E-commerce platforms · Comparison
BigCommerce vs Shopify
2 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | BigCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Built-in reachA hosted store with unlimited staff and products on every plan, marketplace channels built in and ISO 27001 behind it. | Built-in reachA store, its payments, in-person selling and the main sales channels in one admin, with card rates that fall as you move up a plan. |
| Overall score | 6.0 | 7.5Best |
| Free option | 15-day free trial | 3-day free trial |
| Card to start | No card needed | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $29/mo | $29/mo |
| Pricing model | Tiered | Flat rate |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Flat monthly plan per store, tied to annual sales (GMV caps), plus card processing | Flat monthly plan per store, plus card processing |
| Free option | No free plan; 15-day trial, no card | No free store plan; 3-day trial, no card, then $1/mo for 3 months on most plans |
| Reference scenario ($10K/mo, 2 staff, annual) | $598/mo on Scale ($299 + $239 + $60), computed; Growth’s $100K sales cap is exceeded | $409/mo on Grow ($79 + $270 + $60), computed |
| Month-to-month price | $39 / $105 / $399 for Core, Growth and Scale | $39 / $105 / $399 for Basic, Grow and Advanced |
| US online card rate | 2.89% + 30¢ (Core), 2.59% + 30¢ (Growth), 2.39% + 30¢ (Scale) | 2.9% + 30¢ (Basic), 2.7% + 30¢ (Grow), 2.5% + 30¢ (Advanced) |
| Fee with another payment provider | 2.0% / 1.0% / 0.6% on Open Payment Providers; 0% on 21 embedded providers | 2% / 1% / 0.6% (Plus 0.2%) |
| Products and staff | Unlimited products and staff accounts on every plan | Unlimited products; staff 0 / 5 / 15 / unlimited |
| Abandoned cart recovery | Growth and up | Every plan |
| Selling channels | Amazon, eBay, Walmart built in; Google and Meta through Feedonomics; POS through apps | POS, Google, Meta, TikTok on every plan; Amazon, eBay, Walmart via Marketplace Connect |
| PCI / SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | PCI DSS Level 1; SOC 2 (type not stated); ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | PCI DSS Level 1; SOC 2 Type II; ISO 27001 not stated |
| Data export | CSV or XML of products, orders and customers; API and webhooks on every plan | CSV of products, orders and customers; Admin API on every plan |
| Data after closing | Deleted 30 days after cancellation | Kept 2 years after deactivation |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, BigCommerce puts unlimited staff, reviews and marketplace channels on every plan and lets you keep your own processor. Plans are tied to sales, so our $10,000-a-month store lands on Scale, and several pages disagree on trial and billing details. | From its public pages, Shopify has the broadest set of selling features here on the plan our scenario needs, with PCI Level 1, SOC 2 Type II and a 2-year data window. Staff accounts start on Grow, and a store that uses another payment provider pays Shopify a fee on top. |
Evidence: BigCommerce: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Shopify: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our BigCommerce review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick BigCommerce when
- You want unlimited staff accounts, built-in product reviews and no platform fee with Stripe or another embedded provider.
- Pick Shopify when
- You sell $10,000 a month or more: our scenario costs $409 on Shopify Grow against $598 on Scale (computed).
From our Shopify review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Shopify when
- You sell $10,000 a month or more: our scenario costs $409 on Shopify Grow against $598 on BigCommerce Scale, where the sales cap moves the store (computed).
- Pick BigCommerce when
- You want unlimited staff accounts and product reviews on the entry plan, or ISO 27001.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- BigCommerceCore$29/moBilled yearly; $39 month to month; up to $30K trailing 12-month GMV
- Unlimited products and staff accounts
- Real-time carrier rates, gift cards, product reviews
- Online card rate 2.89% + 30¢; 2.0% fee on Open Payment Providers
- No abandoned cart emails
- ShopifyBasic$29/moBilled yearly; $39 month to month (US list price)
- Unlimited products, custom domain, abandoned checkout recovery
- Online card rate 2.9% + 30¢; 2% fee with another provider
- Gift cards, local-currency prices, casual in-person selling
- No staff accounts; custom apps with limited data access
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: BigCommerce 2026-10-16, Shopify 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- ShopifySelf-serve sign-up, no card needed; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (7.5/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- Shopify3-day free trial, no card needed, and the highest score of the 2 that skip the card (7.5/10).
- Lowest starter price
- BigCommerce and Shopify$29/mo for the Core (billed yearly) plan each.
- Highest overall score
- Shopify7.5/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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