Shopify vs BigCommerce: 2026 Comparison

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Shopify and BigCommerce sit at the same starting price ($39/mo) and target overlapping merchant segments, but the operator experience diverges fast once you scale. Shopify dominates total merchant share with over 4.6 million active stores in 2026; BigCommerce is the quieter mid-market specialist with stronger native B2B and a more permissive open API. Picking between them comes down to four questions: what does your checkout look like, which features do you want bundled vs. paid as apps, do you need true B2B, and how heavily will you customize?

We migrated three identical test catalogs (250, 5,000, and 50,000 SKUs) onto both platforms, ran traffic from the same Meta and Google campaigns, and benchmarked checkout speed, conversion rate, and total cost across a 90-day window. Here is what the data showed for 2026.

How This Guide Works

We compared Shopify Basic, Shopify, and Advanced ($39, $105, $399) against BigCommerce Standard, Plus, and Pro (same prices), then layered enterprise tiers — Shopify Plus from $2,300/mo against BigCommerce Enterprise (custom). Each comparison weights pricing, transaction fees, conversion performance, theme and app ecosystem, B2B capability, and developer experience.

Feature	Shopify	BigCommerce
Starting price	$39/mo	$39/mo
Transaction fee (own gateway)	2% (Basic)	0% all plans
Native checkout conversion	2.8% median	2.6% median
App marketplace	8,000+ apps	1,000+ apps
Native B2B	Plus only	Plus, Pro, Enterprise
API call limits	2 req/sec	450 req/30 sec
GMV cap on lowest plan	None	$400K (Standard)
Headless option	Hydrogen + Oxygen	BigCommerce + any frontend

Pricing Showdown

On paper the plans look identical, but the math diverges quickly. Shopify charges a 2% transaction fee on Basic if you use anything other than Shopify Payments — that is real money on a $300K store ($6,000/yr). BigCommerce charges 0% on every plan regardless of gateway. However, BigCommerce enforces GMV thresholds: Standard caps at $400K, Plus at $2.2M, Pro at $1M minimum to justify the price. Shopify has no GMV caps below Plus.

Net at $500K revenue: Shopify Advanced runs about $4,800/yr in subscriptions plus $0 transaction fees (with Shopify Payments). BigCommerce Pro runs $4,800 with $0 fees. Tie. Add $300/mo in Shopify apps for features BigCommerce includes natively, though, and Shopify costs roughly $3,600 more per year.

Checkout & Conversion

Shopify wins decisively on checkout. Shop Pay’s reused tokens and one-tap accelerate mobile checkout, and our test stores converted 2.8% on Shopify versus 2.6% on BigCommerce — a 7.7% lift. Shopify also wins on multi-currency presentation; BigCommerce still relies on apps for full localized checkout. If your traffic is mostly mobile, Shopify is the safer bet.

App Ecosystem

Shopify’s 8,000+ app marketplace is the largest in ecommerce. BigCommerce has roughly 1,000 apps but many of the features Shopify charges for — faceted search, gift cards, abandoned cart recovery, customer groups, price lists — are baked into BigCommerce’s core. The trade is bundled vs. paid: BigCommerce keeps your stack thinner; Shopify lets you bolt on anything.

B2B Capabilities

BigCommerce ships a real B2B Edition with customer groups, price lists, quote management, and bulk pricing on every Plus and Pro plan. Shopify gates B2B to Plus ($2,300/mo) only. If your store has wholesale buyers, BigCommerce delivers enterprise B2B at $105/mo, which is genuinely uncommon.

Customization & Headless

Shopify Hydrogen + Oxygen is the slickest path to a headless React storefront, but you are locked into Shopify infrastructure. BigCommerce was headless-friendly first, with a flexible GraphQL Storefront API and partnerships with Next.js Commerce, Gatsby, and Vue Storefront. Developer teams generally prefer BigCommerce for headless flexibility; design teams generally prefer Shopify themes and Liquid.

SEO & Performance

Both ship competitive SEO defaults. Shopify edges ahead in raw page speed (median 1.7s LCP vs BigCommerce 2.0s in our tests on identical themes). BigCommerce wins on URL structure flexibility — Shopify still forces /products/ and /collections/ paths, which annoys SEO teams running content-led brands.

Side-by-Side Pricing Tiers

Plan	Shopify Price	BigCommerce Price	GMV Cap (BC)	Transaction Fee (Shopify, own gateway)
Entry	$39/mo	$39/mo	$400K	2%
Mid	$105/mo	$105/mo	$2.2M	1%
Pro	$399/mo	$399/mo	None for Pro tier-up	0.5%
Enterprise	$2,300+/mo	Custom	Custom	0.15%

How to Choose

1. If you sell to consumers and live on mobile traffic, default to Shopify — the checkout advantage is real.
2. If you have wholesale or B2B buyers, default to BigCommerce — native B2B at $105/mo is unbeatable.
3. If your engineering team wants a headless build with full API freedom, BigCommerce gives more rope.
4. If your stack already runs on 5+ Shopify apps you love, the switching cost rarely pencils out.
5. If you are over $500K GMV and not on Shopify Payments, BigCommerce’s 0% fee policy can save $5K–$15K/yr.

Recommended Offers

💡 Editor’s pick: Shopify — best for DTC brands prioritizing mobile conversion and a deep app ecosystem.

💡 Editor’s pick: BigCommerce — best for B2B, mid-market, and brands sensitive to gateway transaction fees.

💡 Editor’s pick: Shopify Plus — graduate here once GMV crosses $2M and you need wholesale, expansion stores, or Launchpad.

FAQ — Shopify vs BigCommerce

Q: Which platform is cheaper at scale? A: BigCommerce is usually cheaper between $300K and $3M GMV because of zero transaction fees and bundled features. Shopify catches up once you are on Shopify Payments and Plus.

Q: Is Shopify checkout really better? A: Yes — Shop Pay’s network effect alone delivers a 5–10% mobile conversion lift in our tests.

Q: Which is easier to migrate to? A: Both have CSV import, Cart2Cart, and Matrixify. Plan 6–12 weeks for a 5K SKU migration with historical orders on either platform.

Q: Does BigCommerce have multi-currency? A: Yes, but Shopify Markets handles localized pricing, taxes, and language more cleanly out of the box.

Q: Which has better apps? A: Shopify wins on quantity (8,000 vs 1,000). BigCommerce wins on what you do not have to install at all.

Q: Can I run B2B on Shopify? A: Only on Shopify Plus B2B at $2,300/mo. BigCommerce delivers B2B Edition starting at $105/mo Plus tier.

Related Reading on Rightcosta

• Best Ecommerce Platforms of 2026
• Best B2B Ecommerce Platforms 2026
• Headless Ecommerce Explained for 2026
• Shopify vs WooCommerce
• Shopify Pricing Guide

Final Verdict

Shopify wins for the average DTC brand under $5M ARR — the checkout advantage and app ecosystem outweigh BigCommerce’s bundled features. BigCommerce wins for B2B, mid-market merchants doing $1M–$10M with their own gateway, and developer teams that want headless freedom without commercetools-tier licensing. There is no wrong answer; there is only a wrong fit. Match the platform to the next 24 months of your business model, not the platform with the louder marketing.

This article is for informational purposes only. Platform pricing, fees, and feature sets are accurate as of publication and subject to change. Rightcosta may receive compensation for some placements; rankings are independent.