4.6
Very Good
The Best
Ton of features
Product variants
The Worst
Yearly sales threshold
No email marketing tools
Starting From
$29.95
BigCommerce Review 2026!
In this comprehensive BigCommerce review we will look at the features that BigCommerce offers, it’s pros and cons as an ecommerce platform, and finally we’ll preview some alternatives, in case it isn’t the right solution for your online store.
Why should you trust us? We have tons of experience of building real world ecommerce stores, both large and small, and we use a meticulous testing process to assess every ecommerce platform according to 20 different criteria!
We know that choosing an ecommerce website builder for your online store is a big decision, so we’ve made sure that this review covers everything you could possibly need to make the right call!
But before we begin, what exactly is BigCommerce?
What is BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is an all-in-one ecommerce solution for selling physical and digital goods online.
This means that it provides everything you need: web hosting, the database for your products, the tools for designing your storefront, plus inventory management, marketing tools, shipping and tax calculations, and much more!
BigCommerce is also a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform. This means that to use BigCommerce, you don’t need to download any software. Everything is done through the browser on your computer or the BigCommerce App on your mobile device.
The BigCommerce website
Traditionally, BigCommerce has often been thought of as more of an enterprise solution for bigger online stores. However, as we’ll see, it has a lot to offer to smaller businesses as well.
So, if you have ambitions to run your own ecommerce business, all you need is something to sell, plus the appropriate BigCommerce plan (for which you pay a monthly subscription fee), and you’re good to go: you can start selling online!
You can read more about what BigCommerce is (and isn't)! But now let's dive into the full BigCommerce review.
BigCommerce Pricing
BigCommerce offers a tiered pricing structure, with four different plans. Which monthly tariff you pay depends on the features you require, and more significantly: the amount of money that your BigCommerce store is generating.
Note: The prices above are the monthly cost of annual contracts. In order to qualify for these prices, you will need to pay the full annual cost in advance (e.g. 12 x $29.95 for the Standard plan).
So there are four plans to choose from. But the unusual part of the BigCommerce pricing structure is that you can’t always choose! When your store reaches a certain threshold of yearly revenue, in the following year you’ll be bumped up automatically to the next plan with a higher monthly tariff.
In many circumstances, this may not be an issue. As your revenue grows, it makes sense to take advantage of the extra features higher tariffs offer. But if your store is a high revenue, low margin operation, this could be problematic.
Which BigCommerce plan is best?
Which BigCommerce plan is best for your ecommerce store, will depend very much on the specifics of your business model.
However, (as we’ll see later on in this review), the “abandoned cart saver” feature can recover so much lost revenue that it’s probably worth choosing the Plus plan over the Standard plan in many cases, as it’s not that much more expensive.
Conversely, I think that for most people just starting out, the extra features of the Pro plan (e.g. Google reviews and advanced product filtering), won’t be worth the significantly higher price you will pay compared to the Plus plan.
We look at the different plans in much more detail in our BigCommerce pricing article, so check that out too!
And don’t forget: you can also try BigCommerce for free for 14 days before you make a final decision!
BigCommerce Review Conclusion
BigCommerce is one of the most feature-rich and powerful ecommerce platforms on the planet. Its only real rival is Shopify in this respect (more on that rivalry below). It doesn’t matter how complicated your ecommerce requirements are: BigCommerce will be able to provide a solution.
However, this doesn’t mean that it will be the right choice for your online business. To help you make a decision, here’s a list of the things I think BigCommerce does well and the things I think BigCommerce could improve:
What I like about BigCommerce
Feature rich: as part of its core functionality, BigCommerce provides a breadth and depth of features that’s unmatched by any other platform
Easy to use: despite its reputation, I found it easy to do what I needed to do
Tons of product options: great if you’re selling complicated products or products with lots of variations or customizations
Sensible category and subcategory structure: good for SEO and store organization
Selling in multiple currencies is easy
Loads of shipping options, including real-time shipping calculations and free shipping labels for USPS
Complete control over tax options: per region, per country, per product, per group etc
Powerful abandoned cart email features: send different emails at different times with special offers
Powerful and extensive analytics and reporting included in all plans
Comprehensive and flexible SEO options
Responsive and knowledgeable customer support available via chat or phone 24/7
App store: there are a lot of apps to choose from
What I don’t like about BigCommerce
Automatic price increases: If your turnover exceeds certain thresholds, you get bumped up to a higher priced plan automatically
Limited themes: There aren’t enough free themes and the range of paid themes is less impressive than its competitors
The Page Builder is more difficult to use and less fully featured than other page designers
Selling in multiple languages is dependent on a paid app
Selling subscriptions or recurring payments is dependent on a paid app
No built-in POS (Point of Sale) solution
Not the best support for Drop-Shipping
No email marketing functionality: you’ll need to use a paid app
Abandoned cart email features not available on the entry-level plan
Automatic backups are dependent on a paid app
