BigCommerce vs Shopify: Which Suits Your Australian Store?

BigCommerce and Shopify are both hosted e-commerce platforms, so on either one you skip the servers, security patches and software updates and get on with selling. The difference is in what each is built to do well. Shopify is usually the simpler choice for straightforward retail. BigCommerce tends to pull ahead when your catalogue is large, your pricing is complicated, or you sell to trade and wholesale customers as well as the public.

This guide compares them honestly for Australian retailers, wholesalers and B2B sellers. If you are still weighing up a self-hosted option, start with our WooCommerce vs Shopify comparison.

How each platform works

Shopify is an all-in-one platform with a lean core. Out of the box it covers products, orders, checkout and a clean admin, and you extend it with apps from its very large app store. The ecosystem of themes, apps and developers around it is huge.

BigCommerce is also fully hosted, but it puts more into the core platform. Features that often need an app on Shopify, such as complex product options, customer groups and advanced filtering, are built in. It also describes itself as “open SaaS”, with strong APIs that make it a common choice for connecting to an ERP, an inventory system or a headless front end.

Shopify starts lean and grows through apps. BigCommerce starts heavier and needs fewer of them.

BigCommerce vs Shopify at a glance

Feature	Shopify	BigCommerce
Best suited to	Straightforward retail, fast launch	Large catalogues, complex pricing, B2B
Ease of use	Very beginner friendly	Friendly, with more settings to learn
Core features	Lean core, extended by apps	More features built in
B2B and wholesale	Native tools mainly on the Plus tier	Customer groups and price lists built in
Product options	Fine for most stores, can get fiddly	Handles complex options well
Themes and apps	Very large ecosystem	Smaller but solid
Transaction fees	Extra fee if not using Shopify Payments	No platform fee on supported gateways
Multiple storefronts	Separate brands usually mean separate stores	Several storefronts from one admin

Cost model

Both charge a tiered monthly subscription, with paid themes and apps on top, but the structures differ as you grow.

Shopify’s plans step up mostly by features and reporting. If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, you will usually pay an extra transaction fee on top of your gateway’s own charges. Your real Shopify cost also depends heavily on how many paid apps you need, since many carry their own monthly fees.

BigCommerce does not add its own transaction fee whichever supported gateway you choose. Its plans are tied to your annual online sales, so as revenue passes each threshold you move up a tier. Because more is built in, you may run fewer paid apps.

Plan prices and thresholds change often, so compare current pricing on each platform’s site and model the full picture: subscription, apps, payment processing and development.

B2B and wholesale

This is where the gap is widest. BigCommerce lets you create customer groups, such as retail, trade and distributor, and assign each its own price list, so a trade buyer logs in and sees their pricing automatically. Bulk pricing tiers, categories hidden from certain groups and order minimums are all achievable without stacking apps. Its B2B Edition goes further with company accounts that hold multiple buyers, quotes, purchase orders and payment on invoice.

Shopify can sell wholesale too. Its native B2B features, such as company profiles, custom catalogues and payment terms, have generally been reserved for Shopify Plus, its enterprise tier. On standard plans, wholesale usually means a wholesale app or a separate trade store.

Catalogue size and product options

Both platforms handle thousands of products comfortably. The difference shows in how products are structured. If you sell items with many options, such as sizes, colours, materials, personalisation or pack quantities, BigCommerce’s option and modifier system copes well, including options that change the price or SKU.

Shopify has historically had tighter limits on options and variants per product. It has loosened these, and most retail stores never hit them, but complex configurable products can still push you toward workarounds. Check the current limits against your actual catalogue before you commit.

Apps vs built-in features

Shopify’s app store is its real strength. Whatever you need, someone has probably built an app for it, and our list of must-have Shopify apps covers the ones worth starting with. The trade-off is that each app adds cost, another login and more code running on your storefront.

BigCommerce has a smaller app marketplace, but it leans on it less because more is built in. Fewer moving parts can mean a lighter monthly bill.

Checkout and payments in Australia

Both platforms handle GST, AUD pricing and the payment methods Australians expect, including cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and buy now, pay later options such as Afterpay. Shopify Payments is available in Australia and gives a smooth, integrated checkout. BigCommerce works with a range of gateways, including Stripe and PayPal, without adding its own fee.

Shipping is similar: both connect to Australia Post and common couriers, either natively or through apps. Shopify’s checkout is polished out of the box, while BigCommerce’s can be customised more deeply with development support.

Migration

You can move between the two in either direction. Products, customers and order history can be migrated with import tools or a migration service, but themes do not transfer and apps need replacing. The bigger risk is SEO: if URLs change without proper redirects, you can lose rankings that took years to build. Our website migration guide walks through how to protect your traffic.

Which should you choose?

Choose Shopify if:

• You run a straightforward retail store selling direct to consumers.
• You want the fastest, simplest launch and an admin your whole team can pick up quickly.
• You value a huge range of themes and apps.
• Your wholesale needs are light, or you are ready for Shopify Plus.

Choose BigCommerce if:

• You sell to trade, wholesale or B2B customers who need their own pricing.
• You have a large catalogue with complex options or configurable products.
• You want to run several storefronts or brands from one admin.
• You need to connect to an ERP or inventory system and want strong APIs.
• You want to choose your own payment gateway without an extra platform fee.

Neither platform is the wrong choice for a well-run business. The mistake is picking one that does not match how you sell. Whichever way you lean, our e-commerce team can help you map out your requirements, and we work with retailers and wholesalers through BigCommerce development in Sydney and BigCommerce development in Darwin.

Not sure which platform suits your store? Tell us what you sell and we will come back within one business day with a clear recommendation.