Shopify vs BigCommerce: Which to Pick in 2026
Independent 2026 comparison from Empire325 Marketing — the agency that implements both Shopify and BigCommerce for enterprise clients. We open with the verdict so you can decide in 30 seconds, then expand with the detail.
Side by side
Shopify
Leading SaaS e-commerce platform.
Best for
DTC brands wanting fastest time-to-launch and largest app ecosystem.
Visit Shopify →BigCommerce
Headless-friendly e-commerce platform with B2B capabilities.
Best for
B2B and B2B2C e-commerce, headless implementations, and operations needing more built-in B2B features.
Visit BigCommerce →Shopify vs BigCommerce: side-by-side comparison
Buyer dimensions with sourced, dated facts. Pricing and product specifics are volatile — every figure is stated as a point-in-time value (“as of 2026, per <source>”), not a permanent price. Verify against the linked source before quoting.
| Dimension | Shopify | BigCommerce | Source (as of 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | Basic $39/mo (~25% off on annual billing) | Core (formerly Standard) $39/mo (~$29/mo billed annually) | Vendor pricing pages, checked Jul 2026 — entry price is identical |
| Mid self-serve plan | Grow $105/mo | Growth (formerly Plus) $105/mo | Vendor pricing pages, 2026 |
| Upper self-serve plan | Advanced $399/mo | Scale (formerly Pro) $399/mo | Vendor pricing pages, 2026 — the three self-serve tiers are priced identically |
| Enterprise tier | Shopify Plus ~$2,300/mo (billed annually), custom | Performance (formerly Enterprise), custom quote; self-serve listed from ~$1,499/mo billed annually | Volatile — re-verify current quote; per 2026 pricing sources |
| Fee on a non-native payment gateway | 0% with Shopify Payments; otherwise 2% (Basic) / 1% (Grow) / 0.6% (Advanced) / ~0.2% (Plus) | 0% with embedded providers (Stripe, PayPal, Adyen, Klarna, Sezzle, Afterpay, etc.); otherwise new "Open Payment Provider Fee" 2.0% (Core) / 1.0% (Growth) / 0.6% (Scale); contracted Performance exempt | Structures now near-identical — BigCommerce's no-transaction-fee era ended Jun 1, 2026 (BigCommerce official update; Shopifreaks; Netalico) |
| Annual online-sales cap | None — no sales caps on any plan | Core ~$30k (lowered from $50k), Growth ~$100k (from $180k), Scale ~$400k/yr (~$33k/mo, then ~0.9% overage) — trailing-12-mo GMV triggers auto-upgrade/overage | BigCommerce 2026 update lowered thresholds (Netalico/Shopifreaks); Shopify has no caps |
| App ecosystem | Shopify App Store ~18,000+ apps (18,368 as of May 2026) | ~1,200+ apps/integrations | ~15x more on Shopify (App Store stats 2026) |
| Native B2B (price lists, customer groups, quotes) | Core B2B (company accounts, up to 3 price-list catalogs, net terms) opened to ALL paid plans Apr 2026; unlimited catalogs + dedicated B2B storefront still Plus-only | Deep native B2B across plans historically, incl. mature quote-to-order workflows | Shopify closed the basic-B2B gap in 2026; BigCommerce still edges on advanced quoting (Shopify B2B docs; commerce-ui; IWD Agency 2026) |
| Headless / composable | Hydrogen (React/Remix) + Oxygen edge hosting (included with Plus) | Catalyst (Next.js, open-sourced 2024) + Makeswift visual editor | Both ship first-party React frameworks in 2026 (commerce-ui; IWD Agency) |
| Retail / POS | First-party Shopify POS + hardware, omnichannel | Relies on third-party POS integrations | Industry consensus, 2026 |
| Scale / adoption | #1 US ecommerce platform; share estimates range ~10% global to ~30% US to ~46% of identified platforms (methodology varies); millions of live stores | ~37,000–40,000 live stores; concentrated in mid-market/enterprise | Third-party estimates 2026 (StoreLeads, ECDB, DemandSage) — methodology varies |
Sources
- Shopify pricing (plans & fees, 2026)
- BigCommerce 2026 plan & pricing updates (official)
- BigCommerce pricing page
- Shopifreaks: BigCommerce renaming plans + Open Payment Provider Fee, effective Jun 1 2026
- Netalico: BigCommerce 2026 pricing update (new fees, lowered thresholds)
- commerce-ui: BigCommerce vs Shopify 2026 (fees, B2B, headless)
- IWD Agency: Shopify vs BigCommerce 2026 (B2B, headless comparison)
- Shopify B2B on all plans (Apr 2026 rollout)
- Shopify App Store statistics 2026 (18,368 apps, May 2026)
- BigCommerce statistics 2026 (store count ~37-40k, app marketplace ~1,200)
- StoreLeads: State of BigCommerce 2026 (live store crawl)
- ECDB: ecommerce platform market-share ranking 2026
How we compared
Verified every specific price, fee, stat, and feature claim via WebSearch (Jul 2026) against vendor pages and independent 2026 coverage (BigCommerce official 2026 pricing update, Shopifreaks, Netalico, commerce-ui, IWD Agency, StoreLeads, ECDB, DemandSage, app-store stat trackers). WebFetch was unavailable (blocked by a dead local proxy), so confirmation relied on multiple corroborating search sources per claim. Volatile specifics (pricing, fees, GMV caps, store counts) are dated and framed as "as of 2026, per <source>"; contested figures (market share) are presented as ranges with methodology caveats rather than single asserted numbers. No pricing or stat is asserted as timeless.
Founder & CEO, Empire325 Marketing
Published April 28, 2026 · Updated July 2026
Last reviewed: July 2026
Which should you choose? A use-case matrix
Match your situation to the recommended pick — genuine buyer guidance, not a feature checklist.
| Your situation | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Speed-to-launch, first-party retail POS/omnichannel, largest app ecosystem (~18k apps) | Shopify | DTC-first platform that now also offers core B2B on all paid plans (since Apr 2026). |
| B2B-first with the deepest native quote-to-order and customer-group workflows without heavy app reliance | BigCommerce | Mature native B2B across plans; also hosting/API flexibility via open-source Catalyst. |
| Deciding on cost when the three self-serve tiers are priced identically ($39/$105/$399) | Compare payment-gateway choice | Both now fee non-native gateways, so staying on each platform's embedded/native processor is cheapest. |
| Higher-volume store watching trailing-12-mo GMV | Check BigCommerce thresholds | BigCommerce lowered its annual sales caps in 2026 (auto-upgrade/overage); Shopify has none. |
| Enterprise scale | Compare Shopify Plus vs BigCommerce Performance | Shopify Plus ~$2,300/mo vs BigCommerce Performance custom quote. |
Bottom line: Choose Shopify if: speed-to-launch matters, you need first-party retail POS/omnichannel, you want the largest app ecosystem (~18k apps), or you are DTC-first and now want core B2B (available on all paid plans since Apr 2026). Choose BigCommerce if: you are B2B-first and need the deepest native quote-to-order and customer-group workflows without heavy app reliance, or you want hosting/API flexibility via open-source Catalyst. Cost tie-breakers: both self-serve tiers are priced identically ($39/$105/$399), so decide on payment-gateway choice, whether your trailing-12-mo GMV trips BigCommerce's lowered thresholds, your app-subscription stack, and enterprise needs (Shopify Plus ~$2,300/mo vs BigCommerce Performance custom quote).
Who should choose Shopify?
Shopify is the right choice when dtc speed-to-market and app ecosystem breadth matter most. shopify plus for enterprise.
Shopify is positioned for: DTC brands wanting fastest time-to-launch and largest app ecosystem.
Who should choose BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is the right choice when b2b features matter (price lists, customer groups, quote workflows) and you want headless-friendly architecture.
BigCommerce is positioned for: B2B and B2B2C e-commerce, headless implementations, and operations needing more built-in B2B features.
Not sure which fits your stack?
Empire325 has implemented both for enterprise clients. 15 minutes, no sales pitch.
Empire325's take
Most enterprise DTC ends up on Shopify Plus. B2B and B2B2C e-commerce often fits BigCommerce better. Empire325 builds headless architectures on both.
See our web development practice →Frequently Asked Questions
Does BigCommerce still have no transaction fees?
Not anymore for non-native gateways. As of June 1, 2026, BigCommerce added an "Open Payment Provider Fee" of 2.0% (Core), 1.0% (Growth), and 0.6% (Scale) on sales processed through payment providers not on its embedded list; embedded providers like Stripe, PayPal, Adyen, Klarna, Sezzle, and Afterpay stay exempt, and contracted Performance plans are exempt (per BigCommerce's 2026 pricing update). That mirrors Shopify's long-standing 2%/1%/0.6% fee for using a non-Shopify-Payments gateway, so the two platforms' fee structures are now broadly similar.
Is Shopify or BigCommerce better for B2B?
Both are now strong. BigCommerce has historically offered deep native B2B — price lists, customer groups, and mature quote-to-order workflows — across its plans. Shopify narrowed the gap in April 2026 by opening core B2B (company accounts, up to three price-list catalogs, net terms) to ALL paid plans, with unlimited catalogs and a dedicated B2B storefront still reserved for Shopify Plus. For advanced quoting and complex customer-group logic, BigCommerce still edges ahead; for a DTC brand adding wholesale, staying on Shopify usually beats rebuilding (per commerce-ui and IWD Agency 2026 analyses). Empire325 scopes the choice by your quoting, catalog, and customer-group complexity, not by brand name.
Do Shopify and BigCommerce cost the same?
On paper they are close: as of 2026 both list a $39/mo entry plan, and Shopify's Grow ($105) / Advanced ($399) match BigCommerce's Growth ($105) / Scale ($399). Real cost diverges on payment-gateway fees, whether you hit BigCommerce's annual online-sales thresholds (which trigger auto-upgrades or overage fees), app subscriptions, and enterprise pricing (Shopify Plus ~$2,300/mo billed annually vs BigCommerce Performance custom quotes). Model your actual GMV, gateway, and app stack before deciding.
Which is better for headless / composable commerce?
Both ship first-party React frameworks in 2026 — Shopify's Hydrogen (Remix-based) with Oxygen edge hosting bundled into Plus, and BigCommerce's Catalyst (Next.js, open-sourced in 2024) with the Makeswift visual editor. Shopify tends to win on ecosystem breadth and integration depth; BigCommerce is favored by enterprise teams wanting API flexibility and hosting freedom. The right pick depends on your frontend team's stack and whether you want bundled hosting.
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