Shopify vs. BigCommerce: Which One Fits Your Business Needs?

Having an online presence is essential for your business to boost growth. For that one must ensure to choose the best e-commerce platform for setting up the business online. There are enormous platforms available like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and many other platforms.

Every platform offers different subscription models, features, pricing and benefits for all the business owners, either small business owners or big business owners. In this blog, you will get a complete overview of E-commerce platforms Shopify Vs. BigCommerce with a comparison table of these E-commerce platforms with their pricing plans, pros & cons, features, etc.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that allows businesses of all sizes to create and manage online stores. In technical terms, Shopify is a subscription-based SaaS (Software as a Service) sales platform. It's known for its user-friendly and intuitive interface, extensive app store, and wide range of customizable themes.

Shopify handles all the technical aspects of running an online store, including hosting, security, and payment processing. It offers four different subscription plans which are even suitable and affordable for small business owners as well as profitable for big business owners.

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is another effective cloud-based B2B e-commerce platform that caters to the needs of all the small and big business with intuitive features, pricing and interface. It offers advanced features like built-in SEO tools, robust product filtering, and a strong focus on B2B sales.

BigCommerce is known for its high performance and ability to handle large catalogs and high traffic volumes. It enables the business owners to foster growth and development with scalability. It offers various features to the business owners. It has various subscription plans for different business owners, i.e. for both the small and big business owners.

What are the Features of Shopify?

Shopify provides many features to the business owners to ensure overall growth of their business. The features provided by Shopify are:

Point of Sale

Shopify provides the feature of Point of Sale or Shopify POS, which enables the user to sell products and integrate payments into their Shopify’s inventory. This helps in maintaining the details of sales and transactions.

Cart Reminders

Shopify provides the feature of cart reminders or in other words reminders for abandoned carts. Sometimes customers forget about the products or items after adding them into the cart.

Shopify allows users to send the customers reminders via messages or mails to persuade them to buy those products from the cart. Business owners can automate this procedure of cart reminder by upgrading their Shopify plan to an advanced level.

Advanced SEO Tools

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are essential for the growth of business. Enhanced SEO helps in improving the online presence of the business. Shopify provides many SEO tools that users can leverage to bring traffic on their e-commerce business.

Not only this, but Shopify also offers support for third party applications integration to effectively optimize the websites.

Analytic Tools

Shopify offers the users various analytical tools to access the online stores' performance. Shopify’s Dashboard displays critical metrics like Product Analytics, Live view, Demography of Visitors, Total Purchase, and more. The tools also generate various reports analyzing the marketing, inventory, sales, stores growth and many other factors impacting business enhancement.

Other Features

- It is easy to navigate and use, even for beginners.

- Shopify has a wide variety of apps for marketing, sales, shipping, and more.

- It provides a wide range of customizable themes to suit different styles and brands.

- Offers excellent mobile responsiveness and features for mobile sales.

- Shopify offers its own payment gateway (Shopify Payments) with competitive rates.

- It provides 24/7 customer support through various channels.

What are the Subscription plans of Shopify?

The pricing for Shopify is:

What are the Features of BigCommerce?

The features available in BigCommerce are: -

Store Design:

BigCommerce provides many customizable templates which are suitable for various businesses. These templates are highly responsive. Templates focus on providing excellent looks and feel to your store to attract more and more customers.

Along with this, this e-commerce platform provides the feature of building and customizing store design to the business owners.

Product Management:

This e-commerce platform enables users to display a variety of products to the audience with flexibility. It offers advanced tools to manage the products.

Its advanced inventory management tool allows users to track stock levels, manage backorders, and set up different product options, such as size, color, material and other product related options.

Payment Options:

BigCommerce provides a lot of payment options like PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, and many other payment gateways. This platform ensures secure payment as it is fully compliant with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).

Analytics:

BigCommerce provides advanced analytics and reporting tools that provide valuable insights into your store’s performance. You can access detailed reports on sales, customer behavior, and marketing campaigns.

It will help you in making informed decisions to optimize your business strategies. The platform also integrates with Google Analytics, allowing for detailed data analysis.

Other Features:

- It is designed to handle high traffic volumes and large catalogs

- It includes built-in SEO tools, robust product filtering, and advanced shipping options.

- It offers features specifically designed for businesses selling to other businesses.

- It can easily scale as your business grows.

- There are no transaction fees on most plans, making it cost-effective for high-volume sellers.

- It offers various support options, including live chat and phone support.

What are the Subscription plans of BigCommerce?

The subscription plans of BigCommerce are:

What are the Pros and Cons of Shopify?

Shopify offers various benefits to the users to enhance their business. Along with the pros and advantages Shopify has a few drawbacks. Here are the pros and cons of Shopify.

Pros of Shopify e-Commerce platform:

• Shopify is a popular e-Commerce platform among business owners.
• It is easy to use and learn.
• It is growing rapidly.
• It provides the most suitable plans for every business owner.
• Shopify has built-in security features.
• Shopify provides advanced SEO features to enhance your page traffic.
• It provides beautiful themes and easy design tools.
• Shopify has the best app store.
• Shopify has its own payment platform – Shopify Payments but it can easily integrate with other payment gateways.

Cons of Shopify e-Commerce platform:

• Shopify’s has limited free themes.
• Shopify is not available in all countries.
• The Shopify advanced apps can be expensive sometimes.
• Sometimes users find Shopify plans costly.
• Shopify's programming language is less popular.

What are the Pros and Cons of BigCommerce?

Also, BigCommerce provides different advantages and disadvantages to e-commerce owners. Here are the pros and cons of BigCommerce: -

Advantages of BigCommerce Platform:

• It is an all-in-one e-commerce platform for users to build, manage and grow their store.
• Users can use a variety of payment gateways.
• BigCommerce doesn’t charge transaction fees.
• It offers a wide range of templates.
• It is easily scalable.
• It provides free trial period for the users.

Disadvantages of BigCommerce Platform:

• BigCommerce is expensive in comparison to Shopify.
• Its app store doesn’t provide many options and tools.
• It doesn’t offer third party integration much.
• It is not user friendly.
• BigCommerce doesn’t have any in-built abandoned cart recovery features.

Comparison Table – Shopify Vs BigCommerce

Shopify and BigCommerce offer various features, pricing structure and pros – cons. Comparing all these factors is essential to make a correct and relevant choice. Here is a well analyzed comparison table between Shopify and BigCommerce for your better understanding.

Why choose Shopify over BigCommerce?

After keenly understanding both Shopify and BigCommerce, you can choose Shopify as a more compelling e-commerce partner for your online business. The reasons behind this are:

• Shopify is easier to learn and manage, making it suitable for beginners.
• Shopify is cheaper than BigCommerce.
• It is growing rapidly.
• It provides suitable plans for both big and small business owners.
• It offers a wide app store with advance features and functionalities.
• Shopify offers 24/7 customer support.
• It has its own payment gateway.
• Shopify offers the feature of abandoned cart reminders.

Conclusion

The choice between Shopify Vs. BigCommerce depends on your specific business needs and priorities. Both the e-commerce platforms have their various advantages and disadvantages.

Shopify is an excellent choice for beginners and those who prioritize ease of use and a large app store with different and advanced features and tools to enhance your e-commerce business efficiently. Shopify is suitable for all types of business owners. Whereas BigCommerce is a better fit for high-volume sellers, businesses with large catalogs, and those who require advanced features and high performance.