BigCommerce vs. Shopify: Which is best?
Selecting between these two ecommerce platforms isn’t straightforward. Undoubtedly, they’re two of one of the best platforms on the market they usually have a lot in widespread. Nonetheless, there are many variations between BigCommerce and Shopify which might be price evaluating earlier than making a decision.
And it’s greatest to decide on fastidiously.
Committing to an ecommerce platform is a big resolution. Whichever one you choose will turn out to be your corporation’s mission management — just about each facet of your corporation will should be managed from the platform.
So, what do it is advisable to know to make an knowledgeable selection?
On this article, you’ll get a blow-by-blow comparability of BigCommerce and Shopify. By the tip of this text, try to be prepared to enroll in your chosen platform and begin constructing your corporation with confidence.
Disclosure: This web site is part of Shopify inc. media properties. Though we attempt to publish goal, correct, and factual content material, this text might comprise biased opinions.
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BigCommerce vs. Shopify: The Fundamentals
BigCommerce was based in 2009 and at the moment it helps greater than 60,000 shops, 2,000+ mid-market companies, and 30 Fortune 1000 firms. The corporate has greater than 800 staff working to offer an excellent ecommerce platform.
Shopify was based approach again in 2006 and powers greater than 1 million retailers around the globe. The corporate additionally has a whopping 7,000 staff working to develop a whole ecommerce and retail know-how enterprise resolution.
Each BigCommerce and Shopify permit retailers to construct ecommerce web sites, course of funds, promote merchandise through a number of on-line gross sales channels, handle stock, and extra.
However proper off the bat, it’s clear that Shopify is the bigger firm, by far. This measurement permits it to construct and handle extra instruments and options. This can be a theme you’ll see play out all through the remainder of this text.
Nonetheless, greater isn’t at all times higher, so let’s take a better look!
Shopify vs. BigCommerce: Which One is Greatest for Your Enterprise?
We’re going to check Shopify and BigCommerce in 9 key areas:
- Pricing plans
- Cost gateways
- Gross sales limits
- Themes and templates
- App shops
- Reporting and analytics
- Cell apps
- Level of sale (POS)
- Dropshipping
First up?
1. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Pricing
Prices are sometimes some of the necessary concerns for brand spanking new companies. So, how a lot do these platforms cost? Here is a fast rundown of BigCommerce versus Shopify pricing.
BigCommerce has 4 pricing plans:
- Bigcommerce Normal: $29.95 per 30 days
- Bigcommerce Plus: $79.95 per 30 days
- Bigcommerce Professional: $299.95 per 30 days
- Bigcommerce Enterprise: Customized plans for giant companies.
It can save you 10% on the Plus and Professional plans by buying a one-year subscription upfront.
Shopify has 4 equal pricing plans:
- Fundamental Shopify Plan: $29 per 30 days
- Shopify: $79 per 30 days
- Superior Shopify: $299 per 30 days
- Shopify Plus: Customized plans for enterprises.
Shopify additionally affords an extra plan referred to as ‘Shopify Lite’ for simply $9 per 30 days — nevertheless it doesn’t include an ecommerce web site. As a substitute, this plan offers retailers entry to all of Shopify’s gross sales channels, enabling you to promote on-line through a purchase button you can embed on social media platforms and your present web site.
Like BigCommerce, Shopify offers a ten% low cost on annual plans and a 20% low cost when buying a two-year subscription upfront.
Each BigCommerce and Shopify supply a two-week free trial (15 days and 14 days, respectively).
All in all, BigCommerce and Shopify have very related pricing.
2. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Cost Gateways
To promote on-line, you want a gateway to course of funds, equivalent to Stripe or PayPal.
BigCommerce integrates with 65 common cost gateways, whereas Shopify integrates with greater than 100 cost gateways — together with its personal, which is known as Shopify Funds.
Nonetheless, Shopify costs transaction charges if you happen to don’t use Shopify Funds and decide to make use of a third-party cost gateway. These charges rely in your plan:
- Fundamental Shopify – 2%
- Shopify (common) – 1%
- Shopify Superior – 0.5%
However, BigCommerce doesn’t cost any transaction charges no matter which gateway you utilize.
This can be a clear win for BigCommerce. Nonetheless, it’s price noting that it may be difficult to combine and handle third-party gateways — particularly if you happen to’re not tremendous tech-savvy. Shopify Funds was designed to make this course of simpler for retailers and entails far much less setup.
BigCommerce does present a streamlined, really useful gateway: PayPal powered by BrainTree. But it surely’s nonetheless an integration, which makes it arguably much less streamlined than Shopify’s proprietary providing.
Shopify Funds permits your clients to pay you through all the main strategies, too. So until you might have a robust choice for an additional cost gateway, there’s actually no cause to not use the service.
In the end, this comes all the way down to choice.
If you wish to use a selected third-party cost gateway, BigCommerce means that you can keep away from further charges. Nonetheless, if you wish to maintain issues so simple as potential, Shopify Funds is the way in which to go.
3. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Gross sales Limits
Let’s lower to the chase: BigCommerce has annual gross sales limits for every of its plans:
- Bigcommerce Normal: $50,000
- Bigcommerce Plus: $180,000
- Bigcommerce Professional: $400,000
- Bigcommerce Enterprise: Negotiable
In brief, if you happen to hit these limits, you’ll be pressured to improve to the subsequent plan.
Shopify has no gross sales limits on any of its plans — which suggests you may persist with your most well-liked plan endlessly or improve when it fits you.
4. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Themes
Each BigCommerce and Shopify present free and paid web site themes you can customise to get your retailer trying the way in which you need. Right here’s how the platforms evaluate:
- BigCommerce: 12 free themes and 130 premium themes (that value between $165 and $250).
- Shopify: 8 free themes and 64 paid themes (that value between $120 and $180).
BigCommerce wins when it comes to quantity right here, nonetheless lots of the themes are merely variations and never standalone themes. For instance, within the picture under you may see totally different variations of the Clariss theme which might be very related.
Though Shopify has fewer themes obtainable, they’re extra assorted.
Total, each platforms present a spread {of professional} themes, however Shopify appears to supply extra selection when it comes to layouts.
5. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Apps
Shopify and BigCommerce have their very own app shops. These app shops play host to a spread of proprietary and third-party functions that permit you to prolong the performance of your website.
For instance, you should use apps so as to add popups, reside chat, bundled merchandise, or social media feeds to your website.
The Shopify app retailer accommodates greater than 6,000 Shopify apps and integrations, whereas BigCommerce’s app retailer has round 850.
Shopify’s measurement makes it the clear winner right here. The platform has a a lot bigger person base and so third-party builders usually tend to create instruments for the platform.
In truth, Shopify’s app retailer is so giant, there’s an app for just about every little thing and something you may consider.
6. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Reporting and Analytics
In an ultra-competitive atmosphere like ecommerce, information is extra necessary than ever — in any case, information is energy.
For instance, you could wish to observe your buyer retention price and common order worth. And as your corporation grows, you’ll seemingly wish to produce monetary studies to trace issues like income, revenue, and taxes.
So, let’s evaluate Shopify and BigCommerce reporting and analytics instruments.
Each platforms present a strong set of instruments that permit in-depth evaluation.
Nonetheless, BigCommerce’s skilled reporting instruments can be found on all plans. However, Shopify staggers its reporting instruments to encourage you to improve as you develop. Consequently, the Fundamental Shopify plan has easy to observe, however pretty primary analytics capabilities.
That mentioned, each platforms include Google Analytics integrations to create customized studies and observe key efficiency indicators (KPIs).
7. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Level of Sale (POS)
Level of sale (POS) options permit you to course of funds and handle your corporation when promoting in-person. Plus, integrating your ecommerce retailer with a POS resolution is one of the best ways to keep up correct and up-to-date stock, gross sales, and buyer information information.
Shopify has an out-of-the-box resolution aptly named “Shopify POS” that comes with each Shopify plan — together with the Lite plan, for simply $9 per 30 days. Shopify additionally offers a spread of POS {hardware}.
The Lite Plan affords a good way to get began with POS, however if you happen to’d wish to entry Shopify POS’s full vary of options, you’ll have to improve to Shopify POS Professional for $89 per 30 days.
If you wish to promote in-person with BigCommerce, you’ll have to combine a third-party POS service, equivalent to Vend, Sq., or Clover. Every of those companies comes with its personal strengths, weaknesses, and pricing.
Merely put, BigCommerce affords flexibility with out further charges, however Shopify offers a extra streamlined strategy which means retailers don’t have to fret about integrating two totally different techniques.
8. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Cell Apps
Shopify and BigCommerce present apps that can assist you handle your corporation on the go. Let’s take a better look.
BigCommerce offers a cell app that means that you can do issues like get push notifications for brand spanking new orders, handle orders, view primary analytics, and make contact with clients.
Shopify affords three apps to handle your corporation: Shopify, Shopify POS, and Ping.
Shopify’s major app means that you can do far more than BigCommerce’s app. Listed here are a few of the options:
- Handle orders
- Handle merchandise and collections
- Run advertising and marketing campaigns
- Comply with up with clients
- Create reductions
- Assessment retailer efficiency
- Customise your retailer’s theme
- Prolong your retailer’s options with apps
The Shopify POS app means that you can take and handle in-store gross sales, refunds, and exchanges. You can even add apps to assist develop your corporation, equivalent to buyer loyalty apps.
In fact, if you happen to decide to make use of BigCommerce, most main third-party POS options will present a cell app.
Lastly, Shopify additionally affords Ping. This messaging app means that you can join with clients through Shopify Chat, Apple Enterprise Chat, and Messenger, multi functional place — this can be a recreation changer in relation to bettering buyer satisfaction.
To summarize, it’s honest to say that Shopify makes it far simpler to handle your corporation out of your smartphone.
9. BigCommerce vs. Shopify Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a product sourcing and achievement methodology that permits just about anybody to begin promoting on-line in minutes.
As a substitute of buying merchandise upfront to promote, you may associate with a dropshipping provider who will retailer, handle, and ship merchandise to clients in your behalf.
You can even dropship print-on-demand merchandise — these are generic merchandise that includes your unique designs and branding, equivalent to clothes, equipment, or homeware.
Dropshipping is a unbelievable technique to begin a web based enterprise as you don’t want to take a position cash in stock. It’s additionally a good way to increase present product strains rapidly and simply.
So, which is best for dropshipping: Shopify or BigCommerce?
Each platforms supply a spread of dropshipping apps, together with common companies like AliExpress Dropshipping and print-on-demand apps like Printful and Spocket.
Nonetheless, as talked about above, Shopify’s app retailer is considerably bigger than BigCommerce’s app retailer. Consequently, it additionally has many extra dropshipping apps obtainable — together with Oberlo. (That’s us!)
Govt Abstract: Shopify or BigCommerce?
Undoubtedly, Shopify and BigCommerce are each unbelievable commerce platforms, providing an enormous vary of options that can assist you handle and develop your corporation.
For those who’re on the lookout for superior reporting and analytics straight out the gate, then BigCommerce could also be for you.
Nonetheless, Shopify is arguably the higher resolution due to its lack of gross sales limits, assorted themes, cell apps, out-of-the-box POS system, and the large quantity of apps obtainable. Test it out for your self by signing up for Shopify’s 14-day free trial.