BigCommerce changed its pricing model on June 1, 2026. For the first time, merchants using non-BigCommerce payment gateways now pay a transaction fee: 2% on the Core plan, 1% on Growth, 0.6% on Scale. That didn’t exist before. For thousands of SMBs who chose BigCommerce partly because it lacked Shopify’s transaction fees, this Shopify vs BigCommerce comparison just got significantly more complicated.
Key Takeaways
- BigCommerce introduced Open Payment Provider fees in June 2026 — 2%, 1%, and 0.6% by plan — eliminating its main pricing advantage over Shopify
- Shopify holds ~28% of the US ecommerce market; BigCommerce has a much smaller share but stronger native B2B and variant capabilities
- BigCommerce supports 600 variants per product; Shopify caps at 100 with 3 option types — relevant if your catalog is SKU-heavy
- Neither platform is universally better — the right choice depends on catalog complexity, B2B requirements, and monthly order volume
Platform Philosophy: What Each Is Built For
Shopify and BigCommerce are both mature SaaS ecommerce platforms. They serve overlapping markets but with different philosophies.
Shopify is an ecosystem-first platform. Its core is lean — many features come through a 16,000+ app store. This keeps the base platform fast and flexible, but adds cost and complexity when you need functionality that isn’t native.
BigCommerce takes a native-feature-first approach. More functionality is built into the platform without needing third-party apps. This can reduce app costs but also means the core product is heavier and less customizable.
Shopify’s App-First Ecosystem Model
Shopify’s strategy: build a great foundation and let 16,000 apps handle the rest. This means subscription management, loyalty programs, advanced filtering, and B2B pricing are all available — but almost always through paid apps.
The ecosystem is genuinely excellent. Almost every ecommerce requirement has multiple app solutions with real user reviews and active development teams. The trade-off is real: a $29/month Shopify Basic store often requires $200–$400/month in apps to have feature parity with a mid-tier BigCommerce plan.
BigCommerce’s Native Feature Approach
BigCommerce includes features natively that Shopify charges through apps: faceted search, multi-currency, B2B pricing tiers, and customer groups are all built in. For merchants who would otherwise need those app equivalents, BigCommerce’s effective cost can be lower.
The gap is narrowing. Shopify has added native B2B features (now available on all paid plans since April 2026) and improved its checkout extensibility. But BigCommerce still has an edge on out-of-the-box feature depth at the base plan level.
Pricing Breakdown: What You Actually Pay
Shopify Plans and Transaction Fees (2026)
| Plan | Monthly (Annual) | Transaction Fee (non-Shopify Payments) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29 | 2% |
| Shopify | $79 | 1% |
| Advanced | $299 | 0.5% |
| Plus | from $2,300 | 0.15% |
If you use Shopify Payments, transaction fees are eliminated. Shopify Payments is available in 23+ countries. Outside those markets, or if you prefer your own payment processor, the transaction fee applies.
BigCommerce Plans and the New Open Payment Provider Fee
| Plan | Monthly (Annual) | Open Payment Provider Fee (June 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $39 | 2% |
| Plus | $105 | 1% |
| Pro | $399 | 0.6% |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
BigCommerce does not offer its own payment processor — BigCommerce Payments is powered by PayPal. If you use any other gateway (Stripe, Authorize.net, Square), the Open Payment Provider fee now applies. Previously, BigCommerce had no transaction fees at all. This was a key competitive differentiator in the Shopify vs BigCommerce debate. That advantage is now significantly reduced.
Total Cost of Ownership: Adding Up Apps and Add-Ons
A fair comparison looks at total cost, not just plan price:
Shopify Basic ($29/month) with typical app stack:
- Product reviews app: $15–$30/month
- Advanced filtering: $20–$40/month
- Email marketing integration: $30–$100/month
- Subscription management: $100–$300/month
- Loyalty program: $50–$150/month
- Total realistic range: $250–$650/month before transaction fees
BigCommerce Core ($39/month) with equivalent features:
- Faceted search: native
- Multi-currency: native
- Customer groups: native
- Email via Klaviyo: $30–$100/month
- Subscription management: $100–$300/month
- Total realistic range: $170–$440/month before the new 2% fee
At a store doing $50,000/month in revenue via non-native processors, BigCommerce Core’s 2% fee adds $1,000/month. That completely reverses any app cost advantage.
Marcus runs a $600K/year specialty outdoor equipment store. He switched to BigCommerce from Shopify three years ago, partly for the native B2B pricing tiers and partly for the no-transaction-fee structure. When BigCommerce’s June 2026 fee announcement hit, his monthly cost increased by $400 on Core. He ran the numbers: moving back to Shopify on the $79 plan (1% fee, no Shopify Payments available in his market) would cost roughly the same. He stayed on BigCommerce — the migration cost wasn’t justified — but he switched his payment gateway to PayPal to reduce the fee exposure.
Ecommerce Features Side by Side
Product Variants and Catalog Limits
This is BigCommerce’s clearest technical advantage in any Shopify vs BigCommerce comparison. BigCommerce supports 600 variants per product. Shopify caps at 100 variants with a maximum of 3 option types (size, color, material, for example).
For apparel, footwear, or any catalog where products come in many sizes, colors, and widths simultaneously, Shopify’s variant limit is a real constraint. Workarounds exist — variant apps, metafields, product grouping — but they add complexity and cost.
If your catalog has products with more than 100 SKUs per listing, this is a hard requirement that may decide the platform.
Checkout and Payment Processing
Shopify’s checkout is widely regarded as the highest-converting in ecommerce. Shopify processes around $900 billion in GMV annually across its platform — that checkout flow is extensively tested and trusted by consumers.
BigCommerce’s checkout is functional and configurable. With Checkout SDK, developers can customize it meaningfully. But Shopify’s native checkout, particularly the one-page layout introduced in 2023, converts better in most head-to-head tests.
B2B and Wholesale Capabilities
Both platforms now offer B2B features. Shopify opened B2B to all paid plans in April 2026 — it was previously Plus-only. This includes customer-specific pricing, net payment terms, and custom catalogs.
BigCommerce has had customer groups and tiered pricing natively for longer. For stores with established wholesale workflows, BigCommerce’s B2B toolset may still be more mature out-of-the-box.
Multi-Currency and International Selling
Shopify Markets handles multi-currency, localized pricing, and international taxes natively. It’s available from the Basic plan.
BigCommerce has native multi-currency support as well. Both platforms support localized checkout and pricing. Neither has a significant edge here at comparable plan levels.
App Ecosystems and Integrations
Shopify’s 16,000+ App Store
Shopify’s app marketplace is the largest in ecommerce. For any feature you need, there are multiple app options with real reviews, active development, and competitive pricing. The network effect of a large merchant base means app developers prioritize Shopify.
The risk: app costs add up quickly. A production Shopify store typically runs 15–25 apps. Managing that stack — updates, conflicts, load performance — is non-trivial.
BigCommerce’s ~1,000 App Marketplace
BigCommerce’s smaller app marketplace means fewer choices for specific use cases. The flip side: because more is built natively, you need fewer apps. But for niche requirements — specific loyalty programs, specific review platforms, specific fulfillment integrations — BigCommerce may not have an equivalent to what Shopify’s store offers.
Need help evaluating which platform fits your catalog and order volume? Talk to our Shopify agency →
Ease of Use and Onboarding
Shopify Admin vs BigCommerce Dashboard
Shopify’s Admin is consistently rated as the more intuitive of the two. The navigation is cleaner, the onboarding flow is better structured for merchants with no technical background, and the Theme Editor is genuinely drag-and-drop friendly.
BigCommerce’s dashboard is functional but carries more complexity. This matters most for smaller teams where the same person manages inventory, marketing, and site design. There’s a meaningful learning curve difference.
Theme Customization Differences
Shopify themes use Liquid as the templating language, with sections and blocks controlled through the visual Theme Editor. Changes can be made without code for most store configurations.
BigCommerce uses Stencil as its theme engine. Customization requires more developer involvement for non-trivial changes. Both platforms support custom code for teams that need it.
Shopify vs BigCommerce: Who Should Choose Each Platform?
Shopify Is Better When…
- You use Shopify Payments (eliminates transaction fees entirely)
- Your catalog has fewer than 100 variants per product
- You want the largest app ecosystem and integrations
- Your team is non-technical and needs a simpler admin
- Your store is primarily DTC consumer-facing
- You plan to expand internationally using Shopify Markets
BigCommerce Is Better When…
- Your catalog genuinely needs 100–600 variants per product
- Your B2B workflows require deep native pricing tier customization
- You prefer native features over managing an app stack
- You have an existing payment processor you’re committed to (though the fee gap has narrowed significantly post-June 2026)
Conclusion
The June 2026 BigCommerce transaction fee change made this decision harder for merchants who were previously on BigCommerce for cost reasons. The fee now exists; the math now has to include it.
For most US SMBs starting fresh: Shopify is the cleaner choice. Shopify Payments eliminates transaction fees, the ecosystem is larger, and the checkout is better. For merchants with SKU-heavy catalogs that exceed Shopify’s 100-variant cap, or established B2B workflows built around BigCommerce’s native tools, the calculation is more nuanced.
If you’re already on BigCommerce and the June fee change has you reconsidering, run your actual monthly GMV through both fee structures before committing to a migration. A BigCommerce to Shopify migration can range from $2,500–$5,000 for smaller stores — it only makes financial sense if the long-term cost delta justifies it. See our Shopify migration packages →
Frequently Asked Questions
Did BigCommerce add transaction fees in 2026?
Yes. BigCommerce introduced Open Payment Provider fees on June 1, 2026. The fees are 2% on Core, 1% on Plus, and 0.6% on Scale/Pro plans. Merchants using BigCommerce Payments (PayPal-powered) are not subject to these fees. This was a significant change from BigCommerce’s previous no-fee model.
Which platform is better for B2B ecommerce?
BigCommerce has historically had stronger native B2B features — customer groups, tiered pricing, custom catalogs. Shopify expanded B2B to all paid plans in April 2026, narrowing the gap. For complex wholesale operations with multiple price tiers and customer-specific catalogs, BigCommerce still has a slight edge. For simpler B2B requirements, Shopify now handles it adequately.
Can you switch from BigCommerce to Shopify easily?
Product and customer data can transfer with migration tools. Order history transfers with limitations. SEO migration requires careful 301 redirect mapping to avoid organic traffic loss. The BigCommerce variant limit to Shopify’s lower cap is the most common catalog restructuring challenge. Budget 2–4 weeks for a clean migration on a small store.
Which has better SEO tools — Shopify or BigCommerce?
Both platforms cover SEO fundamentals: editable meta titles and descriptions, clean URL structures, sitemaps, canonical tags. Shopify has a larger SEO app ecosystem. BigCommerce has better native control over URL structure (no forced /collections/ prefixes, for example). For most merchants, the on-page SEO difference is marginal — execution matters more than platform.
Which platform scales better for high-volume stores?
Both platforms handle high volume reliably. Shopify Plus processes billions in GMV annually and supports 10,000 checkouts per minute. BigCommerce Enterprise is similarly capable. At very high volume, Shopify Plus’s checkout customization and Flow automation toolset is more mature. For stores over $10M annual revenue, Shopify Plus is the more common choice.