Shopify vs BigCommerce: Honest Comparison (2026)
👑
Shopify
★8.7/10WINNER
The all-in-one commerce platform to start, run, and grow a business
From $39/mo
Visit Shopify ↗VS
🏆Shopify wins with 8.7/10 — leading by 0.7 points
TL;DR
Shopify wins this comparison with a score of 8.7/10 vs 8.0/10. Choose Shopify for ease of use, or BigCommerce for its strengths.
<p>Shopify and BigCommerce are the two leading hosted e-commerce platforms, both offering fully managed solutions that let merchants focus on selling rather than server management. While they compete directly, their approaches differ in meaningful ways that affect your store's capabilities and costs.</p><p>Shopify dominates in market share and app ecosystem, making it the default choice for many merchants. BigCommerce counters with more built-in features out of the box, no transaction fees on any payment gateway, and stronger native B2B capabilities. The choice often comes down to ecosystem size versus feature value.</p><p>We compare both platforms on pricing, built-in features, scalability, and the real costs of running a store on each to help you make an informed decision.</p>
Key Differences at a Glance
Transaction fees
Shopify: 0.5-2% on non-Shopify Payments
✓BigCommerce: No transaction fees ever
Built-in features
Shopify: Basic, extend via apps
✓BigCommerce: Rich features out of the box
Theme marketplace
✓Shopify: 200+ themes
BigCommerce: Smaller theme selection
Quick Verdict
<p>Choose Shopify for its massive app ecosystem, superior theme marketplace, and the largest community of developers and designers. Choose BigCommerce if you want more features included without paid apps, need B2B capabilities, or prefer the freedom to use any payment gateway without extra transaction fees.</p><p>Shopify wins on ecosystem and market presence. BigCommerce wins on built-in value and B2B readiness.</p>
Overall Score Comparison
8.7
Shopify
3 categories won
VS
8.0
BigCommerce
0 categories won
Category
Shopify
BigCommerce
🏆Overall Score
8.7
▲
◀
8.0
💫Ease of Use
9.0
▲
◀
7.5
⚙Features
8.5
=
8.5
💰Value for Money
7.5
=
7.5
💬Customer Support
8.5
▲
◀
8.0
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | Shopify | BigCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Monthly pricing | $39-$399/mo | $39-$399/mo |
| Transaction fees | 0.5-2% on non-Shopify Payments | No transaction fees ever |
| Core | ||
| Built-in features | Basic, extend via apps | Rich features out of the box |
| Theme marketplace | 200+ themes | Smaller theme selection |
| Product variant limit | 100 variants per product | 600 variants per product |
| B2B features | Shopify Plus B2B add-on | Native B2B Edition included |
| Integration | ||
| App ecosystem | 8,000+ apps | 1,200+ apps |
| Support | ||
| Developer community | Largest e-commerce dev community | Smaller but growing community |
Pricing Comparison
| Pricing Feature | Shopify | BigCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Starting Price | $39/mo | $39/mo |
| Free Trial | 3 days | 15 days |
| Number of Plans | 4 | 3 |
| Value Rating | 7.5/10 | 7.5/10 |
Shopify Plans
Basic
$39/mo- \u2713Online store
- \u2713Unlimited products
- \u27132 staff accounts
- \u2713Shipping discounts up to 77%
- +1 more
ShopifyPOPULAR
$105/mo- \u2713Everything in Basic
- \u27135 staff accounts
- \u2713Professional reports
- \u2713Lower transaction fees
- +1 more
Advanced
$399/mo- \u2713Everything in Shopify
- \u271315 staff accounts
- \u2713Advanced report builder
- \u2713Third-party calculated shipping
- +1 more
Plus
$2300/mo- \u2713Everything in Advanced
- \u2713Unlimited staff
- \u2713Shopify Flow
- \u2713Launchpad
- +1 more
BigCommerce Plans
Standard
$39/mo- \u2713Unlimited products
- \u2713No transaction fees
- \u2713Multi-channel selling
PlusPOPULAR
$105/mo- \u2713Everything in Standard
- \u2713Customer groups
- \u2713Abandoned cart saver
Pro
$399/mo- \u2713Everything in Plus
- \u2713Google customer reviews
- \u2713Custom SSL
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Shopify if...
<ul><li><strong>Single-brand DTC store:</strong> Shopify's polished themes, one-click checkout, and Shop app create a seamless direct-to-consumer brand experience.</li><li><strong>B2B wholesale operation:</strong> BigCommerce's native price lists, customer groups, and quote management support B2B workflows without third-party apps.</li><li><strong>Multi-channel selling:</strong> Shopify's deep integrations with Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Google Shopping make it ideal for social commerce strategies.</li><li><strong>Store with many product variants:</strong> BigCommerce supports 600 SKU variants per product natively, far exceeding Shopify's 100-variant limit without workarounds.</li></ul>
Choose BigCommerce if...
<p>BigCommerce and Shopify both offer migration tools and CSV-based import/export. Third-party services like LitExtension and Cart2Cart automate the process including products, customers, orders, and blog posts. URL structure differences require careful redirect mapping. Plan for two to four weeks for a complete migration with SEO preservation.</p>
Still not sure?
Explore alternatives and pricing for both tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. BigCommerce never charges transaction fees regardless of which payment gateway you use. Shopify charges 0.5-2% on orders processed through third-party gateways (not Shopify Payments).
Both offer solid SEO capabilities. BigCommerce provides more SEO features natively, including customizable URLs and automatic 301 redirects. Shopify requires apps for some advanced SEO functions but performs comparably with them.
Yes. Both offer headless commerce APIs. Shopify's Hydrogen framework and BigCommerce's Open SaaS approach both support modern headless storefronts with frameworks like Next.js.
You Might Also Compare
💡
The Bottom Line
Shopify edges out BigCommerce with a 8.7/5 vs 8/5 rating — a moderate edge.
<p>Choose Shopify for its massive app ecosystem, superior theme marketplace, and the largest community of developers and designers. Choose BigCommerce if you want more features included without paid apps, need B2B capabilities, or prefer the freedom to use any payment gateway without extra transaction fees.</p><p>Shopify wins on ecosystem and market presence. BigCommerce wins on built-in value and B2B readiness.</p> Ultimately, Shopify offers a moderate edge overall, but BigCommerce may still be the better pick depending on your specific priorities and budget.