Which Online Store? BigCommerce Vs. Shopify Comparison

10 min read

BigCommerce and Shopify are ecommerce platforms that can help an aspiring entrepreneur or brick and mortar business owner enter the online space. While each has its benefits, both BigCommerce and Shopify are great for business owners looking for an all-in-one platform.

Are you wondering how you can use BigCommerce or Shopify to manage your online store quickly and efficiently? Or maybe you’re looking to open an ecommerce store from scratch? Then you’ve come to the right page.

Ecommerce Platforms & Online Stores

Existing store owners (or soon-to-be store owners) should never stop trying to make their existing website or online store as good as they can possibly be. A beautiful and functioning online store can generate online sales and beat out other online stores that appear in the search results.

BigCommerce and Shopify are two popular options to host, enhance, or create an ecommerce store. So, if you’ve been looking for the right ecommerce platform for you, here’s a breakdown of BigCommerce Vs. Shopify.

BigCommerce Vs. Shopify for an Online Store

Website building or paid themes, free themes, file storage, and other elements are critical to consider when creating or managing an online store. Both BigCommerce and Shopify can provide different options for an online store setup or function.

Ecommerce

BigCommerce is an online store builder that hosts many online stores in the U.S. and other countries. BigCommerce has tons of built-in features for online selling and allows companies to grow rapidly online and offline. BigCommerce offers ease and lets ecommerce store owners hit the ground running as the site offers BigCommerce merchants the ability to sell more at any stage of their company.

BigCommerce also provides the following for their online store users:

Themes

BigCommerce offers a variety of free and paid themes. Free themes and templates can help your online store create a consistent appearance for your visitors while still being its own unique website and representing your brand.

Website Builder

A BigCommerce website is also a buildable one. You can create and customize the website just like using the online themes and custom HTML code.

BigCommerce supports themes and websites on mobile devices for online stores to appear still seamless and functional. Website function includes saving abandoned carts, CRM software, file storage, and other advanced features.

Integrations

While BigCommerce is an app, the BigCommerce app store within BigCommerce allows you to manage and integrate apps associated with your store, like Mailchimp, ShipperHQ, and QuickBooks Online as marketing tools.

Pricing Plans

You’re able to try BigCommerce for free for 15 days. Once your BigCommerce trial ends, you’ll have to pick a paid plan. BigCommerce pricing will vary on the plan you select.

BigCommerce pricing offers the following plans: Standard, Plus, and Pro. Each price climbs higher as each offers additional features. However, it’s all about the tools that you get for the price you pay!

Are you wondering how the ecommerce platform compares to Shopify? We’ve got you covered.

Shopify Offers For Shopify Users

Many online store owners are familiar with Shopify; after all, Shopify has nearly 11 percent of ecommerce market shares and is excellent for adding sales features to your ecommerce site and supportive of multi-channel selling, making the task of selling organized for owners.

Themes

Shopify offers users to choose from free and paid Shopify themes and build and customize the online store with HTML or CSS via advanced features.

The Shopify theme store automatically converts Shopify themes to function on mobile devices along with shopping cart functionality, allowing Shopify stores to work seamlessly across any platform.

Website Builder

Besides themes, Shopify websites are customizable with HTML or through using its built-in drag-and-drop build feature to include a full blog platform and content management system to help with SEO purposes.

Integrations

The Shopify app store is located within Shopify. These apps can help users do basic actions like setting up a payment gateway or advanced steps like marketing tools for a campaign or tracking sales.

Pricing

Shopify offers a free 3 day trial for interested business owners. When the Shopify trial ends, you’ll have to pick a paid Shopify plan to continue using the software. Shopify pricing is based on the following tiers:

The basic Shopify plan is the most affordable and is best for new ecommerce businesses. This plan will have limited features but enough to get an ecommerce business growing. The advanced plan is more costly yet will offer more features and is best for established ecommerce businesses that report sales.

Shopify offers a middle-tier dubbed Shopify that meshes the best of Shopify Basic and Advanced Shopify into one. This includes five staff accounts that’ll have access to Shopify POS, a free SSL certificate, abandoned cart recovery, shipping discount, and more.

Payments

A step further into Shopify payments and pricing — since Shopify payments are why many choose to use the ecommerce platform — Shopify integrates a payment gateway with many payment providers.

Credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, or PayPal. The more payment providers for an ecommerce store, the better for reaching any customer eager to buy.

Do You Still Have Questions about Opening an Ecommerce Store?

While you’re deciding between BigCommerce vs. Shopify, you may be wondering if there’s another ecommerce platform that you can use to set up, manage, or build an online store. Fret not! These FAQs can help you find the right ecommerce platform.

Is BigCommerce good for ecommerce?

BigCommerce offers BigCommerce merchants an array of tools for online selling. There are no transaction fees, so more money goes to you as a merchant when your customers make a payment. BigCommerce’s platform has a little more need for merchants to learn when it comes to using it but offers the same, if not more, features than Shopify. Overall, BigCommerce is a good start for ecommerce users.

What is the difference between BigCommerce vs. Shopify pricing?

Shopify and BigCommerce both are month-to-month subscriptions. Each offers three different plans with different pricing. The higher the plan (like a pro plan via BigCommerce or advanced Shopify) the more you’ll pay per month. The features offered are similar, but BigCommerce’s pro plan is less expensive than Shopify’s.

Do BigCommerce and Shopify support SEO?

BigCommerce and Shopify support and use common SEO practices. Shopify comes with a blogging platform that helps a store owner use a blog to direct to the purchasing website. But in all honesty, neither platform supports a great blogging experience, so if you plan on your blog as a main component of your online presence, it’s important to factor that in.

What Other Ecommerce Platforms Are Available?

BigCommerce and Shopify are not the only platforms available that provide owners advanced features, free themes, or an SSL certificate. You’ve likely heard of Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy. But have you ever heard of Ecwid?

Ecwid: an ecommerce platform

Ecwid is a free ecommerce platform allowing business owners to sell online. Ecwid is designed to be a straightforward ecommerce platform online, so no experience is required. Additionally, with integration with online sales channels (including social media like Instagram) Ecwid users can sell products from anywhere.

If you have an existing online store or site, you integrate it instantly by using Ecwid’s “buy now” widget or plugin. That way, everything your customer needs to browse your site and make a sale is in one place. On top of that, your advertising, analytics, and customer management can all be managed from a single control panel. Sign up for Ecwid for free and continue to use it for free—or upgrade to a tiered payment plan (Venture, Business, or Unlimited) to unlock more features for your business!

Open Your Online Store

Now that you have the information about BigCommerce Vs. Shopify, as well as Ecwid, it’s time to pick your platform and start your ecommerce journey. The right platform for you, no matter which you choose, is only a click away.

Sell online

With Ecwid Ecommerce, you can easily sell anywhere, to anyone — across the internet and around the world.

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Sep 8, 2021

About the author

Anastasia Prokofieva is a content writer at Ecwid. She writes about online marketing and promotion to make entrepreneurs’ daily routine easier and more rewarding. She also has a soft spot for cats, chocolate, and making kombucha at home.