Comparison — from the record, read 2026-08-29
BigCommerce vs Shopify
Both ladders below were read from the vendors’ own pricing pages, in this market, on the dates shown. Nothing is converted: what you see is what each page showed a reader here.
What each one is
BigCommercesite ↗pricing ↗
A hosted e-commerce platform aimed at larger and faster-growing stores, with multi-channel selling built in. Paid plans start at $399/mo (Scale); no free plan is published.
Shopifysite ↗pricing ↗
The dominant hosted e-commerce platform — storefront, checkout, payments and apps, rented monthly. Paid plans start at $29/mo (Basic); no free plan is published. The ladder we hold runs 4 paid tiers, topping out at $2300/mo (Plus). It bills by country — entry £19/mo to a UK reader and €27/mo in the eurozone, from our same-day reads.
The two ladders
BigCommercesite ↗pricing ↗
read 2026-08-27 · USD
| Plan | Price | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $29/mo | $29 per month billed annually. 'Up to $30K TTM GMV; plan auto-upgrades to Growth' — cross that and BigCommerce moves you to the $79 tier. Zero fees with Embedded Payment Providers; 24/7 chat and email support. Monthly-billed rate not readable in our view. |
| Growth | $79/mo | $79 per month billed annually. 'Up to $100K TTM GMV; plan auto-upgrades to Scale' — the next automatic step is to $299. Adds 24/7 live phone support. Monthly-billed rate not readable in our view. |
| Scale | $399/mo ($299 ↓) | Marked 'Most Popular'. $299 per month billed annually; the page states elsewhere 'Starting at $399/month (or $299/month billed annually)', which is the one monthly figure it publishes. Carries a $33,333/month GMV cap with 0.9% charged on GMV above it. |
| Performance | $1499/mo | Custom pricing, 'starting at $1,499 per month, billed annually'. Custom payment terms and dedicated customer success. |
Shopifysite ↗pricing ↗
read 2026-08-29 · USD
| Plan | Price | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29/mo | |
| Grow | $79/mo | |
| Advanced | $299/mo | |
| Plus | $2300/mo |
Where they differ
- Cheapest way in: Shopify at $29/mo, against BigCommerce at $399/mo. That is the entry price in this market on the dates shown, not a judgement about which suits you.
- Free plans: neither publishes one. Any free access here is a trial, which is a deadline.
- How far each ladder goes: BigCommerce tops out at $399/mo, Shopify at $2300/mo. A deeper ladder is not a worse deal — it is a bill that keeps climbing if you keep growing.
- Shopify: It bills by country — entry £19/mo to a UK reader and €27/mo in the eurozone, from our same-day reads.
Both ladders were read from the vendors’ own pricing pages as shown to a United States reader, on the dates beside each table. Nothing here is converted from another market and nothing is ordered by commission. Some links are affiliate links; they earn us a commission and change no number.
The method →