BigCommerce vs Shopify: which should run your store
The short answer
Pick Shopify for a growing brand that wants the most apps and no sales caps; Basic is $29 a month billed yearly. Pick BigCommerce for a big catalog, B2B buyers or Amazon and eBay built in; Core is also $29 a month, but each plan caps your yearly sales, and passing $30K moves you to Growth at $79 a month.
Plans, fees and sales caps
The plan prices match. The difference is BigCommerce's sales cap on each plan.
Shopify
Basic
- Price
- $29 a month billed yearly, $39 a month billed monthly
- Sales cap
- None on any plan
- Next plan up
- Grow, $79 a month billed yearly
- Card processing
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Fee for another payment provider
- 2%
- Apps
- Thousands of apps
- Marketplaces
- Social and marketplace channels on every plan
- B2B
- Up to 3 B2B catalogs on Basic, Grow and Advanced; unlimited on Plus
- Free trial
- 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months
- Keeps from fifty $20 sales
- $927
BigCommerce
Core
- Price
- $29 a month billed yearly, $39 a month billed monthly
- Sales cap
- up to $30K in sales over the last 12 months, then Growth
- Next plan up
- Growth, $79 a month billed yearly, up to $100K in sales over the last 12 months
- Card processing
- from 2.89% + 29¢
- Fee for another payment provider
- 2.0%
- Apps
- Over 1,200 apps
- Marketplaces
- Amazon, eBay and Walmart on every plan
- B2B
- Customer groups from Growth up; price lists on Performance
- Free trial
- 15 days, no card
- Keeps from fifty $20 sales
- $928
Keeps: fifty $20 sales in a month, minus the plan billed yearly and each fee on the vendor's own pricing page. Shipping, taxes, apps and ads not included. Sales are counted over the last 12 months as order value minus 10%.
Same prices on both pricing pages; only BigCommerce prints a sales limit under each plan.
One small store's month on each
One store: 100 orders a month at $40, so $4,000 in sales, paid by US cards.
Shopify
Basic
- Plan
- $29 a month
- Card fees on 100 orders
- $146
- Total a month
- $175
- Before passing the cap
- $175
BigCommerce
Growth
- Plan
- $79 a month: $48,000 a year is past Core's cap
- Card fees on 100 orders
- $145
- Total a month
- $224
- Before passing the cap
- $174 on Core
Plans billed yearly. Shipping, taxes, ads and paid apps or extensions not included; every fee from the vendor's own pricing page.
Card fees are nearly equal; BigCommerce's sales cap is what moves the bill.
Who each one is for
Best for a growing brand
Shopify
Thousands of apps, and no sales cap pushing you up a plan as you grow.
Where it loses
A 2% fee on Basic with another payment provider, and B2B catalogs cap at 3 below Plus.
Best for big catalogs and B2B
BigCommerce
Customer groups, reviews and Amazon, eBay and Walmart selling built into the plans.
Where it loses
Each plan caps yearly sales, and its app store is smaller than Shopify's.
Best for pages for your ads
Replo
Builds pages on your brand whose buy buttons send buyers to your store's checkout.
Where it loses
It isn't a store platform; catalog, stock and shipping stay in your store.
Whichever store you pick, add the pages
Replo builds the landing pages your ads send people to, with buy buttons that go to your store's cart.
Selling sizes or subscriptions? Switch to Shopify checkout and every buy button uses your Shopify cart.
Frequently asked questions
- Is BigCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
- Not once you grow. Both start at $29 a month billed yearly, and card fees are within a few cents. But BigCommerce Core caps sales at $30K over 12 months, so a store selling $4,000 a month pays $224 on Growth, against $175 on Shopify Basic.
- What happens when I pass BigCommerce's sales cap?
- BigCommerce moves you up a plan. Its pricing page says Core covers up to $30K in sales over the last 12 months and Growth up to $100K, counted as order value minus 10%. Scale charges 0.9% on sales above its monthly cap.
- Which has more apps?
- Shopify. Its pricing page lists thousands of apps, against over 1,200 on BigCommerce's. BigCommerce builds more into the plan instead, such as product reviews and selling on Amazon, eBay and Walmart, so a store there may need fewer paid apps.
- Which is better for B2B or wholesale?
- It depends on how many price lists you need. Shopify gives Basic, Grow and Advanced up to 3 B2B catalogs, and unlimited on Plus, from $2,300 a month. BigCommerce adds customer groups for segment pricing from Growth, and price lists per group on Performance, from $1,499 a month (custom).
- Does Replo work with BigCommerce?
- Yes, for pages. Replo builds landing pages on your brand, and each buy button can link to a BigCommerce product page or cart link, so checkout, shipping and orders stay in BigCommerce. See all store comparisons.
We read every price from the vendor's own pricing page and recheck them. Spot one that changed? Send us a correction.