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Read time : 8 min
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Published on 20-06-2024
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Article
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Read time : 8 min
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Published on 20-06-2024
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BigCommerce vs Magento: Which Platform Suits Your Online Store Best?

Aakanksha Sharma
Aakanksha Sharma
Content Marketer
BigCommerce vs Magento: Which Platform Suits Your Online Store Best?

In this guide of BigCommerce vs Magento, I'll cut through the complexity to examine their core features, pricing, design flexibility, and overall user experience to help you make an informed decision.

Whether you're drawn to Magento's open-source flexibility or BigCommerce's user-friendly SaaS approach, this analysis aims to clarify which platform can best support your journey to eCommerce success. Let's dive in and find the right fit for your digital storefront.

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is a Software as a Service (SaaS) e-commerce platform that provides businesses of all sizes with the tools they need to set up, operate, and scale an online store. It is known for its user-friendly interface, robust functionality, and extensive integration capabilities. BigCommerce allows merchants to customize their sites, manage shipping and payments, and list products across various channels such as social media and marketplaces. It supports a wide range of industries and is particularly favored for its built-in features that support SEO, marketing, and analytics, helping businesses optimize their online presence and grow their sales.

What is Magento?

Magento is an open source e-commerce platform built using PHP. It is known for its flexibility and its ability to give users control over the functionality and design of their online store.

You can build and manage online shops of any size, with extensive customization achievable through extensions and themes to cater to specific business needs. Magento is well-liked for its strong set of features. These include advanced product management, customer segmentation, promotions, and pricing tools. It also has capabilities for handling complex configurations and large inventories.

Its scalable architecture makes it a popular choice for enterprise-level businesses requiring a high degree of customization and growth. While Magento provides strong SEO performance, comprehensive security features, and benefits from a large developer community, it's important to note that its open-source nature demands more technical expertise for setup and maintenance compared to user-friendly SaaS platforms.

BigCommerce Vs Magento: Main Differences

1. Ease of Use

BigCommerce is super easy to use, perfect for product owners and small teams who aren't tech experts but want a quick setup. Magento, on the other hand, is the go-to for big businesses that want complete control, customization, and room to grow.

We are comparing these two platforms on three parameters: ease of use, setup and onboarding, customization, and store management. Let's take a look at them one by one -

1. Setup and Onboarding

- Setup Wizard: BigCommerce has a simple, step-by-step guide that helps you set up your store quickly and easily by walking you through important elements like store name, currency, and shipping zones. On the other hand, Magento does not have a dedicated setup guide. While there are initial configuration options available, setting up the platform requires a good understanding of the system.

- Template Selection and Customization: BigCommerce offers a variety of pre-designed themes sorted by industry and function. These themes can be easily adjusted using a drag-and-drop editor, allowing for visual changes without needing to code. However, more extensive customizations may still require the help of a developer.

Magento has a wider selection of themes, some of which are free and others paid. However, the abundance of options can make choosing the right one overwhelming. Customizing Magento themes often involves editing code or installing additional extensions, which may require developer expertise.

- Product Import: You can easily add a lot of products at once with BigCommerce. You just use a simple interface and upload a CSV file. This saves you time and makes things easier. Magento also lets you add products with a CSV file, but if your product data is really complicated, you might need some help from a developer to set it up.

- Payment and Shipping Setup: BigCommerce makes it easy to activate a variety of payment gateway integrations with just a few clicks. Setting up shipping configurations is also simple, letting you define zones, rates, and real-time carrier integrations.

In contrast, Magento typically requires manual setup for most payment gateways through extensions, which may need developer involvement. Setting up shipping zones and rates in Magento is also more technical than BigCommerce's interface.

- Trial Period: BigCommerce lets you try its platform for free before you decide to pay. This way, you can check out all the features and see how the setup works. On the other hand, Magento doesn't offer a free trial as a standard option. You have to install the open-source software on your server to test its work.

2. Customization: BigCommerce is great for those who want things to be easy to use. You can customize the layout, colors, and fonts visually using a drag-and-drop editor, without needing to know how to code. They have a range of pre-designed options for different industries in their theme marketplace, which you can quickly customize using the editor. They also have a wide variety of pre-built extensions for common features in their app marketplace, although you might need help from a developer for more complex features.

On the other hand, Magento is designed for developers who want maximum control. You can edit the themes and core files using code to create unique experiences and features that match specific needs. While Magento has a big theme marketplace with many options, making extensive customizations often requires coding knowledge or additional extensions. Magento also has a large extension ecosystem, larger than BigCommerce, but getting these set up and running might need help from a developer due to potential technical complexities.

3. Store Management: BigCommerce is designed to be user-friendly. It has a simple dashboard, allows for single-click updates, and automatically takes care of server maintenance and security patches. On the other hand, Magento requires more technical knowledge for ongoing management. It needs manual software updates, security patches, and server maintenance.

2. Feature Comparison

Feature Category Magento Features BigCommerce Features
Storefront Design Fully customizable design using templates; Support for multiple languages and currencies. Page Builder Visual Editor; Theme Customization; Checkout Customization; Mobile Optimization; WordPress Integration.
Marketing & Promotions Related products, up-sells, cross-sells; Flexible coupons; Multi-tier pricing; Landing page for categories; Newsletter management. Over 70+ native discounts and promotions; Drag-and-drop merchandising; Custom product recommendations.
SEO 100% search engine friendly; Google Site Map; Meta-information for products and categories; Google Content API for shopping. SEO-friendly URLs; Metadata and robots.txt editing; Faceted search built off of Elasticsearch.
Catalog Management Configurable, bundled, and grouped products; Unlimited product attributes; Advanced pricing rules; Inventory management. Scalable catalog managed within BigCommerce control panel or external system; Native credit card vaulting for multiple gateways.
Checkout, Payment & Shipping One-page checkout; SSL security support; Integration with PayPal, Authorize.net; Shipping integration with major carriers. Digital wallets like Apple Pay, Amazon Pay; Customizable checkout experience; Integration with top marketplaces like eBay, Amazon.
Order Management View, edit, create, and fulfill orders; Split fulfillment; Assisted shopping; Customized order status. -
Customer Accounts Account dashboard; Unlimited addresses; Wish list; Order status and history; Re-orders from account. Customer segments for pricing and promotions; B2B features like price lists and bulk pricing; Quote management.
Customer Service Contact Us form; Order and account update emails; Customizable transactional emails. 24/7 technical support; Account Management and Implementation Project Management services.
International Support Localization; Multiple currencies; Tax rate support; EU VAT-ID validation; EU cookie notification. Multi-Currency; Multi-Language; Cross-Border Fulfillment; Global CDN.
Analytics and Reporting Integrated with Google Analytics; Sales report; Abandoned cart report; Best viewed and purchased products report. Reporting & Analytics through BigCommerce Dashboard; Real-time business impact metrics.
Mobile Commerce Mobile HTML5 interface; Support for native applications on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Responsive design; Native app support.
Exclusive Enterprise Features (Magento) Customer segmentation; Dynamic rule-based product relations; Persistent shopping; Automated email marketing reminder; Gift Registry; Store Credits; Multiple Wish Lists; Return Management Authorization. -
Platform Features Full page caching; Support for alternate media storage; PA-DSS Certification/Payment Bridge; Strong data encryption. API-driven commerce; Headless commerce options; Open platform with extensive API support; Certified secure platform.
Reliability & Security - World-Class Uptime; Backup and Restore; Certified Secure platform.
Ecommerce Expertise - In-house experts for quick launch; Supplemental management and support services.

3. Pricing

For businesses with limited technical expertise or budget constraints, BigCommerce's all-inclusive plans and predictable pricing might be a better fit. However, Magento offers greater flexibility and control for established businesses with the resources to invest in development and ongoing maintenance.

Magento Pricing:

- Cost Structure: Open-source software with no licensing fees. However, ongoing costs include: - Hosting: Varies depending on provider and store traffic. Can range from $25/month to several hundred dollars for high-traffic stores. - Themes: Free and paid themes available. Paid themes can range from $100 to several thousand dollars. - Extensions: Free and paid extensions available. Costs can vary depending on the extension's functionality. - Development: May require additional developer resources for customization, maintenance, and integrations. Costs can vary depending on project complexity.

The total cost of ownership for Magento can vary significantly depending on your specific needs. Estimates typically range from $2,000 to $50,000 annually for small to medium businesses, and can reach well over $100,000 for enterprise-level stores with complex requirements.

BigCommerce Pricing:

Cost Structure: Subscription-based pricing with three main plans (Standard, Plus, and Pro) ranging from $29.95 to $299.95 per month. These plans include: - Hosting - Security (PCI compliance and core security measures) - Unlimited products - Mobile-optimized themes - Over 100 payment gateways

  • Additional Costs: While the core features are included in the subscription, additional costs may arise for:

- Premium themes (optional) - Apps (optional - can extend functionality) - Developer assistance (optional - for complex customizations)

BigCommerce offers predictable monthly costs, making it easier to budget for your online store. The total cost depends on the chosen plan and any additional features or development needs. Generally, it's more cost-effective for smaller businesses compared to Magento.

BigCommerce Vs. Magento: Pros and Cons

BigCommerce Pros and Cons -

Pros:

  1. Low Maintenance: Automatic server updates, security patching, and PCI compliance management.
  2. Ease of Use: User-friendly tools for design changes and adding functionalities without coding.
  3. Reduced Costs & Faster Time to Market: Pre-built themes and apps minimize development needs for basic customizations.

Cons:

  1. Limited Control: Drag-and-drop editor and pre-built solutions restrict complex customizations.
  2. Less Flexibility: Themes and apps might not perfectly match specific design visions.

Magento Pros and Cons -

Pros:

  1. Full Technical Control: Fine-tuning performance, security, and scalability for specific needs.
  2. Advanced Security Options: Allows custom security measures beyond BigCommerce's pre-configured options.
  3. Unmatched Control & Scalability: Complete control over customization, functionality, and handling of complex integrations for large-scale businesses.
  4. Future-Proofing: Direct code control enables adaptation to changing technologies and business requirements.

Cons:

  1. Increased Management Burden: Requires dedicated IT support or technical expertise for ongoing maintenance and updates.
  2. Higher Development Costs & Slower Time to Implementation: Reliance on code increases development time and costs for complex customizations compared to BigCommerce's pre-built solutions.

Conclusion

BigCommerce shines for entrepreneurs. Its user-friendly interface, built-in features, and predictable pricing make it perfect for launching and managing a store. Drag-and-drop editing and pre-built themes enable quick customization without extensive coding.

Magento caters to established businesses seeking deep control. Its open-source architecture allows for highly customized experiences, but this flexibility demands technical expertise. Magento requires significant developer resources for setup, maintenance, and ongoing updates.

BigCommerce prioritizes ease of use and affordability, while Magento empowers customization for businesses with the resources to manage it. Choose the platform that aligns best with your priorities

FAQs

1. What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce is a cloud-based eCommerce platform that allows businesses to create online stores, manage and scale their sales with a range of built-in features and integrations.

2. What is Magento?

Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform that provides merchants with a flexible system for managing online sales, including customizable store designs, a wide range of functionalities, and extensive support for third-party integrations.

3. Which is better, Magento or BigCommerce?

The choice between Magento and BigCommerce depends on your business needs. BigCommerce is easier to use and manage, while Magento offers more customization and scalability, suited for larger enterprises with specific needs.

4. Is BigCommerce good for eCommerce?

Yes, BigCommerce is excellent for eCommerce, offering extensive features that support a range of online retail activities including payments, marketing, shipping, and analytics.

5. Is Magento free?

Magento offers a free, open-source version that you can install and customize, but operating it typically requires additional costs for hosting, development, and plugins.

6.Is BigCommerce free?

BigCommerce is not free; it operates on a subscription model with various pricing tiers depending on the features and scale of business operations. Should I use BigCommerce or Magento for my start-up business?

For startups, BigCommerce is often recommended due to its ease of use, lower upfront costs, and minimal maintenance. Magento could be preferable if extensive customization and scalability are critical from the start.

7. Is Magento cheaper than BigCommerce?

Initial costs for Magento can be lower since it is open-source and free to download, but total costs may be higher when considering hosting, development, and maintenance. BigCommerce’s subscription fee includes hosting and security, which might be cost-effective in the long run.

8. Which is the best platform for building an online store?

The best platform depends on your specific business requirements, technical capability, and budget. BigCommerce is user-friendly and quick to start, while Magento is best for custom solutions and scalability.

9. Who are the best hosting providers?

Some of the best hosting providers include Bluehost, SiteGround, and InMotion for general web hosting needs, and AWS or Cloudways if looking for more scalable and robust eCommerce solutions.