Shopify vs. BigCommerce: Pricing, Payments and Store Fit

Shopify vs BigCommerce compares two hosted ecommerce platforms that list the same annual-billing prices for their three self-serve tiers: $29, $79 and $299 per month. The real choice comes down to four things:

• Payment-provider choices and fees
• How each plan scales with your sales
• The features you need natively
• How disputes are handled

Prices are in US dollars and were checked on Shopify's pricing page and BigCommerce's pricing page on 2026-10-19. Neither platform is the right answer for every merchant. This guide compares them on those operating criteria. For dispute basics, see Chargeflow's Shopify chargebacks guide.

Some entrepreneurs skip the build phase and buy an existing Shopify store instead. Our guide on how to buy a Shopify store covers what to look for.

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Shopify vs BigCommerce at a Glance

Prices are US dollars on annual billing and were checked on each platform's pricing page on 2026-10-19. Pricing can vary by region and billing term, so confirm on the platform before you decide. The table sets out BigCommerce vs Shopify on price, fees, payments and POS.

Four Merchant Scenarios: What to Verify on Both Platforms

Use the scenario closest to your business, then confirm each requirement on both platforms before choosing. It is a quick way to compare Shopify and BigCommerce for small businesses and larger teams alike. Neither platform wins every row.

Shopify Features and Overview

Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform with a theme editor, an app store, native payments through Shopify Payments, multichannel selling and a native point-of-sale system. Its app ecosystem extends the platform for marketing, SEO, inventory, shipping and fraud tools. That means some capabilities arrive as paid apps rather than as built-in features. For platform statistics see our Shopify statistics page.

Shopify Pricing

Per Shopify's pricing page (US dollars):

1. Basic: $29 per month on annual billing ($39 paid monthly). Shopify Payments online card rate starts at 2.9% + 30¢. Third-party payment provider fee: 2%.
2. Grow: $79 per month on annual billing ($105 paid monthly). Card rate from 2.7% + 30¢. Up to 5 staff accounts. Third-party provider fee: 1%.
3. Advanced: $299 per month on annual billing ($399 paid monthly). Card rate from 2.5% + 30¢. Up to 15 staff accounts. Third-party provider fee: 0.6%.
4. Plus: starting at $2,300 per month. Card rate from 2.25% + 30¢ and a 0.2% third-party provider fee. See our Shopify Plus pricing breakdown.

In-person card rates with Shopify POS are lower: 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic, 2.5% + 10¢ on Grow, 2.4% + 10¢ on Advanced and 2.3% + 10¢ on Plus. Shopify currently offers a 3-day free trial, then $1 per month for 3 months. The third-party provider fee applies when you process cards through a gateway other than Shopify Payments.

What to Plan for With Shopify

• App subscriptions add up for functions such as SEO, analytics and shipping, so budget for the paid apps you expect to need as you scale.
• Shopify B2B is available from Basic, but some B2B tools, such as company-specific catalogs and deposits, are Plus-only. Confirm your requirements on the plan you plan to buy.
• Advanced theme customization may mean a paid theme or developer time.

BigCommerce Features and Overview

BigCommerce is a SaaS commerce platform with built-in tools for catalogs, multi-storefront setups, B2B and omnichannel selling, plus open APIs for developers. It supports several embedded payment providers and its own BigCommerce Payments option. For platform statistics see our BigCommerce statistics page.

BigCommerce Pricing

Per BigCommerce's pricing page and FAQ (US dollars):

• Core: $29 per month billed annually ($39 paid monthly), for stores up to $30K in trailing-twelve-month sales.
• Growth: $79 per month billed annually ($105 paid monthly), for stores up to $100K in trailing-twelve-month sales.
• Scale: $299 per month billed annually ($399 paid monthly), with a monthly sales cap of $33,333. A continuous 0.9% overage applies to revenue above it.
• Performance: custom pricing starting at $1,499 per month, billed annually.

Plans upgrade automatically when sales pass a tier's threshold. BigCommerce notifies you before the change. Two details matter:

• Thresholds use GMV, which BigCommerce defines as gross order value minus 10%.
• Scale upgrades to Performance once trailing-twelve-month GMV reaches $2 million.

BigCommerce lists an Open Payment Provider fee for orders processed through non-embedded providers. The fee is a share of eligible order value:

• 2% on Core
• 1% on Growth
• 0.6% on Scale

Embedded providers carry no additional order fee. They include BigCommerce Payments, Adyen, Affirm, Afterpay, Amazon Pay, Checkout.com, Klarna, PayPal Braintree, Stripe and others on its list.

BigCommerce Payments card pricing starts at 2.89% + 29¢ per transaction. American Express is 3.50% with no fixed fee. A 15-day free trial is available.

What to Plan for With BigCommerce

• Because plans scale with sales volume, cost tracks growth. Check where your trailing-twelve-month sales fall against the $30K and $100K thresholds.
• B2B features vary by plan. Customer groups start on Growth and price lists are on Performance, so confirm that the plan you need includes your B2B requirements.
• POS runs through integrations with providers such as Square, Clover and Heartland Retail rather than a native system.

Payment Fees: Platform Fees vs Provider Processing Fees

Two separate charges are easy to confuse:

• A platform fee is what the commerce platform charges when you use a payment provider outside its preferred route. On Shopify it is the third-party provider fee. On BigCommerce it is the Open Payment Provider fee.
• A provider processing fee is what the payment provider charges to process the card. Examples are 2.9% + 30¢ on Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments or 2.89% + 29¢ with BigCommerce Payments.

Your negotiated rates with another provider can differ.

Total Cost Model: A $20,000 per Month Store

This illustration uses these assumptions:

• United States, US dollars and annual billing
• $20,000 per month in card sales (GMV defined as card sales processed)
• $50 average order value (400 orders)
• The platform's own payment option

Apps, implementation and dispute operations are left as inputs because they depend on your store.

The two plans in this example are not feature equivalents. BigCommerce's plan is set by sales volume rather than by feature need. If you need Advanced-level features on Shopify, the same store pays $299 plus 2.5% + 30¢ processing ($620), about $919 per month.

If your store used a non-embedded provider on BigCommerce Scale, add the 0.6% Open Payment Provider fee ($120 per month on $20,000). That fee sits on top of the provider's own processing rates. On Shopify, an outside gateway on Basic adds the 2% third-party fee ($400 per month on $20,000).

Your negotiated processing rates will change the result. Both Shopify and BigCommerce have cited vendor-commissioned studies on total cost of ownership. Treat any such figure as directional.

Enterprise Tiers Compared Separately

Enterprise comparisons should not be applied to entry-level plans.

• Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 per month, with a 2.25% + 30¢ Shopify Payments online rate and a 0.2% third-party provider fee.
• BigCommerce Performance uses custom pricing starting at $1,499 per month, with no Open Payment Provider fee on contracted terms.

At enterprise scale, verify the plan-specific items in your own quote: API limits, checkout customization, B2B tooling, support level, contract length and migration cost. Request a written quote from each platform before you compare the two.

Feature Comparison

Use this table as a checklist of items to confirm on the plan you intend to buy. Capabilities and plan inclusions change, so verify them on each platform.

B2B Features by Plan on Shopify and BigCommerce

Both platforms sell to business buyers, but each one unlocks B2B tools at different plan levels. Check the row that matches your buyers before you pick a tier.

Sources: Shopify B2B features by plan, the BigCommerce pricing page and the BigCommerce B2B Edition overview. For deeper Plus details, see Shopify Plus for B2B. Business buyers also dispute charges in their own way, so review B2B card chargebacks before you launch net terms.

Ecommerce SEO: What You Control on Either Platform

Neither platform inherently ranks better. Rankings depend on how well the store is implemented, so compare the merchant-controlled requirements below on both platforms before you choose.

Chargebacks and Fraud Tools on Both Platforms

Your platform choice does not change whether you receive chargebacks, but it affects where and how you respond. If you need the basics first, start with what is a chargeback. See our guides to chargeback management and payment reversals for the full process. In both cases the processor sets the evidence requirements and deadlines.

Disputes are a real cost on any platform. Mastercard projects that chargebacks will cost merchants $36.9 billion in 2026, rising to $46.1 billion by 2029, based on research by Datos Insights (Mastercard).

On either platform, platform fraud tools screen orders before fulfillment. Recovering revenue after a dispute needs structured evidence. That matters most for friendly fraud, where a real customer disputes a valid charge. Track the chargeback fees your provider charges and the chargeback time limits each network sets.

Chargeflow integrates with Shopify and BigCommerce, and Chargeflow Automation handles evidence collection and dispute submission. Also, chargeback alerts can flag some disputes before they escalate. If you run several providers, plan for several dispute queues and a multi-processor chargeback recovery workflow. For setup details, see the Chargeflow Shopify integration and the Chargeflow BigCommerce integration.

Where Shopify and BigCommerce Each Fit

When Shopify May Fit

• You want a native payment option and a native POS from the platform itself.
• You prefer to assemble capabilities from an app store and are comfortable budgeting for paid apps.
• You want to start with a simple store builder and a flat per-tier price that does not depend on sales volume.
• You need multichannel selling through the platform's sales-channel integrations.

When BigCommerce May Fit

• You want a choice of embedded payment providers with no platform fee, including BigCommerce Payments.
• You need built-in B2B customer groups or price lists, after confirming the plan that includes them.
• You want a pricing structure that scales with your sales volume.
• You want open APIs and a headless or multi-storefront architecture, subject to plan limits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shopify or BigCommerce better for SEO?

Neither is better by default. SEO results depend on what you control: redirects, canonical handling, page speed, structured data, localization and migration quality. Compare those requirements on both platforms and invest in implementation.

Which is better: Shopify vs. BigCommerce?

Neither Shopify nor BigCommerce is better for every store. Shopify fits merchants who want a native POS, a large app store and a flat price per tier. BigCommerce fits merchants who want several fee-free embedded payment providers and plans that scale with sales. Compare both on fees, B2B needs and dispute workflow.

Which scales better, Shopify or BigCommerce?

Shopify and BigCommerce scale in different ways. On Shopify you pick a tier by the features you need, then move to Plus from $2,300 per month. On BigCommerce, plans upgrade by sales: Core up to $30K, Growth up to $100K, Scale with a 0.9% overage above $33,333 per month, and Performance from $2 million in yearly GMV.

Is Shopify or BigCommerce better for B2B?

Both Shopify and BigCommerce support B2B selling, at different plan levels. Shopify B2B starts on Basic, with company-specific catalogs on Plus. BigCommerce customer groups start on Growth, with price lists on Performance and B2B Edition for quotes and invoices. Match the plan to your pricing and payment-terms needs.

How do payment-provider fees differ?

Separate the platform fee from the provider's processing fee. For outside providers, Shopify adds a third-party fee of 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% by plan. BigCommerce lists an Open Payment Provider fee of 2%, 1% or 0.6% on Core, Growth and Scale.

Shopify Payments and BigCommerce's embedded providers avoid that platform fee. The provider still charges its own processing rate, such as 2.9% + 30¢ on Shopify Basic or from 2.89% + 29¢ with BigCommerce Payments.

What changes at enterprise scale?

Compare the enterprise tiers on their own terms. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 per month. BigCommerce Performance starts at $1,499 per month with custom terms. Request quotes and verify API limits, checkout customization, B2B tooling, support and contract terms rather than assuming entry-level features carry over.

Is Shopify or BigCommerce cheaper?

On annual billing the three self-serve tiers are listed at the same prices: $29, $79 and $299 per month. Total cost depends on payment fees, sales volume and apps. BigCommerce plans upgrade automatically at $30K and $100K in trailing-twelve-month sales. Shopify tiers are chosen by feature need.

Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

It depends on the provider. BigCommerce lists an Open Payment Provider fee of 2% on Core, 1% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale for non-embedded providers. There is no additional order fee for embedded providers such as BigCommerce Payments, Stripe, PayPal Braintree, Klarna and Amazon Pay. The provider's own processing fees still apply.

Does BigCommerce have its own payment gateway?

Yes. BigCommerce lists BigCommerce Payments among its embedded providers, with card pricing starting at 2.89% + 29¢ per transaction.

How much does Shopify take from a $100 sale?

On Basic with Shopify Payments, a $100 online sale costs $3.20 in processing (2.9% + 30¢), so you keep $96.80 before your subscription cost. A third-party gateway on Basic adds Shopify's 2% platform fee ($2) on top of that gateway's own rate.

How much does BigCommerce take from a $100 sale?

With BigCommerce Payments, a $100 card sale costs $3.18 in processing (2.89% + 29¢), so you keep $96.82 before your subscription cost. A non-embedded provider on Core adds BigCommerce's 2% Open Payment Provider fee ($2) on top of that provider's own rate.

Can I switch between Shopify and BigCommerce?

Yes, stores can migrate between the platforms. Plan for redirect mapping, URL parity, customer and order data transfer, and a post-launch crawl check.

Does either platform recover chargebacks automatically?

Neither platform is a dedicated dispute-recovery service. For Shopify Payments, Shopify adds order information to the response and submits it on the due date. Chargeflow integrates with both Shopify and BigCommerce to automate dispute evidence and representment.

How Chargeflow Supports Shopify and BigCommerce Stores

Whichever platform you choose, payment processing and dispute handling need clear ownership. Shopify and BigCommerce run your store and checkout. Chargeflow works alongside either one to prevent disputes and recover revenue, backed by $200M+ recovered for 20K+ merchants.

For Shopify Users:

Chargeflow works with Shopify Payments and third-party gateways to automate chargeback disputes with compelling evidence. As AI-driven checkout and agentic commerce grow, watch for emerging AI agent chargeback liability and agentic commerce chargebacks risks.

For BigCommerce Users:

BigCommerce supports many embedded payment providers, so some merchants run more than one and compare options through an online payment gateway comparison before choosing. That can mean chargebacks from different payment service providers. Chargeflow connects to each gateway and adds ecommerce fraud prevention and dispute workflows on top.

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Before you commit, confirm current plan prices, payment terms and dispute fees with Shopify, BigCommerce and each payment provider you plan to use. Here's how to get started.