BigCommerce — An open-SaaS ecommerce platform for mid-market and enterprise online stores that scales through GMV-based tiers instead of transaction fees.
By Noahlast updated pricing verified
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Best for: mid-market and enterprise merchants who want headless API access and payment-processor choice included in every tier
Pricing: From $29/month billed annually for Core (Growth $79/month, Scale $299/month with GMV overage fees); Performance custom from $1,499/month; no free tier, 15-day trial.
- BigCommerce Core costs $29/month billed annually (or $39/month billed monthly) for stores up to $30,000 trailing-twelve-month sales.
- BigCommerce Scale costs $299/month billed annually and adds a 0.9% overage fee on GMV above a $33,333/month cap.
- BigCommerce holds a 4.4/5 rating from 340 reviews on Capterra.
- BigCommerce waives its platform fee entirely when merchants use an approved payment partner like BigCommerce Payments, Stripe, or Adyen.
- BigCommerce plans are hosted SaaS only, with no self-hosted or on-premise option.
Limitations: GMV-based tiers auto-upgrade the account as sales grow, regardless of feature needs.; Scale tier's overage fee applies even to merchants using approved payment partners.; Smaller app and theme marketplace than Shopify.
Top alternatives: Shopify, WooCommerce, Adobe Commerce (Magento), Squarespace, Ecwid — full list
What is BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is a hosted ecommerce platform for building and running an online store, positioned as a mid-market and enterprise alternative to Shopify. Merchants get a mobile-responsive storefront, single-page checkout, built-in blog, and multi-currency support without needing separate apps for basic functionality. BigCommerce's plans are priced by trailing-twelve-month sales volume (GMV) rather than flat SaaS tiers alone: Core, Growth, and Scale each cap out at a GMV threshold and auto-upgrade the account once a store crosses it. The platform supports selling through the hosted storefront plus marketplace and social channels (Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Google, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest) via its Feedonomics integration. BigCommerce is closed-source, proprietary software with no self-hosted option; all plans run on BigCommerce's infrastructure.
BigCommerce is a hosted ecommerce platform built for merchants who outgrow Shopify's app-and-transaction-fee model. Core plan starts at $39/month ($29/month billed annually) for stores under $30,000 in trailing-twelve-month sales, with Growth ($105/month, up to $100K TTM) and Scale ($399/month, up to $1M TTM plus 0.9% overage above a $33,333 monthly GMV cap) tiers that auto-upgrade as sales grow; Performance is custom-priced starting around $1,499/month for $1M+ merchants. A 15-day free trial requires no credit card. BigCommerce differentiates on its "open SaaS" architecture: headless API access, multi-currency support, and single-page checkout are included at every tier rather than gated behind app purchases, and merchants can choose their own payment processor instead of being locked into one. Using an approved payment partner (BigCommerce Payments, Stripe, PayPal Braintree, Adyen, and others) waives the platform fee entirely; routing payments through an unapproved processor costs 2.0% of GMV on Core, dropping to 0.6% on Scale.
Standout feature: 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.
Biggest weakness: 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.
Pros
- Headless commerce APIs, multi-currency support, and single-page checkout are included at every tier rather than sold as separate apps.
- Payment-processor choice avoids the extra fee Shopify charges for using a non-Shopify Payments processor.
- Built-in Feedonomics integration pushes listings to Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Google, Meta, and TikTok from one dashboard.
- No long-term contract required on Core, Growth, or Scale; cancel month-to-month.
Cons
- GMV-based tier ceilings force automatic upgrades as sales grow, regardless of how many features a merchant actually needs.
- Scale plan adds a 0.9% overage fee on GMV above $33,333/month even for merchants who stay on approved payment partners.
- Smaller third-party app and theme ecosystem than Shopify's marketplace.
- Performance-tier custom pricing requires a sales conversation rather than transparent self-service checkout.
BigCommerce pricing
From $29/mo · verified from the vendor's pricing page
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $29/mo | Billed annually ($39/month billed monthly); for stores up to $30,000 trailing-twelve-month sales, auto-upgrades to Growth above that. |
| Growth | $79/mo | Billed annually ($105/month billed monthly); up to $100,000 TTM sales, adds 24/7 phone support, auto-upgrades to Scale above that. |
| Scale | $299/mo | Billed annually ($399/month billed monthly); up to $1M TTM sales, with a $33,333/month GMV cap and 0.9% overage fee on GMV above that cap. |
| Performance | $1499/mo | Custom pricing for $1M+ annual sales, billed annually; includes a dedicated Customer Success Manager and 24/7 phone support. |
What reviewers say
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