Shopify vs WooCommerce vs BigCommerce: Full Comparison of Popular Platforms

In the digital age, the eCommerce industry has seen an unprecedented rise, transforming the way we shop and conduct business online. According to Google Trends, Shopify is definitely the leader in Google Search, shown here in blue. Next goes WooCommerce (pink), and BigCommerce (purple).

But does that mean the other two have no value? We don’t think so, and decided to write this comparison guide to show you the uniqueness of each platform.

The importance of choosing the right platform for your small business can’t be doubted, as it can significantly impact your store’s functionality, user experience, and overall success.

Choosing the right ecommerce platform is crucial for anyone looking to build or optimize an ecommerce website, as it affects everything from customization options to support and sales tools.

Let ProCoders help you make the right choice in finding the best ecommerce platform for your needs.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is one of the top e-commerce world platforms that offers space to build and manage online stores. It has empowered many small businesses to create a Shopify store to sell products online.

History and Market Position

Shopify was founded in 2006 and has grown to be one of the top e-commerce platforms globally.

It’s known for being easy to use and has empowered many businesses, from small startups to large enterprises, and is especially popular among small and medium businesses looking to scale.

Key Features and Benefits

• User-Friendly Interface: Shopify is praised for its simple design, and non-technical users can set up and manage their stores.
• Integrated Payment Solutions: Payments simplifies the transaction process, but also supports other payment gateways.
• App Store: Shopify has free and paid apps in its App Store, users can extend store functionality and customize their online presence.
• Pricing Plans: Shopify has multiple plans, including the Shopify Starter plan for selling on social media platforms, the Basic Shopify plan, and the Advanced Shopify plan for larger businesses that need more features.
• Themes: Shopify has free and paid themes, and store owners can customize their storefront design with no cost and premium options.

Pricing Structure and Transaction Fees

Shopify pricing varies based on the plan and features chosen. It has multiple pricing tiers:

• Basic ($32/month)
• Shopify ($92/month)
• Advanced ($399/month)
• Enterprise (Custom pricing for large businesses)

It has its own payment system but charges extra fees for using other payment gateways.

Pros and Cons of Using Shopify

• Pros: User-friendly, reliable customer support, robust app store, can sell unlimited products on all plans, unlimited bandwidth for store visitors.
• Cons: Additional transaction fees and limited customization options in basic plans.

What is BigCommerce?

History and Market Position

BigCommerce was founded in 2009 and has become a major player in the e-commerce platform market, especially popular among medium businesses and enterprise companies looking to scale, and is known for its features and scalability.

Key Features and Benefits

• Scalability: For businesses that want to scale quickly.
• Built-in Features: Has many, no need for external apps.
• Multiple Channels: Can sell across multiple channels, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, online marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, and Walmart, all from one control center.
• SEO Capabilities: Strong SEO tools to improve search engine ranking. One might say BigCommerce vs WooCommerce SEO is won by the first option.

Pricing Structure and Transaction Fees

BigCommerce has multiple plans:

• Standard ($39/month)
• Plus ($105/month)
• Pro ($399/month)
• Enterprise (custom pricing for each customer)

No extra transaction fees for using external payment gateways.

Pros and Cons of BigCommerce

• Pros: No transaction fees, excellent scalability, strong SEO tools, can sell unlimited products on all plans, unlimited bandwidth for all store visitors.
• Cons: Can be complex for beginners, and limited free theme options.

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that turns a website into a fully-functional eCommerce store. As a flexible WooCommerce platform, it integrates seamlessly with WordPress, offering extensive customization options and a large plugin ecosystem.

The WooCommerce plugin is specifically designed to add ecommerce functionality to any WordPress site, but to use WooCommerce effectively, you must first have a WordPress site set up with your own hosting, domain, and security.

With WooCommerce, users have the freedom to build their own website with extensive customization, making it a powerful alternative to more streamlined, hosted solutions.

History and Market Position

WooCommerce, launched in 2011, is a free WordPress plugin that turns a website into a fully-functional eCommerce store. It’s widely popular due to its flexibility and customization capabilities, and stands out among other ecommerce platforms for its open-source nature.

Key Features and Benefits

• Customization: Being an open-source platform, it offers extensive customization options, providing all the features and ecommerce functionality needed to run a successful online store.
• Integration: Seamlessly integrates with WordPress, making it ideal for those already using WordPress.
• Community Support: Benefits from a large community of developers and users.

Pricing Structure and Transaction Fees

WooCommerce is a free plugin, but costs may arise from hosting, themes, and additional plugins. Users must choose their own hosting provider and manage web hosting for their WooCommerce store.

As a self-hosting plugin, WooCommerce requires users to handle technical aspects like hosting and updates. There are no inherent transaction fees beyond what payment gateways may charge.

Pros and Cons of Using WooCommerce

• Pros: Highly customizable, integrates with WordPress, and has no transaction fees. Support and extensions are widely available from third-party developers in the WooCommerce ecosystem.
• Cons: Requires more technical knowledge and can be resource-intensive.

Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce development services each offer unique benefits, catering to different business needs. Your choice will depend on factors like your technical expertise, business size, growth plans, and specific eCommerce needs.

WooCommerce vs Shopify vs BigCommerce: A Comparison

Make a list of the features that are important to you and write + or – near the platforms. In this Shopify comparison, note the key differences between hosted platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, and self-hosted solutions like WooCommerce.

Hosted platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce are hosted solutions, meaning they take care of the technical aspects of web hosting, security, and software updates for you, so you can focus on your business.

WooCommerce requires you to manage these technical aspects yourself. When you compare Shopify with other platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, and BigCommerce, consider factors like customization, features, scalability, and payment options.

In the end, you’ll see which one is best for you. And if you’re still unsure by then, let ProCoders help you!

Ease of Use for WooCommerce vs Shopify vs BigCommerce Store

Shopify is known for its ease of use with a simple onboarding process and user-friendly interface. BigCommerce is robust but has a slightly steeper learning curve due to its many features. WooCommerce, being a WordPress plugin, requires more technical knowledge, especially if you’re not familiar with WordPress.

Design and Customization WooCommerce vs Shopify vs BigCommerce Offers

All three platforms offer a range of themes and customization options. Shopify and BigCommerce have a variety of professionally designed themes, with the former having a slight edge in customization.

WooCommerce excels in customization due to its open-source nature, allowing deep modifications, but requires technical skills. For advanced WooCommerce customization, web development expertise is often necessary to implement custom features or unique design elements.

eCommerce Features and Tools

In terms of inventory management, payment options, and shipping settings, the Shopify vs WooCommerce vs BigCommerce scores are even. No. 1 and No. 3 have extensive built-in features and apps for sales and marketing.

All platforms also have paid apps that unlock additional features, customization, or enhancements to improve store performance or design. No. 2 with the right plugins can match these features, but may require more setup.

Payment Options WooCommerce vs Shopify vs BigCommerce Offers

A reliable gateway is essential for any ecommerce platform as it allows businesses to securely process payments from customers. Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce have multiple payment gateways, including popular ones like PayPal, Stripe, and Shopify Payments. These gateways allow online stores to accept credit cards, digital wallets, and even bank transfers to cater to a wide range of customer preferences.

When choosing gateways, consider transaction fees, security, and ease of integration. For example, Shopify Payments has a competitive transaction fee of 2.4% + 30¢ per transaction, making it a popular choice for many Shopify stores.

PayPal is widely used across ecommerce platforms and charges a transaction fee of 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction. BigCommerce stands out by having zero additional transaction fees when using leading gateways like Braintree and Chase, which can be a big advantage for high-volume ecommerce platforms.

In the end, the right payment gateway can help streamline the checkout process, reduce cart abandonment, and ensure secure payment processing for your business.

By supporting multiple payment gateways like Shopify Payments and PayPal ecommerce platforms give businesses the flexibility to choose the best payment options for their customers and their bottom line.

Online Store Management for WooCommerce vs Shopify vs BigCommerce

Effective online store management is at the heart of every successful ecommerce business. These platforms provide a suite of built-in features designed to simplify the day-to-day operations of running an online store.

From inventory management to order processing and shipping integration, these tools help businesses stay organized and efficient.

WooCommerce offers a wide range of extensions and plugins that allow businesses to tailor their online store management to their specific needs.

With advanced features like inventory tracking, automated stock notifications, and seamless shipping integration, WooCommerce gives store owners full control over their ecommerce site. BigCommerce, on the other hand, is known for its robust set of features, including advanced inventory management and comprehensive order management tools, making it a strong choice for growing platforms.

Shopify also excels in online store management, providing intuitive tools for inventory management, order fulfillment, and shipping. Its user-friendly dashboard makes it easy for store owners to monitor sales, track inventory levels, and manage customer orders—all from one place.

By leveraging the features offered by leading ecommerce platforms, businesses can streamline their operations, reduce manual work, and focus on growing their online stores. Whether you choose WooCommerce, Shopify, or BigCommerce, each platform offers powerful tools to help you manage your ecommerce store with ease.

Scalability and Performance

Shopify and BigCommerce are cloud-based and handle scalability efficiently, suitable for growing businesses. WooCommerce, while scalable, depends on your hosting solution, which can be a limitation or an advantage based on the chosen hosting service.

This may be one of the reasons why businesses opt for WooCommerce to Shopify migration.

Security and Compliance in Shopify vs WooCommerce vs BigCommerce

All platforms prioritize security. Shopify and BigCommerce provide SSL certificates and ensure compliance with PCI DSS. WooCommerce relies on the user to implement security measures, though WordPress offers various security plugins.

Magento stores also offer robust security features, including advanced user permissions, regular security patches, and built-in PCI compliance, making them a strong choice for businesses with high security requirements.

Support and Community in WooCommerce vs BigCommerce vs Shopify

Here, the BigCommerce vs Shopify vs WooCommerce battle is uneven due to the nature of the platforms. The first two offer reliable customer support along with extensive documentation.

The WordPress plugin benefits from a vast community and numerous online resources, but direct support depends on the service providers involved in your setup.

Integration and Extensibility in Shopify vs WooCommerce vs BigCommerce

Shopify and BigCommerce both have large app marketplaces for integrations. WooCommerce, being open-source, offers extensive API access and integration capabilities, especially for custom development.

Magento stands out with robust integration options, including Google Analytics integration, which enables store owners to track visitor behavior, monitor website performance, and make data-driven decisions for store optimization.

Ecommerce Business Growth

Growing an ecommerce business requires more than just a great product—it demands the right tools and strategies to reach new customers and drive sales. Ecommerce platforms play a crucial role in supporting business growth by offering a range of tools, analytics, and integrations with social media.

Shopify provides a comprehensive suite of tools, including email marketing, discount codes, and seamless integration with major social media. These features help businesses promote their products, engage with customers, and expand their online presence.

BigCommerce also offers powerful marketing tools, such as abandoned cart recovery, product reviews, and built-in SEO features, all designed to help ecommerce businesses attract and retain customers.

WooCommerce stands out for its flexibility, offering a vast library of extensions and plugins that enable businesses to implement advanced marketing strategies and track performance with detailed analytics.

Integration with Google Analytics and other marketing platforms allows WooCommerce users to gain valuable insights into customer behavior and optimize their marketing efforts.

By leveraging the marketing tools and analytics provided by ecommerce platforms, businesses can create targeted campaigns, boost their visibility on social media platforms, and make data-driven decisions to fuel ecommerce business growth.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale, the right ecommerce platform can provide the foundation you need to succeed in the competitive world of online sales.

Real-World Examples of WooCommerce vs BigCommerce vs Shopify

Shopify Case

Gymshark: This fitness apparel and accessories brand leveraged the platform’s scalable infrastructure to grow from a garage-based startup to a globally recognized brand.

The seamless integration with various marketing tools and analytics in the e-commerce environment played a crucial role in their growth.

BigCommerce Case

Ben & Jerry’s: Known for its delicious ice cream, Ben & Jerry’s turned to BigCommerce for its online store.

The platform’s flexibility in handling complex inventory and promotional strategies was a perfect fit for their diverse product range and marketing initiatives.

WooCommerce Case

Singer Sewing Company: Using WooCommerce’s flexibility wisely, Singer successfully integrated an e-commerce solution into their WordPress website, enhancing their online presence and sales capabilities.

The platform’s adaptability was crucial in showcasing their vast range of sewing machines and accessories.

Conclusion

Choosing the right eCommerce platform depends on your business needs, technical expertise, and growth plans. Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce each offer unique strengths, and the best choice varies based on individual requirements and preferences.