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Shopify vs. BigCommerce: Pricing, Payments and Store Fit
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TL;DR:
- Plan prices match: Shopify Basic, Grow and Advanced list at $29, $79 and $299 per month on annual billing; BigCommerce Core, Growth and Scale list at the same prices (US dollars, checked 2026-10-05).
- Platform fees and provider fees are different: outside payment providers add a platform fee of 2% / 1% / 0.6% on both platforms, while Shopify Payments and BigCommerce embedded providers, including BigCommerce Payments, avoid it. The provider still charges its own processing rate.
- Different scaling models: Shopify tiers are chosen by feature need; BigCommerce plans upgrade automatically at $30K and $100K in trailing-twelve-month sales.
- Disputes: Shopify handles Shopify Payments disputes in its admin with a $15 US chargeback fee returned if you win; BigCommerce disputes are handled by the payment provider you use. Chargeflow integrates with both.
Shopify and BigCommerce list the same annual-billing prices for their three self-serve tiers: $29, $79 and $299 per month in US dollars (checked 2026-10-05). So the choice comes down to four things:
- Payment-provider choices and fees
- How each plan scales with your sales
- The features you need natively
- How disputes are handled
Neither platform is the right answer for every merchant. This guide compares them on those operating criteria. For dispute basics, see Chargeflow's Shopify chargebacks guide.
Some entrepreneurs skip the build phase and buy an existing Shopify store instead. Our guide on how to buy a Shopify store covers what to look for.
Shopify vs BigCommerce at a Glance
Prices are US dollars on annual billing and were checked on each platform's pricing page on 2026-10-05. Pricing can vary by region and billing term, so confirm on the platform before you decide.
| Criteria | Shopify | BigCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan (annual billing) | Basic, $29 per month | Core, $29 per month, for stores up to $30K trailing-twelve-month (TTM) sales |
| Mid plan | Grow, $79 per month | Growth, $79 per month, for stores up to $100K TTM sales |
| Top self-serve plan | Advanced, $299 per month | Scale, $299 per month, up to $33,333 in monthly sales, then a 0.9% overage on revenue above the cap |
| Enterprise tier | Plus, starting at $2,300 per month | Performance, custom pricing starting at $1,499 per month |
| Free trial | 3 days free, then $1 per month for 3 months | 15-day free trial |
| Platform fee for outside payment providers | 2% Basic, 1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced, 0.2% Plus | Open Payment Provider fee of 2% Core, 1% Growth, 0.6% Scale; none on Performance contracted terms |
| Payment route without a platform fee | Shopify Payments, from 2.9% + 30¢ online on Basic | Embedded providers, including BigCommerce Payments, Stripe, PayPal Braintree, Klarna and Amazon Pay |
| Native POS | Shopify POS | Integrations with POS providers such as Square, Clover and Heartland Retail |
Four Merchant Scenarios: What to Verify on Both Platforms
Use the scenario closest to your business, then confirm each requirement on both platforms before choosing. Neither platform wins every row.
| Scenario | Requirements to Verify on Both Platforms |
|---|---|
| Smaller catalog, simple checkout | Plan price at your sales level, processing rate for your payment provider, theme and app costs, staff accounts, and how much setup you can do without a developer. |
| Multi-provider checkout | Which of your providers are embedded or fee-free, the platform fee for any outside provider, where each provider's disputes are handled, and how many dispute queues your team will manage. |
| B2B or enterprise | Which plan unlocks price lists, customer groups and company accounts, API limits, checkout customization, contract terms for the enterprise tier, and implementation cost. |
| International expansion | Currencies and local payment methods, tax and duty handling, language and market setup, hreflang and URL structure, and support coverage in your regions. |
Shopify Features and Overview
Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform with a theme editor, an app store, native payments through Shopify Payments, multichannel selling and a native point-of-sale system. Its app ecosystem extends the platform for marketing, SEO, inventory, shipping and fraud tools. That means some capabilities arrive as paid apps rather than as built-in features. For platform statistics see our Shopify statistics page.
Shopify Pricing
Per Shopify's pricing page (US dollars):
- Basic: $29 per month on annual billing ($39 paid monthly). Shopify Payments online card rate starts at 2.9% + 30¢. Third-party payment provider fee: 2%.
- Grow: $79 per month on annual billing ($105 paid monthly). Card rate from 2.7% + 30¢. Up to 5 staff accounts. Third-party provider fee: 1%.
- Advanced: $299 per month on annual billing ($399 paid monthly). Card rate from 2.5% + 30¢. Up to 15 staff accounts. Third-party provider fee: 0.6%.
- Plus: starting at $2,300 per month. Card rate from 2.25% + 30¢ and a 0.2% third-party provider fee. See our Shopify Plus pricing breakdown.
Shopify currently offers a 3-day free trial, then $1 per month for 3 months. The third-party provider fee applies when you process cards through a gateway other than Shopify Payments.
What to Plan for With Shopify
- App subscriptions add up for functions such as SEO, analytics and shipping, so budget for the paid apps you expect to need as you scale.
- Some capabilities that BigCommerce lists natively, such as certain B2B tools, may come through apps or higher plans on Shopify. Confirm your requirements on the plan you plan to buy.
- Advanced theme customization may mean a paid theme or developer time.
BigCommerce Features and Overview
BigCommerce is a SaaS commerce platform with built-in tools for catalogs, multi-storefront setups, B2B and omnichannel selling, plus open APIs for developers. It supports several embedded payment providers and its own BigCommerce Payments option. For platform statistics see our BigCommerce statistics page.
BigCommerce Pricing
Per BigCommerce's pricing page and FAQ (US dollars):
- Core: $29 per month billed annually ($39 paid monthly), for stores up to $30K in trailing-twelve-month sales.
- Growth: $79 per month billed annually ($105 paid monthly), for stores up to $100K in trailing-twelve-month sales.
- Scale: $299 per month billed annually ($399 paid monthly), with a monthly sales cap of $33,333. A continuous 0.9% overage applies to revenue above it.
- Performance: custom pricing starting at $1,499 per month, billed annually.
Plans upgrade automatically when sales pass a tier's threshold. BigCommerce notifies you before the change.
BigCommerce lists an Open Payment Provider fee for orders processed through non-embedded providers. The fee is a share of eligible order value:
- 2% on Core
- 1% on Growth
- 0.6% on Scale
Embedded providers carry no additional order fee. They include BigCommerce Payments, Adyen, Affirm, Afterpay, Amazon Pay, Checkout.com, Klarna, PayPal Braintree, Stripe and others on its list.
BigCommerce Payments card pricing starts at 2.89% + 29¢ per transaction. American Express is 3.50% with no fixed fee. A 15-day free trial is available.
What to Plan for With BigCommerce
- Because plans scale with sales volume, cost tracks growth. Check where your trailing-twelve-month sales fall against the $30K and $100K thresholds.
- B2B features vary by plan. BigCommerce lists customer groups and segmentation from Growth and price lists on Performance, so confirm that the plan you need includes your B2B requirements.
- POS runs through integrations with providers such as Square, Clover and Heartland Retail rather than a native system.
Payment Fees: Platform Fees vs Provider Processing Fees
Two separate charges are easy to confuse:
- A platform fee is what the commerce platform charges when you use a payment provider outside its preferred route. On Shopify it is the third-party provider fee. On BigCommerce it is the Open Payment Provider fee.
- A provider processing fee is what the payment provider charges to process the card. Examples are 2.9% + 30¢ on Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments or 2.89% + 29¢ with BigCommerce Payments.
Your negotiated rates with another provider can differ.
| Fee Type | Shopify | BigCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee for outside providers | 2% / 1% / 0.6% / 0.2% by tier (Basic, Grow, Advanced, Plus) | 2% / 1% / 0.6% by tier (Core, Growth, Scale); none on Performance contracted terms |
| Route with no platform fee | Shopify Payments | Embedded providers, including BigCommerce Payments |
| Provider processing fee example | Shopify Payments: 2.9% + 30¢ online on Basic, 2.7% + 30¢ on Grow, 2.5% + 30¢ on Advanced | BigCommerce Payments: from 2.89% + 29¢, American Express 3.50% |
| Fee basis | Per transaction, by plan | Percentage of eligible order value, by plan |
Total Cost Model: A $20,000 per Month Store
This illustration uses these assumptions:
- United States, US dollars and annual billing
- $20,000 per month in card sales (GMV defined as card sales processed)
- $50 average order value (400 orders)
- The platform's own payment option
Apps, implementation and dispute operations are left as inputs because they depend on your store.
| Cost Line | Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments | BigCommerce Scale with BigCommerce Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Platform subscription | $29. Compare Grow ($79) if you need more staff accounts. | $299. $240,000 in trailing-twelve-month sales is above the $100K Growth cap, so the store sits on Scale. |
| Provider processing | 2.9% of $20,000 = $580, plus 30¢ x 400 = $120, so $700 | 2.89% of $20,000 = $578, plus 29¢ x 400 = $116, so $694 |
| Platform transaction fee | $0 with Shopify Payments | $0 with an embedded provider |
| Apps | Your inputs | Your inputs |
| Implementation (amortized) | Your inputs | Your inputs |
| Dispute operations | Your inputs. Shopify lists a $15 chargeback fee in the US, returned if you win. | Your inputs. Fees are set by your payment provider. |
| Subtotal before inputs | About $729 per month | About $993 per month |
The two plans in this example are not feature equivalents. BigCommerce's plan is set by sales volume rather than by feature need.
If your store used a non-embedded provider on BigCommerce Scale, add the 0.6% Open Payment Provider fee ($120 per month on $20,000). That fee sits on top of the provider's own processing rates. On Shopify, an outside gateway on Basic adds the 2% third-party fee ($400 per month on $20,000).
Your negotiated processing rates will change the result. Both Shopify and BigCommerce have cited vendor-commissioned studies on total cost of ownership. Treat any such figure as directional.
Enterprise Tiers Compared Separately
Enterprise comparisons should not be applied to entry-level plans.
- Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 per month, with a 2.25% + 30¢ Shopify Payments online rate and a 0.2% third-party provider fee.
- BigCommerce Performance uses custom pricing starting at $1,499 per month, with no Open Payment Provider fee on contracted terms.
At enterprise scale, verify the plan-specific items in your own quote: API limits, checkout customization, B2B tooling, support level, contract length and migration cost. For a Shopify Plus budget, use our Shopify Plus pricing guide.
Feature Comparison
Use this table as a checklist of items to confirm on the plan you intend to buy. Capabilities and plan inclusions change, so verify them on each platform.
| Feature | Shopify | BigCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Staff accounts | Up to 5 on Grow and up to 15 on Advanced; unlimited on Plus (Shopify pricing page) | Included across plans per the BigCommerce pricing page; confirm limits for your plan |
| Native POS | Yes, Shopify POS | Integrations with providers such as Square, Clover and Heartland Retail |
| Native payments | Shopify Payments | BigCommerce Payments, plus other embedded providers |
| B2B tools | Check availability by plan and app | Customer groups and segmentation from Growth; price lists on Performance |
| Multi-storefront | Check setup and plan requirements | Check setup and plan requirements |
| Apps and extensions | Large app store; some capabilities come from paid apps | App marketplace; some capabilities are built in |
| APIs and headless | Check plan limits and checkout extensibility | Open APIs; check limits for your plan |
| Free trial | 3 days free, then $1 per month for 3 months | 15 days |
Ecommerce SEO: What You Control on Either Platform
Neither platform inherently ranks better. Rankings depend on how well the store is implemented, so compare the merchant-controlled requirements below on both platforms before you choose.
| SEO Requirement | What to Verify on Both Platforms |
|---|---|
| Redirects | Whether you can create and bulk-import 301 redirects, which matters most during a migration. |
| Canonical and duplicate URLs | How product, collection and variant URLs are generated, and whether canonical tags are set correctly. |
| Rendering and speed | Theme code quality, how scripts and apps affect load time, and how pages render for crawlers. |
| Metadata and structured data | Control over titles, descriptions, headings and product schema. |
| Localization | URL structure and hreflang support for each market and language. |
| Migration requirements | Redirect mapping, URL parity, and a post-launch crawl check. |
Chargebacks and Fraud Tools on Both Platforms
Your platform choice does not change whether you receive chargebacks, but it affects where and how you respond. See our guides to chargeback management and payment reversals for the full process. In both cases the processor sets the evidence requirements and deadlines.
| Dispute Handling | Shopify | BigCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Where you respond | Inside the Shopify admin for Shopify Payments orders | In the dashboard of the payment provider you use, including BigCommerce Payments |
| Who holds transaction and evidence data | Shopify holds order and payment data for Shopify Payments orders; third-party gateways hold their own payment data | Your payment provider holds payment data; BigCommerce holds order data |
| Chargeback fee | $15 in the US, returned if you win (Shopify Help Center) | Set by your processor, varies by provider |
| Fraud screening | Fraud analysis on orders, plus Shopify Protect for eligible Shop Pay orders (see eligibility rules) | Provided by your processor or apps |
| Evidence window | Usually 7 to 21 days, per Shopify | Varies by processor and card network |
On either platform, platform fraud tools screen orders before fulfillment. Recovering revenue after a dispute needs structured evidence.
Chargeflow integrates with Shopify and BigCommerce to automate evidence collection and dispute submission. Also, chargeback alerts can flag some disputes before they escalate. If you run several providers, plan for several dispute queues. For Shopify specifics, see the Chargeflow Shopify integration.
Where Shopify and BigCommerce Each Fit
When Shopify May Fit
- You want a native payment option and a native POS from the platform itself.
- You prefer to assemble capabilities from an app store and are comfortable budgeting for paid apps.
- You want to start with a simple store builder and a flat per-tier price that does not depend on sales volume.
- You need multichannel selling through the platform's sales-channel integrations.
When BigCommerce May Fit
- You want a choice of embedded payment providers with no platform fee, including BigCommerce Payments.
- You need built-in B2B customer groups or price lists, after confirming the plan that includes them.
- You want a pricing structure that scales with your sales volume.
- You want open APIs and a headless or multi-storefront architecture, subject to plan limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shopify or BigCommerce better for SEO?
Neither is better by default. SEO results depend on what you control: redirects, canonical handling, page speed, structured data, localization and migration quality. Compare those requirements on both platforms and invest in implementation.
How do payment-provider fees differ?
Separate the platform fee from the provider's processing fee. For outside providers, Shopify adds a third-party fee of 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% by plan. BigCommerce lists an Open Payment Provider fee of 2%, 1% or 0.6% on Core, Growth and Scale.
Shopify Payments and BigCommerce's embedded providers avoid that platform fee. The provider still charges its own processing rate, such as 2.9% + 30¢ on Shopify Basic or from 2.89% + 29¢ with BigCommerce Payments.
What changes at enterprise scale?
Compare the enterprise tiers on their own terms. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 per month. BigCommerce Performance starts at $1,499 per month with custom terms. Request quotes and verify API limits, checkout customization, B2B tooling, support and contract terms rather than assuming entry-level features carry over.
Is Shopify or BigCommerce cheaper?
On annual billing the three self-serve tiers are listed at the same prices: $29, $79 and $299 per month. Total cost depends on payment fees, sales volume and apps. BigCommerce plans upgrade automatically at $30K and $100K in trailing-twelve-month sales. Shopify tiers are chosen by feature need.
Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?
It depends on the provider. BigCommerce lists an Open Payment Provider fee of 2% on Core, 1% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale for non-embedded providers. There is no additional order fee for embedded providers such as BigCommerce Payments, Stripe, PayPal Braintree, Klarna and Amazon Pay. The provider's own processing fees still apply.
Does BigCommerce have its own payment gateway?
Yes. BigCommerce lists BigCommerce Payments among its embedded providers, with card pricing starting at 2.89% + 29¢ per transaction.
How much does Shopify take from a $100 sale?
On Basic with Shopify Payments, a $100 online sale costs $3.20 in processing (2.9% + 30¢), so you keep $96.80 before your subscription cost. A third-party gateway on Basic adds Shopify's 2% platform fee ($2) on top of that gateway's own rate.
Can I switch between Shopify and BigCommerce?
Yes, stores can migrate between the platforms. Plan for redirect mapping, URL parity, customer and order data transfer, and a post-launch crawl check.
Does either platform recover chargebacks automatically?
Neither platform is a dedicated dispute-recovery service. For Shopify Payments, Shopify adds order information to the response and submits it on the due date. Chargeflow integrates with both Shopify and BigCommerce to automate dispute evidence and representment.
How Chargeflow Supports Both Platforms
Whichever platform you choose, payment processing and dispute handling need clear ownership. Chargeflow is a chargeback management solution that integrates with both platforms to help reduce fraud-related disputes and recover revenue.
For Shopify Users:
Chargeflow works with Shopify Payments and third-party gateways to automate chargeback disputes. As AI-driven checkout and agentic commerce grow, watch for emerging AI agent chargeback liability and agentic commerce chargebacks risks.
For BigCommerce Users:
BigCommerce merchants often use several payment providers, so many compare options through an online payment gateway comparison before choosing. That can mean chargebacks from different payment service providers. Chargeflow supports merchants using different payment gateways and adds fraud prevention and dispute workflows. Here's how to get started.
Chargebacks?
No longer your problem.
Recover 4x more chargebacks and prevent up to 90% of incoming ones, powered by AI and a global network of 20,000 merchants.
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