BigCommerce vs Shopify: Which Should You Use?

Choosing an ecommerce platform for your business can be tricky. There’s so much choice out there and comparing features such as templates, looking at benefits and pricing can be overwhelming.

Two of the big names in the ecommerce arena are BigCommerce and Shopify. Both are browser-based (no software) website builders that enable you to sell physical or digital products from your unique store for a monthly or annual fee. If you’re selling online, you, of course, need a platform from which to promote and sell your products, so ecommerce platforms like these are the ideal solution.

The problem is that for most people, the thought of building a website is terrifying. There’s the design to consider, then there’s coding, uploading and all the other frightening tasks that web designers use in their everyday language.

Most of us don’t know our HTML from our JavaScript, or our CSS from our plugins! So, the great thing about ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify is that you can literally pick a template, upload your products, add your prices and you’re good to go.

Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work in theory. What is certain though is that even if you are a complete newbie or non-techie, you definitely won’t need a skilled web designer.

Looking to compare Shopify plus & BigCommerce Enterprise? -> Shopify Plus vs BigCommerce Enterprise

What’s the Difference Between BigCommerce and Shopify?

First, let’s consider both of these ecommerce platforms at a glance, as, in theory, they both offer precisely the same end result – a functional website.

They do indeed appear to have similar price points and features. Still, if you look a little more closely, you’ll discover that BigCommerce is geared more towards larger online stores and brands and Shopify is better for small businesses, boutique-style stores or for dropshipping. This though is a generalized overview.

Choosing your ecommerce platform shouldn’t only be based on the size of your business, or a certain price-point. You’ll need to look at other factors including inclusive features, payment gateways, SEO options, design templates, as well as pricing and overall value, to make an informed decision.

So, let’s consider these points when making a comparison between BigCommerce and Shopify and choosing your ecommerce platform.

BigCommerce vs Shopify: Pricing

When it comes to comparing BigCommerce vs Shopify, it’s unsurprising that the monthly or annual cost will play a big part in your decision. Profit is critical to the success of your ecommerce business, after all, and you will want to get the best value. Mainly because it’s likely you will be paying for other tools and apps alongside your ecommerce platform.

The good news is that BigCommerce and Shopify both offer a range of packages alongside their free trials. BigCommerce only gives 15 days free compared to Shopify’s 90-day offer.

BigCommerce’s pricing starts at $29.95 for the Standard plan, which is on a par with Shopify’s $29 offer for a Basic plan. Both BigCommerce and Shopify then offer plans rising to around $79 and then $299 for the pro or advanced packages. As you can see, there is very little difference in the pricing, which can make your final decision a little easier as you can base it on value for money as well as the features offered.

BigCommerce pricing plans start at $29.95.

Shopify price plans start at $29 per month.

When looking at the pricing, don’t forget that you’ll need to factor other fees in. For example, although Shopify allows you to use its own payment processor free of charge, it is only available in 11 countries. If you use a third-party payment processor, Shopify will charge you a fee ranging from 0.5% to 2% on every sale (that’s on top of your payment processors charges).

While BigCommerce doesn’t charge you per transaction, it does put selling limits in place, and once you reach 50K per year, it will be compulsory for you to upgrade your package and pay the higher monthly fee.

In a nutshell: Pricing is similar on each ecommerce platform, and although there are some variations concerning what you get or what you might have to pay extra for, the two do balance themselves pretty well.

BigCommerce vs Shopify: SEO

Now, this is important. If your customers can’t find you, you won’t sell any products. It’s your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) that will make sure you are visible online. The good news is that BigCommerce and Shopify both understand that this is important.

However, Shopify does not allow the editing of your URLs, which can hinder your progress in the Google search results. BigCommerce, on the other hand, allows full editing giving you a potential advantage when it comes to SEO.

BigCommerce also has Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) automatically enabled on their templates. This is another plus for SEO as shoppers can clearly see your website on their mobile devices. Shopify doesn’t have this built-in – you’ll need an app.

According to research by WebFX BigCommerce SEO outperforms Shopify, with the site rankings for stores using BigCommerce higher on average.

Another important feature when it comes to SEO is your blog. You’ll need a blog page to enable you to publish content that will rank organically on search engines. Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer a blog feature, although they are both pretty basic.

In a nutshell: BigCommerce comes out on top for SEO simply because it’s more flexible than Shopify with editable URLs and built-in AMP.

BigCommerce vs Shopify: Features, Apps and Integrations

There are too many to go into individually, but as you would expect, both platforms come with all the standard ecommerce features. You can sell unlimited products (although remember that you will have selling limits with BigCommerce), process credit card payments, manage your stock levels, collect reviews, market your products and so on.

Worth a mention are some of the more useful and necessary features available on each ecommerce platform.

Gift Cards and Discount Pricing

There will probably be a time when you will want to consider offering gift cards, special discounts or adding tiered pricing, for example. BigCommerce offers all of these things built-in. With Shopify, once again, as with many features, you’ll need an app.

Advanced Search Feature

If you are planning on scaling your inventory and selling hundreds of products, BigCommerce has an advanced site search feature built-in as standard which Shopify does not. In other words, shoppers will find it easy to search for specific products if your site is built with BigCommerce. They may find it trickier with Shopify – but this is why Shopify is more suited to smaller businesses.

Apps

You’ve already heard a lot about ‘apps’ being required on Shopify. That’s because apps are the primary way to get extra functionality into your Shopify store. Shopify offers over 2000 apps and integrations compared to BigCommerce’s 500+, but BigCommerce doesn’t rely so much on the requirement for apps, instead having lots of features already built-in.

Synching with Other Ecommerce Platforms

The good news is that if you already have an Amazon or eBay store, you can sync it with either BigCommerce or Shopify (without an app) or both allowing you to integrate your accounts smoothly and manage everything from a single dashboard.

Dropshipping

With the dropshipping model showing no sign of slowing, this is an essential feature for many ecommerce businesses and is where Shopify excels. There are integrations for Doba, Oberlo, AliExpress, and Inventory Source. If you choose BigCommerce, unfortunately, you get zero dropshipping integrations.

In a nutshell: Shopify has a larger number of apps, however, looking for the most suitable app and adding it can become tiresome. BigCommerce has more built-in features and lacks dropshipping options. That said, overall, they both offer adequate integrations in different ways and the most suitable will depend on your individual requirements.