Shopify vs BigCommerce: Comparing Two Hosted Store Platforms

Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on most plans when a store uses a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, which isn't available in every country a store might want to sell into. That fee stacks on top of the monthly subscription and the gateway's own processing rate, adding a cost some merchants don't notice until their first statement.

BigCommerce doesn't charge an added transaction fee regardless of which payment gateway a store connects, which removes that specific concern entirely. For a store that needs a payment processor Shopify Payments doesn't support in its region, that difference alone can be the deciding factor between the two platforms.

Shopify's lower-tier plans historically limit how many staff accounts can access the admin dashboard, which becomes a real constraint for a growing team that needs several people managing orders, inventory, and content simultaneously without sharing one login.

BigCommerce's plans generally allow a larger number of staff accounts even at comparable price points, which matters for stores with dedicated people handling separate parts of the operation - customer service, inventory, marketing - who each need their own access level.