Shopify and BigCommerce charge identical prices at every comparable tier: $39/month for the entry plan, $105/month for the middle tier, $399/month for the advanced tier. That coincidence forces the real comparison onto what each dollar buys, and the answer is not the same platform wearing a different logo.
The single biggest difference: BigCommerce charges zero transaction fees on any plan. Shopify charges 0.5% to 2% per sale if you use any payment processor besides Shopify Payments. For a store doing meaningful volume through a third-party gateway, that difference is the whole decision.
Pricing and Fees at Every Tier
| Shopify | BigCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry tier | $39/mo, 2% tx fee (3rd party gateway) | $39/mo, $0 tx fee |
| Mid tier | $105/mo, 1% tx fee | $105/mo, $0 tx fee |
| Advanced tier | $399/mo, 0.5% tx fee | $399/mo, $0 tx fee |
| Enterprise | $2,300/mo (Plus) | Custom pricing |
| Shopify Payments | Eliminates tx fee, 2.9% + $0.30 card rate | N/A, use any processor at its own rate |
Run the math at $30,000/month in sales through a third-party gateway on the entry tier: Shopify costs $39 + $600 (2% fee) = $639/month. BigCommerce costs $39/month plus whatever your processor charges, with nothing going to the platform. At that volume, BigCommerce is cheaper by exactly the transaction fee amount, every month, indefinitely.
Shopify's counter is Shopify Payments, which drops the platform fee to zero in exchange for using Shopify's card processing rates (2.9% + $0.30 on the entry tier, improving at higher tiers). If you are willing to lock into Shopify's payment processor, the fee gap closes considerably. If you have a negotiated rate with your current processor, or need a specific gateway Shopify Payments does not support in your region, BigCommerce's zero-fee structure wins outright.
BigCommerce has one pricing quirk Shopify does not: annual sales thresholds per plan. Standard caps out around $50,000/year in sales, Plus around $180,000/year, Pro around $400,000/year. Exceed the threshold and BigCommerce requires an upgrade regardless of whether you need the additional features. Shopify has no equivalent sales cap; a Basic-tier store can process any volume without a forced upgrade.
Features Included at the Base Price
BigCommerce Standard bundles more out of the box: real-time third-party shipping quotes, product filtering and search, abandoned cart recovery, and multi-channel selling to Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and Instagram, all without additional apps. Shopify Basic requires paid apps for several of these same capabilities, particularly advanced filtering and some multi-channel integrations.
That gap matters because Shopify's app-based model has a hidden cost. A Shopify Basic store running apps for reviews, upsells, advanced filtering, and abandoned cart recovery can add $60-150/month in app subscriptions on top of the plan cost. BigCommerce Standard covering the same functionality natively means the $39/month sticker price is closer to the real monthly cost.
BigCommerce also has stronger built-in support for B2B functionality: customer groups with tiered pricing, quote requests, and bulk ordering are native features on Plus and above. Shopify requires third-party apps or Shopify Plus for equivalent B2B capability.
The App Ecosystem Gap
Shopify's app marketplace has roughly 10,000 integrations. BigCommerce's marketplace is smaller, in the range of 1,000. For common categories (reviews, email marketing, upsells, loyalty programs), both platforms have solid options. For niche or highly specific integrations, Shopify is more likely to have exactly what you need, and BigCommerce is more likely to require a workaround or custom development.
This is the tradeoff in the cleanest terms: BigCommerce gives you more native functionality and no transaction fees; Shopify gives you a bigger app catalog and a larger community generating tutorials, themes, and third-party expertise. Neither is objectively better. It depends on whether your store's needs are covered by BigCommerce's native feature set or require Shopify's broader ecosystem.
Developer and Headless Commerce
Both platforms support headless commerce (decoupling the storefront frontend from the backend), but BigCommerce's API is generally considered more mature for this use case, with a comprehensive REST and GraphQL API designed for custom storefront development from the ground up. Shopify's Storefront API is capable but has historically been viewed as secondary to the standard Liquid theme approach.
For agencies and development teams building fully custom shopping experiences on React, Next.js, or similar frameworks, BigCommerce's API-first architecture has a reputation advantage. For merchants using a standard theme with light customization, this difference is largely irrelevant.
Enterprise Tiers
Shopify Plus starts around $2,300/month and adds automation workflows (Shopify Flow), dedicated account management, higher API rate limits, and support for multiple storefronts under one organization. BigCommerce Enterprise is custom-priced, negotiated based on volume and feature requirements, with comparable capabilities: dedicated support, advanced security features, and API access at higher limits.
At the enterprise tier, the decision usually comes down to existing relationships, specific integration requirements (ERP systems, existing tech stack), and negotiated pricing rather than the base platform differences that matter at the small business tier.
Switching Costs
Migrating between Shopify and BigCommerce is not trivial in either direction. Product data, customer records, and order history can be exported and imported using migration tools (both platforms have official and third-party options), but theme customizations, app integrations, and custom checkout logic do not transfer. Expect to rebuild the theme and reconfigure apps regardless of direction.
For a store considering a switch, the transaction fee savings need to outweigh the one-time migration cost: developer time to rebuild the theme, redirect old URLs for SEO continuity, and test checkout flows before going live. For a store doing $30,000+/month, the annual fee savings from moving to BigCommerce typically cover migration costs within a few months. For smaller stores, the fee difference may not justify the disruption.
Who Should Use Shopify
You want the largest possible app ecosystem and community. If your growth plans include integrations that may not exist yet, Shopify's scale means more third-party developers building for the platform.
You are comfortable using Shopify Payments as your processor. This eliminates the fee gap with BigCommerce entirely and gives you Shopify's polished checkout experience.
You need a specific app or integration only available on Shopify. Given the ecosystem size difference, this happens more often than the reverse.
Who Should Use BigCommerce
You are processing meaningful volume through a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments. The zero transaction fee compounds into real savings at any real scale.
You want more built-in functionality without stacking paid apps. If your needs match BigCommerce's native feature set (shipping quotes, filtering, multi-channel, B2B tools), you avoid app costs Shopify would require.
You are building a headless or custom storefront. BigCommerce's API-first design and documentation are generally the stronger foundation for that kind of build.
You will not hit the annual sales threshold on your plan, or you are comfortable upgrading when you do. This is the one place BigCommerce's structure requires active monitoring that Shopify does not.
The Recommendation
For most first-time or small store owners: Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments. The fee structure becomes a non-issue, the ecosystem is larger, and community support resources are more abundant for troubleshooting.
For any store doing $20,000+/month through a third-party gateway, or any merchant who has already priced out the app costs stacking up on Shopify: run the BigCommerce numbers before your next renewal. The savings on transaction fees alone often justify the switch, and the native feature set frequently eliminates apps you were already paying for.
For a broader view of e-commerce platform choices including WooCommerce and Gumroad for different business models, the best e-commerce platforms roundup covers the full field. Payment processing specifics across Shopify Payments, Stripe, and Square are broken down in the payment processor comparison.