Shopify vs BigCommerce

Shopify and BigCommerce are both capable, well-established platforms, and either can run a serious e-commerce business. The practical difference comes down to trade-offs: Shopify has a much larger theme and app marketplace and a gentler learning curve, while BigCommerce ships more commerce functionality out of the box and doesn't charge its own transaction fee. For most merchants starting a new store or picking a theme today, Shopify's ecosystem depth makes it the easier, faster path — which is also why our own theme catalog, including the Optics, Wosa, and Course Whiz themes, is built for it.

This comparison is aimed at merchants and designers deciding which platform to build on, not at developers debating architecture for its own sake. We'll go through pricing, themes and design flexibility, apps and integrations, built-in features, checkout, and who each platform tends to suit best.

The Short Version

• Ease of use: Shopify is generally considered easier to learn, with a more polished admin and a larger library of tutorials and community support.
• Themes and design: Shopify has a far larger marketplace of both free and paid themes, including specialized ones for categories like eyewear, medical, and fashion. BigCommerce's theme marketplace is smaller.
• Apps and integrations: Shopify's App Store is the largest in e-commerce, which matters once you need shipping, reviews, subscriptions, or marketing tools beyond the basics.
• Built-in features: BigCommerce includes more native functionality (multi-currency, advanced product options, B2B features) without needing third-party apps.
• Transaction fees: Shopify charges an extra transaction fee unless you use Shopify Payments; BigCommerce does not charge its own transaction fee regardless of payment gateway.
• Sales limits: BigCommerce plans historically included annual sales thresholds that push you to a higher tier; Shopify's plans are not sales-capped in the same way.

Pricing and Fees

Both platforms use tiered monthly subscription pricing that scales with features rather than strictly with revenue, though BigCommerce has historically layered in annual online sales thresholds per plan — cross a threshold and you're prompted to upgrade even if your feature needs haven't changed. Shopify's tiers are structured more around features and staff accounts than a hard sales cap.

The more consequential difference for many merchants is transaction fees. Shopify applies an additional fee on every order if you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments — something to factor in if you already have a preferred payment processor. BigCommerce does not charge a platform transaction fee regardless of which payment gateway you use, which can matter for high-volume stores running tight margins. Both platforms still incur normal card-processing fees from whichever payment gateway is used; that part is unavoidable on any platform.

Themes and Design Flexibility

This is the area where the gap is largest. Shopify's theme ecosystem — both Shopify's own marketplace and third-party marketplaces — is significantly bigger than BigCommerce's, with far more category-specific options. That matters more than it might sound: a theme built specifically for eyewear, medical products, or online courses handles that category's layout and variant needs far better than a generic template stretched to fit.

Our own catalog reflects that specialization. Stores selling frames and lenses tend to do better with something purpose-built like our Optics theme rather than a general apparel template; healthcare and wellness brands fit our Medical theme; fashion and apparel stores fit Wosa; course creators and cohort-based education businesses fit Course Whiz; electronics retailers fit Electronix; and grocery and specialty food stores fit Groxery. If you're evaluating options rather than a single theme, our full Shopify theme catalog is a reasonable place to compare layouts side by side.

BigCommerce's native theme editor and Stencil templating are capable, and a developer comfortable with the platform can build almost anything. But if you want a polished, category-appropriate design without a custom build, Shopify simply gives you more finished starting points to choose from.

Apps, Integrations, and Extensibility

Shopify's App Store is the largest dedicated app marketplace in e-commerce, covering everything from shipping label generation and subscription billing to loyalty programs, upsells, and niche integrations for specific verticals. That depth matters once a store outgrows the basics — the odds that someone has already built the exact tool you need are simply higher on Shopify.

BigCommerce has its own app marketplace and solid native API access, and it leans on including more functionality natively rather than relying on third-party apps for everything. For some merchants that's genuinely preferable — fewer apps means fewer subscriptions, fewer moving parts, and fewer things that can break during a platform update. But if you expect to need a long tail of specialized tools over time, Shopify's larger app ecosystem gives you more options with less searching.

Built-In Commerce Features

BigCommerce has traditionally shipped more advanced commerce features natively — things like multi-currency display, more flexible native product options, and stronger out-of-the-box B2B functionality (customer groups, quoting, bulk pricing). On Shopify, some of that same functionality is available, but more often through an app or a higher-tier plan (Shopify Plus) rather than built into every plan.

Where this actually matters depends on your business model. A store with straightforward B2C sales rarely misses the extra native features and gets more value from Shopify's design and app depth. A wholesale or B2B-heavy operation with complex pricing tiers may find BigCommerce's native feature set closes the gap without needing a stack of extra apps.

Checkout and Payments

Both platforms offer a hosted, PCI-compliant checkout, and both support the major payment gateways. Shopify's checkout is widely regarded as fast and well-optimized for conversion, and Shop Pay's saved-checkout convenience is a genuine advantage for repeat buyers across the Shopify network. BigCommerce's checkout is solid and customizable, with more flexibility to adjust the checkout flow itself without needing Shopify Plus, which historically has been required for deeper Shopify checkout customization.

Who Tends to Fit Each Platform Best

Shopify tends to suit merchants who want the fastest path from idea to a polished storefront, want a large selection of category-specific themes to start from, and expect to lean on third-party apps as the business grows. It's a strong default for most direct-to-consumer brands, and it's the platform our own theme lineup — from Optics to Electronix — is built for.

BigCommerce tends to suit merchants who want more commerce functionality available natively without stacking apps, who are sensitive to per-transaction fees at high volume, or who run complex B2B pricing and want that handled out of the box. It's also a reasonable fit for teams with existing BigCommerce development experience or an established Stencil-based storefront they don't want to migrate off.

How to Decide

• If you want the widest choice of ready-made, category-specific designs and the largest app ecosystem, lean Shopify.
• If you want more built-in B2B and multi-currency functionality without adding apps, and want to avoid a platform transaction fee, lean BigCommerce.
• If you're not sure yet, start by browsing themes for your specific category — the quality of the design options available for your niche is often the deciding factor in practice, more than any single platform feature.

If Shopify is the direction you're leaning, it's worth browsing our Shopify themes by category before committing to a build, since the right starting theme saves far more time than any platform-level feature difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shopify or BigCommerce cheaper?

It depends on your payment gateway and sales volume. Shopify can end up costing more per order if you don't use Shopify Payments, since it adds a transaction fee for other gateways. BigCommerce doesn't charge its own transaction fee, but its plans have historically included annual sales thresholds that can push growing stores to a higher tier.

Which platform has better themes?

Shopify has a substantially larger theme marketplace, including more category-specific options like our Optics and Medical themes. BigCommerce's theme selection is smaller, though its editor is still capable for merchants willing to customize more themselves.

Can I migrate from BigCommerce to Shopify (or the reverse) later?

Yes, migration tools and agencies exist for both directions, but any full replatform involves real work — redirects, product data migration, and a new theme setup. It's worth choosing carefully upfront rather than planning around an easy switch later.

Which platform is better for a small store just starting out?

Shopify is generally the easier starting point for a new merchant, thanks to its simpler admin, larger community of tutorials, and wider selection of ready-to-use themes that reduce how much custom design work is needed on day one.