BigCommerce vs Shopify (2026) - Which Platform Is Right for Your Business?

Trying to pin BigCommerce vs Shopify in 2026? Here’s a quick snapshot to help you decide:

• Shopify wins in ease of use, dropshipping support, theme variety, and app ecosystem, which makes it ideal for startups, B2C brands, and fast growth.
  
• BigCommerce leads in built-in features, B2B tools, and scalability for large catalogs and hybrid models, and so it’s perfect for wholesalers or businesses with complex models.
  
• Both offer strong SEO tools, omnichannel selling, and customer support yet differ in flexibility and total cost of ownership.

Final verdict:

• Choose Shopify if you value simplicity, beautiful themes, and unmatched app integrations.
• Choose BigCommerce if you want powerful built-in features, no transaction fees, and native support for B2B or multi-storefront selling.

Your ideal pick depends on your catalog complexity, sales model (B2B or B2C), and how hands-on you want to be with features vs. apps.

BigCommerce vs Shopify – which ecommerce platform to use in 2026? You are in the right place in case you are an online store owner or marketer who needs to choose the right platform.

Both Shopify and BigCommerce are giant ecommerce builders with each having their own strengths. Shopify has an extensive user base (millions of merchants as opposed to tens of thousands users in BigCommerce) and a large app ecosystem, whereas BigCommerce takes pride in strong built-in functionalities and flexibility.

In this comprehensive Shopify vs BigCommerce comparison, we’ll explore pricing, scalability, and BigCommerce 2026 features to help businesses choose the right ecommerce platform.

To simplify matters, let’s  begin with a brief comparison of how BigCommerce and Shopify compare on following important factors:

Shopify vs BigCommerce Comparison Table (2026)

As the table shows, Shopify tends to excel in ease of use, design, which is why it is ideal when it comes to fast growing B2C companies and beginners. BigCommerce, however, eclipses it with additional features, ability to handle complex catalogs, and overall enhanced support of B2B and wholesale needs.

At this point, we can explore each of these issues in detail to know which platform is more suited for your business in 2026.

Pricing and Transaction Fees - BigCommerce is Cheaper

Shopify and BigCommerce both start at similar pricing tiers—around $29/month for entry-level plans (billed annually) and up to $399/month for advanced ones. They also offer enterprise-level options (Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise) for large businesses. 

BigCommerce offers a very generous free trial of 15 days, as compared to Shopify, which has only 3 days free offer but it is usually compensated in the first 3 months through the promo of 1 dollar a month for its services.

When comparing Shopify pricing 2026, transaction fees and long-term scaling costs play a major role in total ownership cost. For the key differences emerge in transaction fees and sales limits. Regardless of the payment gateway, BigCommerce has a zero transaction fee policy on all plans. Only when using Shopify Payments, you get to pay 0% fees on Shopify. Otherwise, you will be charged 2, 1 or 0.5 percent, which depends on your plan.

BigCommerce also imposes annual sales limits by plan, including $50k, $180k, and $400k after which you need to upgrade. Shopify has no sales restrictions so it is scale friendly to fast growing stores.

Another factor to consider, Shopify has a large app store that can cost you more per month but BigCommerce has more built-in functionality (such as real-time shipping quotes and product reviews).

Now, to clearly sum up the pricing comparison:

BigCommerce Pricing & Fees

• BigCommerce starts at $39/month for the Standard plan, with Plus and Pro plans at $105 and $399 respectively. 
• Enterprise pricing is available on request. 
• One big advantage is the generous 15-day free trial. 
• BigCommerce charges 0% transaction fees on all plans and allows you to use any payment gateway without extra costs. 
• Annual sales limits per plan ($50k, $180k, $400k), after which you need to upgrade.

Shopify Pricing & Fees

• Shopify offers a $5 Starter plan with limited features, then Basic at $39, "Shopify" at $105, and Advanced at $399. 
• Shopify Plus (enterprise tier) starts at around $2,300/month. 
• The free trial is 3 days but often comes with a $1/month promo for the first 3 months. 
• Shopify has no sales limits but charges transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments (2.0%, 1.0%, or 0.5%).

Bottom line:

• BigCommerce tends to be less expensive when a B2B store or a large high-volume store relies on third-party gateways.
  
• Shopify is more flexible to fast-scaling brands or startups that require fewer initial features.

Choose based on your revenue trajectory and tech preferences.

Which is Easier to Use & Setup - Shopify Wins

Managing an online store is not an easy task and it is important to select a platform that makes day-to-day activities easier. It is one of the aspects upon which Shopify is always ranked higher than BigCommerce in user reviews.

Getting Started

Shopify provides an easy-to-use, user-friendly onboarding process. In the process of signing up, it requires a few basic questions concerning your business and tailors the dashboard to your specifications. The interface is clean and intuitive, and the checklist of step-by-step setup allows a new user to launch fast by guiding the user through products, themes and payments.

BigCommerce, on the contrary, is initially more complicated. It requests more business information upfront and provides less hand-holding at set-up. Although it gives a dashboard and a checklist, some of the settings are not immediately visible to some users and this makes the learning curve initially steeper.

Store Design & Editing

Both platforms have theme-based editors, as opposed to full drag-and-drop builders. The theme customizer of Shopify is typically easier and smoother. Page Builder in BigCommerce is both effective and versatile but not as user-friendly as it can be with beginners.

Ongoing Management

Shopify’s admin dashboard is well-organized and makes orders, products, and marketing easy to manage. BigCommerce has a larger number of inbuilt controls, which might be welcome by power users, but can initially feel intimidating.

Support & Guidance

Both offer 24/7 support. Shopify has a small win over BigCommerce in terms of the help resources and community, whereas the support is also reliable at BigCommerce.

Here’s a quick summary of setup experiences on both platforms:

Shopify Setup Experience

• Shopify is known for its beginner-friendly dashboard and guided onboarding. 
• New users are walked through setup with a checklist that covers themes, payments, and product uploads. 
• The admin UI is clean, simple, and great for non-technical users.

BigCommerce Setup Experience

• BigCommerce has a steeper learning curve. 
• The signup process requires more business details upfront and the dashboard can feel complex. 
• While it offers powerful features, it may feel overwhelming to first-timers. 

What we learn: Shopify is simpler to use whereas BigCommerce is more technical and allows more control.

Themes & Design Flexibility - Shopify Offers More

The design of your store is of great importance in customer perception of your brand. Shopify and BigCommerce have professional mobile-responsive themes that have ample customization opportunities, although they approach it slightly differently.

Theme Selection

Shopify dominates in pure diversity. It provides 100+ themes including 24 free themes with an extensive variety of styles such as minimalist, creative and corporate. It is then easier to locate a free theme that perfectly matches your brand in the first place.

BigCommerce offers approximately 12 free themes, each of which has its variations, and a good range of paid themes. The designs are modern and well-constructed, but many free themes are similar, often varying only in color and not layout. Both platforms have high quality paid themes, although Shopify themes are usually more expensive ($200-$350) compared to the ones offered by BigCommerce ($150-$300).

Customization Options

Both platforms can be readily customized without coding. You can adjust fonts, colors, images, and page sections visually. The theme editor of Shopify is a bit smoother and more flexible with its Online Store 2.0 section system and extensive collection of page builder apps. The Page Builder in BigCommerce is robust and has been developed further, but it might be less user-friendly because of complex layouts.

Flexibility for Developers & Multilingual Support

In case of custom builds, they both support full code access. Shopify is based on Liquid, whereas BigCommerce is based on more conventional HTML/CSS. Shopify is also smoother to operate when it comes to multilingual storefronts, while BigCommerce typically needs apps or different stores entirely.

In a nutshell. here’s what you get from:

Shopify Themes & Customization

• Shopify offers 100+ themes, including 24 free options. These span multiple styles like creative, minimalist, and corporate. 
• Customization is easy via its Online Store 2.0 system, which supports drag-and-drop editing and rich page builder apps. 
• Shopify’s Liquid language is widely used among developers.

BigCommerce Themes & Customization

• BigCommerce offers about 12 free themes with variants and dozens of paid themes. 
• While the quality is high, many free options look similar. 
• Customization is powerful with the Page Builder and Stencil framework, though the interface is less intuitive.

Final Words: Shopify is more polished and theme-diverse. BigCommerce does not offer as many choices, but provides sturdy, fully customizable designs after you find the one you like.

Scalability and Performance - BigCommerce’s Better at Scaling

Both Shopify and BigCommerce are designed to grow with your company to support high traffic, large inventory, and growth internationally. But how they approach growth differs.

Product complexity: BigCommerce handles complex catalogs more gracefully. It has a maximum of 250 product options and 600 SKUs per product, much higher than the default limit of 3 options and 100 SKUs on Shopify. In case your business has extremely customizable goods or lots of variants, BigCommerce is prepared by default; whereas, Shopify might demand applications or hacks. At this point, BigCommerce scalability stands out and especially for stores managing complex catalogs or hybrid B2B & B2C operations.

Multi-storefronts: BigCommerce allows you to operate multiple storefronts using the same account (3 on Standard, 5 on Plus, 8 on Pro) which is suitable in situations where a brand sells in a specific region or even B2B/B2C. Shopify, on the other hand, needs individual accounts or a Shopify Plus (premium) plan to operate many stores.

Performance: Both offer excellent uptime and scalable hosting. Shopify may have slightly faster page loads, but BigCommerce holds its own and even received high marks for speed in recent comparisons.

API limits: BigCommerce adopts an Open SaaS approach to API usage, with free or unlimited usage, which is excellent in ERP or even custom integrations. Shopify API is solid yet quite limited except when on Plus.

All in all, these features are what both platforms have to offer when it comes to scaling:

Scalability in BigCommerce

• BigCommerce scalability is built-in. 
• It supports 250 product options and 600 SKUs per product, with built-in multi-storefront management (3–8 storefronts depending on plan). 
• Its Open SaaS model includes generous API limits and native ERP integration support.

Scalability with Shopify 

• Shopify handles high sales volumes and traffic well, but caps product options at 3 and 100 SKUs by default. 
• Multi-storefronts require Shopify Plus, and API limits are stricter unless you upgrade.

Takeaway: BigCommerce offers better in-built scalability when complex operations are required; Shopify proves to be stable in single-store expansions with high-volume.

B2B & Wholesale Features - Another Win for BigCommerce

When your business sells wholesale or is involved in serving other businesses, then B2B functionality plays a crucial role. It generally involves personalized pricing, large-scale ordering, quote management, and limited access to the storefront, which is where BigCommerce and Shopify differ distinctly.

B2B is a core strength BigCommerce puts forward, particularly its B2B Edition (included in Pro and Enterprise plans). Even standard plans support customer groups, custom price lists, and quote requests. B2B Edition adds wholesale portals, bulk order forms, purchase order payments, and advanced quote management. Many of these features work natively, reducing reliance on third-party apps. BigCommerce even allows separate B2B and B2C storefronts under a single account, without forcing its enterprise tier onto the merchants.

Shopify is strong in the B2C while it encapsulates its most powerful B2B tools within Shopify Plus. The Plus merchants can open company accounts, offer negotiated pricing, and enable net payment terms. In lower premium plans, merchants will have to use paid applications to get wholesale prices, gated access, or bulk ordering, which can add to the cost and complexity.

Checkout flexibility also favors BigCommerce, which supports PO payments and shared corporate accounts more easily. Shopify’s B2B checkout customization is mostly limited to Plus.

Let’s see a what a final comparison between the two tells us:

BigCommerce B2B Tools

• BigCommerce 2026 features include strong B2B tools even on non-enterprise plans.
• With B2B Edition, users get bulk order forms, purchase order options, and advanced quoting. 
• Customer groups and price lists are built in, with native multi-storefront support for B2B/B2C separation.

Shopify B2B Tools

• Shopify B2B tools are mostly locked behind Shopify Plus. 
• Lower plans rely on third-party apps for features like gated content, net terms, and bulk ordering.

It’s clear that in this BigCommerce vs Shopify for B2B comparison, BigCommerce leads with native wholesale tools, while Shopify relies more on enterprise plans and apps.

Winner for B2B: BigCommerce.It offers more powerful, built-in B2B features at a lower entry point, which is best suited to wholesale or hybrid B2B/B2C business in 2026.

Features & Integrations - Shopify Offers More (Apps, Marketing & SEO Tools, etc.)

Modern ecommerce platforms cannot afford to fulfill orders only. There is a need to have marketing tools, SEO control, omnichannel selling, and the capability to extend functionality as your brand develops. Shopify and BigCommerce are both good at the essentials, although in different ways.

Features of BigCommerce vs Shopify (Pros and Cons)

Shopify vs BigCommerce Built-in Features - BigCommerce Wins

When choosing an ecommerce platform, the number of features you get out-of-the-box can greatly affect costs and complexity. 

Let’s see what the two power houses have to offer in their range of built in features.

BigCommerce Built-In Capabilities

BigCommerce shines with native features like:

• Reviews
• File uploads
• Product customization
• Real-time shipping quotes
• Native customer segmentation 

It reduces reliance on apps and lowers cost.

Shopify Built-In Capabilities

Shopify offers the core essentials, but often requires apps for:

• Reviews
• Digital products
• Subscriptions
• Customer segmentation

While flexible, it can lead to higher ongoing costs.

Verdict: BigCommerce offers more value with its robust native feature set.

BigCommerce vs Shopify App Ecosystem - Shopify Takes the Lead

Apps play a crucial role in expanding store functionality, while the size of the ecosystem can define your customization potential.

Time to make a clear cut comparison between Shopify and BigCommerce app ecosystems.

Shopify App Marketplace

• The Shopify app ecosystem is massive as it offers over 8,000 apps.
• It covers everything from SEO and email marketing to print-on-demand and B2B tools. 
• Shopify is extremely customizable.

BigCommerce App Store

• BigCommerce has around 1,000 apps. 
• While growing steadily, it’s more focused on core ecommerce needs and may lack the breadth of Shopify’s integrations.

Verdict: Shopify wins here. Its app ecosystem is ideal for merchants seeking deep customization.

Omnichannel Selling - Another Win for Shopify

Selling across multiple platforms is essential for ecommerce success in 2026. Whether it's social media, marketplaces, or in-person retail, businesses need seamless integration and control.

Let’s see how Shopify and BigCommerce stack up when it comes to multichannel selling capabilities.

Shopify Omnichannel Tools

• Shopify excels at multichannel selling. 
• Its dashboard connects seamlessly to Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Google, and POS systems for unified inventory and order management.

BigCommerce Omnichannel Tools

• BigCommerce also supports major channels like Facebook and Amazon via its Channel Manager
• Its integration isn’t as polished as Shopify’s.

Verdict: Shopify is stronger for multichannel selling and retail expansion.

Checkout Customization - BigCommerce is More Flexible

A smooth, flexible checkout experience can make or break conversions, especially for B2B, subscription, or high-ticket sellers.

Let’s look at how BigCommerce and Shopify differ when it comes to customizing the checkout flow.

BigCommerce Checkout Options

• BigCommerce allows developers full checkout customization across all plans using APIs. 
• It is ideal for businesses needing custom flows or payment terms.

Shopify Checkout Options

• Shopify restricts checkout customization unless you’re on Shopify Plus. 
• Most users are limited to basic style and field changes.

Which one’s better: BigCommerce offers better flexibility for custom B2B and enterprise checkouts.

Headless Commerce - BigCommerce Takes This One Too

For brands wanting complete design freedom and lightning-fast storefronts, headless commerce is the future. Both Shopify and BigCommerce support it but their approaches differ in flexibility and setup. Let’s see how:

BigCommerce Headless Commerce

• BigCommerce supports headless builds via Open SaaS. 
• It is compatible with BigQuery, CMS platforms, and modern frontend frameworks.

Shopify Headless Commerce

• Shopify supports headless commerce through Hydrogen and Storefront API. 
• Its setup is more opinionated and tied to Shopify’s ecosystem.

Final Take: BigCommerce gives more flexibility for tech-heavy teams building custom frontends.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - It’s a Tie 

Both platforms follow SEO best practices and can rank well in search results. Shopify and BigCommerce let you edit page titles, meta descriptions, and other SEO tags easily. 

The main difference is BigCommerce gives you more technical SEO control. For example, you have full freedom over URL structure (no forced prefix in your product URLs), whereas Shopify URLs include predefined folders like /products/ or /collections/. It is a rahter minor technical point, and many Shopify stores still perform great in SEO. 

Overall, Shopify and BigCommerce are both SEO-friendly that offer features like sitemaps, 301 redirects, and mobile-friendly designs by default. BigCommerce’s extra flexibility can benefit advanced SEO users, while Shopify’s simplicity (and apps for SEO enhancements) works well for most merchants.

To summarize:

Shopify SEO Tools

• Shopify SEO is strong and user-friendly. 
• It supports multilingual SEO and integrates with Semrush. 
• URL structure is fixed but doesn’t limit ranking.

BigCommerce SEO Tools

• BigCommerce provides advanced SEO control, such as editable URLs without subfolder constraints. 
• Appeals to advanced SEO teams.

Verdict: Tie. Shopify is easier for most users; BigCommerce offers deeper control.

Dropshipping Support & Capabilities - Shopify Takes the Win

If you're running or planning a dropshipping business, both Shopify and BigCommerce support it but Shopify has a clear edge in this area.

Shopify has become the go-to platform for dropshippers thanks to its vast app ecosystem, including popular integrations like DSers (AliExpress), Spocket, Zendrop, and Printful. All these apps allow you to easily import products, fulfill orders automatically, and manage supplier relationships from within your dashboard. Shopify’s smooth workflows and beginner-friendly interface make launching and scaling a dropshipping store fast and intuitive.

BigCommerce also supports dropshipping via third-party apps, but the selection is smaller and not as tightly integrated. While platforms like Printful and Spocket do offer BigCommerce apps, some users report needing more manual setup and management compared to Shopify.

In short:

Shopify for Dropshipping

• Shopify is an industry favorite for dropshipping.
• The platform supports DSers, Spocket, Zendrop, Printful, and more. 
• It offers automation and ease of use, especially for beginners.

BigCommerce for Dropshipping

• BigCommerce also supports dropshipping apps like Printful and Spocket.
• Lacks Shopify’s tight app integrations and may require more manual setup.

Winner? If dropshipping is your core business model, Shopify offers a more streamlined, scalable, and app-rich experience in 2026.

Key Takeaways for Features & Integrations

• BigCommerce aims at limiting reliance on apps and providing robust native capabilities, which are affordable and simpler to operate.
  
• Shopify offers unmatched flexibility through its app ecosystem, which is suitable for brands that require deep customization.
  
• Shopify has a slight advantage over BigCommerce in SEO tooling and blogging, whereas BigCommerce is leading in the URL prefixes, area of native segmentation and checkout flexibility.
  
• Both are open to headless commerce, omnichannel selling, and integrations, but BigCommerce has more openness at lower tiers.

Bottom line: Shopify is the right choice in case you like a lean core that is fuelled by apps. Select BigCommerce when you desire more built-in features and less regular costs on apps.

Customer Support & Community - Overall It’s a Tie 

In an ecommerce store, customer service counts, be it a technical hitch that you are seeking a quick fix to or just a quick word of advice. Shopify and BigCommerce both provide 24/7 support, although in slightly different ways.

Support Channels

BigCommerce offers 24/7 live chat and phone support across all plans, which a lot of merchants value. Shopify will also provide 24/7 live chat to all of them, although phone support is primarily provided to Shopify Plus users. Neither platform offers traditional email support anymore, though BigCommerce allows ticket-based requests. In practice, both platforms are responsive via live chat.

Help Resources

Shopify and BigCommerce both have support centers that are properly managed and contain lots of tutorials and documentation. Shopify’s help center is bigger and regularly updated, and it is accompanied by a community forum that merchants can use to exchange tips. BigCommerce’s documentation is also solid, though its community is smaller.

Community and Experts

Shopify benefits greatly from its massive user base. One could find millions of blogs, YouTube channels, social groups, and a huge marketplace of Shopify Experts to hire developers and consultants. The BigCommerce community is smaller, more niche, and yet supportive, including certified partners and an in-house support team.

Let’s simplify all of this: 

BigCommerce Support & Community

• BigCommerce offers 24/7 chat and phone support on all plans. 
• It has a solid documentation hub and growing partner network, though its community is smaller.

Shopify Support & Community

• Shopify offers 24/7 chat (phone for Plus users). 
• Its vast merchant community, experts marketplace, and wealth of tutorials are unmatched.

Verdict: Tie. Even though Shopify has a clear advantage when it comes to the community and self-help resources, BigCommerce stands out for offering phone support on all plans. Both are dependable so you’ll be well supported either way.

Conclusion on Which is Better for your Business?

Shopify and BigCommerce are both good options in 2026, depending on the business needs:

• Choose Shopify if you want a simple or easy-to-use platform with a large app ecosystem, beautiful themes, and strong tools for B2C growth. It works well for startups and fast-growing brands.
  
• Pick BigCommerce when you require in-built features, no transaction charges, sophisticated B2B applications, and support for large or complex catalogs.

Shopify is the more versatile choice in most cases, whereas BigCommerce has greater control and scaling on a hybrid or B2B approach. You can easily compare the two with the offer of free trials and choose the one that is most effective according to your objectives, team, and product organization.

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