Enterprise-grade features at SMB pricing.
Starts at $39/month · Best for growing b2b + b2c brands, multi-channel sellers.
Last reviewed April 24, 2026
Overview
Quick facts about BigCommerce.
- Launched
- 2009
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas, USA
- Ownership
- BigCommerce Holdings (NASDAQ: BIGC)
- Scale
- ~60,000+ active stores (estimated)
- Known for
- The 'no transaction fees, open APIs' Shopify alternative
Pros & cons
The honest breakdown.
What's great
- No transaction fees on any plan
- Advanced features built-in (B2B, multi-storefront, headless)
- Better SEO controls than Shopify by default
- Open API for headless / custom builds
- Enterprise-ready without the enterprise price tag
What to watch for
- Smaller app ecosystem than Shopify
- Steeper learning curve
- Annual sales thresholds force plan upgrades
- Fewer themes available
BigCommerce punches above its weight. If you're already on Shopify Advanced or Plus and feeling the squeeze, BigCommerce's Enterprise plan often delivers the same features for less.
Ideal for
Growing brands hitting $100k+ monthly revenue, B2B sellers needing quote/PO workflows, multi-storefront operators.
Skip it if
You're a first-time seller, or you rely heavily on third-party apps that are only on Shopify.
Pricing plans
What each plan gives you (and what it costs).
Standard
$39/mo
Transaction fee: 0% on all plans (always)
Best for
Stores doing up to $50k/year
- Unlimited products, staff, bandwidth
- Abandoned cart saver
- Single-page checkout
- Real-time shipping quotes
- Sales channels (Amazon, eBay, Meta)
- SSL + PCI compliance included
Plus
$105/mo
Transaction fee: 0%
Best for
Stores doing $50k – $180k/year
- Everything in Standard
- Customer segmentation
- Persistent cart across devices
- Stored credit cards
- Abandoned cart emails (custom)
Pro
$399/mo
Transaction fee: 0%
Best for
Stores doing $180k – $3M/year
- Everything in Plus
- Faceted search
- Custom product filtering
- Google Customer Reviews
- Up to 10 free SSL certs
Enterprise
Custom (from ~$400+/mo)
Transaction fee: 0%
Best for
Brands doing $3M+/year, B2B, headless
- Unlimited API calls
- Multi-storefront (1 license = multiple stores)
- B2B Edition included
- Priority support
- Custom SLA
💰 Costs the pricing page doesn't show
Budget for these on top of the subscription. They're normal — just not advertised.
Annual sales thresholds
Plan upgrade triggered automatically
Hit the ceiling (e.g., $50k on Standard) and you auto-upgrade — budget for it
Premium themes
$150 – $400 one-time
Free themes are decent; premium ones save weeks of customization
Apps
$30 – $300/mo
Smaller ecosystem than Shopify but growing — fewer $$ traps too
Headless setup (if going that route)
$15k – $100k
Frontend rebuild with Next.js/Gatsby/Remix — agencies charge seriously for this
Payment processing
2.2% – 2.9% + $0.30
Negotiable at higher tiers via partners like PayPal, Braintree, Stripe
Real-world cost
What BigCommerce actually costs at your scale.
Subscription is just the floor. Here's realistic monthly total including apps, payment fees, and day-to-day tools — based on real stores we've built and maintained.
Revenue
$0 – $1k/mo
$70 – $120/mo all-in
Standard plan + 2-3 apps + payment fees
Revenue
$1k – $10k/mo
$150 – $400/mo all-in
Standard or Plus + 4-6 apps + email marketing tool
Revenue
$10k – $100k/mo
$600 – $2,000/mo all-in
Plus or Pro + 8+ apps + agency retainer
Revenue
$100k+/mo
$2,500 – $15,000+/mo all-in
Enterprise plan + premium apps + dev team or headless agency
Features
What's built-in, what's paid, what's missing.
Drag-and-drop Page Builder
100+ free + paid themes
Fewer than Shopify but quality is high
Stencil theme framework (HTML/CSS/JS)
Headless commerce (BigCommerce for WordPress, custom)
Best-in-class headless support
Mobile-optimized themes
Unlimited products
600 variants per product
6× more than Shopify
Digital products
Bulk import/export
Multi-warehouse inventory
Pro+ plans
Pre-orders + complex bundling
Single-page optimized checkout
Apple Pay / Google Pay / PayPal
Persistent cart across devices
Plus+ plans
Abandoned cart recovery
Built-in on Plus+
Custom checkout fields
Open Checkout SDK available
65+ payment gateways
Real-time carrier rates
Built-in on all plans
ShipperHQ integration
Multi-location fulfillment
Print shipping labels
Via ShipperHQ or third-party apps
Dropshipping integrations
Built-in email (lightweight)
Basic — most stores use Klaviyo/Mailchimp
Coupons, gift cards, discount codes
SEO controls (meta, schema, 301s)
Stronger SEO defaults than Shopify
Sales channels (Amazon, eBay, Meta, TikTok, Walmart)
Loyalty programs
App-based (Smile, LoyaltyLion, Yotpo)
Built-in Analytics dashboard
Google Analytics + Meta Pixel
Customer lifetime value
Ecoomerce Insights reports
Custom reporting
Pro+ only
Multi-currency display
Multi-language (via headless or Weglot)
Natively limited; headless solves it
150+ countries supported
B2B Edition (quotes, NET terms, catalogs)
Enterprise plan
Multi-storefront from one license
Enterprise plan
GraphQL + REST APIs (unlimited on Enterprise)
Best-in-class API design
Webhooks (reliable)
Custom app dev (public + private)
Stencil theme framework
Headless-ready (BigCommerce for WordPress, Makeswift, custom)
Checkout SDK (customize beyond defaults)
Global readiness
Can you actually sell globally on BigCommerce?
Multi-currency, multi-language, local payment methods, regional tax compliance — the four pillars of international commerce. Here's where BigCommerce lands on each.
Countries
150+ countries supported
Currencies
Multi-currency display + conversion (customer pays in store currency)
Languages
Multi-language via headless (Next.js/Gatsby) or Weglot plugin
Tax compliance
Avalara integration · automatic US sales tax · EU VAT compliant
Local payment methods supported
Strongest in
Weak in
How it compares
BigCommerce vs the main alternatives.
The head-to-head that actually matters — what each platform wins on, based on 19 years of delivering both.
Both enterprise-ready SaaS. BigCommerce wins on built-in features (no transaction fees, native B2B, better APIs). Shopify wins on ecosystem, polish, and agency depth.
BigCommerce wins on
- Zero transaction fees on every plan (always)
- Native B2B edition included (Enterprise)
- Unlimited API calls (Enterprise)
- Better default SEO controls
- Lower total cost at scale
Shopify wins on
- Much bigger app ecosystem (8k+ vs 1k+)
- More themes + design options
- Shop Pay + Shopify Fulfillment Network
- Stronger agency supply worldwide
At enterprise scale, the decision is often BigCommerce Enterprise vs Adobe Commerce. BigCommerce wins on cost + speed of delivery; Magento wins on catalog complexity + full customization.
BigCommerce wins on
- ~5-10x lower implementation cost
- No dedicated dev team required
- Managed infrastructure (cloud-hosted)
- Faster launches (weeks vs months)
- Stronger headless tooling
Magento (Adobe Commerce) wins on
- Most powerful product model (configurable, bundled, grouped)
- B2B + multi-brand architecture depth
- Full code ownership and control
- Best-in-class for 100k+ SKU catalogs
BigCommerce is enterprise SaaS; Woo is DIY open-source. Pick BC when you want enterprise features without running infrastructure; Woo when cost + code ownership win.
BigCommerce wins on
- Zero maintenance or server ops
- Enterprise B2B + multi-storefront native
- Higher-quality support + SLA
- Better performance out of the box
WooCommerce wins on
- No monthly platform fee
- Full code ownership
- WordPress content + SEO strengths
- Massive plugin ecosystem
Migration
Moving in, and moving out.
What it actually takes to get onto BigCommerce — and how painful it is if you outgrow it later. No vendor lock-in surprises.
Moving to BigCommerce
Here's what it typically takes to migrate from common starting points.
Typical time
2-6 weeks
Typical cost
$2,000 – $15,000
BigCommerce has native Shopify migration tools. Products, customers, orders import cleanly. Theme rebuild needed (Stencil vs Liquid). Apps don't port — research BC equivalents. BC Launch Partners specialize in this.
Typical time
3-8 weeks
Typical cost
$3,000 – $25,000
BigCommerce positions aggressively as a Magento alternative. Migration tools exist; complex B2B/multi-store setups need more dev work. Savings at scale justify the effort.
Typical time
2-5 weeks
Typical cost
$1,500 – $8,000
CSV-based product migration + REST API for orders. Theme rebuild from Stencil. Plugins → research BC app equivalents (smaller ecosystem, plan carefully).
Leaving BigCommerce later
How hard is it if this isn't the right platform for you in 2-3 years? (Honest vendor lock-in reality.)
Product + order data exports via CSV + API. Theme code (Stencil) is yours to keep. Custom checkout code doesn't port (BC-specific Open Checkout SDK). Cleaner exit than Shopify but slightly more app-ecosystem stickiness than you'd hope.
Social proof
Brands that run on BigCommerce.
SkullCandy
Consumer electronics
EnterpriseBen & Jerry's
CPG / food
EnterpriseSharp
Consumer electronics
EnterpriseBlack Diamond
Outdoor gear
Mid-marketHarvey Nichols (UK)
Luxury retail
EnterpriseBurrow
Furniture DTC
Mid-marketSolo Stove
Outdoor goods
EnterpriseFAQ
People ask us this a lot.
BigCommerce vs Shopify — what's the real difference?+
Shopify wins on ecosystem and polish. BigCommerce wins on built-in enterprise features (multi-currency, multi-storefront, B2B) and no transaction fees. BigCommerce is generally cheaper at scale; Shopify is easier for beginners.
Can BigCommerce handle headless commerce?+
Yes — BigCommerce has one of the cleanest headless APIs on the market. You can run a Next.js/React frontend and use BigCommerce purely as a backend. Pairs well with Vercel + a CMS like Sanity.
Does BigCommerce work for small stores?+
It works, but you're overpaying for features you won't use. Under $30k/year in sales, you'll get more value from Shopify Basic or WooCommerce.
Still unsure if BigCommerce is right for you?
Book a 30-minute call. I'll tell you honestly — even if the answer is "pick something else."
Book a call · $29