Head-to-head
Shopify vs BigCommerce: which one in 2026?
Shopify and BigCommerce are hosted ecommerce platforms for online stores, with BigCommerce now presented under the Commerce.com name by its parent company. Shopify prices in euros, sells on a large app ecosystem and meters fees by plan. BigCommerce prices in dollars, caps sales per tier and drops payment fees on embedded providers.
Verdict
Shopify is the better default for most small merchants because the app ecosystem is far larger and no sales cap appeared in the plan details read. BigCommerce becomes the stronger pick when you sell B2B or use a payment provider that Shopify taxes, since embedded providers carry no fee. Watch BigCommerce's GMV caps, which push growing stores up a tier by revenue. On data, neither policy says anything about training AI on merchant data.
Shopify and BigCommerce side by side
| Shopify | BigCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Price entry | €21 per month for Basic on yearly billing | $29 per month billed annually, $39 monthly, for Core |
| Starting price | Basic is €28 per month monthly or €21 per month on yearly billing, in euros. | Core is $39 per month monthly or $29 per month billed yearly, in US dollars. |
| Free start | 3 days free, then €1 a month for 3 months, with no credit card per the FAQ. | 15 days with no credit card, though a payments partner is needed to accept payments during the trial. |
| Fees on outside gateways | 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus when Shopify Payments is not used. | Open Payment Provider Fee of 2.0% on Core, 1.0% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale; zero with embedded providers. |
| Revenue limits | No sales cap appeared in the plan details read; limits appear as staff accounts and inventory locations. | Core covers up to $30K trailing GMV, Growth $100K, and Scale $33,333 a month before a 0.9% overage. |
| Staff and locations | Basic has no extra staff accounts, Grow 5, Advanced 15 and Plus unlimited; Basic has 10 inventory locations. | Inventory locations run up to 4 on Core, 5 on Growth and 8 on Scale; staff seats are not itemized. |
| AI features | Sidekick assistant for setup, images and marketing copy, AI-generated store designs, and selling through AI Chats. | Catalog enrichment for AI agents, selling inside AI search and chat, brand agents and a Companion AI assistant. |
| B2B and headless | B2B catalogs and contextual storefronts; Hydrogen, Oxygen and the Storefront API, with 25 headless storefronts on Advanced. | Account pricing, quotes and buyer approvals for B2B, with Headless Commerce and open APIs. B2B portals typically take 60 to 90 days. |
| Data handling in the policy | Silent on AI training. No storage region named, Binding Corporate Rules cited, closed stores kept two years. | No mention of AI training. States PCI DSS Level 1 and Data Privacy Frameworks, with SCCs for transfers. |
Where each one wins
Shopify wins on
- An app ecosystem of 16,000+ apps, against over 1,200 apps and 600+ integrations on BigCommerce.
- No sales cap appeared in the plan details read, so growth does not force a tier change by revenue alone.
- A stated 99.9% uptime and 300 points of presence, with the Storefront API described as having no rate limits.
BigCommerce wins on
- Zero payment fees with embedded providers, where Shopify charges a fee on any gateway other than its own.
- A 15-day trial without a card, longer than Shopify's 3 free days.
- B2B account pricing, quotes and approval workflows are listed as built-in features, and PCI DSS Level 1 is stated.
Which to pick
Pick Shopify if
You want the widest app choice, a euro price list and an assistant inside the admin, and you plan to use Shopify Payments.
Pick BigCommerce if
You sell B2B, want to avoid gateway fees through embedded providers, and your sales fit inside each tier's stated cap.
Each tool in context: Shopify profile, BigCommerce, and the full Best AI Ecommerce Platforms in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Shopify or BigCommerce?
BigCommerce Core is $29 per month billed yearly and Shopify Basic is €21 per month yearly, so the entry prices are close, in different currencies. Fees decide the total: Shopify charges 2% on outside gateways at Basic, while BigCommerce charges nothing on embedded providers.
Is BigCommerce the same company as Commerce.com?
BigCommerce's privacy policy now sits at commerce.com, where it names BigCommerce as one of the Commerce brands. The homepage and pricing page still use the BigCommerce name, so both names appear in current vendor material and either may be used in searches. The rename does not change the plans on the pricing page.
What happens when my sales grow past the plan limit?
On BigCommerce, Core covers up to $30K trailing GMV and Growth up to $100K, so growth pushes you into the next tier. Scale allows $33,333 a month, then charges 0.9% on overage. The Shopify plan details read show no such sales cap.
Which one has the better AI assistant?
The vendor pages describe both but do not allow a ranking. Shopify names Sidekick for setup, images and copy, while BigCommerce names Companion AI and brand agents, plus catalog enrichment for AI agents. Test each in a trial store, keeping in mind that Shopify's trial lasts 3 days and BigCommerce's 15.