Just starting with your business and aiming to grow fast or already a huge enterprise exploring new options? Irrespective of the stage your business currently is, knowing which is the best platform between Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce for your e-commerce store is a crucial decision you shouldn’t make lightly.
Even in 2022, there’s no doubt that when you research the biggest e-commerce platforms, those are the three names that pop up frequently. For the vast majority of e-store owners, any one of them will do just fine. But that doesn’t take anything away from the fact each of them is unique and does things differently. Hence, just maybe, one platform is more suited to the way you want to set up and manage your e-commerce store.
To highlight what’s the difference between Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce platforms, we have to together a side-by-side comparison. You’ll know what sets these e-commerce giants apart and which may be the best option for your needs.
Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce: Platform Comparison
Let’s dive right into the comparison between each platform below.
Metric: #Pricing
Budget is, perhaps, the most important determiner when choosing between two options. Budget can help you narrow down your choices since some of these e-commerce platforms are a lot pricier than others.
- Magento: Price package
Magento open source is technically free, but you’d have to license the software depending on which product you use. You’ll have to cover things like security, development, and design.
Magento Enterprise Edition is significantly more expensive. Your quote will depend on the size and needs of your business, but it can go as high as $130,000 annually. See latest pricing for Magento Entreprise version.
- Shopify:Price package
Shopify has several basic pricing models depending on the complexity of your e-store. Basc starts from £19/month, plus design and devvelopment cost and Shopify Mid-range starts from £49/month. The advanced plan on this level can cost around £259/month. There’s Shopify Plus for larger businesses which start at around £2000 per month. See latest pricing for Shopify platform.
- BigCommerce: Price package
BigCommerce is, perhaps, the most affordable e-commerce platform to consider. It has several different pricing points. The most basic plan starts at $29.95 per month. Advanced plans begin at $79.95 (Plus) and $299.95 (Pro) per month. See the latest pricing for BigCommerce platform.
Metric #Ease of Use
Ease of use should be high up your list of things to look at before opting for an e-commerce platform.
- Magento: very complex
Unlike the other two, Magento does not come with a video tutorial or onsite developers to help you put together your site. You’ll need to either be a developer or hire one to help with building your site.
It’s very flexible but that only contributes to its complexity.
- Shopify: intuitive
Shopify was built for business owners who want to set up their businesses without having any background in development. It is an intuitive platform with drag-and-drop tools to help you put together a site quickly and easily.
- BigCommerce: intuitive and flexible
BigCommerce allows you to put together a business page even if you have never done so before. The interface is simple and declarative.
What’s more, the stack is decoupled. You can connect the BigCommerce backend with the current front-end CMS – like WordPress, Drupal and Contentful – you’re using.
Metric: #Themes Options
The more theme options you have, the easier it is to build unique sites.
- Magento: no native theme
Magento doesn’t include any themes as part of the native package, and they offer no selection for customers to choose from. You’ll have to rely on third-party themes or pay a developer to build one. - Shopify: Plenty
Shopify offers hundreds of native themes either free of charge or available to buy. They are already optimized for mobile devices and integration is a breeze. Shopify developers have already created thousands of themes and counting. - BigCommerce: plenty
BigCommerce also includes hundreds of customizable templates, both free and paid. You can also hire a developer to create custom themes for you, even to the smallest of details.
Last Thoughts
If you have a well-established business with a big budget to dedicate to e-commerce, Magento has features that can be beneficial to your business now and in the future. With a capable Magento developer, you can create your business site to your exact specifications.
Shopify is a great platform for people with no experience building e-commerce stores. For a small business that is most concerned about going online than anything else, Shopify helps you get up to speed quickly.
BigCommerce can be right for all sizes of businesses. It offers impressive e-commerce capabilities, robust security and much-needed flexibility. You can easily bootstrap your business and see it grow on the platform.
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