BigCommerce vs Shopify: 2023 Pricing & Feature Comparison
Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows. She is Fit Small Business’s authority on retail and ecommerce.
Agatha Aviso is a writer of the Reviews Section at Fit Small Business, focusing on order fulfillment and eCommerce platforms. Agatha has a decade’s worth of experience writing online content for small businesses and marketing industries. She also served as a content strategist and digital marketing manager for many entrepreneurs.
This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management.
The choice of the right ecommerce solution for your small business may come down to BigCommerce vs Shopify. Shopify has the edge in payment processing, app marketplace, ease of use, and marketing, making it best for most small businesses.
BigCommerce has the best product and order management tools and allows you to connect your payment processor of choice with no added transaction fees, making it best for growing businesses or those with complex product assortments.
Based on our BigCommerce vs Shopify evaluation, we recommend:
- Best for small businesses or startups: Shopify
- Best for enterprise-level or high-revenue businesses: BigCommerce
BigCommerce vs Shopify: Quick Comparison
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
4.42 out of 5 | 4.68 out of 5 | |
Best For | Enterprise-level or high-revenue businesses | Small businesses or startups |
Monthly Fees | Starts at $29.95 | Starts at $39; Shopify Starter plan available ($5) |
Additional Sales Channels | Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, Walmart, Amazon, and more | Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Etsy, and more |
Ease of Use | Average | Excellent |
POS App | N/A; can be integrated with POS platforms | Yes; free and paid options |
Marketing Features | Excellent | Excellent |
Product and Order Management | Excellent | Average |
App Marketplace | Average | Excellent |
Customer Support | 24/7 email, live chat, and phone | 24/7 email, live chat, and phone |
Shopify balances simplicity and ease of use by having all the features small businesses need. This—along with sophisticated point-of-sale (POS) apps, an extensive app marketplace, and plans that can grow with your business—make Shopify the best ecommerce platform for most small businesses.
Meanwhile, BigCommerce allows you to shop for the lowest transaction fees from any payment processor. While Shopify has limitations on the number of variants each product can have, BigCommerce does not, making it a better option for growing ecommerce businesses that have complex product assortments or want to save on processing fees.
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When to Use Shopify
Overall Score:
4.68 / 5
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Scalable platform
- Extensive app marketplace for third-party integrations
Cons
- Advanced features like reports, fraud analysis, gift cards, and real-time shipping rates only available on higher-tier plans
- Transaction fees if not using Shopify Payments
- Shipping calculator requires an annual plan
Where Shopify Beats BigCommerce:
- Native POS: Shopify POS
- One-click checkout option: Shop Pay
- Social media product links: Shopify Starter Plan ($5/month)
- Shipping discounts: Shopify Shipping and partner couriers
- Marketing tools: Abandoned cart recovery even on first-level entry plan
- Built-in email marketing tool: Shopify email
- Extensive app marketplace: Shopify App Store
If you are a small business with online sales as a primary profit driver, Shopify is a better choice. Shopify’s interface is beginner-friendly but comes jam-packed with management and sales features—along with thousands of third-party integrations—that allow you to scale your business effectively.
The platform also lets you sell on social media—such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok—and offers a POS system that can connect seamlessly with your online store for omnichannel sales like buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), and browse in-store, buy online.
When to Use BigCommerce
Overall Score:
4.42 / 5
Pros
- No transaction fees with numerous payment processing integrations
- Ability to sell on enterprise and ecommerce app
- Extensive product options and variants
Cons
- Customization tools aren’t beginner-friendly
- Abandoned cart recovery is only available in higher plans
- Lacks native POS tool, which needs third-party integration
Where BigCommerce Beats Shopify:
- Product management: Configure up to 600 product variants and custom work order fields; sell digital products without a third-party app
- Zero transaction fees: No transaction fees for choosing third-party payment providers
- Automatic language and currency detection: Automatic geolocation is turned on even on first-level entry plan
- Real-time shipping calculator: Rates from third-party carriers even on basic tier
- Built-in/native marketplace integrations: Amazon, eBay, and Walmart
We consider BigCommerce a close runner-up to Shopify in being the best overall ecommerce platform. If you are an online store with a complex and extensive product inventory, BigCommerce is a better fit than Shopify. BigCommerce lets you set up 250 product options and up to 600 variants, which is more than other ecommerce platforms usually allow, including Shopify.
We recommend BigCommerce for high-revenue businesses that want to save on transaction fees. It will enable you to pick your payment platform with no added transaction fees, unlike Shopify, which charges a fee if you use a third-party processor. BigCommerce offers exclusive PayPal discounts, connects with over 65 gateways, and accepts multiple currencies.
When to Use an Alternative
Alternative | Monthly Fee | Best For | Read More |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Free; $15 |
| |
 | $0+ |
| |
 | $23+ ($33+ for online store) |
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BigCommerce vs Shopify: Pricing & Payments
| | |
|---|---|---|
4.06 out of 5 | 4.06 out of 5 | |
Online Store Plans | $29.95–$299.95/month | $39–$399/month |
Starter Plans (Sell on social channels) | N/A | $5/month |
Built-in Payment Provider (optional) | PayPal powered by Braintree (special discounted rates) | Shopify Payments |
Option to Connect to Third-Party Processor | Yes; no fees or markups | Yes; 0.5% to 2% fee |
Payment Gateway Options | 65-plus | 100-plus |
Financing Options (Buy Now, Pay Later Options) | None, but third-party integration is available | Yes, Shop Pay (built-in) and third-party apps |
BigCommerce edged out Shopify in this category because it offers a longer free trial (15 days compared to Shopify’s 3-day free trial and $1/month for three months offer). However, both platforms provide three-tiered pricing structures and custom plans for enterprise businesses that are remarkably similar.
If you unpack both platforms’ basic plans, Basic Shopify and BigCommerce Standard, BigCommerce’s Standard provides more robust features, specifically:
- Professional reporting features
- Built-in ratings and review system
- Automatic currency conversion, based on geolocation
- Real-time carrier shipping quotes from third-party carriers
However, Basic Shopify has these advantages:
- No sales limits, compared to a $50,000-per-year sales limit on BigCommerce Standard
- Abandoned cart recovery on its entry-level plan; BigCommerce only offers it starting on its Plus plan at $79.95 per month
BigCommerce vs Shopify: Site Builder & Maintenance
| | |
|---|---|---|
4.25 out of 5 | 4.5 out of 5 | |
Free Templates | 12 | 9 |
Paid Templates | 100-plus (starting at $150) | 83 (starting at $180) |
Editing Tool | Drag-and-drop builder | Drag-and-drop builder |
Customization | Yes (CSS and HTML) | Yes (CSS and HTML) |
App Marketplace / Add-ons | Extensive (1,000+) | Extensive (7,000+) |
SSL Certificates | Free and paid ($59 to $299) | Free |
PCI-Compliant | Yes | Yes |
BigCommerce might have more templates to offer, but Shopify wins this category for its varied themes and newly upgraded website builder. It also beats BigCommerce for available third-party integrations, offering more than 7,000 compared to BigCommerce’s 1,000-plus. If there’s something your store needs, it’s a near certainty that you’ll find it in Shopify’s app store.
Both provide tools to create a fully customized online store, offer free SSL certificates on all their plans, and are PCI DSS-compliant. The only difference between the two platforms is that you cannot install a third-party SSL certificate on Shopify. With BigCommerce, you can upgrade to a more advanced SSL certificate with site seals and warranties. BigCommerce offers GeoTrust security certificates, ranging from $59 to $299.
While BigCommerce provides a selection of free and paid themes, the most common feedback about BigCommerce themes, especially its free ones, is that they differ only in color.
Regarding editing, BigCommerce’s page builder uses a drag-and-drop interface that will enable you to easily edit and see changes in real time.
BigCommerce’s drag-and-drop builder lets you see your store changes in real time.
Shopify recently upgraded its website builder called Online Store 2.0 (OS 2.0), along with new themes, which offer more customization options than the previous website builder version. OS 2.0 introduces sections and blocks that provide modularity, flexibility, and moderate drag-and-drop capabilities.
When we created our demo store with Shopify, we found it easier to build page sections using its building blocks. Real-time changes were also viewable on the right side of the editor.
With the OS 2.0 update in Shopify themes, you can expect a more user-friendly setup with drag-and-drop building blocks.
Follow along with our steps on how to build a Shopify store.
BigCommerce vs Shopify: Sales & Product Features
| | |
|---|---|---|
4.63 out of 5 | 5 out of 5 | |
POS for In-person Sales | None, but third-party integration is available | Yes, Shopify POS (free and paid plans available) |
One-click Checkout Link | Yes; Bolt integration (starts at $19.99/month) | Yes; Shop Pay (no added fee but must use Shopify Payments) |
Social Media Integration | Yes | Yes |
Native Email Marketing | No | Shopify Email |
Abandoned Cart Recovery | Yes, but starts on Plus plan ($79.95/month) | Yes, on all plans (from the $29 tier) |
| | |
|---|---|---|
4.63 out of 5 | 5 out of 5 | |
Digital Goods | Yes; built-in | Yes; using a third-party app (free and paid version available) |
Product Variants | Up to 600 | Up to 100 |
Custom Product or Work Order Tools | Yes | Only with add-on |
Real-time Shipping Calculators | Across all plans | Available in highest plan, Advanced Shopify |
Shipping Discounts | No | Yes, with Shopify Shipping (discounts depend on plan) |
As powerful ecommerce platforms, both Shopify and BigCommerce know the importance of marketing for online stores, and they provide excellent tools to help get your site noticed. However, Shopify earned a perfect score in this category because of its built-in POS tool, robust marketing tools (present across all subscription levels), and extensive add-on availability in the Shopify app store. Building an online store with Shopify has limitless potential.
BigCommerce doesn’t have a built-in POS system, unlike Shopify. Still, it provides numerous integrations to popular POS systems like Vend, Square, and Clover.
BigCommerce’s edge over Shopify in multichannel sales is that BigCommerce also allows you to sell on enterprise and ecommerce apps—including Google Shopping, Walmart Marketplace, and PriceGrabber—on top of social channels. If these marketplace channels are more important to you than social channels, BigCommerce is your best option.
Learn how to sell on Amazon and Walmart Marketplace.
BigCommerce beats Shopify in product management as it lets you set up to 250 options per product and up to 600 product variants. It can also auto-generate stock-keeping units (SKUs) for all combinations of variants
It also has custom work order tools so you can set up customization options, such as engraving, image uploads, and more. Image uploads up to 500MB are accepted. In Shopify, this can only be done using third-party apps.
BigCommerce’s abandoned cart saver feature claims to recover up to 15% of lost sales and lets you send up to three automated follow-up emails compared to Shopify’s single email. However, the feature is available across all Shopify plans―starting at the $29 plan―whereas BigCommerce unlocks this feature at the $79.95 tier.
Learn more about shopping cart abandonment.
BigCommerce doesn’t have a built-in email marketing tool yet, but free third-party email marketing integration options, such as Mailchimp, are available.
The “Products” tab on BigCommerce’s main interface gives you instant access to your inventory, add new products, and search your list. You can even import your inventory spreadsheet into the interface. You’ll have a sample product inventory to help you learn when you start—something you don’t get with Shopify.
Both BigCommerce and Shopify allow you to set up a variety of shipping rules, such as:
- Free shipping rates
- Flat rates
- Price-based rates
- Weight-based rates
- Calculated (“real-time”) shipping rates from third-party carriers
BigCommerce, however, wins when it comes to providing customers with third-party real-time shipping rates—making it available on all of its plans.
Arguably, Shopify’s most considerable advantage over BigCommerce is its proprietary POS app. The POS app allows you to start taking payments immediately, without the hassle of setting up a third-party solution. Shopify sells several very convenient credit card scanners if you’re selling in person. However, you are not locked into using Shopify’s payment system, and the service is compatible with most third-party solutions also offered by BigCommerce. Learn more about it in our in-depth Shopify POS review.
Regarding multichannel selling, both platforms don’t limit your sales to your online storefront, enabling you to sell on popular sales platforms such as Facebook, Amazon, eBay, and Instagram. However, Shopify has industry-leading partnerships with social channels like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. If you want the ability to offer in-app social media sales, Shopify is for you.
Shopify’s product options are limited compared to BigCommerce. It lets you set up only three options per product and up to 100 product variants. You can unlock custom work order tools with the help of an app.
However, Shopify’s approach to categorizing products is better because products can be populated automatically based on tags or product descriptions (smart collection).
Shopify’s most notable marketing feature is offering the abandoned cart saver across all plans, something most ecommerce platforms offer at higher tiers.
It also provides a native email marketing tool, Shopify Email. Everyone on a paid Shopify plan can send 10,000 free emails each month. You can customize your email look with templates and schedule their delivery, but advanced email marketing features, such as automation and customer behavior segmentation, are unavailable.
In the News:
In November 2022, Shopify introduced a lead-generation feature to integrate with Shopify Email—Shopify Forms. It is a free, customizable email capture tool designed to work seamlessly with the rest of Shopify.
Keeping track of your inventory is a snap with Shopify. The “Products” tab gives you an at-a-glance view of the products you have on hand and how many are coming in, and it allows you to take set actions when inventory runs low manually.
Moreover, each item you sell has an easily editable product page where you can input and modify a variety of variants, including descriptions, prices, and shipping.
Shopify has a slight edge over BigCommerce in this area when put side by side, as it has intelligent inventory management tools to automate product categories and a fulfillment network for storing and fulfilling orders. You can even adjust inventory from the mobile app. A complete setup with Shopify POS gives you full visibility to manage products and orders in an omnichannel setting. It is our top recommendation for multichannel POS systems.
An example of Shopify’s inventory management system: You can set stock inventory levels per product in the product listing pages or go to the inventory tab from your dashboard. It is easier to see at a glance which stocks are running low and add incoming inventory. (Source: Shopify)
With Shopify, you’ll need to be on the $299 Advanced Shopify to unlock third-party real-time shipping rates, a feature included in all BigCommerce plans. However, one thing to note is that Shopify can provide real-time shipping quotes and discounts on any plan if you use Shopify Shipping and its partner couriers.
BigCommerce vs Shopify: Ease of Use
| | |
|---|---|---|
4.5 out of 5 | 5 out of 5 | |
Onboarding and Setup | Yes; easy-to-follow setup wizard | Yes; easy-to-follow setup wizard |
Store Management | Not as beginner-friendly; too many customization options | Beginner-friendly |
Online Knowledgebase | Extensive | Extensive |
Community Forum | Yes; active and helpful community members | Yes; active and helpful community members |
Customer Support: Live Chat, Email, and Phone | 24/7 | 24/7 |
When we compared BigCommerce vs Shopify, we found they’re both somewhat accessible to the everyday user. However, Shopify has a significant advantage in that nearly anyone with minimal computer skills can pick it up almost immediately.
In terms of customer support, both Shopify and BigCommerce take excellent care of you. If you ever have a problem, each offers 24/7 support through various channels.
If you’re new to selling online, BigCommerce could pose a challenge. The sheer breadth and scope of what this platform can do can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, there’s nothing you shouldn’t be able to figure out after just a few times through the process.
BigCommerce has a setup wizard you can see from your dashboard when you sign up. It also has links to other sections in the backend that will allow you to set up advanced settings for your store.
To look into the step-by-step process, read our guide on setting up your BigCommerce store.
Both platforms are easy to use and navigate, but since BigCommerce’s features are more scalable, they provide more customizations, which is less suited for beginners.
With BigCommerce, product listings are very customizable. You can see from the images below that you can set up as many details as you want when listing your products for your BigCommerce store.
BigCommerce’s support page is a simple affair. The first step is seeing if there’s a simple answer to your problem that doesn’t involve another person. If a Help Center article can’t resolve your issue, you can chat with an agent live, send an email, or speak with a representative on the phone. Whenever we interacted with customer support, the agents were informed, courteous, and eager to help resolve minor and complicated issues.
What we like about BigCommerce’s Help Center is that you can view shortcuts to its knowledge base, community forum, video tutorials, and more. If you click on the Contact Menu on top, you can see if the platform has system issues (by its status) and reach out to customer agents for assistance.
Shopify is arguably the most user-friendly ecommerce platform—it’s WordPress for online retailers. Its entire feature set is accessible from every interface window, and all the tools are learned and used quickly. If you have trouble with Shopify’s toolset, a wealth of help options will show you exactly how things are done.
Shopify’s setup wizard is easy to follow, with prompts and help bubbles you can click on to take you to detailed step-by-step guides in the Help Center.
Shopify has an extensive support section for first-time Shopify users, accessible right inside your Shopify dashboard. (Source: Shopify)
To see what goes into setting up an online store using Shopify, read our guide on how to set up your Shopify store.
Shopify is excellent for beginners. The platform is intuitive, easy to navigate, and provides links to tips or tutorials. For example, adding products is straightforward with Shopify. There are also help bubbles in most fields, such as a sales tip about comparing prices.
Adding products to your Shopify store is intuitive. You can set up all the details within your product page—descriptions, images, inventory, shipping, and even SEO.
Shopify’s help page is similar to BigCommerce’s in that it tries to resolve your problem with helpful articles and tips before handing you over to support staff. You can reach them directly via live chat, email, and phone. They also reply to support inquiries via Twitter. Like BigCommerce, Shopify’s team is professional, competent, and ready to assist you.
Shopify’s Help Center has different categories: Start, Sell, Manage, Market, and Expand, all of which lead to different articles and guides on how to set up and manage a Shopify store. Its customer support button is also displayed prominently throughout its website.
BigCommerce vs Shopify: Expert Score
As we have mentioned, most small businesses likely choose between BigCommerce and Shopify as their ecommerce website builder. Both are extremely popular ecommerce platforms with excellent user reviews and expert feedback.
BigCommerce Expert Review
During our evaluation, BigCommerce was a close runner-up to Shopify. It earned high scores for its built-in sales features, advanced level of customization, SEO capabilities, and zero transaction fees. However, its sales volume limits on pricing plans and the learning curve for navigating and setting up one’s store from the BigCommerce dashboard prevented it from getting a perfect score.
BigCommerce User Reviews
BigCommerce has amassed a massive number of user reviews online. Most users have expressed satisfaction with the platform—citing its customization, zero transaction fees, and 24/7 support as solid advantages.
Meanwhile, most agree that its high level of customization is a double-edged sword as it makes for a steep learning curve for those not well-versed in coding or ecommerce.
Shopify Expert Review
Among the dozens of ecommerce website builders we have tested and used, Shopify is one of the most straightforward systems to use without sacrificing advanced features. It is intuitive for new sellers but comes loaded with functionality that gives established sellers everything they need to scale up.
During our evaluation, Shopify was the only system to earn perfect scores for sales and product features, and ease of use. It is the best comprehensive ecommerce platform for most online sellers.
Shopify User Reviews
Like BigCommerce, Shopify has a lot of online user reviews across third-party platforms, with a majority of users agreeing with our evaluation of Shopify being one of the best ecommerce website builders.
BigCommerce vs Shopify Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the disadvantages of BigCommerce?
BigCommerce offers a high level of customization for its ecommerce builder so it can be a steep learning curve for those just starting. It also has sales volume limits on its subscription plans.
Are BigCommerce and Shopify the same?
They are the same in that they are both ecommerce website builders. Shopify is best for multichannel sales, startups, and small businesses, while BigCommerce is better suited for high-revenue and enterprise businesses.
Which is better, Shopify or BigCommerce?
Both platforms are highly reviewed by users and ecommerce experts alike. In our evaluation of the best ecommerce platforms for small businesses, Shopify came out on top, with BigCommerce coming in a very close second. Shopify edged out BigCommerce in all aspects (site builder, sales and marketing features, and ease of use) except for pricing. BigCommerce offers a more extended free trial period (15 days).
How We Evaluated BigCommerce vs Shopify
To help you decide which ecommerce platform is best for your store, we compared BigCommerce and Shopify on price, ease of use, store builder and design tools, inventory management, and sales tools. We also added our own expert opinion based on years of experience testing different ecommerce platforms:
15%
Pricing and Payment Processing
20%
Store Builder and Design Features
25%
Inventory and Sales Features
20%
Ease of Use
20%
Expert Score
15% of Overall Score
We considered the price point of each base plan that offers a complete online store, what plan options are available as your business grows, and payment processing options, including fees, flexibility, and one-click checkout options. Shopify edges out BigCommerce in this comparison. While they have similar plan options, Shopify offers a better overall value with a free connected POS app and Shop Pay (its one-click checkout option). BigCommerce, on the other hand, has sales caps on its plan tiers, which can force you into a pricier plan.
20% of Overall Score
We considered how easy it is to build and maintain a professional and attractive online store, including available templates, customization options, free domain and SSL certificates, unlimited storage and bandwidth options, and built-in SEO tools and site analytics. BigCommerce offers a better drag-and-drop site editing tool with more flexibility than Shopify’s “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editor. However, Shopify offers more variety in its available themes, which is best for new ecommerce sellers.
25% of Overall Score
We looked at what kind of product assortments Shopify and BigCommerce can accommodate; tools for in-store and mobile, integrated social media, and marketplace selling; and marketing tools. We also consolidated shipping options and PCI compliance. Shopify and BigCommerce are tied in this area. In general, they both offer similar features, with a few distinctions.
20% of Overall Score
Because online stores operate 24/7, we prioritized platforms that offer 24/7 customer support and have multiple customer touchpoints, such as phone, email, and chat. Both Shopify and BigCommerce offer 24/7 support, so they are tied. However, Shopify’s platform is more intuitive and easier to navigate, especially if you’re new to ecommerce and site builders.
20% of Overall Score
Here, we considered overall value, quality of features, popularity, customer satisfaction, and ease of use. We also factored in our own experience working with each platform and feedback from businesses who use each system. Shopify beats BigCommerce in our expert review because of its popularity, ease of use, and industry-leading innovations.
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
When choosing between Shopify and BigCommerce, it will come down to what kind of business you have. If you run a large enterprise that requires numerous user accounts, you need BigCommerce. However, Shopify’s easy-to-use nature and Shopify Lite offering make it the clear winner for small businesses, solopreneurs, and budding enterprises.
We recommend Shopify for anyone launching an ecommerce platform for the first (or second and third) online storefront. It’s easy to sell your products as early as the first day of your free trial, so start yours today.
