Big Commerce

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BigCommerce is a cloud-based e-commerce platform designed for growing and enterprise-level merchants. It positions itself as a more capable alternative to Shopify for businesses that need advanced features out of the box without relying on paid apps to fill gaps.

This review covers what BigCommerce actually delivers, where it works best, and where its limits are.

Key Takeaways

• Feature-rich out of the box: BigCommerce includes multi-currency, B2B features, product variants, and advanced pricing rules without requiring paid add-ons for most business needs.
• No transaction fees: unlike Shopify, BigCommerce does not charge transaction fees on any payment gateway, which matters at higher revenue volumes.
• Multi-channel selling: native integrations with Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, Facebook, and Instagram let merchants sell across channels from one platform.
• Best for mid-market and enterprise merchants: businesses with complex catalogues, B2B operations, or high revenue volumes get the most from BigCommerce's feature set.
• Pricing starts at $39/month: plans scale with annual revenue, which affects when merchants are moved to higher tiers.

What Is BigCommerce and What Does It Do?

BigCommerce is a hosted e-commerce platform that provides everything a merchant needs to sell online, including storefront design, product and inventory management, payment processing, tax, shipping, and multi-channel integrations.

BigCommerce handles the technical infrastructure so merchants can focus on selling.

• Storefront builder: customise the store's appearance using pre-built themes or the Page Builder drag-and-drop editor; advanced customisation is possible through theme code for developers.
• Product management: manage catalogues with up to 600 SKU variants per product, complex product options, custom fields, and bulk import and export tools for large catalogues.
• B2B features: customer groups, tiered pricing, quote management, and purchase order support are built into higher-tier plans, covering the basics of B2B selling without a separate app.

BigCommerce is most valuable for merchants who need platform-level features without paying for individual apps to cover basic e-commerce requirements.

Who Is BigCommerce Built For?

BigCommerce is built for mid-market merchants, established retailers, and B2B sellers that have outgrown simpler e-commerce tools and need a robust platform with advanced features without the overhead of enterprise solutions like Magento.

The platform targets businesses serious about e-commerce, not hobbyists.

• Mid-market retailers: businesses with annual revenue between $1 million and $50 million that need reliable hosting, complex product catalogues, and multi-channel selling are the core BigCommerce audience.
• B2B businesses: manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers that sell to other businesses and need customer-specific pricing, quote workflows, and purchase order support benefit from BigCommerce's built-in B2B tools.
• Multi-brand or multi-storefront merchants: BigCommerce supports managing multiple storefronts from one account, which suits businesses with distinct brands or regional sites.

If you are just starting out, Shopify's simplicity and ecosystem make it a more accessible first choice. BigCommerce's depth makes more sense once you are scaling.

How Does BigCommerce Work?

You set up a store, select or customise a theme, add your product catalogue, configure payment and shipping settings, connect your sales channels, and launch. The platform handles hosting, security, and performance automatically.

BigCommerce follows the same basic e-commerce setup flow as other hosted platforms with more configuration options along the way.

• Theme selection: choose from free and paid themes in the BigCommerce marketplace; themes are responsive and mobile-optimised by default, with Page Builder for no-code customisation.
• Payment gateway setup: BigCommerce integrates with over 65 payment gateways including PayPal, Stripe, Square, and regional options; no transaction fees apply regardless of which gateway you choose.
• Shipping configuration: connect with real-time rates from FedEx, UPS, USPS, and other carriers; set custom shipping zones, rates, and rules for different product types and destinations.

The setup is more involved than Shopify but significantly less complex than Magento or a custom-built store.

What Are BigCommerce's Real Strengths?

BigCommerce's biggest strengths are the depth of its built-in feature set, the absence of transaction fees, its B2B capabilities, and the API flexibility that lets technical teams customise the platform beyond what themes and apps provide.

For merchants that need more than basic e-commerce, these advantages are real.

• No transaction fees on any gateway: this is a meaningful financial advantage at high revenue volumes compared to Shopify, which charges between 0.5% and 2% when not using Shopify Payments.
• Built-in advanced features: product review tools, faceted search, customer groups, and multi-currency are included without requiring paid apps that add up quickly on other platforms.
• Headless commerce support: BigCommerce's API-first architecture supports headless commerce setups where the storefront is built with a custom front end separate from the BigCommerce backend, giving developers full design freedom.
• Strong SEO capabilities: BigCommerce gives merchants control over URLs, meta tags, canonical tags, and sitemaps without plugins, which matters for organic search performance at scale.

These strengths make BigCommerce a genuine competitor to Shopify for merchants with specific needs that Shopify's ecosystem addresses through expensive apps.

Where Does BigCommerce Fall Short?

BigCommerce has fewer third-party apps than Shopify, higher complexity for simple stores, and a revenue-based pricing model that forces plan upgrades as the business grows. These factors matter for small merchants and non-technical users.

These limitations define who should look elsewhere.

• Smaller app ecosystem than Shopify: Shopify has tens of thousands of apps; BigCommerce's marketplace is smaller, which means less flexibility for merchants who rely on third-party tools for specific functionality.
• Revenue-based plan tiers: BigCommerce moves merchants to higher-priced plans as annual revenue grows, which is unique to this platform and creates pricing unpredictability for fast-growing businesses.
• Steeper learning curve: BigCommerce's depth of settings and configuration options is an advantage for experienced merchants but creates friction for merchants who want a simple, fast setup.
• Theme ecosystem is smaller: the selection of high-quality BigCommerce themes is smaller than Shopify's; merchants with specific design requirements may find fewer starting points.

These are trade-offs, not fatal flaws. The right choice between BigCommerce and Shopify depends on the specific business requirements.

How Much Does BigCommerce Cost?

BigCommerce plans start at $39/month for the Standard plan. Plans scale to $105/month for Plus and $399/month for Pro. Enterprise pricing is custom and negotiated directly.

The revenue threshold on each plan determines when merchants are required to move to a higher tier.

The revenue-based tier structure is an important planning consideration; businesses growing quickly may face unexpected plan upgrades.

How Does BigCommerce Compare to Other E-Commerce Platforms?

BigCommerce competes most directly with Shopify for mid-market merchants and with Magento for enterprise buyers. It is more capable than Shopify out of the box for complex catalogues and B2B, and significantly simpler to manage than Magento.

The right comparison depends on scale, technical resources, and feature requirements.

BigCommerce wins for mid-market merchants who need feature depth without transaction fees or the complexity of Magento.

Is BigCommerce Good for B2B Selling?

BigCommerce is one of the stronger SaaS e-commerce platforms for B2B use cases. Customer groups, tiered pricing, quote management, purchase order support, and account management features are included on higher plans without requiring a separate B2B platform.

For businesses that sell to other businesses, BigCommerce's B2B tools reduce the need for custom development.

• Customer-specific pricing: different customer groups can see different prices for the same products, which is essential for wholesale and distributor relationships.
• Quote management: B2B buyers can request quotes that sales teams respond to and convert to orders, handling the negotiation-based buying process that B2B commerce requires.
• Purchase order payments: accepting purchase orders as a payment method is a standard B2B requirement that BigCommerce handles natively on Business and Enterprise plans.

At LOW/CODE Agency, when clients need B2B e-commerce that goes beyond basic product catalogues and customer accounts, we evaluate whether BigCommerce's built-in tools cover the requirements or whether a custom solution better matches the specific buying workflow the business operates.

What Are the Common Mistakes When Using BigCommerce?

The most common BigCommerce mistakes are choosing it without considering the revenue-based pricing model, under-investing in theme customisation, and not utilising the API for integrations with existing business systems.

These mistakes reduce the return on the platform investment.

• Ignoring revenue thresholds: fast-growing businesses that do not plan for plan upgrades get surprised by cost increases as revenue crosses tier limits; model your projected growth against BigCommerce's pricing tiers before committing.
• Using the default theme without customisation: a generic-looking store performs worse than a well-customised one; investing in theme customisation or a custom design improves conversion rates significantly.
• Not connecting to existing business systems: BigCommerce's API is strong; not connecting it to your ERP, CRM, or warehouse management system leaves operational efficiency on the table.
• Skipping product SEO setup: BigCommerce's SEO capabilities are strong but require deliberate setup of product URLs, meta descriptions, and structured data; default settings are not optimised out of the box.

Reading through BigCommerce's developer documentation helps technical teams understand the full customisation options before deciding whether platform or custom development is the right approach.

Conclusion

BigCommerce is a capable e-commerce platform for mid-market merchants, B2B sellers, and businesses with complex catalogue and pricing requirements. The built-in feature depth, zero transaction fees, and API flexibility make it a strong alternative to Shopify for merchants that need more without the complexity of Magento.

It is not the simplest or cheapest option for small or early-stage stores, and the revenue-based pricing model requires planning. For the right merchant with the right requirements, BigCommerce delivers a robust foundation for scaling e-commerce operations.

Need a Custom E-Commerce Experience Built for How You Sell?

Platform e-commerce covers the standard buying journey. When your business model, customer experience, or operational workflow needs something the platform cannot configure, a custom solution delivers what no off-the-shelf tool can match.

At LOW/CODE Agency, we build custom e-commerce experiences, B2B portals, and digital commerce solutions for growing businesses. We have completed 450+ projects for clients including Medtronic, American Express, and Zapier.

If your commerce requirements have outgrown what a platform can handle, let's talk.

FAQs

What is BigCommerce used for?

BigCommerce is used to build and operate online stores for businesses selling physical or digital products. It handles storefront design, product management, payment processing, tax, shipping, and multi-channel selling. It is used by mid-market retailers, B2B sellers, and enterprise merchants who need platform-level features without managing server infrastructure.

Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

No. BigCommerce does not charge transaction fees on any payment gateway. This is one of the platform's key differentiators from Shopify, which charges between 0.5% and 2% when merchants use payment gateways other than Shopify Payments. For high-revenue merchants, this difference represents significant cost savings.

How does BigCommerce compare to Shopify?

Shopify is easier to get started with and has a larger app ecosystem. BigCommerce includes more features out of the box, charges no transaction fees, and handles B2B selling better without paid apps. Shopify is often the better starting point for new merchants; BigCommerce becomes more competitive as merchants scale and need features that Shopify requires expensive apps to cover.

Does BigCommerce support headless commerce?

Yes. BigCommerce has an API-first architecture that supports headless commerce setups where the storefront is built with a custom front-end technology separate from the BigCommerce backend. This gives developers full design and performance control while using BigCommerce for commerce management, checkout, and backend operations.

Is BigCommerce suitable for B2B selling?

Yes. BigCommerce includes B2B features including customer groups, tiered pricing, quote management, purchase order payment support, and account management on higher-tier plans. These features make it one of the stronger SaaS platforms for businesses that sell to other businesses alongside or instead of direct consumer selling.

What is the BigCommerce revenue-based pricing model?

BigCommerce tiers its plans based on the merchant's annual gross merchandise volume (GMV). Standard supports up to $50k/year, Plus up to $180k/year, and Pro up to $400k/year. When a merchant's revenue exceeds the plan threshold, they are moved to the next tier. This model means growing businesses should plan their platform costs against projected revenue growth, not just current revenue.