Comparison

Shopify vs BigCommerce: Which E-commerce Platform Wins in 2026?

Shopify is the better platform for most online stores. BigCommerce is the better platform for B2B sellers and multi-storefront operations. Both start at $39/month, but Shopify’s app-dependent model costs more at scale while BigCommerce includes more features natively.

Last updated: March 2026 · Reading time: 12 min

At a Glance

How do Shopify and BigCommerce compare at a glance?

We’ve managed stores on both platforms and built marketing strategies around each.

Dimension	Shopify	BigCommerce	Winner
Market Share	29% of US e-commerce, 26% globally (2026)	~2-3% of e-commerce market	Shopify
Starting Price	Basic: $39/mo ($29.25/mo annual)	Standard: $39/mo ($29/mo annual)	Tie
Transaction Fees	0% with Shopify Payments; 0.5-2% with third-party gateways	0% on all plans, any gateway	BigCommerce
Built-in Features	Core features, relies on 8,000+ apps for extras	More features native: ratings, faceted search, multi-currency	BigCommerce
Ease of Use	Intuitive UI, tooltips on every feature, fastest setup	Clean UI but steeper learning curve	Shopify
Themes & Design	190+ themes (12 free), modern designs, mobile-first	~200 themes (12 free), functional but less polished	Shopify
App Ecosystem	8,000+ apps covering every use case	1,300+ apps, covers essentials	Shopify
B2B Commerce	B2B on Shopify Plus ($2,500+/mo)	Built-in B2B: customer groups, price lists, quote management	BigCommerce
Multi-Storefront	Requires separate subscriptions or Plus	Native multi-storefront on Pro+ plans	BigCommerce
SEO	Good SEO basics, limited URL flexibility (/collections/ prefix)	Better native SEO: flexible URLs, auto-301s, optimized URLs	BigCommerce

Our position: Shopify is the right choice for 80% of new online stores. Its ecosystem, ease of use, and brand recognition make it the safest bet for DTC brands, small retailers, and first-time sellers. BigCommerce is the better choice for B2B sellers, multi-storefront businesses, and high-volume stores where transaction fees and native features save real money. If you’re selling over $500K/year, BigCommerce’s zero-transaction-fee model alone can save you $2,500-$10,000 annually.

Overview

What are Shopify and BigCommerce, exactly?

Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce platform founded in 2006. It powers over 4.8 million online stores across 175 countries and holds 29% of the US e-commerce platform market (Store Leads, 2026). Shopify is publicly traded (NYSE: SHOP) with a market cap exceeding $100 billion. Beyond the core platform, Shopify operates Shopify Payments (its own payment processor), Shopify Fulfillment Network, Shopify Capital (merchant lending), and Shop Pay (accelerated checkout). It’s both a platform and an ecosystem. BigCommerce is an Austin-based e-commerce platform founded in 2009 and publicly traded (NASDAQ: BIGC). It positions itself as an “open SaaS” platform, emphasizing flexibility, API access, and headless commerce capabilities. BigCommerce powers stores for brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Skullcandy, and Solo Stove. Its core differentiator: more features built into the platform natively (no app required), zero transaction fees on every plan, and native multi-storefront support.

Key distinction: Shopify builds an ecosystem where the platform, payments, shipping, and lending all work together. BigCommerce builds a platform that connects to your choice of external services without locking you in.

Total Cost

What’s the real cost of each platform?

Sticker prices are nearly identical. Real costs diverge significantly based on volume and app usage.

Tier	Shopify	BigCommerce
Entry	Basic: $39/mo ($29.25/mo annual)	Standard: $39/mo ($29/mo annual)
Mid	Grow: $105/mo	Plus: $105/mo ($79/mo annual)
Advanced	Advanced: $399/mo	Pro: $399/mo (up to $400K annual sales)
Enterprise	Plus: from $2,500/mo	Enterprise: from ~$1,000-$2,000/mo
Transaction fees (third-party gateway)	2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced	0% on all plans
Credit card processing	2.9% + $0.30 (Basic) to 2.5% + $0.30 (Advanced)	2.89% + $0.29 (all plans, via PayPal/Braintree)
Sales volume limits	No limits on any plan	$50K (Standard), $180K (Plus), $400K (Pro)

The transaction fee difference is significant at scale. A store doing $500,000/year on Shopify Basic with a third-party gateway pays $10,000/year in transaction fees alone. That same store on BigCommerce pays $0 in platform transaction fees. Even on Shopify Grow ($105/month), that store pays $5,000/year in transaction fees. But Shopify’s app costs add up too. A typical Shopify store uses 6-8 paid apps (reviews, upsells, loyalty, subscriptions, advanced shipping). Average app spend runs $150-$400/month. BigCommerce includes many of these features natively: product reviews, faceted search, real-time shipping quotes, and customer segmentation come built-in, no app needed. For stores under $100K/year in revenue, the cost difference is minimal. For stores over $500K/year, BigCommerce can save $5,000-$15,000/year in transaction fees and app costs combined.

Usability

Which platform is easier to use?

Shopify wins on usability. Its admin interface is cleaner, product setup is faster, and nearly every feature includes a tooltip explaining what it does. A non-technical store owner can set up a Shopify store with products, payments, and shipping in a single afternoon. Shopify’s onboarding flow guides you through each step, and its documentation is among the best in the SaaS industry. BigCommerce’s admin is functional but denser. It has more built-in settings because there are more native features to configure. The learning curve is 2-3 days rather than a few hours. BigCommerce’s interface assumes you’ll spend time configuring options (shipping rules, tax settings, customer groups) before launching. This front-loaded setup pays off later, but it slows down the initial launch. For merchants migrating from another platform, BigCommerce provides free data migration on Plus plans and above. Shopify relies on third-party migration apps (like LitExtension, starting at $49). Verdict: Shopify for fastest time-to-launch. BigCommerce for merchants who want to configure everything properly before going live.

When to Choose Shopify

When should you choose Shopify?

Choose Shopify when ecosystem integration and ease of use matter most:

You’re launching your first online store. Shopify’s learning curve is the lowest. You’ll be selling faster than on any other platform.
You want Shopify Payments. Using Shopify’s built-in payment processor eliminates transaction fees and simplifies your accounting. In countries where Shopify Payments operates, this is a significant cost advantage.
You need specific app functionality. Shopify’s 8,000+ app marketplace covers nearly every e-commerce use case. Subscription boxes, loyalty programs, AR product previews, print-on-demand. If someone’s built it, it’s on the Shopify App Store.
You’re a DTC brand focused on branding. Shopify’s themes are more polished and modern. The Online Store 2.0 architecture makes theme customization accessible to non-developers.
You sell through multiple channels. Shopify’s native integrations with Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Walmart are deeper and more reliable than BigCommerce’s channel integrations.

When to Choose BigCommerce

When should you choose BigCommerce?

Choose BigCommerce when total cost of ownership and built-in functionality matter more than ecosystem breadth:

You sell B2B or wholesale. BigCommerce includes customer groups, custom price lists, purchase order management, and quote request functionality on standard plans. Shopify requires Plus ($2,500+/month) for comparable B2B features.
You run multiple storefronts. BigCommerce’s native multi-storefront feature lets you manage multiple brands or regions from one dashboard on Pro and Enterprise plans. Shopify requires separate subscriptions or Plus.
You want to avoid transaction fees. BigCommerce charges zero platform transaction fees on every plan with any payment gateway. For high-volume stores using non-Shopify payment processors, this saves thousands per year.
You need headless commerce. BigCommerce’s headless architecture and open API are more flexible than Shopify’s Hydrogen framework. If you’re building a custom front-end with React or Next.js, BigCommerce’s API-first approach gives you more freedom.
You want fewer paid apps. BigCommerce includes ratings and reviews, faceted search, real-time shipping quotes, and multi-currency natively. On Shopify, each of these requires a paid app ($10-$50/month each).

Our Take

What does ScaleGrowth.Digital recommend?

For most new e-commerce brands, we recommend Shopify. The platform’s ecosystem, ease of use, and market dominance (29% US market share) create advantages that compound: more developers, more themes, more apps, better documentation, and more integration partners. When something breaks, there are more resources to fix it. When you need a feature, someone’s probably already built an app for it. We recommend BigCommerce in three specific scenarios. First, B2B sellers who need customer-specific pricing, bulk ordering, and purchase order workflows without paying $2,500/month for Shopify Plus. Second, multi-brand retailers who need multiple storefronts managed from a single admin. Third, high-GMV stores ($500K+/year) using third-party payment processors where transaction fee savings justify the switch.

“The default answer is Shopify, and I say that without any financial relationship with either platform. Shopify’s ecosystem creates a gravity that pulls in the best developers, the best apps, and the best integrations. But if you’re a B2B business or you’re doing $500K+ in annual revenue with a non-Shopify payment gateway, do the math on BigCommerce. The transaction fee savings alone could fund your entire marketing budget.”
Hardik Shah, Founder of ScaleGrowth.Digital

One often-overlooked factor: BigCommerce enforces sales volume limits per plan tier. The Standard plan auto-upgrades you at $50K/year, Plus at $180K/year, and Pro at $400K/year. Shopify has no volume-based forced upgrades. For fast-growing stores, this means BigCommerce’s pricing escalates automatically as you scale.

Product Description Template

Write product descriptions that rank and convert, whether you’re on Shopify or BigCommerce. Get Template →

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shopify or BigCommerce better for SEO?

BigCommerce has a slight edge on SEO. It offers fully customizable URLs without forced prefixes (Shopify forces /collections/ and /products/ paths), automatic 301 redirects when URLs change, and built-in microdata. Shopify’s SEO is still strong, and plugins like SEO Manager close most gaps. For most stores, the SEO difference won’t be the deciding factor.

Can I migrate from Shopify to BigCommerce?

Yes. BigCommerce offers free migration assistance on Plus plans and above. Products, customers, orders, and blog posts can be migrated. Third-party tools like LitExtension handle automated migrations starting at $49. Plan for 1-2 weeks of migration time and a 2-4 week SEO stabilization period. Set up 301 redirects for all URLs that change.

Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

No. BigCommerce charges zero platform transaction fees on every plan, with any payment gateway. You’ll still pay credit card processing fees (2.89% + $0.29 per transaction through PayPal/Braintree), but there’s no additional platform surcharge. Shopify charges 0.5-2% transaction fees if you use a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments.

Which platform is better for dropshipping?

Shopify is better for dropshipping. Its app marketplace includes dozens of dropshipping integrations (DSers, Spocket, Printful, Oberlo successor apps) that connect directly to suppliers. BigCommerce has fewer dropshipping apps, and the ones available are less mature. Shopify’s Starter plan ($5/month) also provides a low-cost entry point for testing dropshipping before scaling.

How do Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise compare?

Shopify Plus starts at $2,500/month and includes B2B features, automation (Shopify Flow), customizable checkout, and dedicated support. BigCommerce Enterprise starts at roughly $1,000-$2,000/month with custom pricing based on GMV. BigCommerce Enterprise includes multi-storefront, advanced B2B, and API priority access. For pure B2B, BigCommerce Enterprise offers better value. For DTC brands wanting Shopify’s ecosystem at enterprise scale, Plus is the stronger choice.