6 Best Alternatives to BigCommerce in 2026
By Noahlast updated pricing verified
From our data: 2 of the 6 alternatives listed here (WooCommerce's core plugin and Wix's Free plan) offer a free tier; among the four with a single disclosed non-zero starting price — Ecwid at $5/month, Squarespace at $16/month, Wix's cheapest paid Light plan at $17/month, and Shopify at $39/month — the median is $16.50/month. WooCommerce's real cost is spread across separately billed hosting ($25-350/month), and Adobe Commerce publishes no price at all.
Shopify
WooCommerce
Adobe Commerce (Magento)
Wix
EcwidHow we picked
- External review volume varies widely: Wix carries the deepest base at 4.4/5 from 10,760 Capterra reviews, ahead of Shopify's 4.5/5 from 6,707, Squarespace's 4.6/5 from 3,417, WooCommerce's 4.5/5 from 1,047, and Adobe Commerce's 4.3/5 from 661; Ecwid has no external rating on file and is ranked on price and feature scope instead.
- Pricing verification is uneven across this set: BigCommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Ecwid were all verified on their own pricing pages on 2026-08-21, Squarespace's and Wix's dollar figures carry no recorded pricing-verification date in this data, and Adobe Commerce publishes no numeric price at all, only custom quotes.
- Only 2 of the 6 alternatives (WooCommerce's core plugin and Wix's Free plan) cost nothing to start, a real contrast against BigCommerce's own no-free-tier, GMV-tiered structure that only offers a 15-day trial.
- Fee transparency factored into the comparison, since BigCommerce's own Scale plan adds a 0.9% overage fee above a $33,333/month GMV cap even for merchants on an approved payment partner; each alternative's own transaction-fee or revenue-share structure (or lack of one) was weighed against that same standard.
Paid placement never alters editorial rank — read the full methodology.
BigCommerce alternatives at a glance
| Alternative | Best for | Standout | Biggest weakness | Learning curve | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BigCommercereference | mid-market and enterprise merchants who want headless API access and payment-processor choice built into every tier instead of paying per-app to unlock them | Open SaaS architecture bundles headless commerce APIs, multi-currency checkout, and payment-processor choice into every plan, and waives its platform fee entirely when merchants use an approved payment partner. | Plans are capped by trailing-twelve-month GMV and auto-upgrade as a store grows, and routing payments through a non-approved processor adds a 2.0% (Core) to 0.6% (Scale) fee on top of the processor's own rate. | Moderate | From $29/mo |
| Shopify | solo entrepreneurs and growing merchants who want an all-in-one hosted platform for building an online store, accepting payments, and selling across multiple channels without managing their own hosting | A fully hosted, all-in-one platform combining storefront builder, high-converting checkout (Shop Pay), inventory, and multichannel selling (social, marketplaces, in-person POS), backed by a 21,000+ app ecosystem. | Card processing rates and third-party app costs stack on top of the base subscription, and reviewers say total cost climbs quickly once apps, themes, and higher-tier shipping discounts are added; using a payment processor other than Shopify Payments also adds extra transaction fees on top of the plan price. | Moderate | From $39/mo |
| WooCommerce | merchants and developers who want full control of their online store's code, data, and payment processor without paying a platform revenue share, and who are comfortable managing WordPress hosting | Zero platform fees or revenue share on the core plugin — unlike Shopify or BigCommerce, WooCommerce doesn't take a cut of sales, and every payment gateway is allowed rather than one default processor. | The "free" plugin's true cost is diffuse and easy to underestimate: hosting, a payment processor, security/backups, and the premium extensions most real stores need (advanced shipping, subscriptions, specific gateways) are all separate purchases from separate vendors, so total monthly cost can land close to or above Shopify's all-in-one pricing once a store scales. | Steep | Free |
| Adobe Commerce (Magento) | large B2B and B2C retailers running multi-brand or multi-region storefronts who need custom catalogs, negotiated pricing, and dedicated infrastructure | Combines B2B and B2C selling in a single platform, with custom catalogs, account hierarchies, and negotiated pricing for wholesale buyers alongside a standard retail storefront. | No published pricing anywhere on Adobe's site; every deal requires a sales quote, and Capterra reviewers report slow project launches, high development and agency costs, and heavy reliance on specialized Magento developers, especially for teams without in-house commerce expertise. | Steep | Custom pricing |
| Squarespace | small businesses and creative freelancers who want a designed-looking marketing site or online store without a developer, and don't need pixel-level control over every layout | Fluid Engine, an editor that lets users place content freely on a responsive grid while Squarespace automatically reflows the layout for every screen size. | No permanently free plan and no way to switch templates on an existing site without rebuilding the layout; Core-tier e-commerce still carries a 3% transaction fee on top of payment processing, and advanced customization requires learning Squarespace's own CSS/JS injection system rather than standard tooling. | Low | From $16/mo |
| Wix | small businesses and freelancers who want an AI-assisted site builder with a genuinely free published-site option before committing to a paid plan | The Wix App Market, a marketplace of first- and third-party apps (booking, forms, chat, marketing tools) that extends the core site editor without custom code, paired with an AI-assisted site generator. | Templates cannot be changed after a site is published without rebuilding it from scratch, and the jump from Business ($39/month) to Business Elite ($159/month) is steep for stores that need just one advanced feature; the free plan keeps Wix branding and ads on the published site. | Low | Free tier · paid from $17/mo |
| Ecwid | small businesses that want to add a shopping cart to an existing website or sell across Instagram, TikTok, and marketplaces without building a dedicated storefront | The store widget embeds directly into an existing WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Drupal, or Joomla site instead of requiring a full site migration, and every plan charges zero Ecwid transaction fees. | No free tier (Starter is the cheapest paid option at $5/month), and the product-catalog limit forces upgrades quickly: Starter caps out at just 10 products, well below what many small stores need on day one. | Low | From $5/mo |
BigCommerce
Squarespace1.Shopify — best BigCommerce alternative for solo entrepreneurs and growing merchants who want an all-in-one hosted platform for building an online store, accepting payments, and selling across multiple channels without managing their own hosting
Shopify and BigCommerce are both hosted, all-in-one commerce platforms, but Shopify holds a 4.5/5 rating from 6,707 Capterra reviews, far deeper evidence than BigCommerce's 4.4/5 from 340, and its 21,000+ app ecosystem is larger than BigCommerce's own marketplace, a gap BigCommerce's own materials acknowledge as a weakness. Shopify's Basic plan is $39/month ($29/month billed annually), landing in the same range as BigCommerce's Core plan, and Shop Pay is widely cited as a high-converting, reliable checkout. The honest tradeoff is payment flexibility: Shopify charges extra transaction fees on every plan for merchants who use a processor other than Shopify Payments, a cost BigCommerce's open-SaaS model avoids entirely for merchants who route payments through an approved partner like Stripe or Adyen. Merchants who specifically want payment-processor choice without a fee penalty, or headless commerce APIs and multi-currency checkout included in every tier rather than unlocked through apps, are better served staying with BigCommerce, which bakes those into its base pricing rather than selling them as add-ons.
Compared to BigCommerce: far larger review base (6,707 Capterra reviews at 4.5/5 vs BigCommerce's 340 at 4.4/5), a 21,000+ app ecosystem versus BigCommerce's smaller marketplace, but non-Shopify-Payments processors incur extra transaction fees that BigCommerce's payment-processor-choice model can avoid entirely.
Wins:6,707 Capterra reviews at 4.5/5 gives far deeper evidence than BigCommerce's 340 reviews at 4.4/5 · 21,000+ app ecosystem is far larger than BigCommerce's marketplace, per BigCommerce's own listed weakness · Shop Pay and Shopify's built-in checkout are widely cited as high-converting and reliable
Loses:Non-Shopify-Payments processors incur extra transaction fees on every plan, a cost BigCommerce avoids entirely when using an approved payment partner · Customizing beyond templates requires learning Shopify's proprietary Liquid language, while BigCommerce bakes headless API access into every tier
Pros
- Quick to launch an online store without managing hosting or server infrastructure.
- Reliable, high-converting built-in checkout (Shop Pay) and payment processing.
- Large app ecosystem (21,000+ apps) for extending functionality without custom development.
- Multichannel selling built in across social platforms, marketplaces, and in-person POS.
Cons
- Third-party apps and premium themes add up quickly beyond the base subscription price.
- Non-Shopify Payments processors incur extra transaction fees on every plan.
- Customizing beyond templates requires learning Shopify's proprietary Liquid templating language.
- Plus tier jumps to $2,300+/month, a large gap from Advanced's $399/month.
Pricing: From $39/mo — Shopify Basic is $39/month ($29/month billed annually) vs BigCommerce Core at $39/month ($29/month billed annually) — comparable entry pricing, but Shopify adds extra fees for non-Shopify-Payments processors that BigCommerce's approved-partner model waives (verified undefined NaN, NaN)
2.WooCommerce — best BigCommerce alternative for merchants and developers who want full control of their online store's code, data, and payment processor without paying a platform revenue share, and who are comfortable managing WordPress hosting
WooCommerce and BigCommerce both let merchants run a full online store, but WooCommerce's core plugin is free under the GPL with 0% platform fee, while BigCommerce's cheapest plan starts at $29/month billed annually and its Scale plan adds a 0.9% overage fee above a $33,333/month GMV cap. WooCommerce holds a 4.5/5 rating from 1,047 Capterra reviews, and because it's self-hosted, merchants get full data ownership and a free choice of any payment gateway rather than routing through an approved-partner list. The honest catch is that WooCommerce's real cost is diffuse: hosting typically runs $25-350/month, a payment processor like WooPayments charges roughly 2.5-2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction, and the premium extensions most real stores need cost $29-299/year each, à la carte, from separate vendors — total monthly cost can land close to or above BigCommerce's all-in-one pricing once a store scales. Merchants who want one predictable subscription with headless API access and multi-currency support built in, rather than assembling hosting, extensions, and security separately, are better served by BigCommerce.
Compared to BigCommerce: the core plugin is free with 0% platform fee vs BigCommerce's $29/month-plus GMV-tiered plans, but hosting, a payment processor, and premium extensions are all separate purchases that can push real total cost close to or above BigCommerce's all-in-one price.
Wins:Core plugin is free with unlimited products, orders, and API access, and 0% platform fee, unlike BigCommerce's GMV-tiered $29-plus/month plans · No revenue share on sales at all, while BigCommerce's Scale plan adds a 0.9% overage fee above a $33,333/month GMV cap · Full data ownership and free choice of any payment gateway since the store is self-hosted
Loses:Hosting ($25-350/month), a payment processor, and premium extensions ($29-299/year each) are all separate purchases, unlike BigCommerce's single predictable subscription · Requires managing WordPress updates, security, and backups directly, unless paying extra for managed hosting
Pros
- No platform fee or revenue share on sales, unlike Shopify's percentage-based plans.
- Full data ownership and free choice of payment gateway since the store is self-hosted.
- Open-source (GPL) with a large plugin/theme ecosystem and an active GitHub community (10,500+ stars).
- Unlimited products, orders, and API calls with no plan-based caps.
Cons
- Total cost is spread across separate hosting, payment processing, and extension purchases, making it harder to budget upfront than an all-in-one platform.
- Requires managing WordPress itself (updates, security, backups) unless paying for managed hosting.
- Steeper setup and maintenance learning curve than hosted platforms like Shopify, especially for non-technical merchants.
Pricing: Free — WooCommerce's core plugin is free with 0% platform fee vs BigCommerce's plans starting at $29/month (annual) plus a 0.9% overage fee on Scale (verified undefined NaN, NaN)
3.Adobe Commerce (Magento) — best BigCommerce alternative for large B2B and B2C retailers running multi-brand or multi-region storefronts who need custom catalogs, negotiated pricing, and dedicated infrastructure
Adobe Commerce and BigCommerce both support B2B and B2C selling, but Adobe Commerce goes deeper on enterprise B2B: custom catalogs, negotiated pricing, and account hierarchies for wholesale buyers are native to the platform, beyond what BigCommerce's open-SaaS, single-tier-for-everyone approach targets. It holds a 4.3/5 rating from 661 Capterra reviews, and deployment flexibility spans a multi-tenant SaaS service or a single-tenant PaaS install for teams that want dedicated infrastructure. The honest tradeoff is transparency and effort: Adobe Commerce publishes no pricing anywhere on its site, every deployment requires a custom sales quote, and Capterra reviewers report slow, expensive implementations that typically require specialized Magento developers or an agency — a stark contrast to BigCommerce's transparent tiers starting at $29/month with self-service signup and a 15-day free trial. Merchants who want published, predictable pricing and a fast self-service setup without hiring an agency are better served by BigCommerce.
Compared to BigCommerce: deeper native B2B/B2C support with custom catalogs and account hierarchies for wholesale buyers, but publishes no pricing anywhere on its site vs BigCommerce's transparent tiers starting at $29/month, and typically requires specialized developers or an agency to implement.
Wins:Handles B2B and B2C selling in one platform, including custom catalogs and negotiated pricing for wholesale accounts, deeper than BigCommerce's built-for-both approach · Deployment flexibility between multi-tenant SaaS and single-tenant PaaS for teams wanting dedicated infrastructure · Large ecosystem of Magento developers, agencies, and extensions built up over more than a decade
Loses:No published pricing anywhere; every deployment requires a custom sales quote, unlike BigCommerce's transparent tiers starting at $29/month · Reviewers report slow, expensive implementations that typically require specialized developers or an agency, unlike BigCommerce's self-service 15-day trial
Pros
- Handles B2B and B2C selling models in one platform, including custom catalogs and negotiated pricing for wholesale accounts.
- Large ecosystem of Magento developers, agencies, extensions, and themes built up over more than a decade.
- Scales to high order volumes with multi-site and multi-brand storefront support.
- Deployment flexibility between multi-tenant SaaS and single-tenant PaaS depending on infrastructure needs.
Cons
- No published pricing; every deployment requires a custom sales quote from Adobe.
- Reviewers report expensive, slow implementations that typically require specialized developers or an agency.
- Resource-intensive platform that can suffer performance and SEO issues without ongoing optimization work.
- Steep learning curve and heavy IT dependency make it a poor fit for businesses without dedicated technical staff.
Pricing: Custom pricing — Adobe Commerce publishes no price at all (custom quote only) vs BigCommerce's transparent Core plan at $29/month billed annually
4.Squarespace — best BigCommerce alternative for small businesses and creative freelancers who want a designed-looking marketing site or online store without a developer, and don't need pixel-level control over every layout
Squarespace and BigCommerce both sell hosted online stores, but Squarespace holds a 4.6/5 rating from 3,417 Capterra reviews, the highest score of any alternative compared here, versus BigCommerce's 4.4/5 from 340. Squarespace's Basic plan starts at $16/month billed annually, well below BigCommerce's Core plan at $29/month, and its Fluid Engine editor and template design quality are consistently rated above drag-and-drop competitors, a design-first strength that BigCommerce, built more for merchants who already know what they're selling than how the site should look, doesn't prioritize the same way. The honest gap is commerce depth: Squarespace has no headless commerce API or built-in payment-processor choice, both included in every BigCommerce tier, and Core-tier Squarespace stores still pay a 3% transaction fee that only disappears on the $39/month Plus plan and above. Merchants who need headless API access, multi-currency checkout, or the freedom to route payments through any approved processor without a platform fee are better served by BigCommerce.
Compared to BigCommerce: highest rating of any alternative compared (4.6/5 from 3,417 Capterra reviews), cheaper entry price ($16/month vs BigCommerce's $29/month), but no headless commerce API or payment-processor choice, and Core-tier stores still pay a 3% transaction fee.
Wins:4.6/5 rating from 3,417 Capterra reviews is the highest of any alternative compared here · Basic plan starts at $16/month billed annually, undercutting BigCommerce's Core plan at $29/month · Fluid Engine editor and template design quality are consistently rated above drag-and-drop competitors
Loses:No headless commerce API or built-in payment-processor choice, both included in every BigCommerce tier · Core-tier e-commerce still carries a 3% transaction fee; removing it requires the $39/month Plus plan
Pros
- Template and design quality is consistently rated above most drag-and-drop competitors.
- E-commerce, email campaigns, and scheduling are built into the same subscription, no separate app needed for most small stores.
- Fluid Engine gives more direct layout control than fixed-section builders while still auto-adapting to mobile.
- Squarespace Payments processing fees drop as customers move up tiers, with 0% Squarespace transaction fees on Plus and Advanced.
Cons
- No free tier; every plan starts as a 14-day trial that requires a credit card-free signup but converts to paid billing.
- Templates can't be swapped after a site is built without substantial rework.
- Basic and Core tiers lack phone support, and Core still charges a 3% transaction fee on e-commerce sales.
- Monthly (non-annual) billing costs meaningfully more per month than the advertised annual rates.
Pricing: From $16/mo — Squarespace Basic is $16/month billed annually vs BigCommerce Core at $29/month, though Core-tier Squarespace stores still pay a 3% transaction fee BigCommerce's approved-partner model can avoid
5.Wix — best BigCommerce alternative for small businesses and freelancers who want an AI-assisted site builder with a genuinely free published-site option before committing to a paid plan
Wix and BigCommerce both host online stores, but Wix carries the largest review base of any alternative compared here, 10,760 Capterra reviews, matching BigCommerce's own 4.4/5 score with more than 31 times the review volume (versus BigCommerce's 340). Wix's Free plan publishes a live site with a Wix subdomain at no cost, something BigCommerce doesn't offer at all since it has no free tier, only a 15-day trial, and Wix's AI-assisted ADI site generator plus its App Market extend the core editor without custom code. The honest catch is scope: Wix has no headless commerce API or built-in payment-processor choice the way BigCommerce includes at every tier, and free-plan sites carry Wix branding and ads and publish only on a wix.com subdomain rather than a custom one. Merchants planning custom storefronts, headless integrations, or GMV-scale growth beyond a small store are better served by BigCommerce's open-SaaS architecture.
Compared to BigCommerce: largest review base of any alternative (10,760 Capterra reviews at 4.4/5, matching BigCommerce's own score), a genuinely free published site vs BigCommerce's no-free-tier model, but no headless commerce API or payment-processor choice at any tier.
Wins:10,760 Capterra reviews at 4.4/5 is by far the largest review base of any alternative compared here · Free plan publishes a live site with a subdomain at no cost, while BigCommerce has no free tier at all · AI-assisted ADI site generator creates a starter site from a short questionnaire, useful for fast first drafts
Loses:No headless commerce API or built-in payment-processor choice, both included in every BigCommerce tier · Free-plan sites carry Wix branding and ads and publish only on a wix.com subdomain
Pros
- Genuinely free plan publishes a live site, not just a builder trial, though with Wix branding and ads.
- Drag-and-drop editor allows freeform element placement, more flexible than fixed-section builders.
- AI-assisted site generator (ADI) creates a starter site from a short questionnaire, useful for fast first drafts.
- Wix App Market extends functionality without custom code for booking, forms, chat, and marketing.
Cons
- Templates cannot be swapped after a site is published without rebuilding the entire layout.
- Free-plan sites carry Wix branding and ads and publish on a wix.com subdomain, not a custom domain.
- Business Elite jumps to $159/month billed annually, a steep increase from Business at $39/month for stores that need just one advanced feature.
- Site performance and page speed lag behind custom-built or more code-flexible platforms as site complexity grows.
Pricing: Free tier · paid from $17/mo — Wix's Free plan costs $0 vs BigCommerce's cheapest plan at $29/month billed annually; Wix's cheapest paid tier (Light) is $17/month
6.Ecwid — best BigCommerce alternative for small businesses that want to add a shopping cart to an existing website or sell across Instagram, TikTok, and marketplaces without building a dedicated storefront
Ecwid and BigCommerce both let merchants sell online, but Ecwid is built to embed a shopping-cart widget into an existing WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Drupal, or Joomla site, rather than requiring the full storefront rebuild BigCommerce's platform assumes. Ecwid's Starter plan is $5/month, far below BigCommerce's Core plan at $29/month, and it charges zero Ecwid transaction fees on every plan, a simpler, unconditional version of the fee-waiving BigCommerce offers only through its approved payment-partner list. The honest gap is evidence and scale: Ecwid has no external rating on file at all, unlike BigCommerce's 4.4/5 from 340 Capterra reviews, its Starter plan caps out at just 10 products, well below what most stores need on day one, and its design flexibility is more limited than a dedicated storefront platform since Ecwid is built to embed rather than serve as the whole site. Merchants who want a full standalone storefront with headless API access and room to grow into GMV-scale sales, not a cart bolted onto an existing site, are better served by BigCommerce.
Compared to BigCommerce: far cheaper entry price ($5/month Starter vs BigCommerce's $29/month Core), embeds into an existing site instead of requiring a full storefront rebuild, but has no external rating on file and Starter caps out at just 10 products.
Wins:Starter plan is $5/month, far cheaper than BigCommerce's $29/month Core plan · Embeds as a widget into a site you already have, avoiding the full storefront rebuild BigCommerce requires · Zero Ecwid transaction fees on every plan, including Starter
Loses:No external rating on file at all, unlike BigCommerce's 4.4/5 from 340 Capterra reviews · Starter plan caps out at just 10 products, and design flexibility is more limited than a dedicated storefront platform like BigCommerce
Pros
- Embeds as a widget into an existing site rather than requiring a full storefront rebuild.
- Zero Ecwid transaction fees on every plan, including Starter.
- Sells directly through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, Amazon, and Google without a separate integration.
- iOS and Android apps cover order management, inventory, and customer messaging.
Cons
- No free tier; the entry-level Starter plan still costs $5/month.
- Starter caps out at 10 products, which many small stores exceed immediately.
- Point-of-sale integration for in-person selling is gated to the top Unlimited plan at $119-149/month.
- Design flexibility is more limited than a dedicated site builder like Shopify, since Ecwid is built to embed rather than serve as the whole site.
Pricing: From $5/mo — Ecwid Starter is $5/month vs BigCommerce Core at $29/month billed annually (verified undefined NaN, NaN)
Which one is right for you?
- You want the largest third-party app ecosystem and a proven, high-converting checkout.Shopify
- You want full code ownership and zero platform fees, and don't mind managing your own hosting.WooCommerce
- You run a large B2B and B2C operation that needs custom catalogs and negotiated wholesale pricing.Adobe Commerce (Magento)
- You want a designed-looking marketing site with e-commerce built in, not just a bare storefront.Squarespace
- You want to publish a live site for free before deciding whether to pay for anything.Wix
- You already have a website and just want to bolt on a shopping cart without rebuilding it.Ecwid
- You want the deepest external review evidence available before switching platforms.Wix
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to BigCommerce?
- Yes — WooCommerce's core plugin and Wix's Free plan both cost nothing to start, unlike BigCommerce, which has no free tier at all and only offers a 15-day trial. WooCommerce still requires paying separately for hosting, and Wix's free plan carries branding and a subdomain.
What is the closest alternative to BigCommerce?
- Shopify is the closest match in scope: both are hosted, all-in-one platforms with multichannel selling and app ecosystems, and Shopify holds a similar 4.5/5 Capterra rating. The main difference is fees — Shopify charges extra for non-Shopify-Payments processors, a cost BigCommerce's approved-partner model can avoid.
Can Shopify replace BigCommerce?
- Yes, for most merchants — Shopify offers a larger 21,000+ app ecosystem and a deeper review base (6,707 Capterra reviews vs BigCommerce's 340). The tradeoff is payment flexibility: BigCommerce bakes payment-processor choice and headless API access into every tier, while Shopify adds fees for non-Shopify-Payments processors.
Is there a cheaper alternative to BigCommerce?
- Yes — Ecwid starts at $5/month and Squarespace starts at $16/month, both well under BigCommerce's $29/month Core plan. Ecwid is built to embed into an existing site rather than replace it, so it solves a narrower problem than a full BigCommerce storefront.
Is there an open-source alternative to BigCommerce?
- WooCommerce is the open-source option, a free GPL-licensed WordPress plugin with 0% platform fee, unlike BigCommerce's proprietary, GMV-tiered plans. Hosting, a payment processor, and premium extensions are separate costs on top of the free plugin.
Which BigCommerce alternative is best for enterprise B2B selling?
- Adobe Commerce (Magento) goes deepest on B2B, with native custom catalogs, negotiated pricing, and account hierarchies for wholesale buyers. It publishes no pricing at all, though, requiring a custom sales quote where BigCommerce's tiers are published starting at $29/month.