BigCommerce vs Shopify
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Quick verdict: Pick BigCommerce for native B2B features, high-volume selling, and no platform transaction fees; pick Shopify for the easiest launch, biggest app store, and all-channel selling.
Best for: Established online retailers with high order volumes who keep hitting sales or feature limits on entry-level platforms, B2B distributors and manufacturers that need customer-specific pricing, buyer segmentation, and bulk-order workflows in a web store
Read the full BigCommerce review
Best for: First-time founders who want a store live fast, Brands selling both online and in person with POS
Read the full Shopify reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
BigCommerce vs Shopify: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose BigCommerce if
- You want no platform transaction fee on top of gateway rates
- You need open APIs and headless flexibility on managed hosting
Choose Shopify if
- You're launching your first store and want the fastest setup
- You want the biggest app ecosystem and community support
- You sell online, in person, and on social from one admin
BigCommerce vs Shopify: pros and cons
BigCommerce
BigCommerce Essentials bundles deep native features — complex catalogs, B2B pricing, multi-channel sync, and open APIs — without stacking up app subscriptions or a platform transaction fee. The tradeoffs are sales thresholds that can force upgrades mid-growth and a smaller app marketplace than the category leader. Overall, it's a strong fit for high-volume and B2B sellers, less so for tiny stores.
Pros
- Deep native functionality — complex product variants, customer groups, and multi-currency are built in, cutting reliance on paid third-party apps
- No additional BigCommerce transaction fee on top of your gateway's processing rates, which compounds meaningfully at high order volumes
- Open APIs and headless support give development teams architectural freedom that is rare among hosted site builders
Cons
- Plan-level annual sales thresholds mean fast growth can push you into a pricier tier even when your current plan's features still fit your needs
- The app and theme ecosystem is smaller than the market leader's, so niche integrations more often require custom development
- Costs scale steeply — the listed pricing range runs up to roughly $27,701 for top-tier arrangements, and large-volume plans are typically quoted individually
Shopify
Shopify pulls your store, checkout, payments, POS, and multi-channel selling into one admin, backed by Shop Pay's proven conversion lift and a 21,000+ app ecosystem. Expect costs and app subscriptions to climb as you grow. Overall, it's the safest default for anyone serious about selling online, from first sale to full scale.
Pros
- One centralized admin handles website, checkout, payments, POS, shipping, and marketing, so online and in-store sales stay in sync without juggling separate tools
- Shop Pay checkout converts up to 50% higher than guest checkout per an external April 2023 study, and products appear automatically to 250M+ pre-verified Shop app shoppers
- Sidekick AI lives directly in the admin to spot growth opportunities and automate tedious tasks, with no extra tool to manage
Cons
- Third-party transaction fees apply if you don't use Shopify Payments — 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus — which cuts into margins on every sale
- POS Pro costs an extra $89/month per retail location on every non-Plus plan, a significant add-on for multi-location retailers
- The Basic plan has no additional staff accounts and limited checkout customization, forcing an upgrade as soon as you hire help
BigCommerce and Shopify in detail
BigCommerce
BigCommerce Essentials is a software-as-a-service ecommerce platform: BigCommerce hosts your storefront, checkout, and admin, and handles security patches and infrastructure maintenance. Merchants design stores with a drag-and-drop page builder and responsive themes, manage products in a catalog that supports complex variants natively, and sell through their own site plus marketplaces and social channels from a single catalog. Open APIs allow custom front-ends and deep integrations with ERP, PIM, and fulfillment systems. The product is positioned and priced for growing, high-volume, and B2B sellers rather than hobby storefronts.
Standout features
- Page Builder storefront customization
- Deep product catalog tools
- B2B selling features
- Multi-channel and marketplace selling
- Open APIs and headless optionality
Use cases
- Scaling retailers outgrowing entry-level tools
- B2B wholesalers moving wholesale online
- Multi-channel brands
- Developer-led and headless projects
Shopify
Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform for building, running, and growing a business. It covers your website, checkout, payments, POS, shipping, and marketing from one admin. You can sell online, in person, on social, and through AI chat channels. It serves everyone from solo entrepreneurs to enterprise brands — Mattel and Glossier run on it.
Standout features
- Sell everywhere your shoppers are
- A checkout built to close sales
- Sidekick works inside your admin
- Go live in three steps
- Room to extend and grow
Use cases
- Launching a first store as a solo founder
- Running online and in-person sales from one system
- Scaling a small team into a full operation
- Expanding into international markets
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | BigCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | See vendor page | $39/mo Basic |
| Free plan | Not stated | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | 3 days |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | Up to 26% |
| Pricing model | — | Flat price |
| Cost for 1 user | — | $29/mo Basic plan, billed annually |
| Cost for 5 users | — | $29/mo Basic plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 10 users | — | $29/mo Basic plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 25 users | — | $29/mo Basic plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Plans | — | 4 |
| Prices checked | Vendor page checked Nov 9, 2026 | Vendor page checked Nov 10, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Oct 9, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
Not enough published prices to compare team costs: check each vendor's pricing page.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.
More comparisons
Frequently Asked Questions
Which platform is easier for beginners?
Shopify. It offers a three-step setup, prebuilt themes, AI-assisted design, and Sidekick AI in the admin. BigCommerce's admin is feature-dense, so small teams often face a steeper learning curve.