Shopify is a strong fit for merchants who want Shopify Payments, built-in marketing automation, and access to thousands of app integrations; BigCommerce is worth considering when its included store tools and fee-exempt Embedded Payment Providers fit the business. Their US entry-plan subscription prices match, so the more useful comparison is what your payment route, required features, and sales growth will cost.
BigCommerce’s payment rules changed on June 1, 2026, when its renamed plans and Open Payment Provider Fee took effect. Orders processed by providers outside its Embedded Payment Provider list can incur a separate BigCommerce fee, in addition to payment processing. That makes the provider handling each order central to the decision.
Current US plan prices and billing terms
As listed on October 7, 2026, Shopify and BigCommerce have matching US subscription prices across their three self-service tiers. Annual billing lowers the effective monthly price, but the subscription is charged annually.
Subscription prices side by side
| Platform | Plan | Annual billing: monthly equivalent | Annual amount charged | Month-to-month price |
| Shopify | Basic | $29 | $348 | $39/month |
| Shopify | Grow | $79 | $948 | $105/month |
| Shopify | Advanced | $299 | $3,588 | $399/month |
| BigCommerce | Core | $29 | $348 | $39/month |
| BigCommerce | Growth | $79 | $948 | $105/month |
| BigCommerce | Scale | $299 | $3,588 | $399/month |
These US prices come from the Shopify plan listing and BigCommerce plan listing. BigCommerce states that its prices exclude taxes.
For an owner-operator, the billing choice affects cash flow immediately. Basic or Core requires $348 for an annual subscription, compared with $39 for each month under monthly billing. Twelve monthly payments total $468, making the annual subscription $120 less over a full year.
Matching prices do not make the tiers interchangeable. A store may need a higher plan to unlock a particular tool, and BigCommerce’s sales thresholds can also trigger an upgrade. Choose the feature tier first, then evaluate its billing cadence.
BigCommerce Performance has custom pricing starting at $1,499 per month, billed annually. Its payment-provider fee is contractual. Shopify Plus has a listed third-party transaction fee of 0.2% and includes unlimited B2B catalogs.
Payment fees: follow the order’s actual provider
Payment costs have two distinct components: the provider’s charge for processing the payment and any separate transaction or provider fee charged by the ecommerce platform. Your subscription is another expense.
Shopify Payments versus a third-party provider
Using Shopify Payments avoids Shopify’s separate third-party transaction fee. For US standard online card payments, Shopify lists these processing rates:
- Basic: 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.
- Grow: 2.7% plus $0.30 per transaction.
- Advanced: 2.5% plus $0.30 per transaction.
Premium and international card rates differ. A merchant selling across borders therefore needs to budget for the relevant card mix, rather than applying the standard domestic rate to every order.
On US Basic, a $100 standard online card order through Shopify Payments costs $3.20 in processing: $100 × 2.9% + $0.30. The subscription is separate.
If an order instead uses a third-party payment provider, Shopify lists a platform transaction fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, and 0.2% on Plus. On Basic, that is $2 per $100 of eligible transaction value, plus the third-party provider’s own processing charge. The Shopify fee schedule separates these transaction fees from Shopify Payments card rates.
Shopify Payments is supported for US businesses, subject to business-category eligibility, identity verification, and documentation requirements. Confirm that the business meets the Shopify Payments requirements before building a budget around that route.
BigCommerce Embedded versus Open Payment Providers
BigCommerce does not offer a blanket exemption from platform payment fees. Its Open Payment Provider Fee applies to eligible order gross merchandise value, or GMV, processed by an Open Provider:
- Core: 2.0%.
- Growth: 1.0%.
- Scale: 0.6%.
- Performance: contractual terms.
Orders processed by a listed Embedded Payment Provider are exempt from that BigCommerce fee. The current list includes Stripe, PayPal Wallet, PayPal Complete Payments, and BigCommerce Payments.
The exemption follows the order’s actual processor. Displaying an Embedded Provider at checkout does not exempt an order processed by an Open Provider. Provider processing charges remain payable under either route.
The June 1, 2026 update also renamed Standard to Core, Plus to Growth, Pro to Scale, and Enterprise to Performance. Existing annual-plan migrations can occur at the end of the current annual service period; monthly-plan migrations occurred on or after June 1 following the notice period.
For a store committed to a particular payment gateway, this is a selection criterion before theme design or app shopping: identify its classification and calculate the fee on the orders it will actually process.
A worked US example for 100 orders of $100
Consider one illustrative month with 100 online orders of $100 each, totaling $10,000 in gross order value. Use Shopify Basic or BigCommerce Core with annual billing: $348 paid yearly, allocated as $29 for this monthly comparison.
The calculations exclude taxes, refunds, apps, chargebacks, foreign-card surcharges, and other charges outside the stated fee schedules. They are budget examples, not observed merchant bills. Each payment route is an alternative.
Shopify payment calculations
With Shopify Payments and US standard online cards:
- Percentage processing charge: $10,000 × 2.9% = $290.
- Per-transaction charge: 100 × $0.30 = $30.
- Processing total: $290 + $30 = $320.
- Processing plus monthly-equivalent subscription: $320 + $29 = $349.
For a Shopify Basic scenario in which PayPal is used as a third-party provider, Shopify’s platform transaction fee is $10,000 × 2% = $200. Adding the $29 subscription equivalent gives a $229 platform-and-subscription subtotal, before PayPal’s processing charge.
BigCommerce payment calculations
If PayPal Wallet processes all 100 orders on BigCommerce Core, the Open Payment Provider Fee is $0. The platform-and-subscription subtotal is therefore $29, plus PayPal Wallet’s processing charge.
For NMI, an Open Provider used in BigCommerce’s own example, assume the full $10,000 is eligible gross order value before BigCommerce’s 10% Inclusive GMV reduction:
- Inclusive GMV: $10,000 × 90% = $9,000.
- Open Payment Provider Fee: $9,000 × 2% = $180.
- Platform fee plus subscription equivalent: $180 + $29 = $209, before NMI processing.
Platform and subscription subtotals
| Platform and payment route | Platform fee calculation | Monthly-equivalent subscription | Platform-and-subscription subtotal |
| Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments | No separate third-party transaction fee | $29 | $29 |
| Shopify Basic with PayPal as a third-party provider | $10,000 × 2% = $200 | $29 | $229 |
| BigCommerce Core with PayPal Wallet processing every order | Embedded Provider exemption: $0 | $29 | $29 |
| BigCommerce Core with NMI | $10,000 × 90% × 2% = $180 | $29 | $209 |
The table compares platform and subscription charges. Add each route’s provider processing cost to build its full budget; the Shopify Payments calculation above adds $320 under the stated standard-card assumptions.
BigCommerce’s Core example is a single month, not an assumption that the store can remain on Core indefinitely at that sales pace. Its trailing-12-month threshold also affects the plan cost.
Built-in tools, apps, and B2B workflows
The useful feature comparison starts with the work your store must perform. An included feature can reduce the need for an app, but only if it handles the required workflow at the plan you intend to buy.
The Shopify feature matrix lists abandoned-checkout recovery, customer segments, marketing automations, and integration with thousands of apps. The BigCommerce feature matrix lists product reviews, real-time shipping quotes, multi-currency, a built-in blog, and more than 70 built-in discount options, with additional tools restricted by tier.
| Store workflow | Shopify plan details | BigCommerce plan details |
| Recover unfinished purchases | Abandoned-checkout recovery is listed on Basic, Grow, and Advanced | Abandoned-cart tools begin on Growth |
| Organize customer audiences | Customer segments and marketing automations are listed | Customer groups and segmentation begin on Growth |
| Manage wholesale offers | Up to three B2B catalogs on Basic, Grow, and Advanced; unlimited on Plus | Customer groups begin on Growth; higher-tier features include price lists and SKU-level customer-group pricing |
| Reach support | 24/7 support is listed; channels vary by plan | 24/7 chat and email on all plans; phone support on Growth and above |
Built-in capabilities versus app integrations
Shopify’s app integrations are useful when the store needs specialized functionality beyond the included tools. That flexibility also creates a budgeting task: price the specific apps you need, including their billing terms, rather than treating ecosystem size as a cost advantage.
BigCommerce’s native reviews, shipping quotes, multi-currency, and blog can reduce app dependence when those functions meet the store’s requirements. Its tier boundaries matter, however. A Core merchant needing abandoned-cart tools or customer groups must budget for Growth. Product filtering is listed on Scale and Performance, so a catalog that requires filtering should evaluate those tiers.
Build a short workflow inventory before comparing add-ons. For each required function, record the lowest suitable plan, any paid extension, and the recurring cost. A cheaper subscription can lose its advantage if it requires several additional tools; a higher subscription can be unnecessary if its included functions will go unused.
B2B depends on catalogs, pricing, and buyer workflows
Shopify lists up to three B2B catalogs on Basic, Grow, and Advanced, with unlimited catalogs on Plus. For a merchant whose wholesale requirements fit three catalogs, those lower-plan allowances deserve evaluation before moving to Plus.
BigCommerce offers customer groups and segmentation from Growth upward, with higher-tier price lists and SKU-level customer-group pricing. Those tools deserve attention when the merchant needs different offers or prices for different buyer groups.
Catalog counts and customer-group tools answer different operating needs. Map the required buyer, pricing, catalog, and approval workflows, then ask for a demonstration of the complete order process. Include the tasks your staff must perform after checkout, not just the buyer-facing presentation.
Support and international selling
BigCommerce lists 24/7 chat and email on all plans and phone support on Growth and above. Core phone support is an add-on when available. Shopify lists 24/7 support, with channels varying by plan. If phone access is essential to the team, include the applicable plan or add-on in the operating budget.
For international selling, Shopify lists local currencies, languages, and localized selling tools; some features require Shopify Payments. BigCommerce lists multi-currency. A US merchant expanding abroad should evaluate the required customer currencies, payment methods, shipping, and tax workflow together, alongside the processing rates for international cards.
BigCommerce GMV thresholds and growth costs
BigCommerce’s sales thresholds can change the subscription cost even when the store does not need additional features. Its plans use Inclusive GMV, calculated after a 10% reduction from gross order value.
The BigCommerce threshold rules specify:
- Core: $30,000 in trailing-12-month Inclusive GMV, with an automatic upgrade above the threshold.
- Growth: $100,000 in trailing-12-month Inclusive GMV, with an automatic upgrade above the threshold.
- Scale: a $33,333 monthly Inclusive GMV cap, with a 0.9% overage charge on the amount above it.
“Trailing 12 months” means the preceding 12-month period, rather than a calendar-year reset. A store with seasonal sales should therefore model the rolling total, while a Scale merchant should model each month’s cap exposure.
Using the same reduction assumption as the payment example, four months of $10,000 in eligible gross order value produce $36,000 in Inclusive GMV: 4 × $10,000 × 90%. That exceeds Core’s $30,000 trailing-12-month threshold.
For a separate Scale illustration, $50,000 in eligible monthly gross order value produces $45,000 in Inclusive GMV. The amount above the $33,333 cap is $11,667, and the overage is $11,667 × 0.9% = $105.00, rounded to cents. The subscription, provider processing, and any applicable Open Payment Provider Fee are separate charges.
This creates two different growth-related costs to forecast: crossing a subscription threshold and paying a monthly overage. Include both in the sales model before choosing BigCommerce on the strength of an entry-plan price.
Choose by route, workflow, and growth profile
Choose Shopify if…
- Your US business qualifies for Shopify Payments and its processing rates fit your order values and card mix.
- You want the listed recovery, customer-segmentation, and marketing-automation tools, with app integrations for additional needs.
- Your B2B requirements fit the catalog allowances and workflows of the plan you are considering.
If you need a third-party processor, include Shopify’s plan-specific transaction fee in the budget before making the choice. An app-based setup also needs a priced list of the actual extensions the store will use.
Choose BigCommerce if…
- A listed Embedded Payment Provider can process your orders and you want to avoid the Open Payment Provider Fee on those orders.
- Its native reviews, shipping quotes, multi-currency, blog, and discount tools cover functions you would otherwise add separately.
- The appropriate feature tier and its GMV rules fit your forecast, including automatic upgrades or Scale overages.
If you need an Open Provider, model its platform fee using the applicable Inclusive GMV base, then add the provider’s processing charge. If product filtering or customer-group tools are essential, start with the tier that includes them.
Bottom line: select the platform whose complete payment and operating workflow fits the store at a sustainable cost. Validate that workflow during the trial: Shopify’s US listing offers three days free followed by a promotion of $1 per month for three months before standard billing; BigCommerce offers a fully functional 15-day trial without a credit card.
