TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    BigCommerce

    Score8.2 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    BigCommerce is a SaaS platform that allows SMBs to develop eCommerce sites. Features include the capabilities to design the storefront, configure products, manage payments, generate traffic, and optimize conversion.

    $39

    per month

    Shopify

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/AShopify is a commerce platform designed for both online stores and retail locations. Shopify offers a professional online storefront, a payment solution to accept credit cards, and the Shopify POS application to power retail sales.

    $39

    per month

    Pricing
    BigCommerceShopify
    Editions & Modules
    Standard
    $39
    per month
    Plus
    $105
    per month
    Pro
    $399
    per month
    Enterprise
    Custom
    per month
    Basic Shopify
    $39
    per month
    Grow
    $105
    per month
    Advanced
    $399
    per month
    Shopify Plus
    2,000
    per month
    Shopify Plus
    2,300
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    BigCommerceShopify
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.A 25% discount is offered for annual billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    BigCommerceShopify
    Considered Both Products
    BigCommerce
    Chose BigCommerce
    Although k-eCommerce may be a good fit for businesses who's ERP is Microsoft NAV Dynamics, we found the application to be cumbersome and lacking user friendly functionality as compared with BigCommerce. The k-eCommerce support was poor, impersonal and lacked situational …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    I personally prefer BigCommerce over Shopify. Shopify is more confusing to use and takes longer to get a site up and running. Shopify also seemed to heavily lack some needed bulk editing tools that bigcommerce has. The only thing I preferred about Shopify was that it had more …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    BigCommerce has more built in options than Shopify. While Shopify has lots more apps that are available and a lower initial price. The use of third party apps is good to have lots of options but each option needs to be vetted and dealt with independently. They greater number of …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    BigCommerce had a much strong B2B integration and platform in general than Shopify. Netsuite was too expensive at the time to considering it.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    Their B2B features are incomparable. Shopify was another contender but didn’t have the B2B capabilities that BigCommerce has
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    We deal in firearms. I tried Shopify first back in 2016 and that was a miserable mistake, very firearm NOT friendly there. Then we went to Volusion the next month and we were quite happy there for 7-1/2 years and several million $ in sales. The issue is Volusion was losing …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    I chose BigCommerce over Shopify because I felt there were more built-in apps in BigCommerce. Other than that, I felt that both solutions are very similar.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    BigCommerce combines the ease-of-use that you get form Shopify, with the ability to handle large numbers of Sku's like a custom Magento site might have.

    But unlike a custom site like Magento, you don't need a coder or developer for every little change you want to make to the …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    I find the UI to be more appealing and the storefront to be a little less recognizable as a typical Shopify storefront (more generic, etc.)
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    We switched from Shopify due to the restrictions they implemented on our industry. While we spent tens of thousands of dollars investing in our Shopify store, we can't have them cutting us off anytime they want. We reviewed WooCommerce, but didn't like the storefront or …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    BigCommerce VS Shopify: Do I like Shopify? Yes. Has Shopify positioned itself as more of a get rich quick drop shipping platform, and alternative to marketplaces like Etsy? Also yes. Listen, I still like Shopify a lot, and there are absolutely still cases where I feel Shopify …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    osCommerce was our previous platform. It worked great for what it was but was too difficult to maintain and behind the times. When looking for a replacement, Squarespace and Shopify were both evaluated. Squarespace was not responsive at the time and did not support all of the …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    Integrations with Shopify were inadequate, and we felt the overall impression was too informal, without the backend flexibility our catalog requires. As for Magento, I had experience at a previous company with Magento and was never very satisfied with any part of it. I took a …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    Most reliable and robust e-commerce solution for the price. Easy to learn and to continue to use. Great user and customer management. Product capabilities are way better than the competition. It doesn't take a long time to onboard an entire business' inventory and get to …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    Each platform has its pros and cons. However, overall, BigCommerce is the most challenging to work with from a developer's perspective. Simply finding files and locating the code in the theme editor takes too much time.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    - Ease of Use: With guided onboarding, BigCommerce enables us to manage stores independently within days, reducing the need for extensive technical support. ​

    -Comprehensive Built-In Features: BigCommerce provides a wide array of native features, minimizing reliance on …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    easy for customization , no lengthy coding required.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    I believe other platforms offer more robust CMS and experience managing tools making content and product updates easier to perform.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    I find BigCommerce easy to use from a non computer person stand point. It was easy to quickly get adjusted to and what they charge for building and running a website far surpassed there competitors.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    We are moving away from BigCommerce. It has not met our needs.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    We chose BigCommerce over competitors due to customization and cost. We're able to have the site we're looking for, easily managed within our marketing team without hours of tedious revisions.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    Bigcommerce provide better security than WordPress , and live support is also avilable.
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    We have stuck with Big Commerce due to the amount of work and build outs we have created with the system. The issues we have come across do not raise too many red flags that we would need to switch programs at this time. If we do it is due to the promotion/ sales restrictions, …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    Every criterion we evaluated against BigCommerce either won outright or held its own. What got us over the line was the incredible personal support at every step of the way from onboarding and implementation through to BAU. I had a support ticket this morning which I resolved …
    Incentivized
    Chose BigCommerce
    BigCommerce gave us room to grow. It seemed to offer options further than we would have had [an] interest in going. The list/choices of apps were great. I do not know if the individuals who wrote the 3rd party apps were vetted, it really felt like they were. They know …
    Incentivized
    Shopify
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify out of the box had more features and did what we were looking to do that BigCommerce could not do without extensive customizations using a third-party vendor. That made it a very easy choice to switch to Shopify. Most of the customizations needed in Shopify we were able …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    I have been in e-commerce for over 15 years now, and Shopify is overall the best website platform that I have used. I have used AmeriCommerce, StoresOnline/Crexendo, BigCommerce, Weebly/Square, Wix, Wordpress, GoDaddy and others - Shopify is the best in most …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify is so much easier to use, and much more user-friendly than both BigCommerce and Magento. The reporting, product management, and app marketplace are much better as well. Shopify also integrates with other systems very easily with apps and sales channels, so it saves a …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    With Wix and Squarespace, we really like the extended customization options for our store, but they both lacked the "commerce theme." Shopify, like BigCommerce is essentially designed to cater right to ecommerce and thus has more tools and features to support that effort. BigCom…
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    I have tried (and currently use and love) BigCommerce. GoDaddy was also decent and very easy to use. Volusion, Ecwid, Weebly, Wix, SquareSpace - all were colossal wastes of time.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify is the most accessible website management tool to make custom edits to and is the quickest to learn. The file structure is easy to understand, but on Magento, it is very complicated. BigCommerce offers more default options than Shopify, but Shopify has more apps. 3D …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify stacks up well with BigCommerce in terms of SEO. We've found WooCommerce to be even more SEO friendly because of the plugins that can be leverage in WordPress.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify is great for the quick deployment of eCommerce websites and scaling them to test for feasibility. It's very affordable and easy to use. BigCommerce provides more function and customization but it takes coding experience to execute so it may not be best for some teams, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    We left BigCommerce and immediately were thrilled. BigCommerce worked fine but we saw immediate savings of several thousand dollars per month. The site speeds and page load times were way better and the app store is very comparable. Many of the features are similar between the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Magento, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce for WordPress were the main alternatives we considered.
    • Magento - we had a negative experience with the complexity involved in maintaining the site backend and product catalog with a previous client and decided it wasn't suitable for the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify and BigCommerce are similar to each other in the sense that they have a very similar back end to the website. The ability to upload products is very similar and able to control settings. However, Shopify does seem to be easier to understand and has some added features …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    I think Shopify was most similar to BigCommerce, but a good cart before needing to use Magento which felt more enterprise.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify is the best tool in the ecosystem because with all the apps in its sphere, you can do almost anything. It also has the best checkout experience one can ask for in the Ecommerce / website space. I think when it comes to shipping inventory and theme management it’s the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    They have more analytics, better designs, more apps to create a more robust system to run a business on. Their system is very intuitive, and they are heavily investing in constantly making their platform better. The biggest selling point years ago was the ability to track with …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    You can build an e-commerce site very quickly and easily. Bulk upload of products is a very convenient feature. There are regular features and roadmap updates on Shopify as compared to others in the market. The quality of customer support is also good. Shopify meets all the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    They are all very similar but Shopify had a slightly better look and feel. It also was easier to use for drop shipping from AliExpress.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify is hands down the winner. In all categories.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify as a business is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce solutions in the world. And for good reason, because it's core functionality is set up in such a way that you can literally start an online business in a couple of hours. They have a massive suite of applications …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify is much easier to use.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    We selected Shopify because of the competitor reviews as one of the top 3 eCommerce platforms globally, but Shopify Basic performs poorly for the new and non-tech capable users compared to other top-ranked eCommerce platforms. The reviews and dominating brand exposure of …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify is much easier to use and able to grow better with our company. It has fewer glitches which affect productivity, and more features to prevent needing many different programs.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify performs a great marketing influence by having ads and different kinds of branding on various social media. Also, their utilities promotion creates a great impact on the people's mind, and after executing action on the platform, in my experience I liked it how …
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    We chose Shopify because it was scalable with our business and easy to set up.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify, to us, had more of a customization opportunity. We also felt that the plans offered by Shopify were more in gear with what we were looking to do with our company.
    Incentivized
    Chose Shopify
    Shopify is far and above any other eCommerce software that we have ever used.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    86%
    Would buy again
    59 Answers
    98%
    Would buy again
    79 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    85%
    Delivers good value for the price
    57 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    76 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    61 Answers
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    75 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    89%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    51 Answers
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    67 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    88%
    Implementation went as expected
    53 Answers
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    69 Answers
    TrustRadius Insights
    BigCommerceShopify
    Highlights

    TrustRadius
    Research Team Insight
    Published

    Users have found both BigCommerce and Shopify to be ideal for setting up online stores. Both platforms have been leveraged by businesses of varying sizes, ranging from small local operations to large-scale enterprises. Customers have praised the simplicity of both platforms, indicating they have been able to create and manage their online ventures, including dropshipping operations, without extensive technical knowledge or support.

    The use of advanced features seems to be a differentiating aspect in user experiences with BigCommerce and Shopify. Some users have indicated that they appreciate the depth of options and scalability that BigCommerce offers, especially for larger businesses seeking to expand their online presence. Conversely, Shopify users boast its ease of use, particularly for those launching smaller-scale online operations or stepping into e-commerce for the first time.

    Users have utilized the customizability of each platform to tailor e-commerce solutions to their needs. BigCommerce customers cited its excellent out-of-the-box features and integration options, as well as their ability to handle complex inventory management. Shopify users, on the other hand, have praised its range of aesthetically-pleasing templates, clean interface and the wide variety of apps that can be used to extend the platform’s capabilities

    Users have found both BigCommerce and Shopify to be ideal for setting up online stores. Both platforms have been leveraged by businesses of varying sizes, ranging from small local operations to large-scale enterprises. Customers have praised the simplicity of both platforms, indicating they have been able to create and manage their online ventures, including dropshipping operations, without extensive technical knowledge or support.

    The use of advanced features seems to be a differentiating aspect in user experiences with BigCommerce and Shopify. Some users have indicated that they appreciate the depth of options and scalability that BigCommerce offers, especially for larger businesses seeking to expand their online presence. Conversely, Shopify users boast its ease of use, particularly for those launching smaller-scale online operations or stepping into e-commerce for the first time.

    Users have utilized the customizability of each platform to tailor e-commerce solutions to their needs. BigCommerce customers cited its excellent out-of-the-box features and integration options, as well as their ability to handle complex inventory management. Shopify users, on the other hand, have praised its range of aesthetically pleasing templates, clean interface, and a wide variety of apps that can be used to extend the platform’s capabilities.

    Features
    BigCommerceShopify
    Online Storefront
    Comparison of Online Storefront features of BigCommerce and Shopify
    Feature
    BigCommerce
    7.9
    424 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Shopify
    8.7
    136 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Product catalog & listings8.2420 Ratings9.5136 Ratings
    Product management8.2417 Ratings8.7134 Ratings
    Bulk product upload7.4317 Ratings8.6115 Ratings
    Branding7.9368 Ratings8.8134 Ratings
    Mobile storefront8.1408 Ratings8.9130 Ratings
    Product variations8.5394 Ratings9.0127 Ratings
    Website integration8.3348 Ratings8.6127 Ratings
    Visual customization7.7410 Ratings8.0133 Ratings
    CMS6.5302 Ratings8.1109 Ratings
    Online Shopping Cart
    Comparison of Online Shopping Cart features of BigCommerce and Shopify
    Feature
    BigCommerce
    8.0
    410 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Shopify
    7.9
    129 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Abandoned cart recovery7.7368 Ratings7.9120 Ratings
    Checkout user experience8.3405 Ratings7.8127 Ratings
    Online Payment System
    Comparison of Online Payment System features of BigCommerce and Shopify
    Feature
    BigCommerce
    8.3
    406 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Shopify
    9.6
    131 Ratings
    15% above category average
    eCommerce security8.3406 Ratings9.6131 Ratings
    eCommerce Marketing
    Comparison of eCommerce Marketing features of BigCommerce and Shopify
    Feature
    BigCommerce
    7.9
    411 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Shopify
    8.4
    133 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Promotions & discounts7.8387 Ratings9.2128 Ratings
    Personalized recommendations7.4323 Ratings8.432 Ratings
    SEO8.5382 Ratings7.6124 Ratings
    eCommerce Business Management
    Comparison of eCommerce Business Management features of BigCommerce and Shopify
    Feature
    BigCommerce
    7.9
    416 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Shopify
    8.2
    134 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Multi-site management8.3191 Ratings6.719 Ratings
    Order processing7.9395 Ratings9.8132 Ratings
    Inventory management7.8351 Ratings7.8131 Ratings
    Shipping7.8356 Ratings7.8124 Ratings
    Custom functionality7.8351 Ratings8.6124 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    BigCommerceShopify
    Small Businesses
    Ecwid by Lightspeed
    Score10 out of 10
    Ecwid by Lightspeed
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Shopify Plus
    Score9 out of 10
    Shopify Plus
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    IBM Digital Commerce
    Score9 out of 10
    IBM Digital Commerce
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    BigCommerceShopify
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (443 ratings)
    8.2
    (149 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.1
    (53 ratings)
    9.2
    (15 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (26 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (5 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.1
    (25 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.1
    (13 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.7
    (349 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    BigCommerceShopify
    Likelihood to Recommend
    BigCommerce
    Big Commerce is great for managing our items for sale all while serving as a home base for our customers. - Whether they want to buy PPE, learn about PPE or have any questions or concerns, they know they can come to our site and get the service/product they need!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Shopify allowed us to handle matrix items and combined listings. Both of which we could not do on our previous platform. There was some customization involved but overall, it did what we needed it to. The one downside was that if we want to change anything we would have to reload the entire set of matrix items manually.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    BigCommerce
    • They are "SUPPOSEDLY" better for SEO but we have not gotten data on that yet
    • Sales guy was good at what he does (no value to our website though)
    • No fear they will go out of business anytime soon
    • Customer support is generally available, in my opinion, just not very helpful
    Read full review
    Shopify
    • It's base security and integration with trusted security partners (such as NoFraud) is a game-changer when it comes to reliability and a "hands off approach" for our IT department. The up-time is also very good.
    • It offers a wide range of verified plugins that are (for the most part) easy to install and use for any specific scenario you're looking for.
    • It's Analytics area in the admin is actually nice and offers a wide variety of reports that you can run.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    BigCommerce
    • Better and easier localisation for stores outside the US
    • Speed - it is not the fastest
    • Make sure that third-party theme developers update regularly and use best practice
    • Consider EU and country-specific rules and legal obligations and make customers aware of whether BC is actually fully compliant
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    • I would love it if Shopify built an in house app which helped us post UGCs and social proof from platforms such as Instagram, Youtube etc. more seamlessly on our website. Right now, we are able to do it through third party apps but the look and feel is just okay.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    BigCommerce
    I personally would not even consider another e-commerce website platform.
    Bigcommerce may have the same (or close to the same) functionality and integrations as other SaaS platforms but they excel at customer service and tech support. At the end of the day you need a company that will answer the phone in less than a minute especially if you're having a 5 alarm issue. That said, we hardly ever have any issues. The site was down for a few minutes one time 5 years ago. Sometimes we have issues with coding or apps and they help me with that too. They even walked me through installing our new theme when the contracted developers told me that wasn't included in the development of our new website.
    Bigcommerce comes out with new innovations every year, not including apps that other people write for the platform, and there are a lot of those and new ones all the time. And there are a LOT of awesome themes to choose from (Halothemes are the best).
    And the price is reasonable!
    I'd give Bigcommerce my business any time and recommend them to anyone looking to run an e-commerce website. You could even use them for a non-shopping site, we have one of those too!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Nothing we have used in the past or have seen thus far even comes close to offering what we get with Shopify Plus, especially for the price. You cannot even come close to getting what we are getting at the price we pay. We are beyond thrilled and Shopify Plus meets and exceeds all of our needs and expectations. We love it!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    BigCommerce
    I think that overall it has a great front end for the customer. On the back end, it takes a little spin-up time, but in just a couple of hours you can really have your head wrapped around everything you're going to need 99% of the time. It takes me about 5 minutes to train a new user on how to interact with customer orders.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    It is fairly easy to use Shopify regardless of what task you are attempting to perform. Most things are customizable to a degree without requiring coding ability. I have very limited coding experience and have still been able to navigate my way around changing features of the website that require edits to the code with the use of AI and trial-and-error. This previously wasn't possible with the WooCommerce platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    BigCommerce
    So far in my time with BigCommerce I have not had any down time when it comes to my webstore or accessing it at any time I need to. Knowing that they have such a good uptime, it makes me feel comfortable that my customers can access things anytime, but also keep sales going 24/7
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Shopify support is always available when you need them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    BigCommerce
    I have not had any issues with pages loading slow or any real other issues, not that I have encountered so far. Speed of the site and images loading are fantastic and everything just seems to work nicely, which may seem like a simple thing to say about things, but when something just WORKS! Its rather nice vs fighting with things to work right.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Shopify website speed is quite impressive. Even if we integrate couple apps, it does not hamper the site speed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    BigCommerce
    Because they are always there no matter how simple or complex the question is, if they don't know the answer they don't fake it and just make you go away feeling frustrated.. they get you to someone that does know the answer. I always appreciate their help and their honesty!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    In terms of support I give Shopify a 9 out of 10 because they're always very friendly and thorough, and they personally can't solve my problem for me they always point me in the proper direction with the proper information I need to move forward
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    BigCommerce
    They have a comprehensive online help file system that makes it easy to do almost anything. They cover just about everything you'd want to do with your online store with images, clear descriptions and in some cases video. I will, however, say the videos should be a little more professorially done and not sound like the employees are doing it in their cubical.
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Shopify offered us several trainings to setup a Shopify store, how to build a brand, SEO, product photography etc. All this content have been super helpful in our journey.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    BigCommerce
    A certified BigCommerce design and solution partner will usually comprise a team of highly experienced designers, developers and marketers. It is our view that in the vast majority of cases, this will pay dividends in the long-term - especially for those teams that could use the extra support.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Just start now and make the switch, the sooner the better. You will love it and it is really a simple process
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    BigCommerce
    We switched from Shopify due to the restrictions they implemented on our industry. While we spent tens of thousands of dollars investing in our Shopify store, we can't have them cutting us off anytime they want. We reviewed WooCommerce, but didn't like the storefront or backend. Plus it seems like Wordpress/WooCommerce runs into tons of hacking issues and bugs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Big Commerce and SAP Hybris are two other platforms we've investigated and Shopify is by far easiest to use and customize. While it doesn't do everything out of the box, the apps do fill in many gaps. The cost however, is probably the biggest selling point against these other two options.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    BigCommerce
    I believe after seeing all of the parts of this platform, one is able to develop the business and keep adding on select features for the business. There are multiple options for purchase with the various platforms once the business grows more. The different features being offered by the platform can lead us to scalability.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    Shopify has basic to high-end plans. The plans grow with the brand`s growth and I love that about Shopify.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    BigCommerce
    • Provides a robust platform to sell a high-risk product.
    • Page Builder saves you time and money by negating the need to buy a template.
    • Includes robust promotion settings that allow for codes and automatic discounts, bulk discounts, and customer groups (i.e. military discount), all native options.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Shopify
    • It got the store up quickly so the client could start selling. She was previously selling products on Etsy and Facebook and wanted to consolidate everything onto one website, so the main thing Shopify solved was to reduce the store owner's time in managing all her products on multiple sites. Also, we had previously built a website on Wix with all the custom functionality and branding she needed - a truly great, high-end website - but it performed so slowly that it was unusable. So the speed at which Shopify can be set up and then works on the page is appreciable.
    • The website was manageable by the client - she could figure the system out herself after a while so she saved money on costs for hiring developers. She did have to hire developers to customize some of the plug-ins but costs are all relative; it wasn't a high investment compared to building a full e-commerce website. With the complexity and size of her product base and the functionality and branding she wanted to have in a website, and the potential of her business, she would have needed to invest well over $10,000 to get to where she really needs to be. In the end she kept the budget under $5000.00.
    • Costs kept climbing with plug-ins having to be added with everything. My client became more involved in building the website and began to try multiple plugins, and she did not have the skill base to evaluate the plugins functionalities so she chose plugins that did not do everything she needed, and then ended up paying the plugin developers to customize the plugins. So on one hand, it's pretty amazing to be able to bring up an e-commerce website as quickly as a week or so, but on the other hand if you need anything customized or deeper functionality in regards to product searching and filtering on the web page, and management on the backend, it quickly goes beyond the skills of the average person to manage, and above their expected budget as well. In the end my client really did not get anything close to the functionality for the website we had originally envisioned.
    • Shopify was the easiest way we could find to bring the client's products to a global market. We evaluated several other platforms and the functionality simple did not seem to be adequate, so Shopify seemed like the only solution that could do enough of what we needed and still stay within this client's budget. Really the problem in this project was not platform per se but that the budget wasn't large enough. Shopify managed to provide a solution for an ecommerce store with thousands of products on a tiny budget, so in the sense of pure functionality it provided the best value of all the platforms we evaluated. The solution still isn't big enough for this client's business though so, without having insights into this client's post-build sales results, my guess is that because her new website did not make her products easier to sort through, and she likely didn't have much more budget left to invest in SEO and other marketing of the website, her sales probably didn't increase substantially as a result of having built the website. So I think this project all in all did not likely have a high ROI.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    BigCommerce Screenshots

    Screenshot of enterprise ecommerce for high-volume brands like Skullcandy.Screenshot of the integration that lets you list products on Amazon directly from the BigCommerce control panel, with centralized inventory and order processing and fulfillment.Screenshot of where to customize the look and feel of a storefront.