Shopify vs BigCommerce 2022 🏆

Shopify vs BigCommerce 🥊

Have you ever wondered which platform would come out on top in a battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce in 2022?

As a team of Shopify experts that are dedicated to the ecommerce platform, we here at Karmoon are aware that Shopify is the go-to service for millions of businesses across the globe.

From fresh builds, migrations, start-ups and enterprise-level stores, Shopify offers a range of services for businesses of all shapes, sizes and levels of experience.

Naturally, the simplicity of a simplified set-up and management of an online store plays a significant role in the platform's attraction for new merchants, but what sets Shopify apart from BigCommerce when it comes to success and longevity?

This is the question that we will aim to answer within today’s guide, as we delve deeper into the details of what the reality of Shopify versus BigCommerce looks like in 2022.

Shopify vs BigCommerce 2022 - Key Features 🗝️

Before we dive headfirst into the reasons why Shopify has taken first place in the battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce, we'd recommend taking a quick look at the key features comparing the two platforms below:

8 Areas Where Shopify Is Stronger Than BigCommerce

N0.1: Easy-To-Use Editor

While it’s true that BigCommerce and Shopify both offer drag-and-drop store editors for merchants to utilise, we believe that Shopify's straightforward sections make it even more effortless for merchants to; alter, reveal, conceal and rearrange sections on their storefront without any design or coding knowledge required.

N0.2: The Sales Channel Experience

Next up in the battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce is the sales channel experience and you’ve guessed it - we believe that Shopify has the edge over its competitor in this area too!

If you’ve ever stepped foot on the Shopify App Store, you will learn that Shopify has a growing list of integrations and partnerships that are streamlined to help merchants sell products where their customers hang out online.

Whether your ideal consumer spends their time scrolling through the likes of; Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Pinterest or simply visits online marketplaces such as Amazon or Google, Shopify’s handy tools and integrations are on hand to get your business in front of the right audience.

As a Shopify agency, we know that the platform’s extremely diverse ecosystem makes for a super attractive platform against BigCommerce, especially for developers and partners to build with.

N0.3: Built for Bigger Commerce

Some of the biggest celebrities and brands across the globe power their online business(es) with Shopify. Through the powers of the platform, merchants can start small and grow their brand into an enterprise-level store.

Currently, some of the biggest brands on the platform include; Kylie Cosmetics, Gymshark, Decathlon, Red Bull and Eyewear by David Beckam, but who knows, maybe your brand will be the next big label?

N0.4: Shopify Apps and Integrations

We think it’s super exciting that Shopify merchants can choose how their website performs with the help of an eclectic range of applications on the Shopify App Store.

Currently, there are more than 3,000 free solutions and integrations available for merchants to utilise, surpassing its competitor in the battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce out flat.

This large variety of applications is an extremely generous offering from the platform and its partners, as these tools provide stores on Shopify with endless ways to do things like; automate customer care, introduce loyalty programmes, or use social proof pop-ups to increase conversion rates.

N0.5: Shopify POS

While BigCommerce and Shopify both interact with many of the same third-party POS platforms, Shopify’s main area of focus is the online store experience for merchants and their customers, giving this expert platform the edge in the Shopify vs BigCommerce comparison.

With built-in features such as; in-store pickup, local delivery and tipping alongside a plethora of other essential features for ecommerce businesses, Shopify's fully integrated point-of-sale system also enables users to connect offline and online sales in a single location.

N0.6: Fast-Loading Stores

A speedy website is not only essential for SEO, but it also supports businesses when it comes to avoiding missed sales due to long loading times.

By compressing all of your site’s photos to the WebP format and taking advantage of the platform’s store speed analysis feature, Shopify is committed to ensuring your store loads as efficiently and as seamlessly as possible.

N0.7: Shopify Payments and Shop Pay

Shopify Payments is Shopify's unique payment gateway that enables users to accept all major payment methods right out of the gate with no transaction costs for qualifying merchants in 17 countries.

Additionally, this solution enables Shop Pay, a payment method where online shopping is made faster and easier via Shopify's accelerated checkout option, which prefills consumer information.

With these tools, the checkout process is made 4x faster and we all know that a speedy checkout is what customers want when purchasing from an online store in 2022.

So, in the comparison between Shopify vs BigCommerce, we think that Shopify takes the lead once again for a super seedy and efficient checkout process.

N0.8: Features for Today and Tomorrow

It’s true that both BigCommerce and Shopify are great choices for modern ecommerce brands, but Shopify goes way beyond any other platform of its kind, as the team is constantly developing new features and tools that will expand the possibilities for commerce.

During the pandemic, retail changed almost overnight and Shopify swiftly introduced additional solutions to assist businesses, such as curbside pickup.

Additionally, Shopify also offers native support for the increasingly popular 3D models and augmented reality (AR) features on product pages.

So, if anyone is going to be ahead of the curve, we’d put our money on Shopify.

Shopify vs BigCommerce - Who Do Merchants Prefer? 💚

With this extensive list of reasons why merchants lean on Shopify for the launch, growth and ongoing support of their online store, it’s clear to see who merchants prefer between Shopify vs BigCommerce:

Trusted by Millions

For good reason, Shopify is one of the most widely used platforms by ecommerce businesses in 2022, as the solution contains all of the tools needed to take a brand on the journey of success.

Whether you're in the middle of building a multimillion-dollar business or are beginning a small business from scratch, Shopify as a platform will have your back, supporting your store and its customers at every step of the way!

SEO Functionalities

On Shopify, merchants can quickly alter; header tags, alt tags, and meta descriptions with ease while publishing content effortlessly to improve website traffic through Shopify's blogging CMS.

Exclusive Shopify Apps

Shopify vs BigCommerce, that is what we’re talking about, but let us tell you this -

Merchants will not only find a wide range of free Shopify apps within the Shopify App Store, but many of these tools and integrations are also exclusive to Shopify.

One example is the ShopCodes app which is used to generate product QR codes.

Therefore, it's clear to us that it’s not just merchants that believe in the platform, it's ecommerce partner's solutions too!

Sell Internationally

As Shopify expands its footprint around the world, it’s also expanding its options for global commerce and selling into specific markets with multiple currencies and various Shopify apps to sell locally on channels like WhatsApp and WeChat.

So, for us, Shopify takes first place in the contest of Shopify versus BigCommerce when it comes to generating international sales.

24/ 7 Customer Support

The ability to contact support through; phone, chat, or email gives Shopify businesses the flexibility and immediate access to the help they need when they need it!

This means that any questions you may have can be answered by support at any time.

Shopify Community

When it comes to community, we’re afraid that there’s no competition between Shopify vs BigCommerce, as Shopify’s ecosystem includes; forums, experts, resources, tools, partners, third-party groups and resources that are all dedicated to helping merchants launch and succeed on the platform once they've gotten started.

Discounted Price Plans

We know that you’re all desperate to know which discounted price plans Shopify has to offer its users and with this platform, users can choose to pay for a monthly plan or sign up to pay yearly for a discount of up to 20%.

For instance, if you were to sign up for a three-year contract with Shopify and pay upfront, the Basic plan will decrease from $29 to $21.75 a month, saving you hundreds of dollars in the long run. How’s that for keeping cash on the hip?

No Code Required

The next area where Shopify comes out winning in the battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce is its no-code-required approach to setting up and launching an online store.

Having said that, merchants do have the freedom to edit the HTML and CSS of their online store for more control over its features and design. Need a pair of practised hands to get your store up and running?

Call on our team of Shopify developers to get started!

Marketing Tools

Shopify offers its users; a blogging CMS, access to sales channels, automated discounts, gift cards and Shopify Email as a marketing tool to provide merchants on the platform with a means to create memorable shopping experiences.

In light of this, we’ll again take our hats off to Shopify when comparing Shopify vs BigCommerce for the plethora of marketing tools presented.

Security for Everyone

Alongside having an SSL certificate, which is a common security indicator that modern consumers seek, Shopify also features a built-in fraud analysis tool that helps store owners to avoid chargebacks and fraudulent orders.

Shopify vs BigCommerce - FAQs

Got a few questions? Check out the section below which includes some of the most frequently asked questions concerning Shopify versus BigCommerce:

N0.1: Shopify vs BigCommerce: Which Platform is Better for Ecommerce?

When comparing Shopify vs BigCommerce, it’s important to note that BigCommerce is solely an ecommerce platform, whereas Shopify is a commerce platform, making the solution a master platform of both ecommerce and commerce combined.

This means that Shopify embodies all the knowledge and capabilities of an ecommerce platform, whilst pushing the limits of commerce with; in-store sales, financial services, educational resources, access to Shopify Experts and more.

There’s no denying that Shopify and BigCommerce are both powerful solutions for online stores to take their ecommerce journey to the next level, but the final decision will rely on the specific requirements of the brand at hand.

For instance, merchants typically utilise BigCommerce to:

Access built-in features without the hassle of installing or paying for them separately.

Enjoy more design capabilities for their company’s branding.

Run an online business that can scale across multiple channels over time.

However, merchants typically utilise Shopify to:

Gain further control over their store and its features.

Have as much customisation choice as possible thanks to the platform’s third-party apps.

Run a large inventory business effortlessly and flawlessly.

As a team of dedicated Shopify developers and enthusiasts, it might not come as much of a surprise that our comparison has found Shopify to be the winner in the battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce for its; ease of use, customer support and user satisfaction.

Nonetheless, we have to say that both platforms do excel in unique ways and the right decision for your business will depend upon the website you need to create.

N0.2: Shopify vs BigCommerce: Which Platform is More Expensive?

When it comes to comparing Shopify vs BigCommerce and their pricing plans, it should be considered that both BigCommerce and Shopify offer three pricing plans for their customers to choose from.

For instance, BigCommerce’s price plans range from $29.95 per month to $299.95 per month, whereas Shopify’s price plans range from $29 per month to $299 per month.

On the surface, both solutions offer their services for a similar price tag, but this changes when additional costs come into play:

For example, Shopify collects transaction fees between 0.5% - 2% of a sale, depending on the merchant’s chosen price plan.

However, merchants on Shopify can secure their business with 0% transaction fees by enabling Shop Pay through Shopify Payments

You’ll also be happy to learn that BigCommerce has no transaction fees on any of its plans so, you could say that both solutions are even where transaction fees are concerned.

Nonetheless, while transaction fees are between the merchant and the chosen platform, credit card fees will need to be paid to third-party payment processors on either platform when a sale is made.

Therefore the battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce is currently looking pretty even where pricing plans are concerned. However, things could change, so let’s talk about payment processors next.

BigCommerce offers over 65 payment processors to choose from, whereas Shopify offers more than 100 payment options to integrate into an online store.

As both Shopify and BigCommerce impose transaction fees for processing credit cards, we can’t quite establish a clear winner from this point of view either, but both platforms do offer a 10% discount to the customers that pay for annual plans as opposed to paying for plans every month as a little incentive.

Additionally, both Shopify and BigCommerce provide a free trial for new users to explore each platform in all its beauty, but unfortunately, we still do not have a clear-cut winner in terms of pricing.

Therefore, it’s safe to conclude that there aren't any significant price variations in the battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce, as pricing plans will largely depend on the tools and features that the merchant decides to implement.

However, Shopify does have somewhat of a lower price band when non-profits and student discounts are taken into consideration. So, you could say that Shopify just takes the edge.

N0.3: Shopify vs BigCommerce: What is the Difference?

Similar out-of-the-box services are provided by Shopify and BigCommerce that include; built-in SEO capabilities, order management tools and access to sales channels.

However, the two biggest differences in the battle between Shopify vs BigCommerce are Shopify POS, a tool that seamlessly integrates with Shopify stores to combine offline and online business and a feature-rich mobile app, which can operate a store almost entirely from a smartphone.

Simply put, millions of start-ups and the most well-known brands in the world rely on Shopify's platform to sell their products, ship their packages and handle customer payments.

Alongside this, the platform offers merchants; 24/7 support, access to an informative and interactive online community, one of the largest and fastest-growing application ecosystems on the web and a growing Theme Store that enables merchants to customise and grow their business.

So, that concludes our comparison of Shopify vs BigCommerce in 2022. What are your thoughts on the competition between the two platforms? Reach out and let us know.

If you’re actively looking to work with a Shopify agency designer or developer to assist you with your business, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch to get started!