Magento vs. Shopify vs. BigCommerce

Q: What is the difference between Magento BigCommerce and Shopify?

Magento is an e-commerce platform with great flexibility for enterprise-level e-commerce stores. At the same time, Shopify and BigCommerce are suitable for small and medium-level e-commerce stores and offer exclusive features such as hosting, security, etc.

Q: Which features of each platform make them unique from each other?

If we compare Magento vs. Shopify, Magento has a unique feature of advanced product bundling, while Shopify has in-built marketing tools. If we talk about BigCommerce, it provides headless commerce options.

Q: Why should you integrate Magento 1 into Magento 2?

Magento 2 is better than Magento 1 in many ways, including page loading speed, performance, and checkout. That’s why it is advisable to integrate Magento 1 with Magento 2.

# Magento # Shopify

10 Mins

Jayram Prajapati · 17 Jun 2024

Comparision between Magento vs Shopify vs BigCommerce

Starting an online store is exciting, but with so many platforms out there, choosing the right one can be a headache! With the increasing competition, these e-commerce platforms are looking to maintain existing customers and attract new ones to grow their e-commerce stores. But if we compare e-commerce platforms, Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce are at the top of the list of feature-rich companies. Also, they have customization options that will suit your e-commerce store needs. They may look similar but are different if we compare them feature wise.

If you are thinking of building an e-commerce store, we recommend these three giant platforms. However, I prefer to read this guide before selecting between these three: Magento vs. Shopify vs. Bigcommerce. This guide can help you make a wise choice that will help you achieve your goals and fulfill the needs of your e-commerce store.

Let's begin by comparing Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce in detail. We'll have a better sense when we compare these three. Because they have a considerable market share and are adapting to market changes to attract new customers, let us look at this guide.

Overview of Magento vs. Shopify vs. Bigcommerce

Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce are the platforms that can be distinguished by their structure, hosting method, theme options, ease of use, and many other functionalities. Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform. It is mainly used by large enterprises with complex features. Magento is a scalable platform perfect for businesses needing unlimited possibilities to customize e-commerce stores. It is one of the biggest self-hosted and best e-commerce platforms for thousands of stores owned by individual and biggest brands.

Shopify and BigCommerce are hosted solutions. You need to pay monthly subscription fees to use their dynamic features. You can easily create your e-commerce store with any of these platforms within minutes. Shopify and BigCommerce are great for users with limited knowledge of technologies, but both provide limited customization possibilities.

It is important to highlight that e-commerce store owners currently using Magento 1 prefer to switch to Magento 2. Migration is required to increase the store's functionality and adapt to new features. While Shopify and BigCommerce can help you manage your business quickly, they also support SaaS. The Shopify app store is designed for new e-commerce store owners, while BigCommerce is for small and medium-sized firms. BigCommerce's e-commerce store capabilities offer a high level of scalability and flexibility.

Comparison of Magento vs. Shopify vs. BigCommerce

We are going to compare Magento vs. Shopify vs. BigCommerce in detail. This comparison will ease your difficulty and help you decide which is right for your e-commerce store. Along with this e-commerce platform comparison, you also need to consider the needs, budget, time, and energy consumed.

1. Platform Popularity

There are various e-commerce platforms that let you create online stores. But among all these, we consider three magento, Shopify and BigCommerce as best due to their popularity. There is no doubt in believing that why they are popular because of the unique features and functionalities they provide.

From the recent quarterly data reports, we can get an idea about their popularity from the number of live stores.

Number of Magento Stores: 146,027
Number of Shopify Stores: 23,34,033
Number of BigCommerce Stores: 43,985

Magento: Magento is often considered a perfect solution for medium and large-sized e-commerce stores. However, this is not always true; it is also suitable for small store owners who are thinking of expanding their e-commerce stores in the future. Magento is an open source e-commerce platform and a fully scalable option, which makes it a popular choice among users. You can develop a fully functional Magento store with our Magento Development service.

Shopify: What matters a lot here is that different websites use different platforms. So, they would have different choices of the e-commerce platforms. If we talk about the small e-commerce stores, they would choose Shopify. There is a reason why people choose Shopify: it is easy for beginners to use when they enter the e-commerce field. It also provides free and easy customizable shopify themes.

BigCommerce: BigCommerce is a preferable option for small and medium-scale store owners. You need not buy hosting if you choose BigCommerce as your e-commerce platform. Moreover, it provides different packages to meet your e-commerce store's necessities. You can opt for BigCommerce development services to understand the packages that suit your needs.

2. Speed & Performance

Your visitors are potential customers, but what if they return due to the slow loading? Slow loading can increase the bounce rate on your e-commerce store. Focus on the factors such as speed and performance. These are the major factors that can impact your store’s sales. If your e-commerce store is not marked at a speed and performance, customers won’t visit them again.

Magento: Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform that allows you to select hosting services based on your store's needs. You can select your server and make adjustments accordingly. Magento offers two options: open-source and Adobe Commerce. You will be responsible for everything, including hosting your e-commerce store. With this strategy, you may meet the basic needs of an e-commerce store. If you choose Adobe Commerce, your store will be hosted in the cloud, ensuring your site is always online.

Shopify: When you compare Magento vs Shopify for hosting, Shopify is a completely hosted solution. If you own the Shopify app store, there is no need to worry about the loading speed or the performance. As Shopify is a hosted solution, you can’t do anything about this if any errors occur. You will have no control over the server or hosting.

BigCommerce: When choosing BigCommerce as your e-commerce development partner, remember it is a hosted solution with some limitations. In the comparison of Shopify vs BigCommerce, both are the same to some extent. In terms of speed, it uses the fast AWS hosting infrastructure. But if you plan on growing your e-commerce store greatly, your customisation possibilities may be limited. So, from this point of view, BigCommerce is only ideal for beginners.

3. Payment Gateway Options

Smooth payments are necessary for both store owners and end users. Your customers may use different payment methods, so you need to provide multiple payment gateways. This will ease and smoothen your payment system and improve the customers' shopping experience.

Magento: Magento's modules improve the functionality of your e-commerce store. There are several modules and add-ons for setting among the available modules. To attract more customers to your e-commerce site, you can provide a variety of payment methods, including cards, wallets, and subscriptions. You can hire Magento developer who can create a module to fit your payment gateway needs. With IoCheckout Magento Extention, you can create a custom payment method with your brand logo.

Shopify: In the case of Shopify, you will find a variety of plugins that let you set up your payment gateways. When integrated with your Shopify app store, Shopify plugins contain unique features that can make the payment system easier. Well-known Shopify plugins, including PayPal, authorize.net, and Stripe, are widely used worldwide. If you hire a Shopify developer, he will help you upgrade your payment system using plugins that suit your needs.

BigCommerce: BigCommerce offers many payment gateway integrations, offering smooth and secure transactions for both store owners and customers. It serves a global customer base with over 65 payment gateway options that are available right out of the box, support for over 100 countries, and 250 local payment methods. This includes popular digital and mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and Venmo, enhancing the convenience and flexibility of your store’s payment system.

4. Extensions & Plugin

E-commerce platforms' basic functionality may not always be enough to suit the needs of an e-commerce store. That's where extensions come in, which contain functionality needed to grow your store. Some extensions are free, while others need to be purchased. If you have an e-commerce store on one of these three platforms, you can use them to improve its functionality.

Magento: Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform with a collection of extensions. These extensions are easy to use and associated with the Magento backend. Magento's popularity comes from its extensions, which offer unique functionality and features. If you want to include any of these extensions, you should not need to create code. You can find many Magento extensions on the Adobe Store and our website. Elightwalk Technology also provides customization services for Magento Extensions Development.

Shopify: Shopify also provides multiple store upgrades for the Shopify app store. You can easily integrate it into your shopify store. It will improve the user experience and functionality of your Shopify app shop. You may also use Shopify development services to help you deploy extensions where you need them. Intsall our best Shopify plugin the Free Shipping Bar and Upsell for improve your store business.

BigCommerce: BigCommerce offers different package options for its customers. The basic version offers limited options and can’t take advantage of add-ons. You need to opt for the premium version, which offers features such as API access, SSL, and a lead generator for store development. Connect with BigCommerce development services to get a suitable package if you are considering updating your store from basic to premium.

5. Inventory Management

Any e-commerce store should have an effective inventory management system. It provides detailed information about your e-commerce store's sales and revenue. If we compare Magento vs Shopify vs BigCommerce, all features are different for inventory management systems that are customized for the demands of e-commerce stores. Any inventory management system should include basic functionality, including:

Inventory Import
Category for the different products
Filter option
Product and price variation

Magento: Magento offers a basic inventory management system that combines all of the features stated above in its free version. Still, if you choose the paid version, you will greatly benefit from the additional features. These features help you understand product characteristics like colour and size. You can also connect with third-party services to extend your distribution range. If you hire Magento developer team they will help you implement these advanced features for your e-commerce store.

Shopify: Shopify is only available for small and medium-sized stores. Because of its simple interface, you can utilize an inventory management system. However, for your expanding store, Shopify plugins are the ideal choice for advanced features. If you opt for Shopify development services, you can get an idea about the plugins that can increase your store’s functionality. Advanced features such as promotional flash sales and discounts for registered users might help you attract customers.

BigCommerce: BigCommerce's inventory management tool is only available to middle-sized businesses. BigCommerce offers packages that enable you to have an unlimited number of products in inventory, but the size varies. It is not suitable for large companies due to its limited hosting capacity. If you also don’t know which package will suit your needs and for effective inventory management, contact Elightwalk for more details and a clear conversation related to e-commerce development.

6. Price Comparison

Different pricing plans can decide the future of your e-commerce store. All e-commerce stores may have different prices, and some options may be costlier. Before choosing any of these options, keep in mind that these costs include not just the initial costs to set up the system but also the ongoing maintenance, security, and hosting fees, which contribute to your total cost of ownership.

Magento: As we know, Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform. It is free to download from Magento’s website. You need to pay for the hosting, development, security, and design costs to make its practical usage. This option comes without any support. If you opt for the Magento Enterprise edition, it may prove expensive. But this option comes with a support system. If we compare Magento vs. Shopify, it offers on-premise and cloud-based services. But, like Shopify and Bigcommerce, Magento doesn’t have the advantages of SaaS. Magento Enterprise Edition costs up to $22000 to $125000 per year.

Shopify: Before building your Shopify app store, understand its different pricing models. These pricing models are decided based on the complexity of the business. There are three main Shopify plans: basic, advanced, and Shopify Plus. The basic plan may cost up to $29 monthly, billed annually with a few features. Shopify plans suitable for growing businesses may cost $79 per month, billed annually. On the other hand, an advanced plan may cost you $299 per month. Shopify Plus is created for large enterprises with complex structures that may cost $190000 annually. The price you must pay for the features you may need for your e-commerce store may exceed your budget. So, look up the features you may need to add to the pricing plan before choosing.

BigCommerce: If we compare Shopify vs. BigCommerce for pricing, there is no vast difference between them. It is also an affordable solution with different pricing plans. Like the Shopify app store, the basic plan to build a BigCommerce store starts from $39 per month. For the advanced plan, you must estimate $105 and $399. And for the enterprise level, there is no fixed pricing. The price of this plan depends on the business's requirements.

7. Hosting

E-commerce platforms differ in terms of hosting methods. There are two main ways to host them: on-premise or in the cloud. Let’s look at how Magento, Shopify, and Bigcommerce are hosted.

Magento: Magento is a PaaS (platform as a service) that can run on both on-premise and cloud-based services. You may be responsible for selecting a hosting provider because Magento's hosting capabilities are decided by how you use the platform. If you are unsure which hosting service to choose, Magento development services can help.

Shopify: When comparing Magento vs. Shopify, you can get hosting service included when you buy the subscription. Shopify supports cloud hosting. One of the advantages of creating a shopify app store is that you may not need to deal with a third party for the hosting solutions.

BigCommerce: If we compare Magento vs. Shopify vs. BigCommerce, excluding the customization capacity, BigCommerce is like an all-in-one hosting package. It runs off of the cloud and includes hosting plus best-in-class performance in the subscription. You won't have to worry about obtaining hosting or dealing with delays because BigCommerce promises an industry-leading 99.9% uptime.

8. Theme Selection

Your site’s appearance decides the customer engagement rate. Many shoppers' first impressions of your online store are based on its appearance, so you want it to be a clean, functional, memorable extension of your brand. To achieve the desired style and feel, select the appropriate template or theme for your website.

Magento: If you choose Magento, you have two options: free and paid themes. The free version offers a large collection of themes. Premium themes come with a price tag and several options. The paid themes often offer more advanced features and customization options than the free ones. Also, premium themes usually come with dedicated customer support for any issues or questions.

Shopify: If you choose Shopify, it offers free and paid themes. These themes can easily be integrated with your Shopify app store. You can choose free themes if you are a beginner, but for more customization and advanced features, it is advisable to use paid themes. You can select from various themes to find one that fits your brand and appearance smoothly. You can also hire a Shopify developer to create a visually attractive store.

BigCommerce: BigCommerce has five free themes and 12 styles. You can change the color and layout of certain elements. With fully customizable themes, you can create a professional-looking store. BigCommerce also provides a paid theme option for more customization. You can hire BigCommerce developer to customize your e-commerce store's parts that let customers stay and shop.

9. Security

Magento, Bigcommerce, and Shopify are known as the best e-commerce platforms for several reasons. If they compromise security, they can’t afford this mistake. Any kind of vulnerable attack on the site can leak sensitive information, such as customer data. These mistakes can ruin customers' trust in the e-commerce platform. To protect your e-commerce stores, you need to take various measures and apply best security practices.

Magento: If you want to build your e-commerce store with Magento, its security is up to you. You can use Magento development services to understand the security measures that must be implemented. It is based on your magento developer. You need to take care of and upkeep the SSL certificate.

Shopify: If you use Shopify for your e-commerce site, you can gain significant benefits. When comparing Magento with Shopify regarding security, Shopify is a security-focused SaaS service. Shopify passed PCI standard testing in six categories and provides SSL security on its hosted websites. Shopify is also committed to its customers' security, ensuring that no data breaches or leaks will occur due to its strict security.

BigCommerce: If we compare Magento, BigCommerce, and Shopify regarding security, BigCommerce is a highly secure platform. Even in comparing Shopify vs. BigCommerce, it provides multiple layers of solid security. Business owners who choose BigCommerce can concentrate on performance innovation and grow their business. BigCommerce is level PCI-1 certified and offers lightning-fast speed, 99.9% uptime, DDOS protection, and SSL security across the entire website.

10. Customization and Control

If we compare Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce, the main difference between the three is customization, and the other is control. Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform that is completely scalable. Magento users can completely control their e-commerce store's design and functionality. Shopify and BigCommerce both provide a user-friendly experience with pre-built templates. E-commerce store owners can begin their store quickly.

Magento Magento is a customizable, self-hosted solution. You have complete control over the selection of servers and hosting. If we talk about customization capacity, Magento is at the top of these three. Because it is an open-source e-commerce platform, you will have almost limitless design customization options. You should update and customize your store from time to time without worrying about integration.

Shopify: It is simple to create a Shopify app store because it is a hosted solution. Also, even if you lack a high level of technical knowledge, it can be utilized correctly. It minimizes the need for complicated configuration or hosting. Keep in mind that your e-commerce store may have limited customization choices.

BigCommerce: If we compare Shopify vs. BigCommece, we can see that both are hosted solutions. BigCommerce is a convenient and effective e-commerce platform for individuals who want to avoid the complexity of hosting issues. With our BigCommerce development services, you can easily host an e-commerce store by creating an account. BigCommerce offers a few customization options. Yet, it may be a better solution for individuals who wish to focus on store growth by developing strategies.

11. Ease of use

Any E-commerce platform’s success depends on its ease of use. Your team of developers must understand how to use the system's features and take maximum advantage of the platform.

Magento: Magento is suitable for large-scale enterprises with high customization capacity and flexibility. If you hire Magento developer, you can customize your store as per your needs. You can do anything as it is an open-source e-commerce platform. It is more user-friendly than any other platform. All you need to have technical knowledge to develop your e-commerce store. If you don’t have one, you can also take the help of magento development services.

Shopify: Shopify is an ideal platform for users who want ease of use without technical knowledge. If you want to create a Shopify app shop, you can quickly do so because Shopify includes a drag-and-drop feature. To start a Shopify store, follow a few simple steps to guarantee it runs well. If you want more advanced features, you can hire Shopify Developer who can help you understand the additional features required for your store.

BigCommerce: BigCommerce is a user-friendly option that lets you create your e-commerce store easily, even if you haven't created it before. It is easy to add orders and manage them after the initial setup. If we compare Shopify and BigCommerce, both have an easy-run process for building an e-commerce store. But one thing that I keep remembering is that it doesn’t allow customization. If you want to add different features such as pop-in, CTA, or a custom plugin, you can’t. You must solve this issue by seeking an alternative or help from Bigcommerce development services.

12. Annual Growth Rate and Trends

Shopify:

Shopify’s user growth rate is approximately 20-25% annually.

Shopify's popularity increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to grow, with expanding interest from international markets.

Magento:

Growth for Magento has been more moderate, at around 7-10% annually, focusing on enterprise adoption and premium services.

Growth is driven by larger companies needing complex integrations and customizations.

BigCommerce:

BigCommerce experiences 12-15% annual growth, especially among mid-size businesses looking for scalable solutions.

Increased partnerships with marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay have boosted BigCommerce’s appeal.

Essence

Choosing the best e-commerce platform among the various can feel like a struggle. We've analysed the top e-commerce platforms: Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce, which are the most popular e-commerce platforms for budding online stores. Every platform is based on your business requirements and flexibility . Whatever your business type, we provide e-commerce services that cater to your specific needs and goals. Our team of expert developers can guide you through the process of selecting the best platform for your online store.

Magenot is the most reliable platform, with extensive customisation and scalability for growing businesses. Hire Magento Developer from our team to design a store that reflects your distinct vision. Shopify is a great option for beginners because of its large app store and user-friendly interface. Our Shopify Development Services can have your store up and running quickly. BigCommerce is a good choice because it strikes a nice balance between features and usability.

Also read: What is Shopify Development? A Distinctive Guide to Build Online Store

Elightwalk Technology is helping businesses develop e-commerce solutions for better sales and cover all aspects of the online shopping experience. Contact Us to schedule a consultation call on upgrading or developing your e-commerce store.

Table of contents

FAQs for Magento vs Shopify vs BigCommerce

What is the difference between Magento BigCommerce and Shopify?

Which features of each platform make them unique from each other?

Why should you integrate Magento 1 into Magento 2?

Jayram Prajapati

Full Stack Developer

Jayram Prajapati brings expertise and innovation to every project he takes on. His collaborative communication style, coupled with a receptiveness to new ideas, consistently leads to successful project outcomes.

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