If you’re in the process of launching (or replatforming) an ecommerce store, you’ve likely come across two major contenders: Shopify and BigCommerce.
Both platforms promise scalability, flexibility, and the tools to grow an online business, but in reality, they offer very different experiences.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key differences between Shopify and BigCommerce, where each platform excels, and ultimately, which one is the best fit for most ecommerce brands.
Quick answer: Shopify or BigCommerce?
If you’re looking for a quick recommendation:
Choose Shopify if you want something easy to use, flexible, and built for growth
Choose BigCommerce if you need more built-in features and are comfortable with a more technical setup.
For the majority of businesses, especially startups and scaling brands, Shopify is the stronger, more reliable option.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is one of the world’s leading ecommerce platforms, designed to help businesses launch, manage and scale online stores with minimal friction.
It’s widely known for its:
- Intuitive interface
- High-quality design themes
- Extensive app ecosystem
Whether you’re just starting out or already established, Shopify makes it easy to build a professional store quickly without needing technical expertise.
What is BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is also a SaaS ecommerce platform, but it takes a more feature-heavy approach.
Instead of relying on apps, BigCommerce includes more functionality built directly into the platform, particularly around product management, SEO and reporting.
While this can sound appealing, it often results in a more complex experience that can slow down setup and day-to-day management.
Shopify vs BigCommerce: ease of use
Ease of use is one of the biggest deciding factors when choosing an ecommerce platform.
Shopify is designed to be user-friendly from the start. The dashboard is clean, navigation is straightforward, and managing products, orders and content is simple even for beginners. BigCommerce, by comparison, feels more technical. With more settings and configuration options, it requires more time to learn and manage effectively.
Design and user experience
Your website’s design plays a major role in how customers perceive your brand and whether they convert.
Shopify themes are:
- Modern and visually polished
- Built with conversion in mind
- Easy to customise without code
BigCommerce offers a range of themes, but many require additional work to achieve the same level of finish and consistency.
With Shopify, it’s much easier to create a premium-looking store without relying on developers.
Features: built-in vs flexible
BigCommerce includes a wider range of built-in features, such as advanced product options and filtering.
Shopify takes a different approach by keeping the core platform streamlined and allowing you to extend functionality through apps.
This gives Shopify a significant advantage. Instead of being limited to what’s included, you can customise your store exactly how you want it whether that’s advanced marketing tools, subscriptions, or conversion optimisation. The same flexibility applies to wholesale — if you sell B2B, our B2B Shopify agency can build wholesale workflows on top of Shopify's native B2B suite without the platform limitations BigCommerce can impose.
SEO capabilities
Both platforms provide solid foundations for SEO.
BigCommerce includes more built-in SEO features, particularly around URL structure and automation.
Shopify covers all essential SEO requirements, including:
- Editable meta titles and descriptions
- Custom URLs
- Mobile optimisation
- Fast loading speeds
Where Shopify stands out is in its ecosystem. With access to advanced SEO apps and integrations, you can scale your optimisation strategy far beyond the basics.
Payments and fees
Both Shopify and BigCommerce support a wide range of payment gateways.
The key difference is in how fees are handled:
- Shopify charges transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments
- BigCommerce does not charge transaction fees
Despite this, Shopify’s payment integrations are typically more seamless and easier to manage, particularly for growing brands.
Pricing: what should you expect?
Both platforms offer similar starting prices, but total costs depend on how your store is set up.
With Shopify, additional costs can include: apps, premium themes and transaction fees (if not using Shopify Payments)
With BigCommerce, fewer apps may be needed, however, pricing increases as your revenue grows
Scalability and growth
Both platforms are capable of supporting growing ecommerce businesses.
Shopify is particularly well-suited to:
- Fast-growing brands
- Direct-to-consumer businesses
- Businesses that prioritise speed and flexibility
BigCommerce is often used for more complex setups, but requires more time and technical input to scale effectively.
For most modern ecommerce brands, Shopify provides a more efficient and scalable path.
