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Ecommerce platforms · head to head

BigCommerce vs Shopify

Sebastiaan Smits Editor Sebastiaan Smits · Published November 14, 2026 · Updated November 14, 2026

BigCommerce prices in US dollars and ties each plan to a trailing twelve-month sales cap, with a 15-day trial. Shopify prices in euros on its pricing page, shows no annual sales cap, and caps staff accounts by plan. Merchants wanting predictable limits and a longer trial lean toward BigCommerce; those who need more staff seats on mid tiers lean toward Shopify.

Side by side

BigCommerceShopify
What it isHosted ecommerce with native B2B and multi-storefrontHosted ecommerce with the largest app ecosystem
Best forGrowing brands and B2B sellersDirect-to-consumer brands of any size
HeadquartersUnited StatesCanada
Pricing modelMonthly plan by revenue bandMonthly plan + payment fees
PricingPublished Core, Growth and Scale plans at $39, $105 and $399 a month ($29, $79 and $299 billed annually), capped or metered by online sales; Performance from $1,499 a month. No order fee through listed providers such as Stripe, PayPal and Adyen; other gateways cost 2%, 1% or 0.6% of their sales below Performance.Published monthly plans from Basic through Grow and Advanced, with Shopify Plus listed from €2,100 a month; an extra fee of 2% down to 0.2% applies to orders not taken through Shopify Payments.
Free optionFree trialFree trial
List price
as listed on November 14, 2026		$39 per month billed monthly, or $29 billed annually (Core, up to $30K trailing twelve-month sales)EUR 28 per month billed monthly, or EUR 21 billed yearly (Basic, 2% third-party transaction fee)
Place in our ecommerce platforms ranking#1 of 12#4 of 12
Websitebigcommerce.comshopify.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best Ecommerce Platforms in 2026. Vendors can pay for more visibility, and commercial relationships can affect which products we feature and how prominently. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose BigCommerce if

you want a 15-day trial without a card, would rather pay no transaction fee through an embedded payment provider, and can live with a plan that upgrades automatically once sales cross its cap.

BigCommerce, #1 in the ranking · Visit BigCommerce →

Choose Shopify if

several colleagues need their own logins on a mid-priced plan, you want lower card rates shown on the pricing page, and you do not want a sales ceiling tied to your plan.

Shopify, #4 in the ranking · Visit Shopify →

Where they differ

Trial length and what it costs to start

BigCommerce gives 15 days of the full product with no credit card, and keeps your data for 90 days if you do not upgrade. Shopify offers 3 days free and then EUR 1 per month for 3 months, with no card required according to its FAQ. The Shopify route is cheap, but the BigCommerce trial leaves far more time to build and test a store before paying.

Edge: BigCommerce

Sales caps against staff caps

BigCommerce limits each plan by trailing twelve-month gross merchandise value: Core to $30K, Growth to $100K, and Scale to $33,333 a month, with 0.9% charged on volume above that cap. Shopify's pricing page shows no sales cap, only staff limits: none extra on Basic, 5 on Grow, 15 on Advanced, unlimited on Plus. Growth in sales triggers a plan change on BigCommerce; growth in headcount does on Shopify.

Edge: Shopify

Third-party payment fees by plan

Both charge a percentage when you use an outside payment provider. BigCommerce's Open Payment Provider fee is 2.0% on Core, 1.0% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale, 0% on Performance under contract, and embedded providers carry no fee on any plan. Shopify charges 2%, 1%, 0.6% and 0.2% from Basic up to Plus. The ladders match until the top, where Shopify still charges and BigCommerce does not.

Edge: BigCommerce

Card processing rates on the pricing pages

BigCommerce lists card processing from 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction on all plans, and American Express at 3.50%. Shopify lists online standard rates of 1.9% + EUR 0.25 on Basic, falling to 1.4% + EUR 0.25 on Plus. The two are in different currencies and for different regions, so we do not convert them, but Shopify's rate steps down as you move up while BigCommerce's start rate stays the same across plans.

Edge: Shopify

Entry price and the enterprise tier

BigCommerce Core is $39 a month, or $29 billed annually; Shopify Basic is EUR 28 a month, or EUR 21 billed yearly. At the top, BigCommerce Performance starts at $1,499 a month billed annually with custom payment terms, while Shopify Plus starts at EUR 2,100 a month with the billing period not stated. Currencies differ and Shopify's page does not say what it covers, so we call this one level.

Edge: even

Tally: BigCommerce 2, Shopify 2, even 1.

When neither fits

Neither is right for a merchant who wants no monthly platform fee and no revenue share at all. WooCommerce core is free and open source, with paid extensions priced from $29 to $299 a year each, though you then host and maintain the store yourself. A small shop that mainly wants a simple site with a basic store may prefer Squarespace.

See WooCommerce and Squarespace among the 12 products in Best Ecommerce Platforms in 2026.

Questions and answers

Is BigCommerce cheaper than Shopify?

On list price for the entry plan, Shopify Basic at EUR 21 a month billed yearly sits below BigCommerce Core at $29, but the currencies differ and the plans are built differently. BigCommerce limits Core to $30K of trailing twelve-month sales, while Shopify's pricing page shows no sales cap, so the cheaper option depends on your volume and staff.

Do BigCommerce and Shopify have a free trial?

Yes, both do, but the terms differ. BigCommerce offers a 15-day fully functional trial with no credit card and keeps your data for 90 days if you do not upgrade. Shopify offers 3 days free and then EUR 1 per month for 3 months, with no card required per its FAQ.

Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

It depends on the payment provider. BigCommerce charges an Open Payment Provider fee of 2.0% on Core, 1.0% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale, and 0% on Performance under contract. Embedded payment providers carry no fee on any plan, and card processing begins at 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction.

How many staff accounts does Shopify allow?

Shopify Basic includes no additional staff accounts, Grow includes 5, Advanced includes 15, and Plus has unlimited accounts. BigCommerce's pricing page does not state a staff account figure, so we cannot compare it directly.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on November 14, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.