Both BigCommerce and Magento are the most popular eCommerce platforms. BigCommerce vs Magento is considered to be the most controversial debates of all time.
If you are just starting your online business or planning to switch platforms – a decision to choose between the two is always tricky!
You are probably wondering why is it important to choose the best platform to build an online store. Well, here are some reasons to make an appropriate choice!
It is well known that selling online is not easy. Just because you have set up a website doesn’t mean you will get the desired results.
Only the best use of your eCommerce platform will enable you to render a shopping experience loved by the users. Also, the same technology should make it easier for you to operate your business.
You just can’t afford to have an eCommerce platform that holds you back. You should be able to process the orders quickly as well as product information should be easy to manage.
Of course, the eCommerce development company will be able to guide you better on what platform to choose.
However, just so that you’re clear about the basics, we will be doing an in-detail Magento vs BigCommerce comparison in this blog!
☛ Fun Facts First!
Almost 1,00,000 people started selling online with the help of BigCommerce. It offers the most in-built features as compared to any eCommerce platform.
Some of the big names in the industry using BigCommerce are Toyota, Kodak and Ben & Jerry’s.
Currently, 2,50,000 online stores run on Magento. Clearly, it’s a popular choice! It is an open-source platform which means anyone can use it. However, you need to have enough coding knowledge.
Now, let’s get down to the head to head BigCommerce vs Magento comparison!
Difference Between BigCommerce & Magento
The basic difference between Magento and BigCommerce is their hosting setup and the amount of technical knowledge you need to get the most out of them.
Hosting is a type of service that allows you to go online with your ready website.
BigCommerce is a complete package which means you don’t have to worry about your website hosting. On the other hand, Magento is a self-hosting platform which means it needs separate hosting. Self-hosting is, of course, a more complicated option.
To use a self-hosting platform you need to have the technical knowledge to make the most out of it. But the advantage of self-hosting is that you have the flexibility to decide the look and feel of your website.
Magento is suitable for tech-savvy business owners wanting flexibility and doesn’t mind investing time in connecting to a host.
On the contrary, BigCommerce is best for large businesses that want to grow fast due to its range of features.
Pros & Cons:
☛ BigCommerce Pros
- Amazing SEO functions
- You can sell across multiple channels
- Most number of built-in features
☛ BigCommerce Cons
- Complicated editing
- No mobile app
- It uses complex terminology
☛ Magento Pros
- It is free to run
- Huge community support
- Flexibility in design
☛ Magento Cons
- Coding knowledge is required
- Time-consuming
- You have to pay for hosting and apps
User-Friendly:
While running a business, your focus should be customer service and products. You definitely don’t want to spend your entire time in building, customizing and editing a website. For that, you need a platform that is easy to use.
In terms of being user-friendly, BigCommerce turned out to be a little problematic for frontend designing. Its editing interface is divided into two areas: the storefront and the inventory.
Having said that, BigCommerce also has an option of keyboard shortcuts like ‘AP’ to add products. The recently introduced ‘Store Design’ allows you to track the effects of your edits.
Both Magento and BigCommerce use complicated terminology on all their pages.
But it is more difficult to use overall as you need to know some code. You’re more likely to get in trouble while using Magento and there is no support to help you out.
☛ Verdict – User-Friendly
When it comes to being user-friendly, the clear winner in BigCommerce vs Magento debate is BigCommerce. Of course, because it is easier to use and doesn’t require any hosting integration.
Also, no coding knowledge is required for the customization of your website. Everything is available right on the dashboard!
If you don’t want to do everything yourself, there is an option to hire Magento development services in the USA to get the best outcome.
Design Flexibility:
Your website’s appearance is the first thing that will attract your customers. So, you cannot compromise on the appearance of your dream website.
BigCommerce gives you the option to choose from 7 free themes and 50+ paid themes. The BigCommerce responsive templates are flexible too with industry-specific features. You can change from the given themes whenever you want.
Magento has only 12 themes in total including free and paid, out of which only 10 are responsive.
In the case of Magento, you have the advantage of creating your theme from scratch. But as mentioned earlier you need to know substantial coding to achieve that.
If you hire the right Magento development company, you can rest assured of getting an incredible theme. Although Magento is more flexible in terms of design, it will take much longer than BigCommerce.
☛ Verdict – Design Flexibility
When you compare BigCommerce vs Magento in terms of design flexibility, Magento has the unbeatable design prowess. It offers much more flexibility just because it is a complicated platform.
Simply put, the Magento eCommerce platform will allow you maximum customization as long as you have the coding knowledge.
Build Time:
If it is easier to work with the platform, it will be easier to go online. Similarly, if the platform is not user-friendly, more development time will be required.
As mentioned earlier, BigCommerce is a complete package. All the required resources to build your store are available in BigCommerce.
Due to all these reasons, you will be good to go with your online store in a few hours. Additionally, it requires less technical knowledge because there’s no need for coding.
On the contrary, creating a store with Magento may take much longer. You will have to create a store as well as connect it to a host. As it is technically demanding, Magento is perfect for tech-savvy people but not for people with no coding experience.
☛ Verdict – Build Time
In this Magento vs BigCommerce round, BigCommerce development has got an upper hand. Using Magento will take up more time as you need to build the store and manage to host too. With BigCommerce, you are good to go in a few edits.
Tools & Features:
As already mentioned earlier, BigCommerce has a huge variety of in-built tools. So, it really takes away the spotlight here. Also, BigCommerce is the only platform on which you can sell physical, digital and service-based products.
You can access more than 600 apps. We agree this is lesser than other platforms but it is only because BigCommerce already has so many in-built features.
Some of its best selling features include:
- Abandoned cart recovery – It has managed to win back almost 12%-15% of its customers by sending recovery mails. Recovery emails are for customers who abandon their shopping carts.
- Analytical tools – You can manage your BigCommerce enterprise site’s performance with the help of campaigns, sessions and overall sales reports.
- SSL certificate – Every payment is safe with the data encryption technology used in BigCommerce.
To be honest, Magento is not very far behind with its substantial range of features.
It allows you to sell physical and digital products as well as send products to multiple locations in a single order. Moreover, you have a range of more than 3000 paid and free extensions.
Some of its best selling features include:
- Custom coupon codes – Providing personalized coupon codes to customers will encourage them to make purchases.
- Advertisement banners – Targeted links on your website banner may increase your conversion rates.
- Integration of pre-order features – You can automatically send an email to customers before the release of a product.
☛ Verdict – Tools & Features
As you may have guessed, BigCommerce wins this BigCommerce vs Magento debate. It is the best choice for large businesses as the built-in features render the most selling power.
On the contrary, with Magento, you can choose from a range of 3000 extensions to customize your online store.
Pricing:
The BigCommerce cost is divided into three main plans:
- Standard – $29.95/month
- Plus – $79.95/month
- Pro – $249.95/month
All these BigCommerce enterprise pricing plans are suitable for different business sizes. For instance, the standard plan is perfect for small businesses that sell up to $50k/year. Unlimited products for sale, coupon generator and 24/7 support are all included in this plan.
The Plus plan has the abandoned shopping cart features and can store credit cards. The Google customer reviews and product search filter features in the Pro plan make it appropriate for businesses selling up to $400k/year.
BigCommerce also offers an Enterprise plan for much bigger companies and offers the most advanced tools. The price depends on the quote you are given and you need to contact BigCommerce directly to get one.
If you are not so much convinced, BigCommerce offers you a 15 day trial period before you buy.
In the case of Magento, the platform is actually free but you have to pay for other things required to run your store. Depending on the size of your Magento store, the Magento eCommerce pricing may vary. The price may start from as low as to $4/month to $1k/month.
☛ Verdict – Pricing
There is a tie in the BigCommerce vs Magento discussion in terms of pricing. BigCommerce gives you the options of clearly defined plans with lots of built-in features.
But Magento enables unlimited customization. It may cost you a few dollars a month or more than $1k – it’s all on you!
Conclusion
We hope we didn’t give you too much information to process. As Magento and BigCommerce are two of the leading platforms there is a lot to compare.
The additional Magento community vs Magento enterprise options make the decision making the process more difficult.
We have discussed all the main points to help you decide between BigCommerce vs Magento for your project.
At the end of the day, the final decision will be on the basis of your unique project needs and budget. Either of the platforms will get you there provided they are the right fit.
If you’re still not clear about what to choose, you can always hire an eCommerce developer to guide you as per your project requirements.
