BigCommerce vs. Shopify: Why Migration Might Be the Smart Move

Introduction

E-commerce has changed the way that businesses work. Today, there are many choices for people who want to open online stores. BigCommerce and Shopify are two top options. They both have their own features. Some store owners may like one for certain reasons, while others may like the other.

It is important to know what each one can do. You should also look at their user experience and cost. If you are considering moving your store, this is crucial. With sales channels growing rapidly, choosing the right Shopify implementation services ensures you set up your store effectively and stay competitive.

Choosing the best platform can help your business grow more. In this guide, we look closely at both platforms. You will see which one is better in different ways and why moving over to one could be a smart step for your store.

BigCommerce vs. Shopify Overview: Setting the Stage

Shopify and BigCommerce target different sellers. Shopify is easy to set up, ideal for small businesses and beginners, with a large app store. BigCommerce suits larger companies, offering many built-in features without extra add-ons.

It is important for store owners to know about these differences before they pick the one that will work for them. If you find out more about these e-commerce platforms, you will see what they do well and what they do not. This will help you make the best choice on your own ecommerce journey.

Market Position and Popularity in the US

BigCommerce and Shopify are leading U.S. e-commerce platforms. Shopify is user-friendly with strong support, making it popular among small and new business owners.

BigCommerce is favored by larger stores for its scalability and customization. While Shopify has more users, BigCommerce excels with advanced selling and marketing tools, supporting growing U.S. e-commerce businesses.

Who Typically Uses Each Platform?

BigCommerce is picked by big companies that have many needs. The platform helps them grow and has a lot of features. Shopify is good for small and medium businesses that want things to be simple and easy to use. These two let people choose based on what they want the business to be and how they want things to work.

Key Feature Comparison: BigCommerce and Shopify

BigCommerce offers strong inventory management, ideal for large product ranges. Shopify provides an easy-to-use website builder, helping small businesses launch quickly.

Shopify Payments simplifies transactions and reduces fees, improving store operations. BigCommerce excels at multichannel selling, helping businesses reach more customers and grow.

Knowing about these key points—like inventory management, payment processing, different sales channels, and the ease of a website builder—can really help when trying to pick the best platform for your online store.

Core E-commerce Capabilities

Both platforms offer strong e-commerce features. BigCommerce suits growing stores with large product lists, boosting sales and user experience through multichannel selling and advanced tools.

Shopify is easy to use, letting stores launch quickly. It offers high customization and a large app store, helping retailers enhance their stores and expand sales channels.

Unique Features and Add-Ons

Both platforms enhance user experience with unique features. BigCommerce offers built-in SEO for better online visibility without technical skills. Shopify’s app marketplace allows easy additions like inventory management and email marketing.

Both platforms support multiple payment methods, enhancing customer convenience. Choosing the right platform depends on your needs and features, helping grow your e-commerce business.

Pricing Models & Transaction Fees in 2025

Knowing pricing and transaction fees is crucial when choosing a platform. In 2025, both BigCommerce and Shopify offer plans for small and large businesses, with fees varying by chosen payment gateway.

Shopify is user-friendly with smooth setup and good rates, while BigCommerce offers advanced features without hidden costs. Comparing pricing helps maximize your budget and boost store growth.

Monthly Subscription Plans Overview

Both BigCommerce and Shopify offer monthly plans for small to large businesses, including free trials. This lets you test features and user experience before committing to a Plan.

Transaction Fees and Sales Caps Explained

Transaction fees and sales caps can affect how you choose Shopify ecommerce platforms for your online store. BigCommerce uses a clear pricing plan with no transaction fees. It does not matter how much you sell.

BigCommerce lets you keep more profit, while Shopify charges plan-based transaction fees that can reduce earnings. Both have sales caps on cheaper plans, so understanding fees and limits helps choose the best platform for growth.

Real Costs: Identifying Hidden Charges

It’s important for store owners to look beyond the listed prices when choosing e-commerce platforms for their online store. BigCommerce and Shopify may have extra costs that are not clear at first glance. There can be transaction fees depending on what you pick for payment processing.

Adding features or exceeding sales caps can increase costs or require plan upgrades. Knowing these fees helps plan budgets and ensures a smooth user experience, giving store owners a clear view of expenses.

Ease of Use and Store Setup

Setting up a store impacts user experience. BigCommerce offers a drag-and-drop editor for easy site building, while Shopify provides a simple setup and extensive help center for both beginners and developers.

Both platforms offer unlimited staff accounts, strong support, and user-friendly tools, making it easy to set up and manage online sales channels efficiently.

Initial Onboarding Experience

Onboarding affects user experience. BigCommerce offers an easy setup with wizards and templates, helping new store owners start quickly and reduce the learning curve.

Shopify offers a simple, visually appealing setup with a drag-and-drop builder. Key features like Shopify Payments, the app store, and support are easy to access, making onboarding smooth for all users.

Dashboard and Management Interface

Both platforms stand out for their easy-to-use interfaces. They make it simple to move around and understand where to find things. Store owners can look at one main dashboard on each platform. There, they get key numbers about their shop in one place.

BigCommerce is good for bigger businesses that have many products. It helps people manage inventory and check detailed analytics. Shopify focuses more on ease of use. It helps new users get to know the main features fast.

No matter how many technical skills you have, you can use both platforms well. They help people make their online sales channels better and improve their user experience. With these features, store owners can work with sales channels in a way that boosts sales and makes their business run smoothly.

Design, Themes, and Customization Options

Visual appeal and making changes are very important for e-commerce platforms. Shopify gives store owners a wide range of free themes and paid designs, so anyone can make their online store look special with ease. Its drag-and-drop editor makes the user experience better for everyone, no matter if you know how to code or not.

BigCommerce themes, on the other hand, are built for performance and to be flexible. These themes can often have more detailed changes. With the stencil framework added, people who build websites can use deeper customization. This helps businesses stand out online. In the end, the decision depends on how much design freedom you want and how easy you want it to be as a store owner.

Theme Selection Availability

There are many themes to pick from, with each one giving a different look and feel. You will find options that work for what you want your online store to be. BigCommerce gives store owners a strong range of templates. These templates are made for all kinds of e-commerce businesses. Shopify also offers a lot of free and paid themes. These themes are made to give a good user experience and attract different groups of people.

It is easy to pick a theme. The process is simple and anyone can use it, even if you do not have many technical skills. Also, both platforms let you change more things if you want. You can use apps from their marketplaces to make your store fit your own brand. This helps store owners build a store that is just right for them.

Customization Flexibility for Beginners and Developers

Both beginners and experienced Shopify developers can customize stores. Drag-and-drop builders make design easy for newcomers, while advanced users can edit code and use APIs for more control.

BigCommerce and Shopify offer responsive templates with built-in marketing features. These options let store owners of any skill level set up their store effectively, enhancing user experience.

Payment Processing and Available Gateways

A smooth payment process is key for any e-commerce website. BigCommerce and Shopify both offer a wide mix of payment methods. BigCommerce lets you add many payment gateways, giving store owners more ways to use the one that fits best.

Shopify natively supports Shopify Payments, PayPal, and Apple Pay, enabling quick setup. Both platforms allow third-party gateways, boosting conversions and simplifying the buying process.

Supported Payment Providers

Offering multiple payment options increases flexibility. Shopify supports Shopify Payments, PayPal, and Stripe, while BigCommerce includes Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net, enhancing customer experience.

Multiple payment options on both platforms make checkout easier, reducing cart abandonment and improving the shopping experience for all customers.

Integration with Third-Party Payment Apps

Offering multiple payment methods is key for online stores. Both platforms support various gateways and apps, making checkout easier and boosting completed purchases.

Shopify supports PayPal and Apple Pay for easy payment processing, while BigCommerce offers multiple gateways. These options ensure smooth, convenient transactions for customers.

App Marketplaces and Integrations

Both platforms benefit from wide app stores, letting store owners add features for flexibility and better sales. BigCommerce apps support inventory, customer service, and marketing across multiple channels.

Shopify’s large app store offers tools like Shopify Flow for automation and Shopify Audiences for marketing. These integrations simplify management and enhance user experience, boosting sales across channels.

Top Apps and Extensions for Growth

A range of top apps and extensions can help your online store grow. Sites like Shopify and BigCommerce have strong app stores. You will find many tools, each made for a different job. You can get apps that make customer service better, manage inventory, or improve your email marketing.

Popular apps like Smile for loyalty, Privy for conversions, and ShipStation for shipping streamline operations, enhance user experience, and can boost sales and customer satisfaction.

Integrating with External Tools and Services

Getting used to how different platforms work with each other can be key for e-commerce businesses that want a better user experience and more ways to work. Store owners can find many apps on both platforms that help their stores link to other features. These features include payment processing, inventory management, customer support, and marketing tools.

Apps simplify tasks like inventory management and customer engagement. Integrating these tools ensures smooth store operations, better user experience, and higher order completion. Platform compatibility with daily tools also influences the choice.

SEO & Marketing Tools: Which Stands Out?

When you look at BigCommerce and Shopify for SEO and marketing tools, you see each one has its own strong points. Shopify gives you easy-to-use SEO features that help you right away. BigCommerce, on the other hand, stands out because of its better marketing tools that give you more options. The best choice for you will depend on what your business needs and where you want it to go in the future.

Built-in SEO Capabilities

Both Shopify and BigCommerce come with strong SEO capabilities that help to make online stores easier to find. BigCommerce lets store owners change things like URLs and page details. You can set these up the way you want, which makes it simple to boost your site’s search ranking.

Shopify simplifies SEO by creating sitemaps and editing image alt text easily. Both platforms integrate with analytics tools, helping store owners boost visibility and sales without technical expertise.

Email Marketing and Automation Tools

In e-commerce, having good email marketing matters for connecting with customers. Shopify and BigCommerce both give store owners strong marketing tools. With Shopify, you can set up focused email campaigns fast. BigCommerce lets you use simple automation features, so talking to customers gets easier.

Both platforms let you break up your audience by what they buy. This helps make the messages feel personal, and it can help more people make purchases. Plus, both sites work with outside marketing tools, giving businesses many choices for automation.

With these options, store owners can give their customers a better user experience and increase online sales.

Scalability, Performance, and Growth Potential

Shopify and BigCommerce stand out for scalability and speed. They handle high traffic and large product lists smoothly, ensuring a good user experience and supporting business growth.

Both platforms let store owners sell on multiple channels and manage inventory efficiently. Choosing Shopify or BigCommerce supports steady growth and helps businesses scale effectively.

Handling High Traffic and Large Catalogs

Scalability is vital for busy e-commerce sites. BigCommerce handles large inventories well, while Shopify offers apps and integrations for flexible growth. Choose the platform that fits your priorities, like speed, user experience, and product management.

Multistore and Multichannel Selling Capabilities

Multistore and multichannel tools help e-commerce growth. BigCommerce manages multiple storefronts from one account, easing inventory control. Shopify excels at multichannel selling, connecting to social media and marketplaces to reach more customers and boost sales.

Security, Compliance & Reliability

Security is crucial for online stores. Shopify and BigCommerce follow PCI DSS, use encryption, and prevent fraud. Their high uptime ensures your store is always available for customers.

Strong customer support helps quickly resolve security issues. Combined with robust protection, it keeps transactions safe, builds trust, and lets store owners focus on delivering a smooth shopping experience.

PCI DSS Compliance & Data Security

Following PCI DSS rules is vital for e-commerce. Shopify and BigCommerce secure customer payments and encrypt data to protect sensitive information.

Shopify Payments integrates trusted gateways, offering fraud detection, real-time checks, and secure logins. These features protect businesses and build customer trust, improving the shopping experience.

Uptime Guarantees and Support Options

Uptime is crucial for e-commerce, as downtime can hurt sales and trust. Both Shopify and BigCommerce guarantee over 99.9% uptime, keeping stores reliably online.

Both platforms offer strong support via live chat, phone, and help centers. Shopify’s priority support benefits high-volume sellers needing quick help, making both trusted in e-commerce.

Shopify Plus vs. BigCommerce Enterprise for Enterprises

Shopify Plus is made for big ecommerce businesses. It lets you change more things and use special API features. The platform is strong with payment processing, so checkout works well with many payment methods.

BigCommerce Enterprise suits large sellers with advanced inventory and sales features. Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise both offer growth-focused tools, marketing support, and unique strengths—choose based on your business goals.

Advanced Features for High-Volume Sellers

High-volume sellers benefit from advanced features. BigCommerce excels at multi-location inventory management, while Shopify Plus offers automation tools like Shopify Flow to streamline operations.

Both platforms offer customization and integration options to tailor your store. Strong customer support, including phone help, ensures sellers can manage and grow their business effectively.

Customization, API Access, and White Glove Support

Customization is key for e-commerce. Shopify offers a large app store for added features, while BigCommerce provides more built-in tools. Both support APIs to integrate apps and enhance store functionality.

Shopify offers white-glove support for larger businesses, quickly resolving technical issues. This improves user experience, boosts conversions, and supports business growth.

Pros and Cons of Migrating Between BigCommerce and Shopify

Evaluating the move from one e-commerce platform to another can help store owners find new opportunities and face some challenges, too. This kind of shift can give you better features, a smoother user experience, and a bigger app store with marketing tools that help your business stand out. But there can be issues like a learning curve with the new system. You might also be at risk of losing some data and having to change how payment processing works.

Before switching, consider transaction fees, required technical skills, and available support. Evaluating these helps decide the right time and platform for your store.

Potential Benefits: When Migration Makes Sense

Moving your store to a new e-commerce platform can help your business in many ways. If you use BigCommerce and switch to Shopify, you may get access to better marketing tools and easier ways to connect with payment gateways.

Shopify offers an easy-to-use setup, centralized management for multiple sales channels, and dedicated support, making it ideal for small businesses and fast growth. Knowing these benefits helps when considering a switch.

Risks and Challenges of Switching Platforms

Changing between e-commerce platforms can have some risks and challenges that store owners need to think about. A big worry is that sales might slow down during the move, and this can hurt the conversion rate for a bit. Also, when you use a new system, there may be a steeper learning curve.

Switching platforms can be hard if you miss features from the old system or if apps don’t work properly, potentially adding costs. Planning and training are key to managing these issues.

US Business Case Studies and Success Stories

Many U.S. e-commerce businesses have grown by switching platforms. A mid-sized store moved to Shopify, using its easy tools to boost sales and conversions. A larger company chose BigCommerce for advanced features, improving inventory and customer service. The right platform can enhance user experience and support business growth.

Brands That Gained by Migrating Platforms

Switching ecommerce platforms can boost business. Small businesses on Shopify benefit from easy payments and marketing tools, increasing sales and conversions. Those on BigCommerce gain powerful inventory and sales features, improving product management.

Changing ecommerce platforms can help store owners get better customer service and use more integrations. In the end, this leads to higher online sales and better customer engagement.

Conclusion

Moving your online store to another e-commerce platform like BigCommerce or Shopify can be a big step. It is important for store owners to look at what each platform offers. You should think about things like transaction fees, ease of use, and customer support. Learning about both options helps you pick the platform that works best for your business and your goals.

When store owners choose the right e-commerce platform, the user experience gets better. The store can also grow and change as the digital market grows. Picking the best option helps store owners get more out of their online store in the long run.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is BigCommerce or Shopify better for small businesses in the US?

Ans: In the US, Shopify is user-friendly with many apps, while BigCommerce offers more built-in features for growing businesses. Choose based on your business needs.

Q. What are some hidden limitations of Shopify and BigCommerce?

Ans: Shopify charges fees if you skip Shopify Payments, while BigCommerce offers fewer free themes and limited customization. Knowing these limits helps before switching platforms.

Q. How difficult is it to migrate from Shopify to BigCommerce?

Ans: Moving from Shopify to BigCommerce can be simple or complex, depending on your store size and features. Both platforms offer migration tools, but careful planning is needed to protect data and minimize downtime. Developer help is recommended.