BigCommerce now prices almost exactly like Shopify: the same three price points, the same monthly premium, even the same 2% / 1% / 0.6% fee if you use a payment provider it does not embed. The one real difference is a sales cap — and it decides this comparison for most small stores.
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The short answer
Choose Shopify if you are small and growing, because nothing forces you off the entry plan. Choose BigCommerce if you want more built into the core platform and fewer apps, and your sales are either comfortably inside a plan’s cap or large enough that you are negotiating a custom contract anyway.
| Shopify | BigCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan, billed yearly | Basic, $29/mo | Core, $29/mo |
| Middle plan, billed yearly | Grow, $79/mo | Growth, $79/mo |
| Upper plan, billed yearly | Advanced, $299/mo | Scale, $299/mo |
| Billed monthly | $39 / $105 / $399 | $39 / $105 / $399 |
| Sales limit on a plan | None | Core up to $30K trailing-12-month sales, Growth up to $100K, then an automatic upgrade; Scale charges 0.9% on sales above $33,333 a month |
| Extra fee for other payment providers | 2% / 1% / 0.6% | 2% / 1% / 0.6% (none on its embedded providers) |
| Card rate | 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic with Shopify Payments | Set by the provider; PayPal via Braintree from 2.89% + 29¢ |
BigCommerce figures from BigCommerce's pricing page, checked 24 September 2026. Shopify figures from its published US pricing, checked 24 September 2026.
The sales cap, in plain numbers
BigCommerce’s Core plan covers up to $30,000 in sales over the trailing twelve months — about $2,500 a month. Pass it and you are moved to Growth at $79 a month billed yearly. Growth covers up to $100,000, then you move to Scale; and Scale charges 0.9% on any sales above $33,333 in a month.
Shopify has no equivalent. A store selling $5,000 a month can stay on Basic at $29 a month for as long as it likes; the same store on BigCommerce is on Growth at $79. You would move up on Shopify too — but because the lower card rate starts paying for itself, above $25,000 a month, not because a rule says so.
Where BigCommerce wins
- More in the box. BigCommerce leans on built-in features where Shopify leans on apps, which can mean fewer monthly subscriptions.
- Payment flexibility on its embedded providers. Orders through them carry no extra platform fee on any plan.
Where Shopify wins
- No forced upgrades. You change plan when the numbers say so, not when a threshold does.
- The larger ecosystem. More themes, more apps, more developers and more answers already written to the question you are about to have.
- Selling everywhere from one inventory — online, in person and on social channels — is more mature on Shopify.
Questions we get asked
Is BigCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
At list price they are identical plan for plan. It becomes more expensive the moment a sales cap moves you up a tier you would not otherwise have chosen.
Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?
Not on orders through its embedded payment providers. On other providers it charges 2%, 1% or 0.6% by plan — the same structure as Shopify.
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