In the fast-paced ecommerce industry, large enterprises face an ever-growing need to scale efficiently while delivering personalized and seamless shopping experiences.  Shopify Plus and BigCommerce are two of the leading platforms designed to cater to these needs, offering robust solutions for high-volume businesses. Shopify Plus offers unparalleled ease of use and an extensive app ecosystem, while BigCommerce stands out with its built-in advanced features, especially for SEO and multi-channel retailing. So, choosing between these two platforms can be overwhelming, especially for businesses aiming to future-proof their operations.

In this article, we’ll break down the key differences between Shopify Plus and BigCommerce, helping you make an informed decision that supports your business’s growth, boosts efficiency, and drives better results in 2025 and beyond. Let’s get started!

Shopify Plus and BigCommerce: At A Glance

Shopify Plus and BigCommerce are both leading enterprise ecommerce platforms, but they differ in several key features. 

Shopify Plus is known for its user-friendly interface, vast app ecosystem, and strong support network, making it appealing for businesses seeking ease of use and scalability within a single brand. 

In contrast, Big Commerce is favored for its robust multi-store and multi-brand management from a single platform, making it ideal for businesses with complex structures or those serving multiple brands. Moreover, BigCommerce offers more advanced B2B features, greater flexibility in payment gateway integrations with no additional transaction fees.  

Shopify Plus and BigCommerce: Pros & Cons

Exploring the strengths and weaknesses of Shopify Plus and BigCommerce will help you make an informed decision when choosing the right eCommerce platform for your business.

Shopify Plus

Pros 

• Ease of use with minimal coding knowledge
• Reliable, fully managed infrastructure with zero downtime and unlimited bandwidth
• High customizability of storefront and backend 
• Extensive app ecosystem and robust APIs
• Dedicated support and enterprise-grade security
• Scaling well with multi-channel selling and unlimited staff accounts.

Cons

• Not suitable for managing multiple stores
• High service charges and transaction fees
• Limited content management capabilities and restrictive URLs
• Some restrictions on product types with Shopify Payments 

BigCommerce

Pros 

• SEO benefits
• Considerably faster API speeds
• More suitable for businesses with complex products
• Comprehensive built-in features available even on entry-level plans
• No transaction fees regardless of payment provider
• Multi-storefront support and multi-currency selling capabilities
• Advanced reporting tools and unlimited staff accounts
• Phone support and GDPR-complicant features 

Cons

• Limited availability of add-ons
• Smaller selection of apps available
• Complex system of prices
• Less established internationally compared to some competitors
• Potentially less intuitive for beginners compared to Shopify

BigCommerce vs Shopify Plus: A Quick Comparison 

Here is a quick comparison of BigCommerce vs Shopify Plus:

Feature	BigCommerce Enterprise	Shopify Plus	The Verdict
Pricing	Custom pricing based on business needs and sizeB: ase rate $1000/month	Custom pricing: Base rate $2500/month	BigCommerce
Product Management	Robust features for handling large catalogs and product options	Suitable for relatively small and simple catalogs	BigCommerce
Ease of Use	Drag-and-drop feature for customization; more out-of-the-box features	User-friendly with easy setup and intuitive interface for non-technical users	Shopify Plus
Integrations & Apps	Smaller app marketplace	Large integration ecosystem with many Shopify Plus-exclusive partners	Shopify Plus
B2B Functionality	Offers comprehensive B2B features and customization options	Limited B2B features compared to BigCommerce Enterprise	Shopify Plus
SEO Features	Comprehensive SEO functionality with control over URL structures and more	Basic SEO options with limitations	BigCommerce
Payment Processing	Integrates with over 65 payment gateways; no transaction fees	Shopify Payments as the primary gateway, with other options available	BigCommerce
Promotions & Discounts	Offers promotional types of discounts and incentives	Provides various promotional tools and personalized discounts	Similar
Flexibility	Supports up to 600 product options	Limited product variants	BigCommerce
Customer Support	Round-the-clock “live agent” support via phone, email, and chat	24/7 support through email, telephone, and live chat	Shopify Plus
Scalability	Built to scale for large enterprises	Excellent scalability for high-volume businesses	Shopify Plus
Multi-Channel Selling	Great for multi-channel retailing	Excellent integration with many sales channels	Shopify Plus

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BigCommerce vs Shopify: Our Expert Reviews

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Shopify Plus vs BigCommerce: A Detailed Comparison 

Let’s explore the details of Shopify Plus and BigCommerce to understand how they stack up against each other. 

Pricing

Understanding the pricing structure of Shopify Plus and BigCommerce is crucial for selecting the right platform for your business needs. Let’s delve into each platform’s pricing plans and considerations to help you make an informed decision.

Shopify Plus

For Shopify Plus, if I want to know the exact price for my business, I’ll need to contact Shopify directly. The base rate for Shopify Plus is $2500 per month, with an upper price of $40000. Once I earn more than $800k per month, the pricing model becomes revenue-based.

I also benefit from Shopify Plus’ lower credit card processing fee compared to BigCommerce. For domestic transactions on Visa and Mastercard, I pay around 2.15% plus $0.30. However, it gets more complicated for transactions involving other cards.

BigCommerce

When it comes to BigCommerce, I need to reach out to them directly to get custom pricing. However, their base rate is around $1000 a month. My fees are calculated based on my sales, potentially reaching up to $15000 a month, depending on the services I use and my revenue.

Additionally, I’ll encounter a credit card processing fee starting at about 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction if I use the standard payment option. I also have the option to purchase premade themes, which cost between $145 and $235, plus a development fee if I want to customize my theme.

The Verdict

I prefer BigCommerce due to the more affordable pricing options and no transaction fees. Additionally, BigCommerce provides a range of flexible pricing plans that cater to different business needs, allowing for scalability as my business grows.

Ease of Use

Navigating the ease of use for Shopify Plus and BigCommerce is essential to determine which platform best suits your business needs. Let’s explore the user experience of each platform to help you make an informed decision.

Shopify Plus

As someone who has used Shopify Plus, I find it to be exceptionally user-friendly. Shopify is intuitive and easy to navigate, making it simpler to use than BigCommerce. Even if you’ve never built a website before, Shopify makes it effortless to get started.

It offers a more intuitive admin dashboard with streamlined navigation, simpler product and inventory management, and a lower learning curve for new team members. Shopify’s visual editors, drag-and-drop functionality, and mobile admin app make daily operations more accessible to non-technical staff.

Moreover, Shopify Flow provides visual automation that’s accessible to non-developers, while BigCommerce’s customization options generally require stronger technical skills. 

BigCommerce

I find it to be a more sophisticated platform than Shopify. BigCommerce provides a drag-and-drop Page Builder and Style Editor that allow non-developers to customize page layouts and styles without code. However, the platform’s strength lies in its flexibility and deeper customization options, which often require more technical knowledge or devloper involvement. 

Additionally, BigCommerce comes with a wide range of features, reducing the need for additional add-ons. Features like single-page checkouts, product ratings, personalized URL structures, and associated product lists are readily available for download, making it easier for me to create a comprehensive and feature-rich online store experience.

The Verdict

After carefully assessing the usability of both platforms, I have concluded that Shopify Plus offers a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. Shopify’s intuitive design makes the process seamless, even for users with limited technical expertise.

Themes & Design

Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus excels in its wide selection of professional, mobile-responsive themes that are available for various industries. Whether you run a fashion store, tech business, or any other type of e-commerce operation, Shopify Plus offers themes tailored to meet your needs. It provides both free and premium themes, with prices for the premium ones ranging from $340 to $380. 

While these themes are already well-optimized, Shopify Plus offers significant customization through its Liquid templating language and support for HTML and CSS, which allows businesses to make deeper adjustments to their designs. This platform’s drag-and-drop page builder further enhances its user-friendliness, allowing store owners with little to no technical expertise to easily modify their store’s design.

BigCommerce 

In contrast, BigCommerce provides a slightly smaller selection of themes, but these are designed with a strong emphasis on conversion optimization. BigCommerce themes come equipped with built-in features like advanced product filtering, customer review sections, and dynamic search, improving user experience and driving sales. While BigCommerce also allows for extensive HTML, CSS, and JavaScript customizations, the platform is generally better suited for businesses with more technical expertise. 

However, BigCommerce lacks a native drag-and-drop page builder, which can make the design process more challenging for non-technical users who prefer a more intuitive design interface.

The Verdict

Shopify Plus is better for users seeking a simple and visually appealing design experience with quick setup and easy customization, while BigCommerce is a strong choice for businesses that want greater flexibility and advanced design features, particularly for SEO or B2B needs.

Product & Catalog Management

Let’s delve into the intricacies of managing products and catalogs on both platforms to determine which best meets your needs.

Shopify Plus

I’ve found that Shopify Plus excels in managing relatively small and straightforward catalogs, typically containing less than 20,000 SKUs (stock-keeping units) and products with minimal variations. However, when dealing with larger catalogs exceeding 20,000 SKUs and extensive product inventories, Shopify Plus faces challenges.

One of the limitations of Shopify Plus is its similarity to Shopify in catalog thresholds. It shares the same constraints, such as a maximum of 3 option types (size, color, and material) and a cap of 100 SKUs for variants (limited to 100 possible option combinations).

Additionally, Shopify Plus only offers product display options in drop-down menus or rectangles. Customization is required for alternative product display methods, leading many users to seek solutions from the app marketplace or website developers to expand their catalogs over time.

BigCommerce

With BigCommerce, I can create fields, choose the scope, and define a set of predefined choices for each attribute. Additionally, the platform allows me to build choice sets, enabling me to apply various values to different groups of items.

BigCommerce Enterprise offers support for various types of product options display, including drop-down menus, radio buttons, checkbox options, swatch options, text/number fields, date fields, file uploads, and product pick lists.

Furthermore, I appreciate that BigCommerce allows me to diversify the display of products on both the frontend and backend by adding custom fields. This feature enables me to filter products, edit price lists, and create rules around product options.

One standout feature of BigCommerce Enterprise is its updated “Add a product” functionality, which allows me to simultaneously support inventory tracking with variants such as size or color while also personalizing products with different modifications.

Moreover, the thresholds of BigCommerce Enterprise far exceed those of Shopify Plus: supporting up to 600 SKUs on product variants, 200 custom fields on a product, and 250 values within one product option.

The Verdict

BigCommerce is my preferred choice. Unlike Shopify Plus, which may encounter limitations in handling larger SKU volumes and complex product variations, BigCommerce Enterprise offers a more robust infrastructure and flexibility to accommodate diverse catalog sizes.

Integrations & Apps

When comparing Integrations & Apps between Shopify Plus and BigCommerce, both platforms offer extensive options to enhance functionality, but they differ significantly in their approach and the scope of integration.

Shopify Plus

As I explore the ecosystem of integrations and applications available for Shopify Plus, I find a wide array of options. Shopify Plus boasts one of the largest integration ecosystems in the industry, with numerous systems partnering solely with Shopify Plus agencies. 

Shopify Plus is known for its large and well-established app ecosystem, offering over 6,000 third-party apps through the Shopify App Store. This gives users a wide range of tools to extend the functionality of their store, including marketing automation, accounting, inventory management, customer service, and more. Shopify Plus integrates seamlessly with popular software, including Google Analytics, Mailchimp, QuickBooks, Xero, and Salesforce, among others.

One of the key advantages of Shopify Plus is that it supports a large variety of integrations with third-party apps, making it highly flexible for businesses to choose from best-of-breed solutions across different business operations.

Moreover, Shopify Plus allows for custom app development, giving businesses the flexibility to create tailored solutions for specific needs. Shopify Plus customers also benefit from API access, allowing for deeper integrations and custom workflows. While apps generally require additional subscriptions, the sheer number of available options and their ease of integration make Shopify Plus a go-to platform for businesses that need highly specific functionalities.

BigCommerce

Delving into the integrations and apps available for BigCommerce Enterprise, I discover a growing ecosystem. While not as expansive as Shopify Plus, BigCommerce still offers a solid range of native integrations and third-party apps to extend functionality. The BigCommerce app marketplace is smaller but growing, with many apps built specifically for the platform. BigCommerce has a reputation for offering more built-in features out of the box compared to Shopify Plus, such as advanced SEO tools, multi-channel selling capabilities, and B2B functionality.

However, when it comes to specialized needs or advanced integrations, BigCommerce supports a variety of integrations with tools like Google Analytics, QuickBooks, Salesforce, and HubSpot, similar to Shopify Plus. The platform also offers custom API access for businesses needing deeper, more technical integrations.

The Verdict

Shopify Plus offers a more extensive ecosystem compared to BigCommerce Enterprise. With over 3500 different apps in its marketplace, Shopify Plus provides a vast array of solutions catering to various business needs, including marketing, logistics, warehouse management, and more. If you prefer more built-in functionality with fewer third-party dependencies, BigCommerce offers a solid and efficient alternative.

SEO features

Exploring the search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities offered by Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise.

Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus offers a basic set of SEO options. I can configure some settings at the server level and edit meta tags to optimize my inventory and product pages. Additionally, the platform automatically generates redirects when I change a page’s URL name.

However, I’ve noticed limitations when making certain technical SEO changes, such as modifying URL structures and caching headers. Unfortunately, Shopify Plus does not allow me to build a store on a sub-directory, which restricts flexibility in SEO optimization.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce offers many more possibilities to optimize my store’s SEO. With BigCommerce, I have full control over URLs, allowing me to change the URL structure for different pages without any forced directories. I can also edit the robots.txt page and use directories in URLs.

Additionally, it’s straightforward to handle tasks like canonical URL logic, hreflang implementation, and structured data with BigCommerce. The platform also supports accelerated mobile page and redirect management, making SEO optimization easier.

The Verdict

BigCommerce Enterprise offers a more comprehensive set of tools and functionalities for optimizing online stores. With BigCommerce, users have greater control over URL structures, allowing for more flexibility in crafting SEO-friendly URLs for different pages.

B2B Functionality 

As a large business, you’ll likely have customers purchasing in bulk for resale. This requires a separate storefront, tailored content, and specialized pricing. Therefore, selecting the right B2B eCommerce strategy is vital for your company’s expansion. Exploring the B2B functionality offered by Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise.

Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus offers B2B functionality, albeit with some limitations. It provides an exclusive wholesale channel that allows retailers to establish a separate B2B store using a subdomain and existing products and inventory. This channel includes B2B services inaccessible for regular products and orders.

There are three options available on Shopify Plus for managing a B2B storefront:

• Shopify Wholesale Channel: 

This channel operates on your main store and shares the same information. It facilitates customers’ enrollment into the wholesale channel and groups them accordingly. Within the wholesale channel area, you can independently manage pricing, stock visibility, and order limits. 

• Customizing the theme for groups of tagged customers:

You can create different customer groups using Shopify’s customer tags and customize pricing, availability, and discounts for different items based on these groups.

• Building a separate Shopify store:

Another option is to create a distinct shop offering a completely different customer experience. However, managing multiple aspects of two separate stores may pose logistical challenges.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce offers an enhanced buyer experience with convenient one-click tools for immediate quote generation, user permissions management, and easy re-ordering. These pre-built features ensure a top-notch B2B customer experience.

With BigCommerce, you can customize shipping options to suit your B2B customers’ needs, saving costs by leveraging our seamless integration with ShipperHQ, a leading shipping rate rules engine.

Syncing data with third-party tools is effortless with BigCommerce’s open and flexible platform. Easily integrate with any tool in your ecosystem to streamline your operations and enhance efficiency.

BigCommerce Enterprise boasts a range of B2B-specific functionalities, including:

• Customized pricing via individual customer price lists.
• Efficient Quote and CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) management.
• Customer-specific volume-based or tiered pricing.
• Purchase order and credit term management.
• Tailored catalogs for customers, including shipping, availability, payment options, and content.
• Enhanced customer segmentation capabilities.
• Advanced shipping features through ShipperHQ integration.
• Sophisticated product management with attribute sets, custom fields, and variant management.
• Streamlined bulk purchasing with quick order functionality.

The Verdict

BigCommerce Enterprise excels over Shopify Plus in the field of B2B functionality. With its comprehensive array of B2B-specific features, customizable options, and seamless integrations, BigCommerce Enterprise offers a more robust platform tailored to meet the diverse needs of B2B businesses. 

Payment Processing 

When comparing payment gateways in Shopify Plus and BigCommerce, both platforms provide robust support for processing transactions, but they offer different options and flexibility depending on your business needs.

Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus’ primary payment solution is Shopify Payments, which integrates seamlessly with the platform, offering competitive transaction fees and no additional setup required. Shopify Payments supports credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shopify Pay, and various other local payment methods, depending on your location.

While Shopify Payments is the preferred option, Shopify Plus does allow the use of over 100 third-party payment gateways (such as PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net). However, Shopify Plus charges an additional transaction fee for using third-party gateways (typically around 0.15% to 2%), which may add to your operational costs.

Moreover, Shopify Plus offers multi-currency support for international transactions, enabling customers to shop in their local currency and helping businesses scale globally. Shopify Payments is available in numerous countries, and third-party gateways provide additional flexibility for businesses in markets where Shopify Payments isn’t supported.

BigCommerce

In BigCommerce Enterprise, a payment gateway is a service the platform provides to facilitate credit card or direct payment processing for merchants. Unlike some other platforms, there are no transaction fees associated with using BigCommerce Enterprise. 

With over 65 payment gateway integrations available out-of-the-box, serving over 100 countries and supporting more than 250 local payment methods, BigCommerce offers extensive payment options. Integrations with popular digital and mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and Venmo are also available.

BigCommerce has strong multi-currency support, allowing businesses to operate internationally and provide a smooth checkout experience for customers worldwide. It supports multiple payment providers across different regions, making it ideal for businesses looking to sell globally.

The Verdict

BigCommerce emerges as the winner in the payment processing category. While Shopify’s brand recognition may be advantageous for small businesses, it tends to emphasize Shopify’s brand over the merchant’s. This emphasis on Shopify’s brand can be a disadvantage for Enterprise brands. Therefore, BigCommerce is the preferred choice for businesses looking to prioritize their brand identity and reputation in payment processing.

Promotions & Discounts

Diving into the promotional capabilities and discount offerings provided by Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise to help you strategize your marketing campaigns effectively and maximize your sales potential.

Shopify Plus

I’ve found that Shopify has made significant progress in promotions and discounts. As a merchant, I can use the control panel to create a variety of voucher codes and instant discounts. With Shopify Plus, I can access Shopify Scripts, which allows me to create personalized discounts.

I have the ability to modify my style, line object, and shipping scripts, as well as add simple promotions. One useful function is that I can monitor which scripts are allowed during an event and even whether a new script is enabled after the event has ended.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce offers a wide range of options when it comes to offering discounts. As a user, I’ve found that there are more than 70 different kinds of sales and incentives available, including discounts based on demographics, customers, products, or labels. I can choose to add discounts automatically (i.e., at checkout) or apply them through the use of a coupon code.

The Verdict

In terms of promotions and discounts, BigCommerce emerges as the winner. Its versatility allows merchants to tailor their discount strategies to suit various customer segments and product categories. Additionally, BigCommerce offers the flexibility to apply discounts automatically or through coupon codes, catering to different promotional needs. 

Customer Support 

When it comes to running an online business, having reliable customer support is paramount. Let’s explore the customer support offerings of Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise to determine which platform offers the best assistance to merchants.

Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus provides comprehensive 24/7 support through various channels including email, telephone, and live chat. In addition to addressing technical issues, their support team is available to assist with broader concerns such as brand strategy, conversion optimization, and business management.

BigCommerce

For users subscribed to a BigCommerce plan, the company offers round-the-clock “live agent” customer support accessible via phone, email, or chat. This dedicated support service ensures that users can receive assistance and guidance whenever they encounter issues or have questions about their BigCommerce platform. 

Whether it’s troubleshooting technical problems, seeking advice on optimizing store performance, or navigating through various features and functionalities, users can rely on BigCommerce’s responsive and knowledgeable support team to provide timely assistance and ensure a seamless user experience.

The Verdict

This is a tie for the round. Both Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise offer robust customer support options, with 24/7 availability and various channels for assistance. Therefore, it’s challenging to declare a clear winner in this category, as both platforms prioritize providing reliable support to their users. Ultimately, the choice between Shopify Plus and BigCommerce Enterprise may depend on other factors such as pricing, features, and specific business needs.

Who is Best For: BigCommerce or Shopify Plus

You choose BigCommerce if:

• You have a large product catalog and need robust product management capabilities.
• You prioritize flexibility and customization options.
• Your business focuses on B2B sales and requires advanced features tailored to this market.
• You prefer a platform without transaction fees and a wide range of payment gateway integrations.

You choose Shopify Plus if:

• You prioritize ease of use and a user-friendly interface.
• Your business values a large ecosystem of apps and integrations for scalability.
• You require extensive customer support options, including assistance with brand strategy and business management.
• You prefer a platform with a reputation for reliability and stability, backed by a well-known brand.

Wrapping Up

BigCommerce and Shopify Plus offer robust ecommerce solutions tailored to the needs of businesses of all sizes. Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, making it important for merchants to carefully evaluate their specific requirements before making a decision.

BigCommerce vs Shopify Plus: FAQs