For merchants who prioritize fast time to market, design polish, and the flexibility of “apps everywhere,” Shopify often comes out ahead. In contrast, businesses with more complex catalogs, B2B or multi-storefront needs, or those wanting stronger built-in commerce/SEO tools with fewer add-ons tend to favor BigCommerce.
BigCommerce
Feature-rich out of the box even on lower tiers
Good security and reliability
No transaction fees
Limited customization in design and layout
Some features are hidden, documentation or setup can be non-intuitive
Cost scaling / plan thresholds
What is BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an enterprise-capable SaaS ecommerce platform offering rich built-in commerce, SEO, and omnichannel tools that scale with growing businesses, though with some limitations in design flexibility and steep costs at higher tiers.
Usecases for BigCommerce
Growing businesses / mid-market merchants that need built-in features, solid reliability, and a platform that scales without changing stacks.
Shopify
User-friendly interface
Extensive theme selection
Comprehensive App ecosystem
Can be launched without developers
Proprietary coding language
Content management limitations
Transaction fees
What is Shopify
Shopify is a cloud‐based ecommerce platform that enables businesses of all sizes to quickly set up, manage, and scale their online stores. As a SaaS solution, Shopify provides a complete suite of tools—including website design, inventory and order management, payment processing, and marketing automation—all from one easy-to-use platform.
Usecases for Shopify
Perfect for quickly deploying small to medium-sized online stores with a wide range of out-of-the-box features.
Full
None
Partial
Integration
BigCommerce
Shopify
Crystallize
Tech
Architecture
Open SaaS, monolithic with optional headless APIs
Monolithic / Modular
Event based architecture with horizontal scaling
Cloud infrastructure
Google Cloud
Shopify Cloud
AWS
API coverage
REST + GraphQL APIs (partial coverage)
REST / GraphQL
GraphQL
Built with
PHP/Node.js backend, GraphQL layer
Ruby / PHP
TypeScript / GraphQL
Security features
PCI DSS Level 1, SSL, MFA, DDoS protection
SSL / 2FA / PCI DSS
TLS/SSL, DDoS protection, SOC2 compliance
Scalability
Maintenance
Managed
Managed
Customization level
Moderate: theming system + API integrations
Frontend integration
Stencil framework, Next.js & React supported via APIs
Liquid / SDKs
Framework-agnostic
AI/Machine learning
Built-in AI product recommendations + third-party
Via apps
Via third-party
Multitenancy
Book time with an expert to discuss your product universe
BOOK a personalized 1-on-1 demo today, and we’ll show you what makes Crystallize a powerful product story engine and if it is well-suited for your business.
24/7 Support / Community / Dedicated support (Plus and Advanced plans)
Slack / Community / Dedicated account manager (Enterprise)
Documentation quality
Comprehensive docs, BigCommerce University
Comprehensive / User-friendly
Comprehensive, well-organized
Additional resources
Webinars / Training / Growth services
Help Center / API Documentation / Guides
Livestream videos / API Reference / Developer guides
Community
Community and forums
Large, active merchant community and forums
Large and Active
Growing and Active (Slack)
Professional training
Certification programs
DISCLAIMER: The comparison pages on this website are based on publicly available information and are intended for informational purposes only. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date content , we make no representations or warranties regarding the completeness or accuracy of the information presented. Readers are advised to consult the official websites of the respective platforms for the most current details, as features and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Feature-rich out of the box even on lower tiers
Limited customization in design and layout
Partial
Integration
