Battle of the Titans: BigCommerce vs Magento

When it comes to choosing the ideal e-commerce platform for your online business, the decision often boils down to BigCommerce vs Magento. These two powerful platforms have garnered significant popularity among entrepreneurs looking to establish and manage their online stores effectively. However, determining which one is better for your store requires a thorough examination of its features, pricing, security, and more. In this article, we will delve into the comparison between Magento and BigCommerce, providing insights to help you make an informed decision that aligns with your business goals and requirements.

Overview

However, before reaching the main part, let us give you an overview of these two popular E-commerce platforms.

What is Magento?

Magento is a popular platform for creating online stores. It’s considered an open-source e-commerce platform, meaning the base code is free to use and modify. This allows for a lot of flexibility in design and functionality. Magento is also known for being scalable, so it can be a good option for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.

Magento officially started development in early 2007 and was acquired by Adobe Inc. in May 2018 for $1.68 billion. According to Wikipedia, over 2.5 million people downloaded it, and more than 150,000 stores were built with it. In 2019, people sold $155 billion worth of goods through Magento stores.

Here are some of the key features of Magento:

• Shopping cart system: This is the core functionality of any e-commerce platform, and Magento provides a robust and feature-rich shopping cart system.
• Content management system (CMS): Magento also includes a CMS, which allows you to easily create and manage the content on your online store.
• Marketing tools: Magento provides a variety of marketing tools to help you promote your online store and reach new customers.
• Search engine optimization (SEO) tools: Magento includes a number of features to help you improve the SEO of your online store.
• Catalog management tools: Magento makes it easy to add, edit, and manage your products.

Related Post: Popular Magento Alternatives & Competitors in 2024

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is a fully hosted e-commerce platform that simplifies online store management being used by nearly 62,000 stores (ConnectPOS). With its user-friendly interface and all-in-one solution, businesses can easily set up and customize their stores. BigCommerce provides a range of built-in features for product management, SEO, marketing, and secure payment integration. Backed by a supportive community and dedicated support, BigCommerce provides a seamless experience for online retailers.

Here are some of the key features of BigCommerce:

• **Sell lots of stuff: There’s no limit on the number of products, files, or how much traffic your store can handle (on paid plans).
• Easy checkout: Customers can buy your products with a simple, one-page checkout process.
• Rarely down for maintenance: BigCommerce stores are known for being reliable and almost always available (uptime of 99%).
• Show off your products: You can easily add videos to your product pages to give customers a better look.

So, we have some basic information about Magento and BigCommerce, let’s check out the detailed comparisons below to have the most reasonable answer to the question “Which choice is better?

BigCommerce vs Magento: Full Features Compared

BigCommerce vs Magento: Popularity

First of all, maybe the popularity will reflect exactly the capability and reliability of each platform. In comparing BigCommerce vs Magento, it’s interesting to consider their respective levels of acceptance among online retailers and the general public.

According to BuiltWith, as of today, there are 142,010 active Magento websites, while there are only 44,796 active BigCommerce websites . Therefore, in terms of popularity, Magento is more popular than BigCommerce.

However, you can see that even when BigCommerce reaches its highest point in one recent year, it is approximately equal to Magento 2’s lowest point simultaneously. Obviously, the popularity of the Magento platform is indisputable!

Famous brands using Magento:

• Coca Cola
• Nike
• Tesla
• Samsung
• Ford
• 20th Century Fox Famous brands using BigCommerce:
• SkullCandy
• LARQ
• Molton Brown
• Ben & Jerry’s

BigCommerce vs Magento: Hosting

Within different options, Hosting is the biggest difference between them. When comparing Magento and BigCommerce regarding hosting, there are several factors to consider. Here’s a comparison of hosting aspects for both platforms:

BigCommerce

As a SaaS platform, BigCommerce will support businesses with issues related to hosting, while ensuring an average uptime of up to 99.99%, along with fast page loading speeds and minimal time required to maintain the e-commerce website.

Magento

• Magento Open Source: Businesses purchase hosting from third-party providers specialized in hosting Magento, and they will take care of setting up infrastructure, security, and maintenance, allowing businesses to focus on managing their operations.

• Adobe Commerce on-premise: Businesses have full control over setting up and managing an in-house hosting environment and customizing it according to their needs.

• Adobe Commerce on-cloud: Hosting for the business’s Magento e-commerce website will be provided, set up, managed, and stored on virtual servers of cloud service providers (CSPs) such as AWS, and Microsoft Azure.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Pricing

What about Pricing? Both Magento and BigCommerce are divided into different levels in order to match customers’ demands well.

BigCommerce Pricing

Check the full features of each option right here!

Generally speaking, all BigCommerce packages provide important features and services that make it simple and effective for you to launch your online business. It offers a range of pricing plans to cater to different business needs. Here are the key details about BigCommerce pricing:

• Standard Plan: The Standard plan starts at $29.95 per month. It includes features such as unlimited products, unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth. This plan is suitable for small businesses with moderate sales volumes.

• Plus Plan: The Plus plan is priced at $79.95 per month. It offers additional features such as customer segmentation, abandoned cart recovery, and stored credit cards. It is suitable for growing businesses that require advanced marketing and conversion tools.

• Pro Plan: The Pro plan starts at $299 per month. It provides advanced features like Google customer reviews, custom SSL, and faceted search. This plan is designed for high-growth businesses that require increased scalability and advanced analytics.

• Enterprise Plan: This is the most advanced plan, and its price depends on customer sales. It offers custom pricing tailored to the specific requirements of larger businesses. It provides enterprise-grade features like advanced product filtering, priority support, and custom facets. This plan is ideal for large businesses with complex needs and high sales volumes.

Magento Pricing

The average cost of using Magento ranges from $1,000 to $150,000 for a basic yet functional e-commerce website. However, this number can vary significantly depending on the needs and size of your business.

Here are some factors that affect the cost of using Magento:

Magento Edition:

• Magento Open Source: Free to use, but you need to cover the costs of hosting, maintenance, and extensions.
• Magento Commerce: A paid version with advanced features, technical support, and security. Prices range from $22,000/year for the Gold support package to $40,000/year for the Platinum support package.

Features:

• The number of features you need for your website will affect the development and maintenance costs.
• Advanced features such as multi-payment methods, ERP integration, and data analysis will cost more.

Theme:

• A custom theme will be more expensive than using a pre-made theme.
• The cost of designing a theme depends on its complexity and your requirements.

Hosting:

• You need to host your Magento website on a web server that can meet your performance and security needs.
• The cost of hosting depends on the hosting provider, storage capacity, and bandwidth.

Maintenance:

• Magento needs regular maintenance to ensure security and performance.
• The cost of maintenance depends on the service provider and the level of support you need.

In addition, you also need to consider other costs such as:

• Domain name
• SSL certificate
• Marketing and advertising

Here are some examples of Magento usage costs for different types of businesses:

• Small business: $1,000 - $10,000
• Medium-sized business: $10,000 - $50,000
• Large enterprise: $50,000 - $150,000

To get an accurate cost estimate for using Magento, you should contact a reputable Magento developer for specific advice.

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BigCommerce vs Magento: Design

The better layout of an online store, the greater results the store can achieve. Both of the e-commerce platforms have free design templates, but we can see the different policies among them.

BigCommerce currently provides around 15 free themes, and others are paid from $145 to $235. These themes are all adaptable and simple to customize.

BigCommerce Theme (Bigcommerce.com)

Meanwhile, Magento comes with various free themes by Magento Marketplace and more third-party sites in open source. That means it is possible to customize the design as well as you expect and want. Oppositely, BigCommerce only includes certain design options without any modification, so that you will apply them solidly in your store.

However, you can see a similar point between them: they all support a responsive layout. It is easy for your customers to access via every device like PC, tablet, and mobile. Ensure that the shopping process is always shown fluently everywhere and every time.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Extensions

Both BigCommerce and Magento support a wide variety of extensions on their marketplaces and offer numerous powerful integrated capabilities. However, in terms of extension quantity, Magento is absolutely the winner.

BigCommerce: As a hosted platform, BigCommerce offers robust built-in capabilities to enhance the performance of your online store such as

• Abandoned cart reminders: Store owners can design and distribute automatic emails to any website visitor who browsed the sales funnel but did not finish the transaction

• Analytic tools and reporting: Store owners can manage the effectiveness of their site and evaluate campaigns.

Magento: Magento offers around 5000 powerful built-in features providing a wide range of options to customize and extend the capabilities of your Magento store.

There are some significant Magento extensions that should be mentioned, such as

• Social Login: It is designed to enable quick login to your Magento store without processing complex registration. Especially, this extension is totally free

• One-Step Checkout: It significantly boosts the conversion rate while also lowering the abandonment rate. You do not have to worry about the repetitious back-and-forth motions when standing on your site.

• Layered Navigation: With a user-friendly filtering system, it helps store owners improve SERPs ranking, boost conversion rates, and upgrade customer experience.

• SEO extension: It helps perform perfectly to better your store’s SEO by providing outstanding features that activate automatically after installation without any alterations to the source code.

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BigCommerce vs Magento: Ease of use

Ease of use is one of the factors that e-commerce businesses often consider first when choosing a platform. A platform with a user-friendly interface that is easy to set up and manage will allow businesses to focus on operating their business.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a SaaS platform, which makes it easier for non-technical businesses to build an e-commerce website. There is no need for complex coding, businesses just need to fill in some simple information to access the BigCommerce dashboard. From here, businesses can set up and manage all aspects of their e-commerce store (from adding products to changing the layout).

Magento

On the other hand, Magento users will need to have a certain level of technical expertise to perform tasks when setting up an e-commerce website, including setting up FTP files, integrating themes into the Magento website, and so on. Moreover, making changes such as modifying themes, integrating extensions, uploading security patches, and optimizing speed also requires coding skills.

Therefore, many businesses will choose to cooperate with a Magento specialist to develop and maintain a Magento e-commerce website. However, after completing the initial complex technical setup, businesses can easily customize the attributes and functions for the website in the backend.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Features

The e-commerce platforms were born with the aim of bringing more benefits and contributing to your development. That’s why Magento and BigCommerce both have built-in features which are always ready to use.

For BigCommerce, the users can apply marketing tools, some payment gateways, several sales channels, and so on. Besides, BigCommerce has more than 100 different add-ons, and the merchant has to pay a monthly fee for each add-on.

For Magento which is famous for boosting and increasing online sales, many powerful features include in it such as full control of management (catalog, inventory, customer accounts, …), full page caching, and more. Especially, Magento has improved the checkout step to make the buyer more convenient during shopping than the older generation. Differing from BigCommerce, Magento allows store owners to add as many features as they need, as it is an open source.

Since then, you can see that BigCommerce is a simple platform to use but there are some difficulties if you want to custom according to your status.

BigCommerce vs Magento: SEO

SEO is an important factor in creating trust from customers when running an online business. SEO is optimizing the site to get a high SEO rank on the search engine. According to a ranking of the best e-commerce platforms, Magento is in the second position, and BigCommerce is in the fifth to increase the SEO ranking. So, what makes them become different? Here are some key points to consider:

Magento

• Flexible URL Structure: Magento offers flexible URL structure customization, enabling you to create search engine-friendly URLs for your product and category pages.

• Meta Tags and Content Optimization: Magento allows you to easily manage meta tags, titles, and descriptions for your pages, helping to optimize them for search engine indexing and user visibility.

• **SEO extension: Magento has a wide range of SEO extensions available in the marketplace, providing additional functionalities such as XML sitemaps, rich snippets, canonical tags, and advanced SEO analytics.

BigCommerce

• Build SEO Tools: BigCommerce provides built-in SEO features, including customizable URLs, meta tags, and page titles. These tools allow you to optimize your store’s pages for search engines and improve organic visibility.

• Mobile Optimization: BigCommerce emphasizes mobile responsiveness and provides mobile-friendly themes, which is crucial for SEO since mobile-friendly websites are favored by search engines.

• Redirects and URL Mapping: BigCommerce offers the ability to set up 301 redirects and URL mapping, allowing you to redirect old URLs to new ones and maintain SEO rankings during website migrations or URL changes.

Both BigCommerce and Magento provide essential SEO features to optimize your online store for search engines. The choice between the two depends on your specific SEO requirements, customization needs, and preference for built-in features versus relying on third-party extensions.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Community Support

Which e-commerce platform provides better support service? That is evaluated by the success of online stores.

BigComemrce Community Support

BigCommerce is supported by BigCommerce University which offers educational resources and training materials to help users maximize their experience with the BigCommerce platform. It is a valuable resource for both beginners and experienced users of the platform, offering comprehensive training, ongoing education, and access to a supportive community. Here are some signature programs: Training Courses, Webinars and Workshops, Certification Program, and Resource Library.

BigCommerce University page (Bigcommerce.com)

Magento Community Support

Besides, thanks to the enormous number of users, store owners can interact with Magento Community and even request assistance from the developers who they purchase from. By actively participating in the Magento supporter community, users can tap into a vast pool of knowledge, receive guidance from experienced members, stay updated with platform developments, and contribute to the growth and improvement of Magento. Everything becomes easier and more realistic with the supporter community. It’s a valuable resource for support, collaboration, and staying connected with the broader Magento ecosystem. Some kinds of Magento Community could be Magento Community Forum, Magento Stack Exchange, Magento Marketplace, or Magento User Groups.

Magento Forum (Magento.com)

BigCommerce vs Magento: Payment Options

When it comes to running an e-commerce business, one crucial aspect that can make or break your success is the availability and convenience of payment options for your customers. Each platform will have its own choice in deciding payment options, and so will Magento and BigCommerce.

Magento payment options

As a highly customizable platform, Magento offers a wide range of payment options to cater to diverse customer preferences. With Magento, you have the flexibility to integrate various payment gateways seamlessly. Popular payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, Authorize.Net, and more are readily available as extensions or built-in features within the platform. This allows you to provide your customers with a variety of options, including credit cards, digital wallets, and alternative payment methods.

Additionally, Magento also supports multiple currencies, making it suitable for businesses targeting global markets. This feature enables you to accept payments in different currencies, offering a seamless shopping experience for customers worldwide.

BigCommerce payment options

Similar to Magento, BigCommerce offers a range of payment options to facilitate smooth transactions on your online store. You can integrate leading payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, Square, and more. These integrations enable you to accept major credit cards, digital wallets, and other popular payment methods.

BigCommerce also provides its native payment solution, called BigCommerce Payments, powered by Braintree. This built-in feature allows you to streamline the payment process and enjoy competitive transaction rates without the need for additional payment gateway integrations.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Security

Unfortunately, security risks are considered the biggest trouble of e-commerce. Therefore, when it comes to running an online store, security is of paramount importance. Customers need to feel confident that their personal information and payment details are protected, while businesses need to safeguard their data and prevent potential security breaches.

Magento security

Magento is renowned for its robust security features and commitment to providing a secure environment for e-commerce transactions. Some of the security measures and features offered by Magento include

• Secure Payment Processing: Magento integrates with reputable payment gateways and follows industry standards for secure payment processing, ensuring that customer payment information is encrypted and protected during transactions.

• Secure Sockets Layer Support: Magento supports SSL certificates, which establish a secure encrypted connection between the web server and the user’s browser. SSL ensures that sensitive data, such as login credentials and payment information, is transmitted securely.

• Security Patches and Updates: Magento regularly releases security patches and updates to address any vulnerabilities or potential threats. Staying up to date with these patches is crucial for maintaining a secure online store.

• Two-Factor Authentication: Magento offers built-in support for two-factor authentication, adding an extra layer of security to user logins and admin access.

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BigCommerce security

BigCommerce also prioritizes security and provides a range of features to protect the integrity of your online store. Here are some of the security measures offered by BigCommerce:

• PCI Compliance: BigCommerce is a Level 1 PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certified platform. It means that it adheres to the highest security standards set by the payment card industry, ensuring that customer payment data is handled securely.

• Dedicated SSL Certificates: BigCommerce provides dedicated SSL certificates for every store, encrypting customer data during transmission and maintaining a secure connection throughout the shopping process.

• Regular Security Updates: BigCommerce actively monitors and addresses any potential vulnerabilities. They release regular security updates to ensure that their platform remains secure and up to date.

• Fraud Protection Tools: BigCommerce offers built-in fraud protection tools that help identify and prevent fraudulent transactions, protecting both your business and your customers.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Multi-channel Integration

Multi-channel integration has become essential for e-commerce businesses looking to expand their reach and connect with customers across various platforms and channels. In general, both Bigcommerce and Magento provide robust multi-channel integration options, allowing store owners to seamlessly connect them with various sale channels, marketplace, and social media. Here are some notable features and integrations offered by these platforms:

• Built-in Marketplace Integrations: BigCommerce and Magento offer built-in integrations with popular marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, and Facebook Marketplace. These integrations allow you to synchronize your product listings, manage inventory, and process orders efficiently.

• Social Selling: They also enable you to sell products directly on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. It helps stores leverage the power of social media to drive sales and reach a wider audience.

• API and Third-Party Integrations: Two platforms offer a robust API (Application Programming Interface) that allows shoppers to connect stores with third-party applications and services. This flexibility helps you to integrate with various tools for inventory management, marketing automation, shipping, and more.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Support

BigCommerce Support:

• Dedicated Support Team: BigCommerce offers 24/7 customer support through phone, email, and live chat. They have a dedicated team of experts to assist with technical issues, platform queries, and general inquiries.
• Knowledge Base and Documentation: BigCommerce provides a comprehensive knowledge base and documentation library. It includes guides, tutorials, and FAQs to help users troubleshoot common issues and navigate the platform effectively.
• Community Forums: Users can engage with the BigCommerce community forums to seek advice, share experiences, and learn from other merchants and developers.
• Premium Support Options: BigCommerce offers premium support plans with additional benefits, such as priority assistance, personalized onboarding, and strategic guidance for enterprise-level customers.

Magento Support

• Technical Account Manager (TAM): Magento offers a Technical Account Manager for their enterprise-level customers. The TAM serves as a dedicated point of contact, providing personalized support, strategic guidance, and assistance with complex technical issues.
• Official Support Channels: Magento provides support through phone, email, and an online support portal. Users can submit tickets for assistance and receive responses from Magento’s support team.
• Community Support: Magento has an active community of developers, experts, and merchants who contribute to community forums, blogs, and knowledge-sharing platforms. Users can seek advice, collaborate, and find solutions through these channels.
• Magento Marketplace: Users can access a wide range of extensions, plugins, and themes from the Magento Marketplace, which often come with their own support options provided by third-party developers.

Both BigCommerce and Magento prioritize customer support, offering various channels and resources for assistance. BigCommerce provides 24/7 support with a dedicated team, while Magento offers personalized support for enterprise customers through TAMs. Additionally, both platforms foster community engagement, allowing users to seek guidance from fellow users and experts.

Recognizing the increasing demand for Magento solutions, Mageplaza offers a comprehensive suite of Magento development services. Our goal is to provide targeted solutions that help businesses build, customize, and optimize their Magento stores to drive conversions and grow revenue. Below are our key services:

Magento Ecommerce Website Development : Mageplaza offers comprehensive Magento website development and design services, covering everything from building the site from scratch to integrating seamless payment and shipping solutions.

Magento Custom Development : Our custom development service delivers tailored Magento solutions, including advanced features, integrations, and designs to meet your unique business needs. We specialize in custom modules and personalized functionality to enhance your store’s capabilities.

Magento Migration Service : If you’re planning to move from Magento 1 or another platform to Magento 2, our migration service ensures a smooth transition. We handle secure data transfers with minimal downtime, so your store can operate on the latest platform with improved performance and features.

Magento Upgrade Service : Our upgrade service ensures your Magento store stays updated with the latest features and security patches. We handle the upgrade process smoothly, keeping your store fully functional and optimized for growth.

Magento Integration Service : We can integrate your Magento store with essential third-party systems like CRM, ERP, and marketing tools, helping streamline your operations and automate workflows for improved efficiency.

Magento PWA Development : We develop Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) to enhance your store’s mobile performance, providing app-like experiences that boost engagement and conversion rates.

Conclusion

In the battle of BigCommerce vs Magento, there is no definitive winner. Both platforms offer exceptional features and functionalities, catering to different business needs. To make the right choice, customers need to consider factors such as business size, technical expertise, desired level of customization, and long-term goals. With all the given detailed comparisons, Mageplaza hopes to help customers select the platform that aligns best with their requirements to establish a solid foundation for online businesses to thrive.