BigCommerce vs Shopify - what to choose in 2025 - Zephyra Studio
BigCommerce - pros and cons
- No transaction fees on sales (even on basic plans, as long as you use integrated payments)
- Native B2B features (customer groups, wholesale pricing, quote management) without needing a separate app
- Built-in multi-channel selling (Amazon, eBay, social media) with no extra cost for the core connectors
- Unlimited products and file storage on all plans, which suits large catalogs
- Strong built-in SEO features, including automatic XML sitemaps, robots.txt editing, and full URL control
- Monthly sales threshold: if you exceed the plan's revenue cap, you'll be automatically upgraded to a higher plan (can be restrictive for high-growth stores)
- App store is smaller than Shopify's, with fewer niche or third-party options
- User interface can feel more complex or business-focused, which may intimidate beginners
- Reports and analytics are limited on the lower tiers, and detailed data is locked behind the Pro plan
- Design themes are built on a proprietary system, and some customization requires code knowledge
Shopify - pros and cons
- Extremely easy to set up and manage, even for total beginners with no technical background
- Massive app store with tens of thousands of add-ons covering almost any need, from dropshipping to subscriptions
- Built-in payment gateway (Shopify Payments) that is reliable and eliminates transaction fees if used
- Robust round-the-clock customer support via live chat, email, and phone
- Excellent marketing tools: native email marketing, discount creation, and abandoned cart recovery on most plans
- Transaction fees apply if you use a third-party payment gateway (unless you use Shopify Payments, which is not available in all countries)
- App costs can quickly add up: many key features (like advanced reporting or specialized shipping rules) require paid apps
- Limited native B2B features; wholesale requires a plan upgrade or a third-party app
- You pay for extra functionality, and the cost can escalate as your store grows
- Store speed can be affected by too many installed apps and a heavy theme
Comparison by key criteria
| Criteria | BigCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Cena | Starts around $29/month, no transaction fees on any plan, but limits on sales volume per plan can force an upgrade | Starts around $29/month, but charges 2% transaction fee if not using Shopify Payments (which is not available in all countries) |
| Lakoća korišćenja | Moderate learning curve; the interface is feature-rich but can feel technical for non-tech-savvy users | Very high; intuitive dashboard, drag-and-drop editor, and minimal setup steps make it the easiest for most beginners |
| SEO mogućnosti | Excellent: built-in automated sitemaps, editable robots.txt, full URL control, plus options like canonical URLs and SSL included on all plans | Good: clean base SEO (titles, descriptions, alt tags), but many advanced SEO features (like schema markup) require extra code or paid apps |
| Skalabilnost | Handles large catalogs (unlimited products) and high sales volumes well, with built-in B2B and multi-channel features that scale without extra apps | Scales easily but relies on a growing stack of paid apps for advanced features; can become expensive when you need more plugins at scale |
| Ekosistem pluginova/dodataka | Growing but smaller: has a decent app store with popular integrations, yet lacks the depth of certain niche or industry-specific solutions | Enormous: thousands of apps for everything from dropshipping to marketing automation, with an active third-party developer community |
| Brzina | Generally fast, but performance can be affected by the number of apps; the platform is known for reliable uptime | Often fast out-of-the-box, but speed heavily depends on theme choice and the number of installed apps; too many plugins can slow your site |
When to choose BigCommerce
Choose BigCommerce when you have a growing product catalog or plan to expand into B2B or wholesale selling. If you want to avoid paying extra for transaction fees, if you need native multi-channel sales without subscribing to a paid connector, or if you're tired of constant app-algia on other platforms, BigCommerce's built-in features are designed for you. It's also a better choice when your team has some technical familiarity or when you value having more SEO control and unlimited product listings from the start.
When to choose Shopify
Choose Shopify if you're new to ecommerce or need to get online in the shortest time possible. Its drag-and-drop builder and intuitive dashboard let you launch a professional store with minimal effort, even if you have no coding skills. Shopify's enormous app store means you'll find a plugin for nearly anything you can imagine, from dropshipping to advanced loyalty programs. If you prefer to focus on marketing and brand building and let the platform handle the tech side, Shopify is go-to solution.
Our recommendation
Catalog size and business model settle this one more often than personal preference. Shopify fits fastest when you're launching quickly and want the largest app ecosystem to lean on later. BigCommerce earns its place once your catalog gets large, you sell B2B or wholesale, or you'd rather not pay a transaction fee on every sale. We build and maintain stores on both at Zephyra Studio, so nothing above is a sales pitch for one over the other, just what we've seen work for stores in each situation. Tell us your catalog size and sales model and we'll say which one saves you the most headaches.
Frequently asked questions
Shopify suits most small to medium stores that want an easy setup, the largest app ecosystem, and fast growth, especially for marketing-led shops. BigCommerce is the stronger pick for B2B and multi-channel selling, with more native features, better built-in SEO tools, and plans that don't force transaction fees. Choose Shopify for simplicity and ecosystem size; choose BigCommerce for a more feature-rich platform at a lower cost on larger catalogs.