Is BigCommerce better than Shopify? It is one of the first questions that almost every new online seller runs into. And it makes sense because both names appear the moment you begin your research about how to sell online. However, before we go any further, keep in mind that there is no single right answer if that’s what you are hoping to find in this guide.
Shopify and BigCommerce are both solid and trusted platforms; they’re just built on different sides. Shopify wants you to start simple and add more power as you grow. BigCommerce hands you a lot more power right from the start, so you're not stuck bolting things on later. Neither one is doing it wrong; they’re just made for different kinds of sellers.
So, let's skip the "which one wins" question and ask a better one instead: which one wins for you, based on where your business actually is right now. Let's get into it.
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is one of the most widely used e-commerce platforms in the world, and we’re about to see why. It's built for those people who want to launch a store quickly without needing a developer standing next to them. All you have to do is select a theme, drag a few elements around, add your products, and go live.
It stands out because of its simplicity. It has a massive app marketplace including thousands of tools that cover nearly anything that you could want to add to your store, from loyalty programs to advanced shipping calculators. Shopify follows a "start small, expand later" mindset. On day one, you get a solid, clean foundation, and then you can build outward as your business grows. You can do that by adding apps rather than complex custom code.
What Is BigCommerce?
BigCommerce takes a different approach. It tries to offer you as much as possible. Product reviews, customer group pricing, multi-storefront management, and deeper product filtering all come baked into BigCommerce. You don’t have to install a single extra app. That's a big deal if you're running a business with more moving parts, like multiple brands under one company, or B2B pricing tiers for different customer types.
BigCommerce usually follows the opposite philosophy of Shopify. It doesn’t start simple and add as you grow; rather, it follows “start powerful and grow into what you already have.” If BigCommerce's approach still doesn't feel like the right match, it's worth browsing a few BigCommerce alternatives before settling on a platform.
This does not mean that one is better than the other. Both are better ideas; they just follow different starting points.
Is BigCommerce Better Than Shopify? Quick Comparison
Before diving into the detailed comparison, here’s a quick side-by-side table to help you compare BigCommerce and Shopify at a glance.
| Feature | Shopify | BigCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | Very beginner-friendly, drag-and-drop editor | Slightly steeper learning curve, more technical for advanced edits |
| Built-in features | Fewer natively relies more on apps | Feature-rich out of the box |
| AI tools | Shopify Magic and Sidekick assistant | AI copywriter available; deeper AI mostly reserved for Enterprise plans |
| Product variants | Up to 100 per product | Up to 600 per product |
| Multi-storefront | Only available on pricier Shopify Plus | Available even on the entry-level plan, for an added fee |
| App ecosystem | Around 15,000+ apps | Around 1,300 apps |
| Starting price | From $39/month | From $39/month |
| Transaction fees | Extra fees if you skip Shopify Payments | No added transaction fees regardless of payment provider |
| Growth trigger | Add-on apps as you scale | Revenue-based plan upgrades |
Now let’s see the detailed breakdown to find out if BigCommerce is better than Shopify.
Is BigCommerce Better Than Shopify? Feature-by-Feature Comparison
The quick comparison gives you the highlights, but the real differences become clear when you compare each feature side by side.
Ease of Use: Which Platform Is More Beginner-Friendly?
Shopify will give you a sense of relief if you have never built an e-commerce website before. Its editor is visual and intuitive. It allows you to move sections around, swap images, and adjust your layout without ever writing a single line of code. Moreover, the admin dashboard is arranged in a way that is easy to find and navigate. This prevents a learning curve and makes daily tasks such as editing product listings easier.
BigCommerce isn’t difficult exactly, but it’s a little more demanding than Shopify. You might feel that the page builder is less polished. Moreover, you may have to dig into theme files if you wish to make any bigger layout changes. This is not exactly beginner-friendly. After you’re done with the setup phase, BigCommerce runs smoothly, but it takes a bit more patience to get into the actual admin panel.
Verdict: Shopify wins here; it's simply faster and easier to get comfortable with.
Built-In Features: Which Platform Offers More Out of the Box?
Now, this is where BigCommerce shines. Features that Shopify sellers often need to install as apps, like product reviews or customer segmentation, come built-in with BigCommerce. For instance, if you want to create a special pricing group for, say, wholesale buyers, you can do that natively without having to install an extra app for it. Moreover, if you want to sell your products across Amazon, eBay, or Facebook with inventory syncing automatically, BigCommerce’s built-in channel manager handles that without extra downloads.
On the other hand, Shopify can absolutely do almost all of these things too. However, you’ll likely need external Shopify apps to do that. And every extra app adds to the monthly costs and another integration to manage. It does not necessarily make it a bad system; it just shifts more responsibility onto you to assemble the pieces yourself to make things work.
Verdict: BigCommerce wins here as you get more right out of the box without relying on apps.
AI Features & Store Management: Which Platform Is Smarter?
Currently, Shopify is ahead of BigCommerce here. Shopify Magic handles product descriptions, clears the background from images, and even drafts responses inside your customer chat inbox. Then there's an AI assistant that lives right inside your dashboard. It answers setup questions on the spot and almost feels like having a support rep built into the software.
Whereas BigCommerce does offer an AI copywriting tool available to all users, which is genuinely useful for writing product descriptions fast. But its more ambitious AI features like predictive analytics and smart product recommendations are still mostly reserved for BigCommerce's Enterprise tier. This means most everyday users can’t access them yet.
Verdict: Shopify wins here; its AI tools are more developed and available to everyday users.
Scalability: Which Platform Grows Better with Your Business?
Here's where things get interesting for growing or complex businesses. Shopify caps you at 100 product variants per item, which sounds like plenty until you're selling something like clothing with multiple sizes, colors, and styles. Sellers hit that ceiling more often than you'd expect. BigCommerce, on the other hand, allows up to 600 variants, which gives a lot more breathing room for catalog-heavy stores.
Multi-storefront support tells a similar story. On Shopify, running multiple branded storefronts usually means jumping to Shopify Plus, which starts at a genuinely steep monthly price. BigCommerce lets you add multiple storefronts even on its cheapest plan, for a smaller added fee per storefront. If you're managing more than one brand or targeting different regions separately, that difference adds up fast.
Verdict: BigCommerce wins here. Its higher variant limits and easier multi-storefront support give it the edge.
App Ecosystem: Which Platform Offers More Integrations?
Shopify's app store is enormous, consisting of nearly 15,000 apps, which covers nearly every feature that you could dream of. Since it is widely used by businesses, developers build and release new tools there first. So, you’ll find newer and more specialized apps on Shopify that simply don’t exist yet on BigCommerce.
BigCommerce's app marketplace is smaller, sitting around 1,300 apps. That's not necessarily a weakness though, since so much functionality is already built into the core platform. So, you may just need fewer apps in the first place. But if you're chasing something niche or cutting-edge, Shopify's selection gives you better odds.
Verdict: Shopify wins here. Its app store is simply bigger and more specialized.
Pricing & Transaction Fees: Which Platform Delivers Better Value?
Both platforms actually start at the same price, $39 a month for their entry-level plans, and both scale up to around $399 a month for their more advanced tiers. What differs is what actually pushes you to upgrade.
With Shopify, you need higher plans mainly when you need more staff accounts or slightly better payment processing rates. BigCommerce, on the other hand, upgrades you automatically once you cross certain revenue thresholds, regardless of how many features you're using.
A few things about pricing that are worth knowing:
- Shopify charges extra transaction fees, up to 2%, if you don't use Shopify Payments.
- BigCommerce charges no additional transaction fees no matter which payment gateway you use.
- BigCommerce includes unlimited staff accounts even on lower plans, while Shopify limits staff access until you upgrade.
If you’re a small team with no heavy revenue yet, you’ll find BigCommerce much cheaper. If you're solo and don't expect a revenue spike anytime soon, Shopify is better suited for you.
Verdict: It's a tie. The cheaper option really depends on your team size and revenue growth.
BigCommerce vs Shopify: Which Platform Should You Choose?
So, is BigCommerce better than Shopify? Not exactly, and that's really the whole point. If you need a platform that lets you sell fast, feel effortless to design, and gives you freedom to add new capabilities through extra apps, Shopify is your go-to platform. It is simple to use, and you can add as your business grows. Its simplicity is its entire selling point.
If you're running something more complex already, like multiple brands, wholesale pricing tiers, or a large product catalog, BigCommerce hands you that power without forcing you to install a bunch of apps to get there. Even though it’s a little less easy to use, you get a lot more built-in capability.
Do not pick a platform that has more than five-star reviews online. Pick the one that matches your business workflows and where you realistically expect it to be a year or two from now.
