Are you ready to start your online store? With so many e-commerce platforms available, it can be difficult to choose the right one for your business! Two popular options are BigCommerce and Shopify – but which one is better?

In this article, we’ll guide you through a comparison of BigCommerce vs Shopify, to help you choose which platform is best for your e-commerce.

BigCommerce vs Shopify at a glance

Here below you’ll find a quick comparison of BigCommerce and Shopify. As you’ll see, both platforms are much alike, but there are some differences that could affect your decision.

Choosing an e-commerce platform: in-depth comparison of BigCommerce vs Shopify

Now let’s go over the main features of each platform, to better understand which one is the perfect choice for your particular online store.

📌 Pricing

When choosing an e-commerce platform, pricing is often the first thing people consider.

BigCommerce and Shopify don’t differ too much here: these platforms offer three pricing plans that range from $29/month to $299/month for both BigCommerce and Shopify, with the possibility of saving some money with the annual billing. They also both have a custom-priced plan for big e-commerces, such as Enterprise clients.

However, there are other costs that you should consider and that can affect your choice:

• Transaction fees: a transaction fee is a percentage you pay to the platform for each sale you make. BigCommerce doesn’t have transaction fees on any plan, while Shopify can charge between 2% and 0.5%, depending on your plan. However, BigCommerce has a yearly sales threshold: once the threshold is exceeded, you need to upgrade to the higher plan.
• Credit card fees: credit card fees are paid to the third-party processor you’re using on your online store. Both platforms offer a wide range of third-party payment integrations (Shopify has 100, BigCommerce 65), so it really depends on which one you choose. The cheaper options are recommended directly by Shopify and BigCommerce, such as Shopify Payments or PayPal.

📌 Ease of use

If you’re a beginner, then Shopify is definitely easier to use than BigCommerce. BigCommerce is a powerful platform, but you need to invest some time to understand how to use it best. On the other hand, Shopify also gives you hints and tips that guide you in the setup of your store.

📌 Design

Design is another key factor to consider. A user-friendly interface and a responsive website can really make a difference in your sales.

Both BigCommerce and Shopify have a selection of free and paid themes, that you can align with your brand and customize to make your store more eye-catchy. These ecommerce platforms also have industry-specific themes, that can save you some time with the customization.

📌 Built-in features and third-party integrations

Both platforms have a list of features that you can benefit from, such as:

• shipping integrations;
• customer accounts;
• SEO tools;
• SSL integration;
• sales reports.

However, there are also big differences here.

BigCommerce
If you’re using BigCommerce, you probably won’t need many third-party apps, because the platform has many built-in integrations that can help you in doing what you need to do, without any extra cost.

Shopify
On the other hand, Shopify has fewer built-in features, but a bigger app store (with over 6000 third-party integrations), which allows you to customize your store as you like. While some of these integrations are free, others aren’t, so you should be mindful of that, since it could add up to your monthly plan.

📌 Customer support

Both platforms have excellent customer support: 24/7 phone and live chat support, email support, a help center, forums, tutorials and guides.

Upgrading to a higher plan – such as the Enterprise plan – will also give your requests a priority.

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