# BigCommerce vs Shopify

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Shopify

| Attribute | BigCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 63.9 (55% (medium)) | 83.4 (72% (medium)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A hosted platform for mid-market and enterprise online retailers, providing headless API access, B2B capabilities, and marketplace connectivity. Delivers 99.98% uptime with enterprise-grade security compliance and built-in tools for multi-currency global commerce. | Shopify is a commerce platform designed for businesses of all sizes to create storefronts, manage inventory, process payments, and sell across multiple channels online and in person. It provides pre-built themes, customizable experiences, and integrations with thousands of apps to support independent sellers through to global enterprises. |
| features.capabilities | `{"headless":true,"free_tier":false,"open_source":false,"b2b_features":true,"platform_type":"hosted_saas","self_hostable":false,"payments_model":"both","pci_compliance":true,"pos_omnichannel":true,"transaction_fees":false,"extension_ecosystem":"20+ embedded payment providers, major marketplace connectors (Amazon, eBay, Walm","multi_currency_language":true}` | `{"headless":true,"free_tier":true,"open_source":false,"b2b_features":true,"platform_type":"hosted_saas","self_hostable":true,"payments_model":"built_in","pci_compliance":true,"pos_omnichannel":true,"extension_ecosystem":"21,000+ commerce apps available in Shopify App Store","multi_currency_language":true}` |
| integrations.count | 12 | 21,000 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Amazon"},{"name":"eBay"},{"name":"Walmart"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Meta"},{"name":"TikTok"},{"name":"UPS"},{"name":"USPS"},{"name":"FedEx"},{"name":"Royal Mail"},{"name":"Canada Post"},{"name":"Australia Post"}]` | `[{"name":"Adyen"},{"name":"Manhattan"},{"name":"Vercel"},{"name":"Hydrogen"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Xero"},{"name":"QuickBooks"},{"name":"Shop app"},{"name":"Dropshipping apps"},{"name":"Print-on-demand apps"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"CA","primaryMarkets":["GB","US","CA"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Core","summary":"$29/month billed annually; auto-upgrades when exceeding GMV cap","features":["24/7 chat & email support","Zero fees with Embedded Payment Providers"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"of":"orders via non-embedded payment providers","kind":"percentage","plus":null,"rate":2}],"description":"Startups and small businesses","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"gmv_cap":"$30K TTM"}},{"free":false,"name":"Growth","summary":"$79/month billed annually; auto-upgrades when exceeding GMV cap","features":["24/7 live phone & chat support","Zero fees with Embedded Payment Providers"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":79,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Established businesses scaling toward $100K in annual sales","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"gmv_cap":"$100K TTM"}},{"free":false,"name":"Scale","summary":"$299/month billed annually plus 0.9% on GMV above cap","features":["24/7 live phone & chat support","Zero fees with Embedded Payment Providers"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":299,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"of":"GMV above cap","kind":"percentage","plus":null,"rate":0.9}],"description":"Fast-growing businesses with $1M+ in annual sales","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"gmv_cap":"$1M+ annual sales"}},{"free":false,"name":"Performance","summary":"Custom pricing starting at $1,499/month billed annually","features":["Custom payment terms","Dedicated Customer Success Manager","24/7 live phone & chat support"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1499,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"High-volume businesses with custom requirements","contactSales":true}],"summary":"From $29/month (annual billing). Free trial available. Embedded payment providers at zero transaction fees.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://www.bigcommerce.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T14:24:25.297Z","startingPrice":{"amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Basic","summary":"£19/month (billed yearly)","features":["World's best checkout","Online store","Unlimited products","In-person selling","Multiple sales channels","24/7 support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":19,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Grow","summary":"£49/month (billed yearly)","features":["World's best checkout","Online store","Unlimited products","In-person selling","Multiple sales channels","24/7 support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":49,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Advanced","summary":"£259/month (billed yearly)","features":["World's best checkout","Online store","Unlimited products","In-person selling","Multiple sales channels","24/7 support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":259,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Plus","summary":"£1,800/month (3-year term, contact for details)","features":["Unlimited retail locations","20x admin API rate limits","300+ hours technical launch support","Dedicated technical account managers"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1800,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"}],"contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free 3-day trial, then 3 months for £1/month. Plans from £19/month (Basic) to £1,800+/month (Plus, enterprise). Annual and 3-year commitments available.","currency":"GBP","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.shopify.com/first-sale/product-pricing-calculator","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T16:44:17.179Z","freeTrialDays":3,"startingPrice":{"amount":19,"period":"month","currency":"GBP"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | no | yes |
| pricing.model | quote | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | unknown | mid |
| pricing.transparent | no | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.98 | 99.9 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | yes |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |

## Capabilities (E-commerce Platforms)

| Capability | BigCommerce | Shopify |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Platform type | Hosted all-in-one SaaS | Hosted all-in-one SaaS |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-source | ✗ | ✗ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Self-hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Free / open tier | ✗ | ✓ |
| Transaction fees beyond plan | ✗ | - |
| **Payments** |  |  |
| Payments model | Built-in + BYO gateway | Built-in payments |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| Headless / API-first storefront | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Compliance** |  |  |
| PCI-DSS compliance provided | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Reach** |  |  |
| Multi-currency / multi-language | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Selling** |  |  |
| B2B / wholesale features | ✓ | ✓ |
| POS / omnichannel | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| App / extension ecosystem size | 20+ embedded payment providers, major marketplace connectors (Amazon, eBay, Walm | 21,000+ commerce apps available in Shopify App Store |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:03:36.600Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*