The verdict
For a small team selling products to consumers, I would lean towards Shopify, because the app store and the point of sale tools save you building things. For a team that sells to businesses, needs price lists, or has a developer who wants clean APIs to build around, pick BigCommerce.
Price out your real set-up before you decide. On Shopify the plan is only part of the bill, because apps, themes and payment fees add up. On BigCommerce, the payment provider you choose changes what you pay, and the plan follows your sales. Either way you are building on their platform, so rebuilding elsewhere later takes real work. Compare both on the integrations you need, not on feature lists.
Side by side
| 6 points compared | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $29/mo | €21/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in CMS / blog | Yes | Yes |
| Native ecommerce | Yes | Yes |
| Links |
Plans and pricing
BigCommerce
- Core$39/mo
- Growth$105/mo
- Scale$399/mo
Shopify
- Basic€28/mo
- Grow€78/mo
- Advanced€384/mo
- AgenticFree
Who each is for
Choose BigCommerce if…
Pick BigCommerce if integrations and APIs decide the choice, or if you sell to businesses as well as consumers. It suits a team with a developer who wants documented APIs across the platform, including storefront and admin GraphQL.
Zero fees apply on orders through embedded payment providers, and the trial gives you all features for 15 days, which helps when you test an ERP link. The hosted MCP server is in beta, and its B2B tools depend on your edition. Skip it if you want the quickest path to a first sale with a simple catalogue, or if you run WordPress. Forecast your sales against the plan caps so the next plan is not a surprise.
Choose Shopify if…
Pick Shopify when the shop is the business. You sell physical or digital products, you want checkout to work from day one, and you would rather pay than maintain code. Themes set the look, and apps add subscriptions, reviews and email flows.
It also suits you if you sell in person, since point of sale tools are available, or if you want to list products in AI channels through its Agentic plan. The GraphQL Admin API and Storefront API cover custom work. Watch cost creep, and have your products and payment set-up ready before the short trial starts. Skip it if you mainly sell services, need heavy custom logic or want to keep a WordPress site.
Other options worth a look
Builds responsive websites visually with a built-in CMS and ecommerce, producing HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Builds business websites and online stores without coding, with hosting, payments and blogging built in.
Build a polished marketing site or online store without managing hosting or writing code.
Builds simple responsive one-page websites without any code, using templates and drag-and-drop design.
Sells digital products, subscriptions and physical goods from a simple online storefront with checkout built in.