce is an excellent eCommerce store builder for business owners with larger sales volumes, as they can benefit from the lower payment processing fees offered by many BigCommerce-compatible payment processing providers (with no transaction fees, no matter which processor you work with.) Business owners who want to offer highly customizable products, products with several variations, and “high-risk” products will also benefit from BigCommerce’s extensive product entry and management features.
Pros & Cons Of Shopify
Pros
- Low-cost monthly “buy button” plan
- Excellent shipping and international sales functions
- Integrated in-person point of sale app and hardware
- Lots of add-on apps (free and paid) in Shopify app store
- Order fulfillment network for faster delivery times
Cons
- Transaction fees and payment processing limitations
- No single-page checkout
- Add-on apps can get expensive
Shopify is a great sales platform for individuals just starting out, as there’s a low-cost “buy button” plan that does not include a full-blown website and a free point of sale app for casual in-person sales. It’s easy to scale up any Shopify plan, so as business owners grow, their online presence can grow as well. It’s also easy to fill in any of Shopify’s feature/customization gaps by installing third-party software apps from Shopify’s huge app store.
What’s Really The Difference Between BigCommerce & Shopify?
Shopify offers more site customization and pricing flexibility for small business owners, while BigCommerce offers more built-in features but fewer software add-ons. Shopify requires you to use the company’s payment processor or you’ll be charged transaction fees. BigCommerce allows you to use any payment processor for free, so you’ll pay less per month in processing fees.
Both BigCommerce & Shopify Offer…
- Physical and digital item sales, dropshipping and print-on-demand items, and selling in person with a point of sale app
- Selling through a custom website, online marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart Marketplace, and social media channels like Facebook and Instagram
- Advertising through social channels such as TikTok, Pinterest, and Google Shopping
- Shipping rules for zones, pricing, and free shipping conditions
- Support for 100+ payment types, including mobile wallets, local currencies, and apps such as PayPal and Stripe
- Marketing tools such as coupons, discounts, and abandoned cart emails
- 24/7 tech support
Only BigCommerce Offers…
- The ability for high-risk industries such as CBD companies to sell products online
- Fast one-page checkout on all subscription plans
- Saved address and card on file to speed up checkout (and reduce cart abandonment rates) even more
- Unlimited staff accounts
- Real-time shipping calculations on all subscription plans
- The freedom to use any payment processing provider you want without additional transaction fees
- A special lower rate on payment processing by Braintree
- 250 product variation options, customization fields, and the ability for customers to upload a photo for a custom item
- Built-in price lists and wholesale catalogs for B2B businesses (higher-level plans only)
- Create multiple stores with one BigCommerce account (highest-level plan only)
Only Shopify Offers…
- An extensive set of free and paid store themes that are unique and highly customizable
- The second largest app store of any website builder
- A low-cost “buy button” monthly subscription plan for people who want to sell, but don’t want to pay for their own website
- Inventory warehousing and fulfillment (via Shopify Fulfillment)
- International sales features such as generating multiple versions of an online store to match a user’s geographic location, language, currency, etc.
- Free built-in point of sale app (Shopify POS) and dedicated Shopify POS hardware
- Shipping discounts through Shopify Shipping
BigCommerce VS Shopify Pricing
BigCommerce | Shopify | |
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Monthly Subscription Pricing |
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Transaction Fees | 0% | 0.5%-5% (unless you use Shopify Payments) |
Online Payment Processing Fees |
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2.4%-2.9% + $0.30 (with Shopify Payments) |
In-Person Payment Processing Fees | Depends on point of sale integration | 2.4%-2.7% (with Shopify Payments) |
Chargeback Fees | $10 (refunded if you win chargeback dispute) | |
Contract Length | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annually for up to three years |
Early Termination Fees |
For online store builders, BigCommerce and Shopify charge similar monthly fees.
The biggest differences between BigCommerce and Shopify pricing are:
- Shopify’s transaction fees and payment processing restrictions
- Shopify’s low-cost starter plan (BigCommerce does not offer a comparable online selling solution)
- Fees for paid apps that sellers may need to install to round out their online store/point of sale solution
Shopify charges transaction fees on all online store builder plans (Basic, Shopify, Plus, and Plus) unless you use Shopify Payments, which not all merchants qualify for. Shopify Payments may not offer the best payment processing fees, especially for midsize and larger businesses.
BigCommerce, on the other hand, never charges transaction fees, and there are a huge array of payment processors available for BigCommerce users. Business owners can shop around for the best payment processing fees while knowing that the freedom to choose does not come with any associated costs or strings attached.
For independent sellers and influencers, Shopify offers a low-cost online checkout solution (BigCommerce doesn’t have a comparable monthly subscription plan.) Users can add a checkout link anywhere that a link can be shared. It’s a great monthly subscription price. The only catch is the 5% transaction fee that you’re charged whenever you make a sale, which is not waived even if you use Shopify Payments.
Lastly, business owners have to consider the cost of any additional apps they may need to add to their current eCommerce solution. For example, Shopify has a built-in language translation function, while BigCommerce users have to pay for a language translation app like Weglot. BigCommerce includes price lists on its highest plan, while Shopify users will have to pay for a price list app.
Shopify VS BigCommerce Features
BigCommerce | Shopify | |
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Online Store Builder | Starting on Basic plan | |
Unlimited Items | ||
Physical And Digital Item Sales | ||
Staff Accounts | Unlimited | 2-15 |
Online Marketplace Sales | Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, eBay, Wish, Mercado Libre | Shop App, Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Wish, and more (via add-on apps) |
Social Media Marketing/Selling | Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Google Shopping | Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Google Shopping, Snapchat, YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter |
Buy Button | ||
Point Of Sale |
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One-page Checkout | Through paid add-on app | |
Inventory Management | ||
Shipping Management | ||
Dropshipping/Print-On-Demand | Through add-on app | Through add-on app |
Order Fulfillment | ||
Discounts, Coupons, Gift Cards | ||
Loyalty Program | Through add-on app | Through add-on app |
Customer Profiles | Starting at Plus plan | Starting at Basic plan |
Email Marketing | Through add-on app | Through add-on app |
Blogging | ||
SEO Tools | ||
Multiple Currencies Supported | ||
Multiple Languages Supported | Through add-on app | |
Multiple Storefronts | Starting at Pro plan | |
24/7 Customer Support |
Shopify and BigCommerce offer all the essential eCommerce features such as customizable online store builders and inventory/shipping management dashboards.
Shopify has created a highly scalable eCommerce and in-person sales solution, leaning largely on its app store to give sellers the online store customization, marketing, and advanced inventory features they need. The platform has also designed a large-scale order fulfillment network for sellers to compete with Amazon, and a native point of sale app so you can sell online and in person within one dashboard.
BigCommerce, on the other hand, has made it possible for eCommerce businesses (especially B2B businesses) to sell on a large scale with price lists, quotes, large catalog search capabilities, bulk ordering, and its multi-storefront feature, which allows companies to manage multiple sites under one BigCommerce account.
Small to midsize companies will find everything they need to run a successful eCommerce site on BigCommerce’s lower-level plans in one holistic store admin dashboard, but larger companies should definitely get on the Pro-level or Enterprise-level plan to harness all of BigCommerce’s capabilities.
Read our BigCommerce review and Shopify review for a more detailed feature breakdown. For now, these are how the two eCommerce store builders stack up to each other in some key sales and operational features.
Shopify VS BigCommerce Complaints & Reviews
Neither eCommerce platform has many complaints, but of those complaints, the one that both BigCommerce and Shopify users complained about was the learning curve. Users say it’s a little overwhelming to start with, but that they got the hang of it after a while.
BigCommerce Common Complaints
- Sales Limits: Once you reach a certain sales threshold, you are automatically bumped up to the next subscription level, which can be a steep price jump for any business.
- Basic Themes: Both BigCommerce themes and customization capabilities could use an update.
- Not Enough Integrations: Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce does not have integrations for all the major third-party software providers.
Shopify Common Complaints
- Basic Features: Shopify users do not get a lot of functionality out-of-the-box, and many merchants find themselves relying heavily on add-ons. Add-ons can be glitchy and expensive.
- Lack Of SEO: Shopify sites don’t come with the best SEO tools, and Shopify sites are often slow to respond.
- Additional Fees: Many users are not happy with transaction fees, customization/app fees, and paid theme fees. However, you can avoid transaction fees with Shopify Payments, and possibly find free themes and apps to make your store work with as little financial investment as possible.
Which Is Best for My Business Needs?
Both eCommerce platforms are highly scalable, especially with the inclusion of dedicated plans for enterprise-level businesses. Which one is right for your business needs?
Choose BigCommerce If …
- Your business offers “high-risk” products, a lot of different products, product variations, and customizable items
- You want your choice of payment processor (and the lowest payment processing rates available)
- You want to own multiple storefronts under one account
- You’re in the B2B industry and want to offer price lists, customer accounts, and/or a quoting system
- You need a lot of staff accounts
- You want an all-in-one eCommerce solution and are comfortable with potential price increases with increased sales
Choose Shopify If …
- You’re okay with using Shopify Payments and Shopify’s payment processing fees
- You’re interested in a holistic online/offline sales system
- You want to customize your store with add-on apps
- You’re an influencer/very small business owner looking to just sell a few items
- You’re interested in warehousing items for faster delivery
- You want to quickly start selling on a global scale
Comparing BigCommerce VS Shopify: The Final Verdict
This BigCommerce VS Shopify comparison shines a light on what kind of business models and budgets are suited for each eCommerce platform.
If you are an eCommerce business that sells a lot of items or custom items, you operate a B2B business, you sell “high-risk” items, or just want the freedom to choose your payment processor (and negotiate a good merchant agreement with good payment processing rates), then BigCommerce is right for you.
Shopify is ideal for a range of merchants. International sellers, dropshippers, influencers, businesses that sell online and on-location, and general small to midsize B2C retail sales businesses will appreciate the wealth of features Shopify offers. The huge variety of add-on apps is great for individuals looking for more site customization.
BigCommerce and Shopify both have two-week free trials. Sign up for both, test out all the features you may need, then decide which one is right for you.
If you feel that neither of these online store builders fits your business’s needs, read our post on the best eCommerce platforms to find the store builder that’s right for you.