BigCommerce Vs Shopify: The optimum Comparison

With more than over 200 e-commerce website builders in the marketplace, you managed to pick BigCommerce and Shopify.

Great job!

So, are you now confused between the two?

How to choose the right e-commerce platform to build your online store?

It takes quite a lot of time to look into both platforms, their features, pricing, reviews, and functionalities. But, don’t worry, here we are helping you find the right one for you.

So, let’s get straight into the comparison to conclude if BigCommerce or Shopify tops the list.

Before that, let’s begin by introducing both platforms briefly.

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is an open SaaS platform that is used for creating e-commerce platforms. Basically, it offers different pricing plans for businesses of various sizes and types. Today, more than 60,000 online merchants are leveraging the benefits of BigCommerce to run their online businesses.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an e-commerce website builder used for creating online stores and Point of Sale systems. It offers five plans for businesses depending on their diverse needs and sizes. Today, more than 1,700,000 online merchants are using Shopify to build and manage their online stores.

BigCommerce vs. Shopify: Tabular Comparison

Here’s a summary of the features of Shopify and BigCommerce in tabular format. To have a detailed look at the differences, go through the below-mentioned article.

BigCommerce vs. Shopify: Detailed Comparison

Now, we’ll take a detailed look at the features one by one.

#1 PRICING

No doubt, pricing plays a critical role in determining the value you get for your money. Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a range of pricing plans to suit different needs and budgets. You must test things out before committing any money.

BigCommerce’s Pricing

BigCommerce offers four pricing plans:

• Standard: This plan starts at $29.95 per month and includes features such as unlimited products, unlimited storage, and no transaction fees.
• Plus: This plan starts at $79.95 per month and includes additional features such as abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, and real-time shipping rates.
• Pro: This plan starts at $299.95 per month and includes additional features such as advanced reporting and Google customer reviews.
• Enterprise: This plan is customized based on the specific needs of the business and includes features such as dedicated account management and advanced API capabilities.

Shopify’s Pricing

Shopify also offers four pricing plans:

• Basic Shopify: This plan starts at $29 per month and includes features such as unlimited products, two staff accounts, and fraud analysis.
• Shopify: This plan starts at $79 per month and includes additional features such as professional reports and the ability to use gift cards.
• Advanced Shopify: This plan starts at $299 per month and includes additional features such as an advanced report builder and real-time carrier shipping.
• Shopify Plus: This plan is customized based on the specific needs of the business and includes features such as dedicated support and advanced store customization.

As you can see, Shopify and BigCommerce offer nearly identical pricing plans, except for the top-tier pricing plan. Thus, to test which platform would be best, you must consider trying them. Both platforms offer a free trial. 

#2 EASE OF USE

Both BigCommerce and Shopify are designed to be user-friendly and easy to use, particularly for those who are new to e-commerce.

They offer a range of features and tools to help businesses create and manage their online stores, including customizable templates, a drag-and-drop website builder, and integrations with various payment gateways and marketing tools.

BigCommerce’s Ease of Use

BigCommerce has a reputation for being relatively easy to use, particularly for those who are familiar with using a Content Management System (CMS).

It offers a range of tutorials and resources to help users get started, and the platform’s interface is generally considered to be intuitive and straightforward.

Shopify’s Ease of Use

Shopify is also generally considered to be easy to use, with a user-friendly interface and a range of tools and resources to help users get started.

It is particularly well-suited to small businesses and those who are new to e-commerce, as it offers a range of features and integrations to help businesses get started quickly and easily.

Overall, both BigCommerce and Shopify are considered to be user-friendly platforms. But if you ask the best one in between the two, Shopify wins the round. That’s because it is easier to use, making it the top choice for new online merchants to set up their online store.

On the other hand, BigCommerce has the potential to offer more features with ease to use interface since it can be difficult for newbies to tackle the learning curve of this platform.

#3 APPS

Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a range of apps (also known as “add-ons” or “extensions”) that can be used to extend the functionality of their respective platforms.

These apps can be used to add new features to an online store, integrate with other tools or services, or customize the store’s design and functionality.

BigCommerce’s Apps

BigCommerce offers a selection of apps in its App Store, which can be accessed from within the platform’s dashboard. These apps include tools for marketing, social media, shipping, and more. You can find some apps for free, while if you require more advanced tools, you can go for paid ones.

Shopify’s Apps

Shopify also has an App Store with a wide range of apps that can be used to extend the functionality of the platform. These apps can help you enhance the experience of your visitors or customers in your store.

Moreover, these can help you provide effective customer support, SEO, and marketing tools. Like BigCommerce, some of the apps are free, while others are paid.

Overall, both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a range of apps that can be used to extend the functionality of their respective platforms. But the number and variety of apps available on Shopify defeat BigCommerce by a large margin. 

#4 SEO

If you want to drive more customers to your e-commerce store, then you must consider SEO or Search Engine Optimization. With SEO, you can optimize your store to rank higher in SERPs.

Both BigCommerce and Shopify give you complete control of the SEO features for your online store, as you can see in the table mentioned below:

Both platforms provide you with great control over SEO features for your store. However, you get more control with BigCommerce which makes it a winner in this round. 

#5 DROPSHIPPING

Dropshipping is a fulfillment model in which the seller does not keep products in stock. Instead, when the seller receives an order, they purchase the product from a third party (such as a wholesaler or manufacturer) and have it shipped directly to the customer.

One of the main things for drop shippers is to quickly source the products from suppliers. With Shopify and BigCommerce, both these platforms can let you do everything from start to finish.

Shopify’s Dropshipping

Shopify joined hands with Oberlo and Dropified to feature the drop shippers. Oberlo offers a huge range of goods at wholesale prices. Other than that, you can find many apps that can help you cater to different niches, markets, and regions.

BigCommerce’s Dropshipping

Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce has a decent app marketplace that offers various apps for sourcing products. However, the apps at BigCommerce are not as comprehensive as Shopify’s Oberlo.

Overall, Shopify beats BigCommerce since it provides more dropshipping apps. It will give you more options to choose from. No doubt, BigCommerce offers dropshipping apps as well, but due to a lack of options, Shopify wins this round. 

#6 CUSTOMIZATION

Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a range of customization options to help you create a unique and professional-looking online store.

BigCommerce’s Customizability

BigCommerce provides a drag-and-drop feature in its editor for simple modifications. However, if you wish to go for complex modifications, you need to edit the code through HTML and CSS. If you aren’t a tech-savvy individual, you may need to hire a developer.

In addition to this, it has a limited selection of fonts that you may take leverage of and you can’t add custom fonts to the store’s backend. That’s where this platform lacks.

Shopify’s Customizability

Shopify offers a more comprehensive set of customization options, including the ability to edit the underlying code of your store. The theme editor enables you to edit the modules you want for your store.

Moreover, you can make more subtle changes such as font color, size, and family for your store. So, if you’re offering bespoke goods to your customers, you can tweak the code all by yourself and give your store a fantastic and appealing look.

Ultimately, the best platform for your store is Shopify since it offers more customization options than BigCommerce. 

#7 PAGE SPEED

Page speed is an important factor to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform, as it can affect the user experience and the search engine ranking of your store. Both

BigCommerce and Shopify offer a range of features and tools to help you optimize the speed of your store.

When we compare both platforms in terms of page speed load times, Shopify wins the battle. To know why, look at the below speed comparison table:

So, at last, Shopify wins the battle since its page load speed times are faster than BigCommerce. So, doesn’t matter whether BigCommerce supports AMP, the results you get out of Shopify are still worthy.

Conclusion

The winner between BigCommerce and Shopify has a different winner and it depends on what your requirements are. No doubt, they are the biggest competitors in the market, so whichever you go for, you’ll receive excellent service.

Other than that, there are some important differences that you need to look into, so now let’s have a quick recap of both e-commerce platforms.

Choose BigCommerce, if:

• You want built-in features and functionalities for your online store without wanting to install or pay for them separately.
• You need more design functionalities to boost your store’s branding.
• You are looking to expand your online business across various marketing channels.

Try BigCommerce Today

Choose Shopify, if:

• You wish to gain more control over the features of your store.
• You want more design and app options for running your online business.
• You manage a large business with a complex inventory structure.

Try Shopify Today

The platform you choose between the two comes down to what you are looking for.

If you ask us, we would conclude by saying that Shopify is the winner for its ease of use, best customer support, and features.

So, have you made your decision on which e-commerce platform would you go for? Leave that in the comments below – we’d love to hear about your experience!

Check out our other Shopify comparisons:

Shopify vs Squarespace

Shopify vs WooCommerce