BigCommerce vs Shopify: complete comparison guide
Contents

BigCommerce vs Shopify: complete comparison guide

BigCommerce vs Shopify are both powerful eCommerce site builders. Therefore, they are good options for e-merchants. However, there are some key differences that can help you choose the best alternative e-commerce platform according to your needs. In this article, we will compare both sites by providing more details about their features. Without further ado, let's get started!

Shopify vs. BigCommerce: pricing and costs

One of the first questions potential users have about BigCommerce vs Shopify is "how much do they cost?". This is because both Shopify and BigCommerce's pricing plans offer free trials. They also have pricing plans ranging from $39 to $399. However, there are several price differences especially between Shopify plus vs BigCommerce enterprise. 

Keep scrolling for more details!

Prices and costs of BigCommerce

There are 4 pricing plans for BigCommerce, as follows:

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BigCommerce prices vary depending on the sales you make each year. This is understandable, as it is a hosted ecommerce solution that allows you to increase your sales with new paid features.

Several other features are added in the BigCommerce Standard plan compared to the Shopify Basic plan. These include real-time shipping quotes, sales channel integration, unlimited products, file storage, etc.

Shopify pricing and costs

The Shopify commerce platform offers 5 pricing plans:

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The price difference between BigCommerce and Shopify is based more on the types of features available for each plan. While Shopify has the abandoned cart recovery feature in the basic plan, BigCommerce only unlocks this feature in the Plus plan.

Ease of use

Ease of use is important not only for beginner merchants, but also for those with experience. Therefore, it is important to consider this when comparing"BigCommerce versus Shopify".

BigCommerce : ease of use

BigCommerce is an ecommerce platform initially designed for owners who do not have much experience in creating websites. Moreover, it is versatile enough for experienced users and developers to modify the code of the stores. Therefore, if you want to develop from scratch or dive into the codes, BigCommerce is the ecommerce solution you will choose anyway.

It will take you some time to understand how the ecommerce platform works and start building your ecommerce store. That said, you can equip your store with out-of-the-box features to grow your business. In addition, BigCommerce has recently improved its user interface. 

When it comes to design flexibility, BigCommerce's drag and drop outshines Shopify. That's because you can simply grab an item and place it wherever you want. While Shopify doesn't provide the same convenient adjustment experience as BigCommerce. You can change the order of page items from a list in Shopify, but you can't drag and drop an item anywhere.

Ease of use of Shopify

Setting up a Shopify e-commerce store is easier, as its dashboard is minimal and easy to navigate. Since Shopify has already created different sections for its users, all you have to do is follow the instructions in the app to start editing them. Moreover, you don't need to deal with the technical side and you can focus on planning your business strategy.

Overall, Shopify scores higher in terms of ease of use than BigCommerce. It is also liked by most users for its integration process and user-friendly editor. You can access all the options you need from the main menu on the left, and a nice wizard asks you to set up your store step by step. If you prefer Shopify, you can start the free trial of Shopify right now.

BigCommerce versus Shopify : themes & design

Is BigCommerce better than Shopify in terms of design or design? Let's take a look at the design options of BigCommerce vs Shopify.

BigCommerce Themes

This e-commerce platform offers different themes categorized by industry, layout and price in the BigCommerce theme web store. There is a wide range of industries to choose from, although not as many as Shopify. BigCommerce's free themes are great options for beginners. You can also choose paid themes that range in price from $150 to $399.

Shopify Themes

On Shopify Theme Store, there is a wide range of themes for different industries and styles priced from $100 to $350. Plus, it's easy to find your ideal theme by searching by layout, store size, industry, navigation style, etc. 

Whether you are looking for free or paid options, all Shopify themes are modern and professional. Shopify themes offer an exceptional level of customization. Plus, they look professional and are easy to customize, even without technical knowledge.

All Shopify themes are mobile-friendly and automatically reformat to fit the screen size. You can also modify both versions to your liking, so you can be sure your site will look great on all devices. Shopify even offers a mobile preview in the demo.

Payment gateways

Shopify and BigCommerce can integrate with almost any third-party payment method, such as Paypal, Stripe, Square, etc. That said, Shopify has its own built-in payment processor. 

However, BigCommerce has worked very well, allowing sellers to integrate third-party apps with good additional functionality. Keep scrolling to learn more about the difference between BigCommerce vs Shopify.

Shopify Payments

Shopify Payment is the dedicated in-house payment provider for sellers on Shopify. Every time a purchase is made, Shopify Payment takes money from customers and sends it directly to the owners of the selling site. It has a fraud analysis system to detect any suspicious activity.

In addition, Shopify Payments ensures a fast, smooth and secure transaction between buyers and sellers on Shopify. Some of the benefits of Shopify Payment you may be interested in:

  • Instant configuration and approval,
  • Full integration,
  • No additional transaction fees, no hidden costs.

Don't like Shopify Payments or does your country not support Shopify Payments? No worries, Shopify supports hundreds of third-party payment gateways depending on your website's location.

BigCommerce Payments

Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce does not have a built-in payment processor. Instead, store owners can opt for different payment methods in the BigCommerce app store.

In fact, BigCommerce offers more than 65 payment gateway integrations in over 100 countries with more than 250 local payment methods. These can be named as Amazon Pay, Paypal, Square, Stripe, Authorize.net, Bolt, etc. All of them are also equipped with excellent features:

  • No transaction fees
  • PCI Compliance
  • Optimized for mobile devices

Ease of e-commerce 

The most important thing for direct shippers is to be able to source products quickly and easily from suppliers. They can then add these products to their store and automate the sales and shipping processes.

BigCommerce and Shopify apps let you do everything from start to finish, but Shopify offers more consistent quality. Oberlo is the only powerful tool that gives Shopify the edge for dropshipping.

Dropshipping with Shopify

Shopify's partnership with Dsers and Dropified is its main feature for direct shippers. This is because Dsers is the ultimate provider of a wide selection of products at wholesale prices. There are many similar apps available on Shopify's app marketplace that focus on different niches, markets or regions. Due to Shopify's high standards of selection, almost all of them are highly rated and perform very well.

Dropshipping with BigCommerce

BigCommerce has a decent app marketplace with a number of excellent product shopping apps. Other BigCommerce apps vary in quality and some are not as comprehensive as Dsers.

BigCommerce vs Shopify : customer service

If you want to get the most out of creating an e-commerce store, you need to go beyond the pricing plans. Access to technical support is essential for any business. You never know what kind of problem you might encounter in the future.

Customer service is how online businesses provide assistance to customers for everything. These range from making purchase decisions to resolving issues, while creating a seamless customer experience across all platforms. Therefore, in this section, let's take a look at Shopify vs BigCommerce customer support.

Whether you choose Shopify or BigCommerce, you'll have access to similar options. Here are the support options:

  • 24/7 telephone assistance
  • Live chat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • Help Center
  • Self-help forum
  • E-mail
  • Video tutorials
  • Advanced specialized assistance

Now let's dive a little deeper into BigCommerce vs Shopify support.

BigCommerce Support

Once you sign up for a free trial of BigCommerce, you will receive an appointment for a 10-minute call on this platform. By doing this, BigCommerce understands your business better and can therefore give you better advice.

In addition, BigCommerce also gives top priority to those who choose the Enterprise plan. You will receive integration consultants and phone calls from BigCommerce's highly trained staff.

Shopify Support

BigCommerce's help center is useful, but not as clear as Shopify's. In Shopify, the different sections are clearly separated in detail. Apart from that, Shopify's customer service also offers support via social media, unlike BigCommerce. 

When you ask for help in the Shopify editor, you are directed to a relevant page in the Shopify Knowledge Center. This is a valuable help feature that puts Shopify ahead of BigCommerce.

Security

E-commerce site security is essential, especially when it comes to the protection and sensitivity of data on a commerce site. The problems can be:

  • Securing business financing,
  • Prevent financial fraud and scams,
  • Defend the store's reputation as a safe place to conduct transactions.

When the right security measures are put in place on your website, it ensures the privacy and integrity of customers. As a result, they will feel safe buying from you while protecting their data and that of your online store.

BigCommerce Security

It is safe to say that BigCommerce leaves nothing to be desired in terms of their approach to security. As an open source eCommerce platform, it provides several layers of enhanced security for all the sites they host. All servers are PCI DSS level 1 certified to protect against credit card data breaches. Additional security measures include: 

  • Perimeter and server-specific firewalls,
  • File integrity scanners,
  • Intrusion detection software,
  • Human surveillance 24/7
  • Protection against fraudulent transactions,
  • BigCommerce Platform Trust Management Center.

An SSL certificate is issued by a trusted third party for a specific domain or subdomain. It verifies that a secure web page is properly encrypted, ensuring that all information transmitted between a user and the site is private.

Shopify Security

All Shopify ecommerce sites are PCI compliant by default to ensure the security of your business and your customers. This way, you can keep payment information and business data safe. Shopify provides SSL certificates to your store after adding a custom domain. To enhance security, SSL certificates encrypt your store content and publish it securely using HTTPS instead of HTTP.

Conclusion 

Both BigCommerce and Shopify are great ecommerce platforms. However, there are some differences that set them apart and make them more suitable for specific scenarios and users. That's why we've compared BigCommerce vs Shopify in this guide to help you make an informed decision. If you want to get started with Shopify, you can take advantage of 3 free months now for only £1.

Frequently asked questions 

Can BigCommerce compete with Shopify? 

When it comes to sales features, BigCommerce seems to outperform Shopify with a wider variety of built-in marketing tools. While Shopify's sales features are more customizable, BigCommerce offers more practical features from the start. Overall, both platforms offer all the essential features to create a store without technical skills and to manage the store.

Should I switch from BigCommerce to Shopify?

Yes, if your current BigCommerce based store lacks features. Or if you want to get the all-in-one shopping cart with unlimited customization capabilities, numerous apps and themes, 100+ payment gateways, etc.

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