Shopify vs BigCommerce: Who is the Winner

Choosing the right ecommerce platform can feel overwhelming. With so many features, tools, and price points to compare, how do you know what’s best for your store? That’s where this guide steps in.

Shopify is trusted by millions of websites globally, known for its sleek interface and massive app ecosystem. BigCommerce, on the other hand, focuses on built-in power and lower reliance on third-party apps, making it ideal for growing businesses that want fewer limitations.

In this article, you’ll get an honest, side-by-side comparison—not just surface-level info. From Shopify vs BigCommerce pricing to SEO tools, headless commerce, dropshipping integrations, and design flexibility, we cover it all.

You won’t need another guide after this one.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a leading ecommerce platform that empowers businesses to create and manage online stores with ease. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or an established brand, Shopify offers tools to build a professional online presence.

As of 2025, Shopify supports over 4.6 million websites worldwide, catering to a diverse range of industries and business sizes.

Key Features

• User-Friendly Store Builder: Shopify's intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows you to design your store without any coding knowledge. Customize themes, layouts, and content to reflect your brand identity.
• Secure Payment Processing: With Shopify Payments, you can accept various payment methods, including credit cards, PayPal, and more, ensuring a seamless checkout experience for your customers.
• Mobile Optimization: All Shopify themes are mobile-responsive, ensuring your store looks and functions well on smartphones and tablets.
• App Ecosystem: Access over 12,000 apps in the Shopify App Store to enhance your store's functionality, from marketing tools to inventory management.
• SEO and Marketing Tools: Built-in SEO features help improve your store's visibility on search engines. Additionally, Shopify offers marketing tools like email campaigns and social media integrations to drive traffic and sales.
• Analytics and Reporting: Gain insights into your store's performance with detailed analytics, helping you make informed business decisions.

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is a leading ecommerce platform that provides software as a service (SaaS) to help businesses create, manage, and grow their online stores. It offers a comprehensive set of features including online store creation, search engine optimization, hosting, payment handling, and marketing tools suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.

Founded in 2009 in Sydney, Australia, BigCommerce is now a NASDAQ-listed company headquartered in Austin. Unlike some platforms that rely heavily on third-party apps, BigCommerce offers a comprehensive suite of built-in features, reducing the need for additional integrations.

Key Features

• Comprehensive Built-In Tools: BigCommerce provides native features like SEO optimization, product management, and marketing tools, allowing businesses to operate without excessive reliance on external apps.
• Scalability: The platform supports businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, offering flexibility to grow without changing platforms.
• Multi-Channel Selling: BigCommerce enables seamless integration with various sales channels, including Amazon, eBay, and social media platforms, helping businesses reach a broader audience.
• Customization and Flexibility: With its open SaaS model, BigCommerce allows for extensive customization, catering to unique business needs and branding requirements.
• Security and Reliability: The platform ensures secure transactions and reliable uptime, crucial for maintaining customer trust and satisfaction.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison of Shopify and BigCommerce

Let’s dive into the details, focusing on what matters most: pricing, features, and which platform gives you more value for your money.

1. Pricing and Fees

Shopify Pricing Plans

Shopify offers three main plans:

• Basic Shopify: $39/month (or $29/month billed annually)
• Grow (Shopify): $105/month (or $79/month billed annually)
• Advanced Shopify: $399/month (or $299/month billed annually)
• Shopify Plus: Starts at $2,300/month for enterprise needs

Each plan includes essential features, but you unlock lower transaction fees and more advanced tools as you move up. Transaction fees range from 2.9% + $0.30 (Basic) down to 2.5% + $0.30 (Advanced), unless you use Shopify Payments, which reduces extra fees. Shopify offers a 3-day free trial and just $1 for the first month after the trial.

BigCommerce Pricing Plans

BigCommerce also offers four plans:

• Standard: $39/month (or $29/month billed annually)
• Plus: $105/month (or $79/month billed annually)
• Pro: $399/month (or $299/month billed annually)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing, starting around $1,000/month

BigCommerce stands out for zero transaction fees on every plan. Credit card rates start at 2.59% + $0.49 per transaction and drop as you upgrade. The Standard plan supports up to $50,000 in annual sales, while higher plans increase your sales threshold and add features like customer segmentation and advanced product filtering.

Which is More Cost-Effective?

Here’s where it gets interesting. On paper, Shopify and BigCommerce have almost identical pricing for basic plans. But the real difference comes down to extra costs and features:

• BigCommerce wins on zero transaction fees. You keep more of your sales, especially as you scale.
• Shopify shines with its total cost of ownership (TCO). Shopify claims a 31% better TCO than BigCommerce, thanks to lower setup, platform, and support costs.
• Shopify’s checkout converts 12% better than BigCommerce’s, which means more sales for the same traffic.
• Shopify’s plans are predictable, while BigCommerce may require you to upgrade plans as your sales grow-even if you don’t need extra features

2. Ease of Use

Shopify’s User Interface

Shopify is renowned for its intuitive and user-friendly interface. Even those without technical expertise can navigate its dashboard with ease. The platform offers a clean layout, drag-and-drop functionality, and straightforward navigation menus. This simplicity allows users to set up their online stores quickly and efficiently. According to Shopify Theme Detector, Shopify's design ensures that even beginners can manage their stores without steep learning curves.

BigCommerce’s Learning Curve

BigCommerce provides a comprehensive suite of built-in features, which can be advantageous for businesses seeking advanced functionalities. However, this depth can introduce a steeper learning curve for new users. While the platform offers robust tools, navigating through its extensive options might require more time and familiarity. As highlighted by Tooltester, users may need to invest additional effort to fully leverage BigCommerce's capabilities.

Quick Take: If you want the fastest, easiest setup, Shopify is the winner. If you prefer more built-in options and don’t mind a little extra learning, BigCommerce is a strong choice

3. Setup and Onboarding Experience

Shopify Setup

Shopify offers a streamlined onboarding process, guiding users through each step of store setup. From selecting themes to adding products, the platform provides clear instructions and helpful resources. This approach ensures that users can launch their stores with minimal hassle.

BigCommerce Setup

In contrast, BigCommerce's setup process is more detailed, reflecting its extensive feature set. While this can be beneficial for businesses seeking customization, it might require more time and technical understanding to complete the initial setup.

Quick Take: If you want the fastest, easiest setup, Shopify is the winner. If you prefer more built-in options and don’t mind a little extra learning, BigCommerce is a strong choice.

4. Themes and Design Flexibility

Shopify’s Theme Store and Customization

Shopify offers over 180 paid and 13 free themes, all optimized for mobile and designed for high conversions. You can browse by industry, style, or features. Each theme is easy to preview and install. Customization is a breeze with Shopify’s drag-and-drop editor. Change colors, fonts, layouts, and images without any coding. For deeper changes, you can edit the theme’s code or hire a Shopify Expert. Shopify 2.0 themes (the new standard in 2025) give you even more flexibility, letting you add custom sections to any page and optimize for SEO and speed.

BigCommerce Templates and Design Control

BigCommerce gives you a wide range of themes, including free and premium options tailored to every industry-from fashion to electronics to automotive. BigCommerce themes are easy to install and customize with a visual editor. You can tweak layouts, colors, and fonts without code. For deeper customization, BigCommerce offers the Stencil framework, which lets developers create unique designs and add custom features

Quick Take: Shopify themes are easier for beginners and offer more plug-and-play customization. BigCommerce themes are powerful and flexible, great for stores with large catalogs or unique design needs.

5. App Stores and Add-Ons

Shopify App Store Ecosystem

Shopify Apps store is one of the largest ecommerce app stores in the world, with over 13,000 apps available as of early 2025. That’s a huge advantage if you want to extend your store’s capabilities. On average, a Shopify merchant uses about six apps to run their business smoothly. These apps cover everything from marketing automation and dropshipping to inventory management and customer reviews.

Shopify also integrates AI-powered tools like Shopify Magic, helping you generate product descriptions and automate tasks efficiently.

This vast app ecosystem makes Shopify highly flexible. Whether you want to add dropshipping apps, improve SEO, or launch headless commerce, Shopify’s app store has you covered.

BigCommerce Apps and Extensions

BigCommerce offers a solid app marketplace too, though it’s smaller than Shopify’s. It focuses on quality built-in features, reducing the need for third-party apps. However, when you do need extra functionality, BigCommerce supports a variety of apps and extensions for marketing, shipping, and inventory.

BigCommerce integrates well with popular tools like SOS Inventory for advanced inventory management and 3D sellers for multichannel selling. These integrations help businesses streamline operations and scale efficiently. While BigCommerce’s app store isn’t as large, it emphasizes reliable, enterprise-ready solutions.

BigCommerce also supports headless commerce, allowing developers to build custom frontends while using BigCommerce’s backend. This flexibility appeals to businesses with specific technical needs.

Quick Take: Shopify’s app store ecosystem outshines BigCommerce with over 13,000 apps offering unmatched flexibility and ease of adding features, making it ideal for businesses seeking extensive customization and fast growth, while BigCommerce provides a smaller but solid app marketplace focused on quality built-in features and enterprise-ready integrations.

6. Sales Tools and Features

Inventory and Order Management

Shopify provides an easy-to-use inventory system that supports multi-location tracking, making it simple to manage stock across your warehouses, retail stores, and dropshipping suppliers all in one place. The platform’s "Locations" feature helps prioritize order fulfillment based on inventory levels and shipping costs, which speeds up delivery and boosts customer satisfaction.

With Shopify, you can easily add SKUs, track stock quantities, and set reorder alerts. Additionally, Shopify’s POS system syncs inventory in real-time between your online and physical stores, making it ideal for omnichannel retailers.

BigCommerce also offers solid inventory management, including built-in tracking and low-stock alerts. For more advanced needs, third-party solutions like SOS Inventory integrate seamlessly with BigCommerce, syncing stock levels across multiple sales channels and locations, helping to prevent overselling and maintain accuracy.

Both platforms support bulk product uploads, barcode scanning, and SKU management, but Shopify's native tools are typically more beginner-friendly and intuitive.

Multichannel Selling

Selling on multiple platforms is essential today, and both Shopify and BigCommerce make it easy to do so.

Shopify integrates seamlessly with social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, enabling you to create shoppable posts and sell directly within these apps. It also connects with marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping. With Shopify, you can manage orders and inventory across all these channels from one dashboard, saving you time and effort.

BigCommerce offers similar multichannel features, supporting integrations with platforms like eBay, Walmart, and social media. Tools like 3Dsellers automate listing and inventory syncing across channels. BigCommerce stands out for its built-in features that cater to complex catalogs and B2B selling, alongside multichannel retail.

Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems

Shopify POS is a standout feature, especially for retailers with physical stores. It syncs inventory, customer data, and sales in real time between online and offline channels. Shopify POS also supports various payment methods and hardware options, making it ideal for pop-up shops or permanent retail locations.

On the other hand, BigCommerce doesn’t have a native POS system but integrates with third-party POS providers like Square and Vend. While this works well, it requires additional setup and may not offer the same seamless integration that Shopify provides.

Final Thoughts on Shopify vs BigCommerce for Apps and Sales Tools

• Shopify wins for app variety and ease of use. Its massive app store and built-in tools make it ideal for businesses that want flexibility and fast growth. Shopify’s POS and multichannel selling are top-notch, helping you reach customers everywhere.
• BigCommerce excels in built-in features and enterprise readiness. It’s great if you want fewer apps but more powerful native tools. Its integrations support complex inventory and multichannel needs, especially for larger or B2B-focused stores.

7. Marketing and SEO Tools

Shopify’s Marketing Suite

Shopify makes marketing easy and effective with its built-in tools. You can create email campaigns, social media ads, and discount codes all from one dashboard. Shopify also integrates smoothly with popular marketing apps like Klaviyo for email marketing and Facebook Ads Manager, helping you connect with customers where they spend time.

Shopify’s SEO features cover all the essentials, including customizable meta tags, clean URL structures, and mobile-friendly themes. Additionally, you can use powerful SEO apps like Yoast SEO to improve your rankings without needing expert skills. Shopify also supports Google Shopping campaigns, which can be set up in minutes to drive more traffic and sales.

Shopify’s marketing tools are intuitive and user-friendly, making them perfect for beginners and growing businesses.

BigCommerce’s Built-in SEO Features

BigCommerce takes a slightly different approach with its built-in SEO tools. It offers automatic image optimization, customizable URLs, metadata, and even AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) support for faster mobile browsing. These features help improve both your site’s ranking and load speed, enhancing user experience and SEO.

BigCommerce also includes advanced marketing tools like customer segmentation and multi-channel selling. It integrates directly with Google Shopping and features a built-in blogging platform, which is excellent for content marketing and SEO.

However, BigCommerce’s SEO and marketing tools can be complex for beginners. You may need some technical know-how to fully utilize them. But for businesses with more advanced needs, BigCommerce provides powerful control and customization options.

Quick Summary: Shopify is great for ease of use and app integrations in marketing, while BigCommerce excels with its built-in SEO features and advanced marketing controls.

8. Dropshipping Support

Shopify Dropshipping Integrations

Shopify is a favorite platform among dropshippers due to its support for over 300 dropshipping apps, giving you access to millions of products worldwide. One standout app is Spocket, which connects you with US and EU suppliers offering fast shipping and high-quality products. Spocket integrates seamlessly with Shopify, allowing you to import products with a click and automate order fulfillment.

In addition to Spocket, Shopify partners with other apps like AliDrop, DSers, and Dropified, covering various niches and regions. This extensive app ecosystem makes Shopify perfect for those seeking flexibility, easy supplier management, and quick store setup.

Shopify’s dropshipping apps are highly rated and user-friendly, making it easier for beginners to launch and scale their businesses quickly.

BigCommerce Dropshipping Capabilities

BigCommerce also supports dropshipping through third-party apps like AliExpress Dropshipping and Inventory Source. While it offers fewer dropshipping apps than Shopify, BigCommerce focuses on built-in features that reduce the need for additional plugins.

BigCommerce’s dropshipping integrations work well for merchants who want solid product sourcing along with strong SEO and sales tools. However, the selection of dropshipping apps is smaller, and some apps may not be as polished or feature-rich as Shopify's offerings.

Quick Take: Shopify leads in dropshipping thanks to its vast app ecosystem and integrations like Spocket. BigCommerce provides reliable options but with fewer choices and slightly less ease of use.

9. Security and Compliance

SSL, PCI-DSS, and Fraud Protection

Both Shopify and BigCommerce prioritize security, ensuring that your store and customers are protected. Both platforms include free SSL certificates on all plans, which means customer data stays encrypted and secure during every transaction. This is essential for building trust and boosting your SEO rankings.

Both platforms are also PCI DSS Level 1 compliant, the highest standard for handling credit card information. This means you don’t have to manage complex payment security yourself; Shopify and BigCommerce take care of it, ensuring your customers' payment data is safe.

For fraud protection, Shopify provides built-in fraud analysis tools on all plans. These tools automatically flag suspicious orders, helping reduce chargebacks and losses. If you're using Shopify Payments, you'll get additional layers of fraud protection.

BigCommerce, on the other hand, partners with third-party fraud prevention services like Signifyd to provide extra protection against fraudulent transactions and chargebacks, giving you more control over risk management.

BigCommerce goes a step further with Anti-DDoS protection through its partnership with Cloudflare, which guards against cyber-attacks that could cause downtime. Shopify offers strong security but doesn’t have built-in Anti-DDoS protection, relying on its global infrastructure to keep things safe.

Quick Tip: Both platforms offer robust security, but BigCommerce has a slight edge with its comprehensive protection features. Still, Shopify’s ease of use and built-in fraud tools make it a strong contender.

10. Customer Support and Community

Shopify’s Support Options

Shopify offers 24/7 customer support through live chat, phone, and email. Their support team is known for being friendly and helpful, making it especially easy for beginners to get assistance. Recently, Shopify added an AI assistant to their help center, allowing you to find answers quickly and efficiently.

In addition to direct support, Shopify provides an extensive knowledge base and community forums where you can access tutorials, troubleshooting guides, and expert advice. If you need professional help with design, development, or marketing, Shopify Experts are available to assist you.

BigCommerce Customer Service

BigCommerce offers priority support for higher-tier plans and enterprise users, including dedicated account managers and API support. For standard plans, they provide 24/7 live chat, phone, and email support.

Their support team is highly knowledgeable, particularly for merchants with complex needs or larger catalogs. Additionally, BigCommerce offers a comprehensive library of documentation and community forums, where you can connect with other store owners for advice and insights.

Learning Resources and Community Access

Both platforms invest heavily in education. Shopify’s Shopify Academy offers free courses, webinars, and guides covering everything from store setup to advanced marketing. Similarly, BigCommerce University provides resources focused on scaling businesses and developing technical skills.

The communities around both platforms are active and helpful. Shopify has a larger ecosystem with millions of merchants worldwide, making it easy to find peer support and third-party experts. BigCommerce’s community is smaller but focuses more on serious sellers and enterprises.

Shopify’s 24/7 support and AI-powered help center make it a great choice for beginners and fast-growing stores. BigCommerce shines with priority support and expert help, making it ideal for complex or enterprise-level businesses.

11. Performance and Scalability

Shopify and BigCommerce both offer strong performance, but they handle scalability in different ways.

Shopify operates on fully hosted cloud infrastructure with a global content delivery network (CDN), ensuring fast loading times worldwide, even during traffic spikes. It handles high visitor volumes and large product catalogs smoothly. Many brands grow from just a few sales a day to thousands without performance issues. Shopify Plus, their enterprise plan starting at around $2,300/month, adds advanced automation and dedicated support for larger businesses. Shopify’s extensive app ecosystem also allows you to add features without slowing down your store.

BigCommerce also provides robust hosting with a global CDN. It stands out with built-in features that reduce the need for third-party apps, which can improve load times and stability. BigCommerce is great for stores with large catalogs and complex product options, supporting thousands of SKUs. However, BigCommerce plans upgrades to annual sales thresholds, which can result in higher costs as you grow, even if you don’t need additional features. Some users report needing developer assistance to optimize performance at scale.

In summary, both platforms perform well under pressure. Shopify’s seamless scalability and app ecosystem make it ideal for fast-growing stores. BigCommerce offers a smoother scaling path with fewer apps but may require plan upgrades based on sales volume.

Final Verdict: Shopify or BigCommerce?

Choosing between Shopify and BigCommerce hinges on your business's specific needs. Shopify offers an intuitive interface and a vast app ecosystem, making it ideal for entrepreneurs seeking ease of use and scalability. BigCommerce, on the other hand, provides robust built-in features and greater customization, catering to businesses that require more control and flexibility.

If you're venturing into dropshipping, consider integrating Spocket with your chosen platform. Spocket seamlessly connects with both Shopify and BigCommerce, allowing you to source high-quality products from US and EU suppliers. With features like automated order fulfillment, real-time inventory updates, and branded invoicing, Spocket simplifies the dropshipping process, enabling you to focus on growing your business.