In recent years, the E-commerce sector has witnessed a fervent debate revolving around two dominant platforms: Shopify and BigCommerce. Both platforms have carved a niche for themselves, offering distinctive features, tools, and capabilities that cater to various business needs. Having been deeply involved in the realm of E-commerce development for an extended period, our team at Above Bits LLC has had the privilege of constructing a multitude of websites using both platforms. Through our hands-on experience and comprehensive analysis, we’ve distilled the primary distinctions that set each platform apart. In this extended discussion, we will walk you through these nuances, delineating the strengths and potential limitations of both Shopify and BigCommerce. With this holistic understanding, we aim to empower you to make an informed decision, choosing the platform that aligns best with your business aspirations and operational needs.
At a Glance
- Shopify offers more options for customizing the look and feel of your online store, while BigCommerce offers more advanced features for managing and tracking inventory.
- Shopify has a wider range of apps and integrations available, while BigCommerce offers more built-in features.
- Shopify is meant for small and mid-level stores, while BigCommerce offers more support for high-volume sales and large product catalogs.
- One of the major differences between Shopify and BigCommerce is the transaction fees. Shopify charges a 2% fee on all transactions, while BigCommerce has no transaction fees whatsoever.
- Shopify has a larger user base and is considered to be more user-friendly, while BigCommerce may be a better option for larger stores due to its scalability.
Pricing
The BigCommerce package starts at 29.95 USD per month and goes as high as 299.95 for the Pro package. For larger firms that have specialized needs, you may have to get a custom pricing offer instead. However, you may avail of discounts on these packages as part of different offers that arrive from time to time.
On the other hand, the lite package of Shopify comes at a mere 9 USD per month. The Advanced package is comparable to BigCommerce, costing 299 USD per month. However, for the Plus package, you need to discuss your requirements to get a specified quote.
| BigCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|
| Offers four subscription plans: Standard ($29.95/month), Plus ($79.95/month), Pro ($249.95/month), and Enterprise (custom pricing). | Offers four subscription plans: Basic Shopify ($1/month), Shopify ($49/month), Advanced Shopify ($299/month) and Enterprise plan with custom pricing. |
Comparing the Basic Plan
In the realm of e-commerce platforms, Shopify and BigCommerce are two leading contenders, each bringing its distinct advantages to the table. Delving into Shopify’s basic plan, it is evident that the platform prioritizes user experience. Its intuitive interface is straightforward, catering to both novices and seasoned online sellers. This plan offers unlimited potential with unrestricted products, file storage, and bandwidth – a testament to its scalability. Customers can also rely on round-the-clock support, ensuring that their queries or concerns are addressed promptly. An added feather in Shopify’s cap is its proprietary payment gateway, ensuring seamless and secure financial transactions. Alongside this, the platform equips sellers with tools for fraud analysis and an in-depth analytics system, granting them insights to enhance business strategies.
On the flip side, one of Shopify’s limitations is the imposition of transaction fees for every sale made, which can add up, especially for high-volume sellers.
BigCommerce, while having its distinct style and operational model, offers enticing features in its basic plan. A notable difference is its offer of unlimited staff accounts, enabling businesses to distribute tasks across multiple team members efficiently. In a significant advantage over Shopify, BigCommerce doesn’t levy any transaction fees when users transact via their integrated payment gateways. This cost-saving feature is especially appealing for growing businesses watching their margins. Moreover, BigCommerce is proactive in addressing one of the key challenges in e-commerce: cart abandonment. With built-in tools to recover abandoned carts, merchants can re-engage potential customers and potentially recover lost sales. Additionally, the inclusion of gift cards adds an avenue for businesses to foster customer loyalty and incentivize purchases, while the platform’s secure checkout options further amplify its commitment to user safety and trustworthiness.
Templates and Design
Shopify offers a wide array of themes and templates, allowing you to create a unique look for your store. You can customize everything from fonts and colors to layout and content. Additionally, there are plenty of apps available in the Shopify app store that can help you add extra features such as social media integration or product reviews.
BigCommerce also provides users with plenty of customizable features including templates, themes, product pages, navigation menus and more. It also offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop page editor for creating custom page designs quickly and easily. However, BigCommerce themes are not very different from each other when it comes to design and most of them are just color variations of each other.
Payment Processing
Shopify provides its own payment processing system, while BigCommerce relies on third-party providers like PayPal. Shopify also offers a range of payment options, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe and Amazon Payments. BigCommerce does not offer as many payment options, but it does offer integrations with popular payment gateways like PayPal, Authorize.Net and Stripe.
Add-ons and Integration
Shopify offers over 2,000 apps from its app store which help businesses build everything from loyalty programs to shipping options.
Additionally, automated notifications are available with Shopify that can keep customers informed about order statuses, product availability and more. Many of these apps integrate seamlessly with other essential tools like QuickBooks Online for accounting purposes.
BigCommerce boasts an extensive library of pre-built integrations ranging from payment processing gateways like PayPal to customer review systems like Yotpo. However, it doesn’t have a very extensive library when compared to Shopify.
Bottom Lime
Shopify and BigCommerce are both powerful eCommerce platforms that offer a wide range of features to meet the needs of different types of businesses. Shopify is geared more towards small- to mid-sized businesses while BigCommerce tends to be a good fit for larger, enterprise-level operations. Ultimately, the right platform depends on each business’s individual requirements.
Overall, both platforms are competing for the neck to neck, gaining many benefits over each other. Let us know your preferred one today and get your website development project started.
