Shopify dominates eCommerce, but BigCommerce is quietly winning over niche merchants with its tailored tools.

Which platform will power your eCommerce success? Choose wrong, and you could lose sales – or your hard-earned money.

Shopify attracts beginners with its simple setup and user-friendly dashboard, while BigCommerce empowers savvy eCommerce merchants with built-in tools and B2B features. Payment processing is hassle-free on both platforms. They cater to all business types with scalable SaaS plans. Their chargeback management policies are equally similar. Merchants incur $15-$50 chargeback fees and risk suspension for excessive chargebacks.

If choosing between Shopify vs. BigCommerce feels like a high-stakes gamble for you, don’t worry. This guide will help you make informed decisions. We'll tackle the key questions on many merchants’ minds: Is Shopify the king of eCommerce? What truly separates them? When can you choose one over the other?

Let's jump right in!

Shopify Features and Overview at a Glance

Shopify is a dominant eCommerce platform renowned for its simplicity and robust features. With over 5 million active stores in 175+ countries, Shopify is transforming how businesses of all sizes sell and interact with their prospects online.

Our recent Shopify statistics show that Shopify surpassed $1 trillion in cumulative GMV in 2024. Shopify commands ~30% share of the top million eCommerce sites and 73% share of the top 800 DTC brands.

Shopify's extensive functionalities include seamless marketing, SEO, inventory, and shipping integrations…you get vast tools for dropshipping, analytics, and secure checkout. You also get 24/7 support through chat, email, or phone. Native payment option Shopify Payments eliminates third-party transaction fees, and multi-channel selling gives merchants access to platforms like Amazon, Instagram, and TikTok. The extensive Shopify app ecosystem helps merchants "do more, go bigger, and sell wider."

Shopify POS facilitates online and in-person transactions seamlessly. Shopify POS delivers a 22% better total cost of ownership, a 20% faster implementation type, and an 8.9% sales spike.

Shopify Key Features

Shopify has established itself as the all-in-one commerce platform "to start, run, and grow a business." It's ideal for merchants seeking an accessible, design-focused platform with vast customization potential:

1. No-Code store builder: Easily design a responsive, SEO-friendly store with an intuitive interface, even without coding experience.
2. Dynamic themes: More than 220 thoroughly customizable and mobile-responsive themes, optimized for eCommerce.
3. App ecosystem: Access 16,000+ apps for friendly fraud prevention, marketing, SEO, inventory management, dropshipping, etc.
4. Native payment option: Shopify Payments, built-in payment, gateway excludes transaction fees; Shopify also supports 100+ third-party processors.
5. Multi-channel selling: Integrate and sell on external marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Instagram, TikTok, etc.
6. Point of sale (POS) access: Sync online and in-store sales to sell your products in retail stores, popups, and other locations.
7. Inventory management: Track stock levels, set low-stock alerts, and manage products across several locations.
8. Secure checkout and abandoned cart recovery: Encrypted checkout system and automatic lost sales recovery email feature.
9. Analytics dashboard: Track sales, traffic, and customer behavior with extensive reports.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify has a tiered pricing plan across four primary options:

1. Shopify basic: $24/month (if billed annually). Card rates start at 2% for 3rd-party payment providers.
2. Shopify Standard: $69/month (if billed annually). Card rates start at 1% for 3rd-party payment providers.
3. Shopify advanced: $299/month (if billed annually). Card rates start at 0.6% for 3rd-party payment providers.
4. Shopify Plus: Starting at $2,300/month on a 3-year term.

A 3-day free trial is available, with the first three months at  $1 for new users. All plans include payment processing fees and transaction fees for third-party platforms.  

Shopify’s Advantages

Shopify currently commands 73% global market share of the top 800 DTC brands, giving them upsides such as:

• Global eCommerce leader: Shopify powers millions of businesses across 175+ countries and has a robust ecosystem of 2,380+ experts and 16,000+ apps, nearly 6x BigCommerce’s offering. Shopify heavily invests in global commerce – the first to market with integrations like TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube Shopping, and Microsoft Ads.
• Better checkout process: Shopify's customizable, one-click checkout experience reportedly has a 12% higher conversion rate than BigCommerce's, on average. Shopify Audiences allows merchants to craft hyper-targeted ad campaigns, increase rad spend ROI, and cut customer acquisition costs by up to 50%.
• Significantly better total cost of ownership: Shopify's total cost of ownership (TCO) beats BigCommerce by an estimated 31%. BigCommerce reportedly lags with 88% higher set-up costs, 32% pricier platform fees, and 21% costlier operations, making Shopify a no-brainer for most merchants on cost efficiency.
• 1st-to-market innovation: Shopify outpaces competitors with rapid shipping, unveiling remarkable features at an unrelenting pace, and has invested billions in R&D. BigCommerce has spent millions, according to financial reports.

Shopify’s Disadvantages

• While Shopify Magic helps speed up store development, Shopify’s limited customization options might constrain users with limited coding skills.
• Additional AppStore costs might increase operational costs for essential functions like SEO, analytics, and shipping.
• Unlike BigCommerce, which embeds more native tools like B2B pricing and faceted search, Shopify mostly leans on apps for merchants to patchwork parity.
• Shopify merchants often require paid themes for advanced features, making customization slightly expensive and complex for small businesses with non-technical founders.

BigCommerce Features and Overview at a Glance

BigCommerce is a celebrated SaaS vendor acclaimed for its flexibility and numerous features. It serves over 130,000 B2B and B2C eCommerce merchants across 150 countries. Despite holding ~3% of the U.S. eCommerce software market share – far behind Shopify – BigCommerce is still among the top 10 platforms in the vertical. It ranks among Europe's most-used eCommerce platforms.

In 2023, about 10% of eCommerce professionals reportedly adopted BigCommerce. Globally, it placed in the top five for platforms merchants adopted, according to Statista. The report equally placed BigCommerce as the top choice for retailers moving from their own custom shopping cart to more efficient built-in solutions.

BigCommerce's robust functionalities include intuitive store design tools, inventory management, and shipping integrations. BigCommerce has a growing app ecosystem and a POS that bridges online and offline sales, complemented by excellent customer service that has earned consistent praise from analysts.

The multitenant SaaS platform has been recognized as a Challenger for five consecutive years in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce report. BigCommerce says brands and retailers on its platform outperformed global benchmarks with a 26% increase in Cyber Week Sales in 2024.

BigCommerce Key Features

BigCommerce lives up to its reputation as a Challenger platform. It has proven especially beneficial to small-scale businesses looking to expand their offering and extend their reach.

1. Store design and customization: Intuitive low/no code page builder enables businesses to launch responsive eCommerce stores.
2. Omni-channel selling: You can seamlessly integrate with marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and social media platforms to reach larger audiences from one dashboard.
3. Inventory and product management: Robust tools for handling complex catalogs, supporting thousands of SKUs, variants, and pricing options, with real-time inventory syncing.
4. SEO and marketing tools: Built-in SEO functions improve store visibility, while abandoned cart recovery and customer segmentation tools help drive conversions.
5. Fast checkout: Fully customizable one-page checkout delivers the best checkout conversion possible to ensure sales are not lost from checkout friction.
6. Point of Sale (POS): Seamlessly connect your brick-and-mortar point of sale with your online storefront so customers can Buy Online Pick up in-store (BOPIS).
7. Built-in analytics: Track performance across all businesses with unified analytics. See what's working, identify growth opportunities, and optimize each project for success.

BigCommerce Pricing

BigCommerce has a tiered pricing plan across four primary options (currently discounted at 25% on annual plans):

• Standard: $29/month with annual billing. Card rates with partners start at 2.89% + 29¢.
• Plus: $79/month with annual billing. Card rates start at 2.35% + 49¢.
• Pro: $299/month with annual billing. Card rates start at 2.35% + 49¢.
• Custom: For this, you have to request pricing.

A 15-day free trial is available on the first three options. BigCommerce doesn’t have a native payment gateway.

BigCommerce Advantages

Some notable stand-out BigCommerce components include:

• Product management: BigCommerce offers robust built-in tools for managing products with multiple variations, including a variant limit of up to 600 per product and a product modifier for product customizations without creating new SKUs. These features are included in all plans.
• Niche features for small eCommerce businesses: BigCommerce's multi-storefront capability, abandoned cart recovery, international sales support, and native product comparison give it a significant advantage.
• No transaction fees: Small eCommerce businesses operating on tight budgets could benefit from BigCommerce's no transaction fees policy. It allows them to choose cost-effective payment gateways without additional platform fees.
• Longer free trial period: BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial, compared to Shopify's 3-day trial. This gives merchants, especially SMBs, more time to test features without financial commitment.

BigCommerce Disadvantages

• BigCommerce uses the Stencil framework for its theme development. While Stencil is a modern framework designed to enable advanced online store customization, this could pose significant challenges for merchants without technical skills.
• BigCommerce's pricing is tied to a store's annual sales revenue, requiring merchants to upgrade to higher tiers–and pay more–when they exceed their plan's limit. This can lead to unexpected costs for growing businesses, unlike Shopify's predictable, fixed monthly fees.
• Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce does not provide a native POS system. Merchants who sell in physical locations must rely on third-party solutions like Square or Clover.

What is The Difference Between Shopify and BigCommerce?

From our analysis so far, it’s evident that the distinction between Shopify and BigCommerce is in the ease of use for everyday merchants, pricing strategy, and built-in features. Let’s outline these differences accordingly.

Shopify vs BigCommerce: Ease of use

Shopify is generally easier to use, especially for non-technical founders. It has a user-friendly interface and a clean dashboard. The step-by-step onboarding makes it intuitive to use. The platform’s no-code store builder and extensive support resources further simplify the process, allowing merchants to focus on selling rather than troubleshooting.

BigCommerce targets beginners, but the learning curve has been flagged as steeper. The interface is trickier, and the onboarding isn't as hand-holding as Shopify. It requires more technical skills for advanced features.

Shopify vs BigCommerce: Pricing

Imagine you’re a DTC newbie with $500 to start. Shopify’s $24/month plan gets you selling. But BigCommerce’s no-fee model might save you more by year’s end. With BigCommerce, merchants only pay processing fees to their chosen payment gateway.

Shopify charges transaction fees for third-party gateways, which vary depending on the pan you choose (2% for Basic, 1% for Shopify standard, and 0.6% for Advance). However, using Shopify Payments voids these fees, even though payment processing fees still apply. Another thing to note is that using higher Shopify plans decreases fees. Furthermore, using Shop Pay reportedly reduces processing fees by 25%, with a 31% better total cost of ownership than BigCommerce.

So the backdrop regarding Shopify vs. BigCommerce pricing is that BigCommerce might offer marginal pricing incentives to small businesses using third-party gateways. But, Shopify wins with better TCO as the company begins to grow.

Shopify vs BigCommerce: Features

Regarding the breadth of advanced out-of-the-box features, BigCommerce has some advantages over Shopify. B2B features like unlimited staff accounts, real-time shipping quotes, native multi-channel selling, multi-storefront, and robust product management (up to 600 variants per product) cater to businesses with complex needs.

Shopify, in contrast, leans heavily on its vast app ecosystem to extend functionalities. While it lacks some of BigCommerce’s native tools–like B2B features–it compensates for flexibility. Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, and its native POS system are standout features BigCommerce hasn’t matched as of writing, without third-party integrations. Shopify’s approach gives merchants the freedom to tailor their stores precisely, though it may require additional app costs to achieve parity with BigCommerce’s built-ins.

In general, the key takeaway on Shopify vs BigCommerce built-in features is that Shopify’s approach gives merchants the freedom to tailor their store precisely, though it may require additional costs to achieve parity with BigCommerce’s built-ins.

Shopify vs BigCommerce: The Final Verdict

Here’s the moment of truth: Is Shopify better than BigCommerce?

Well, the answer depends on your business size, technology competence, and growth aspirations. Both Shopify and BigCommerce excel in different aspects. So let’s cut through the chase. Here's where we believe they stack up:

• Shopify shines as the go-to platform for ease of use, scalability, and robust ecosystem. It's ideal for merchants who want a plug-and-play solution with room for growth, backed by cutting-edge innovations like one-click checkout and multi-channel integrations.
• BigCommerce excels for businesses needing advanced out-of-the-box features and flexibility without third-party app dependency. It's a strong pick for SMBs with complex catalogs or B2B needs.

Ultimately, the decision has mostly favored Shopify. Statista reports that Shopify is the platform that BigCommerce merchants switch to the most. That's probably because of Shopify’s market dominance, lower TCO, and first-to-market innovation. BigCommerce, however, holds its own as a challenger for niche use cases.

When to Choose Shopify

Shopify may be your best bet if:

1. You're a DTC beginner or non-technical founder looking for a simple, intuitive platform to launch.
2. You want access to a vast app ecosystem for endless customization and scalability.
3. You want to scale globally and need multi-channel selling (e.g., TikTok, Amazon, Instagram) with a seamless POS for in-person transactions.
4. You value superior checkout experience and innovations like Shopify Audiences to boost conversions and cut ad costs.
5. Cost efficiency over time matters more than upfront savings, especially as your business grows.

When to Choose BigCommerce

BigCommerce might be a smarter option if:

• You need advanced built-in features like B2B pricing, multi-storefonts, or complex product management without relying on apps.
• You're a small business on a budget that can benefit from transaction fees and a longer free trial (15 days vs. Shopify's 3).
• You manage a large catalog with hundreds of variants and prefer native tools on all plans over third-party add-ons.
• You're transitioning from a custom cart to a SaaS platform and want robust SEO, inventory, and omnichannel capabilities out-of-the-box.

How Chargeflow Enhances Secure Digital Transactions

Whether you choose Shopify or BigCommerce, secure and efficient payment processing is critical to eCommerce success. This is where Chargeflow comes in. Chargeflow is an innovative chargeback management solution that integrates seamlessly with both platforms. It helps merchants reduce fraud, recover lost revenue, and streamline operations.

For Shopify Users:

Chargeflow syncs with Shopify Payments and third-party gateways to automate chargeback disputes with a ~90% win rate. It's AI-driven. So you get efficient dispute handling and insights for identifying fraud patterns and optimizing checkout security.

Chargeflow naturally complements Shopify's encrypted checkout and abandoned cart recovery services.

For BigCommerce Users:

Chargeflow improves BigCommerce's customizable checkout with real-time fraud prevention and dispute resolution.

BigCommerce lacks a native payment gateway. That means you may have to deal with multiple chargebacks from different processors. Chargeflow bridges the gap. It protects merchants using any payment gateway. It reduces fraud losses by up to 80% and saves you countless hours of manual work.

Chargeflow is a must-have tool for any eCommerce merchant aiming to safeguard profits and maintain customer trust. Sign up for Chargeflow to slash chargeback costs. It works with Shopify and BigCommerce. Here’s how to get started.