Free Consultation

BigCommerce vs WooCommerce: A Comprehensive Comparison

Contents

When it comes to building a powerful and scalable online store, the debate between BigCommerce and WooCommerce continues to spark discussions in the eCommerce community. Each platform has its loyal supporters and unique strengths—but which one is right for your business?

If you already have your preference, kudos to you! But if you’re still on the fence, Pixel Genesys, a leading mobile and web app development company, is here to help you cut through the noise. In this blog, we provide an unbiased, side-by-side comparison of BigCommerce vs WooCommerce, so you can make an informed decision based on your business needs.

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free, open-source eCommerce plugin designed specifically for WordPress. Originally launched as WooThemes, the platform was later acquired by Automattic, the parent company behind WordPress.

By integrating the WooCommerce plugin into a standard WordPress site, you can seamlessly transform it into a full-featured online store. With its flexibility, wide range of extensions, and customization capabilities, WooCommerce is a favorite among developers and small business owners who want full control over their store’s functionality and appearance.

What is BigCommerce?

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a powerful, cloud-based eCommerce solution designed to help businesses scale quickly. With more than 600 employees and over 20,000 active stores across 120 countries, BigCommerce has positioned itself as one of the fastest-growing platforms in the eCommerce landscape.

Unlike WooCommerce, which requires a self-hosted WordPress site, BigCommerce is a fully hosted, premium platform. For a monthly subscription fee, business owners get access to robust tools, advanced features, and enterprise-grade performance—without the hassle of managing hosting or server maintenance.

BigCommerce makes it easy to create and customize your store, whether you’re selling physical goods, digital products, or services. It’s ideal for business owners looking for an all-in-one solution with scalability and support baked in.

Now that you have a clear understanding of both platforms, let’s dive into a detailed comparison of BigCommerce vs WooCommerce—brought to you by the experts at Pixel Genesys—to help you identify the best choice for your online business.

Ready to Talk About Your Project?

We’re all ears and ready to help. Book a free consultation and let’s discover how we can bring your ideas to life—together.

WooCommerce vs BigCommerce: A Feature-by-Feature Comparison by Pixel Genesys

When it comes to choosing between WooCommerce and BigCommerce, the decision largely depends on your business goals, technical preferences, and growth strategy. In this breakdown, Pixel Genesys, a leading mobile and web app development company, compares both platforms across core categories: ease of store creation, marketing capabilities, checkout features, payment flexibility, and order management.

WooCommerce at a Glance

Let’s begin our side-by-side comparison with WooCommerce, a flexible, open-source WordPress plugin trusted by millions of eCommerce businesses around the world.

1. Building Your Store

WooCommerce offers a wide selection of 20+ customizable themes, including both free and premium options. While WooCommerce gives you more theme flexibility than BigCommerce, it does come with one notable limitation: no built-in drag-and-drop page builder.

To unlock full design control, store owners will need to integrate a third-party page builder such as Elementor or WPBakery. For clients working with Pixel Genesys, our team provides complete WooCommerce theme customization and page building support tailored to your brand identity.

2. Product Flexibility: Sell Anything

One of WooCommerce’s standout features is its versatility. You can sell:

  • Physical products
  • Digital downloads
  • Subscription-based services
  • Exclusive, members-only content
  • Product bundles and variation packages

Whether you’re launching a niche product line or scaling a digital service business, Pixel Genesys can tailor your WooCommerce setup to suit any eCommerce model.

3. Marketing & Promotions

WooCommerce provides powerful built-in tools and integrations to support your marketing efforts:

  • Facebook Ads and Google Shopping listings
  • MailChimp integration for targeted email campaigns
  • Built-in email tools for sending abandoned cart emails, newsletters, and automated follow-ups
  • Coupons, gift cards, and a rewards points system
  • Advanced upselling and cross-selling using “Product Blocks”
  • A native WordPress blog to boost your SEO and content marketing—giving you a major advantage thanks to WordPress being the industry leader in content publishing.

Pixel Genesys helps maximize WooCommerce’s marketing ecosystem with custom plugin integration and automation setup to boost conversions and user engagement.

4. Checkout Experience & Secure Payment Options

WooCommerce supports a comprehensive array of payment solutions, ensuring a smooth checkout process:

  • Major credit and debit cards
  • Bank transfers, checks, and cash on delivery
  • WooCommerce Payments (native gateway)
  • 140+ regional payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, and Square

Credit card transactions are subject to minimal processing fees. With Pixel Genesys, we ensure that your payment integration is optimized for speed, security, and scalability.

5. Inventory & Order Management

While WooCommerce isn’t a standalone platform (it functions as a plugin within WordPress), it still provides a robust back-end for managing your store:

  • Manage inventory and orders through the WordPress dashboard
  • Live shipping quotes from top carriers
  • Automated tax calculations
  • Ability to print shipping labels directly
  • A mobile app (iOS & Android) for managing orders on the go

At Pixel Genesys, our WooCommerce solutions include streamlined workflows, custom dashboards, and integrations that help you operate efficiently—even while mobile.

Ready to Talk About Your Project?

We’re all ears and ready to help. Book a free consultation and let’s discover how we can bring your ideas to life—together.

BigCommerce Overview – Powered by Pixel Genesys

When it comes to choosing a robust and scalable eCommerce platform, BigCommerce stands out as a top contender. In this BigCommerce vs. WooCommerce comparison, let’s dive into what makes BigCommerce a powerful solution—especially when developed and customized by Pixel Genesys, your trusted eCommerce development partner.

1. Website Building Made Simple

With BigCommerce, launching a stunning and professional online store is easier than ever. The platform offers 12 free, responsive themes, with over 50 premium themes available for a one-time fee. All themes are fully customizable through BigCommerce’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, allowing you to personalize every element to reflect your brand identity.

At Pixel Genesys, we help you bring your creative vision to life by enhancing and tailoring these themes with custom design elements, ensuring your store not only looks great but performs seamlessly across devices.

2. Powerful Marketing Features

BigCommerce is equipped with a rich suite of built-in marketing tools to boost your online store’s visibility and conversions. Here’s what you can expect:

  • SEO Optimization
    All BigCommerce templates are optimized for SEO, and include essential features such as sitewide HTTPS, customizable URLs, sitemaps, metadata, and structured data. Pixel Genesys ensures these features are implemented strategically to improve your search engine rankings.
  • Omnichannel Sales
    Sell your products across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, eBay, Amazon, and Google—all from one centralized dashboard. At Pixel Genesys, we help you integrate and manage your sales channels for a unified eCommerce experience.
  • Built-in Blogging
    BigCommerce’s blogging capabilities make content marketing simple. Share product updates, customer stories, and SEO-optimized posts to drive traffic and boost engagement.
  • Email Marketing Automation
    Run smart, automated email campaigns, especially for abandoned carts. Premium users can even segment email lists for hyper-targeted messaging. Pixel Genesys helps you set up and manage your email workflows for optimal engagement.
  • Additional Tools
    From digital coupons and discount codes to gift cards and loyalty programs—BigCommerce equips your store with versatile promotional tools. Our team helps you configure these features to maximize customer retention and revenue.

3. Smooth Checkout & Flexible Payment Gateways

With BigCommerce, your customers can enjoy a streamlined and secure checkout process. The platform supports over 65 payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, and allows seamless integration with digital and mobile wallets.

At Pixel Genesys, we optimize your checkout flow to reduce cart abandonment and increase conversions, ensuring a hassle-free payment experience for every customer.

4. Efficient Store Management

Managing your online business becomes effortless with BigCommerce’s comprehensive inventory and store management tools. Features include:

  • Real-time inventory tracking across multiple sales channels
  • Demand forecasting and trend analysis
  • Centralized dashboard for order and customer management

With Pixel Genesys by your side, you’ll leverage these features to stay organized, make data-driven decisions, and scale your store effectively.

5. Manage On-The-Go with the BigCommerce Mobile App

Need to manage your store while away from your desk? The BigCommerce mobile app allows you to monitor sales performance, track orders, and communicate with customers in real-time—no matter where you are.

Pixel Genesys ensures your store is fully optimized for mobile management, giving you the freedom to run your business from anywhere.

Whether you’re launching a brand-new eCommerce site or migrating from another platform, Pixel Genesys is the development partner you can rely on. We specialize in custom BigCommerce solutions designed to boost your brand, streamline operations, and drive sales.

Let’s build your next big eCommerce success—the Pixel Genesys way.

Ready to Talk About Your Project?

We’re all ears and ready to help. Book a free consultation and let’s discover how we can bring your ideas to life—together.

WooCommerce vs BigCommerce: Customer Support – A Pixel Genesys Perspective

At Pixel Genesys, we believe that robust customer support can make or break your eCommerce experience. Let’s explore how WooCommerce and BigCommerce stack up when it comes to providing assistance to their users.

WooCommerce: Flexible Support Through Community and Documentation

WooCommerce offers a rich ecosystem of self-service resources, including detailed documentation, tutorials, and a vibrant community forum. For most technical or usage-related queries, chances are you’ll find the answer right within these materials.

In addition to community support, WooCommerce users can open support tickets through their account to access help directly from WooCommerce’s support team. For more advanced needs—like custom integrations, UI changes, or full-site optimization—many users turn to experienced developers or a professional mobile app development agency like Pixel Genesys, which specializes in WooCommerce-based store enhancements and custom features.

BigCommerce: 24/7 Real-Time Support and Expert Services

BigCommerce shines in its commitment to real-time customer service. Users have access to 24/7 live chat, phone support, and email assistance, making it easy to get help when you need it most. This level of direct communication is a big win for store owners who value immediate solutions.

Beyond standard support, BigCommerce offers paid premium services, such as personalized coaching for store launches or professional SEO audits (starting at $600). These extras are ideal for businesses seeking a more hands-on approach to optimizing their store.

WooCommerce vs BigCommerce: Pricing Comparison by Pixel Genesys

When choosing the right eCommerce platform, pricing is a critical factor. In this section, Pixel Genesys breaks down the pricing structures of WooCommerce and BigCommerce to help you understand what each platform offers in terms of cost, features, and value.

WooCommerce: Flexible but Potentially Costly

Unlike traditional subscription-based platforms, WooCommerce doesn’t have a fixed pricing plan. As an open-source plugin for WordPress, WooCommerce is technically free to use—but launching a fully functional WooCommerce store comes with several associated expenses.

If you’re using WordPress’s hosted plans, your costs could range from $8 to $45 per month, depending on your hosting tier. On the other hand, running WooCommerce on self-hosted WordPress.org will require you to invest in hosting and a domain name separately. Here’s a breakdown:

  • Domain Name: $10–$15/year
  • Shared Hosting: $36–$120/year (depending on provider and plan)
  • SSL Certificate: Often bundled with hosting, but can cost extra

The real costs of WooCommerce come into play when you begin adding themes and plugins:

  • Premium Themes: Around $60 each
  • Extensions & Plugins: Starting at $25 (some are one-time purchases, others require monthly or annual subscriptions)

For tech-savvy users with development experience, WooCommerce can be extremely cost-effective and customizable. However, if you lack coding skills, you may quickly find yourself reliant on paid plugins and themes to make your store functional and visually appealing.

At Pixel Genesys, we often recommend WooCommerce to clients who need high flexibility and have access to technical support or developers. Otherwise, the cost of customization and plugin dependency may outweigh the initial savings.

Ready to Talk About Your Project?

We’re all ears and ready to help. Book a free consultation and let’s discover how we can bring your ideas to life—together.

BigCommerce: All-in-One Pricing Plans

BigCommerce, on the other hand, offers clear, tiered pricing plans, making it easier for businesses to forecast expenses. All BigCommerce plans include zero transaction fees, unlimited products, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited file storage, and unlimited staff accounts. Here’s a breakdown of the primary plans:

1. Standard Plan – $29.95/month

Ideal for startups, the Standard Plan includes up to $50,000 in annual sales. It supports:

  • Up to 4 online storefronts ($30/month for each additional storefront)
  • Integrated POS
  • Mobile-responsive design
  • Multi-currency support
  • Multiple sales channel integrations

2. Plus Plan – $79.95/month

The Plus Plan is BigCommerce’s most popular option. Annual billing can save you up to 10%. Features include everything in the Standard Plan, plus:

  • Up to 5 online storefronts ($50/month per extra storefront)
  • Abandoned cart saver
  • Customer grouping & segmentation
  • Persistent cart functionality
  • Stored credit card capabilities

This plan is great for growing brands that want to improve customer retention and conversion.

3. Pro Plan – $299.95/month

Built for scalability, the Pro Plan is designed for high-volume stores. It also qualifies for a 10% discount with annual billing. In addition to Plus Plan features, it includes:

  • Google customer reviews integration
  • Advanced product filtering
  • Custom pricing for customer segments
  • Unlimited API calls for ERP integration
  • Priority support and customer success management
  • Enhanced speed and routing options

At Pixel Genesys, we often recommend BigCommerce to clients looking for an out-of-the-box solution with robust built-in features and minimal reliance on third-party tools. Its pricing is transparent, and the scalability makes it a strong contender for fast-growing businesses.

Ready to Talk About Your Project?

We’re all ears and ready to help. Book a free consultation and let’s discover how we can bring your ideas to life—together.

BigCommerce vs WooCommerce: Which Is Right for You?

When it comes to launching your online store, two of the most powerful eCommerce platforms available today are BigCommerce and WooCommerce. Each comes with its own strengths and limitations, and the right choice ultimately depends on your budget, technical skill level, and business goals.

BigCommerce: A Simplified, All-in-One Solution

BigCommerce offers a fully hosted, all-in-one solution, making it ideal for business owners who want a hassle-free setup. With no need for manual installations or technical configurations, you can get your store up and running quickly. BigCommerce handles backups, security, updates, and scalability, allowing you to focus entirely on running your business.

One of BigCommerce’s standout features is its seamless integration with WordPress, which combines powerful eCommerce functionality with content-driven marketing. However, this convenience does come with limitations. You’ll find fewer customization options, limited integrations and themes, and fixed pricing plans. BigCommerce also restricts the use of third-party tools not officially supported on their platform.

WooCommerce: Flexible, Affordable, and Fully Customizable

As a self-hosted eCommerce platform, WooCommerce gives you complete control over your online store. You can choose your own hosting provider, shop around for cost-effective tools, and customize every aspect of your site. This makes WooCommerce a budget-friendly option, particularly appealing to startups and small businesses.

However, with freedom comes responsibility. WooCommerce has a steeper learning curve for beginners and requires some technical know-how to get started. As your business grows, you may also face challenges in scaling and managing performance, depending on your hosting and configurations.

Ready to Talk About Your Project?

We’re all ears and ready to help. Book a free consultation and let’s discover how we can bring your ideas to life—together.

Final Thoughts from Pixel Genesys

At Pixel Genesys, a trusted name in digital solutions and eCommerce development, we believe there’s no one-size-fits-all answer in the BigCommerce vs WooCommerce debate. Both platforms are excellent in their own right, but the best choice depends on your unique business needs.

If you prefer an easy-to-manage, all-inclusive platform, BigCommerce might be the better fit. But if you value flexibility, customization, and long-term scalability, WooCommerce offers unmatched control and cost-efficiency.

Before making your decision, we recommend outlining your technical capabilities, budget, and growth expectations. And if you need expert guidance or a custom solution tailored just for you, the Pixel Genesys team is here to help.

Let us help you build the perfect eCommerce store—no matter which platform you choose.

FAQs: BigCommerce vs WooCommerce — Insights by Pixel Genesys

At Pixel Genesys, we often get questions about the differences between BigCommerce and WooCommerce. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions to help you choose the right eCommerce platform for your business.

No, they are fundamentally different:

  • BigCommerce is a hosted, all-in-one eCommerce solution that offers built-in security, templates, payment integrations, and support. It’s managed by the BigCommerce team, making it ideal for users seeking simplicity and reliability.
  • WooCommerce is a plugin that adds eCommerce functionality to a WordPress website. While it offers unmatched flexibility, you’re responsible for hosting, security, and maintenance.

Pixel Genesys helps businesses determine the better option depending on how hands-on they want to be with their online store’s infrastructure.

Yes, WooCommerce can scale to meet the needs of large eCommerce businesses, provided it’s built and maintained correctly.

Its scalability depends on factors such as:

  • High-quality hosting
  • Efficient website performance
  • Smart use of plugins and themes
  • Optimization for traffic and transactions

At Pixel Genesys, we’ve helped numerous clients scale WooCommerce stores to handle thousands of products and high traffic loads—but it requires proactive management and performance tuning.

Besides BigCommerce and WooCommerce, there are several other reputable eCommerce platforms worth exploring:

  • Shopify – Popular for ease of use and fast deployment.
  • Magento – Ideal for enterprise-level custom solutions.
  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud – Great for large-scale businesses with CRM integration.
  • Volusion – A hosted solution for small to medium-sized businesses.

Pixel Genesys can guide you through a detailed comparison to find the platform that best matches your goals and technical needs.

  • WooCommerce is free to download and use. However, there are associated costs such as hosting, domain registration, premium plugins, and theme purchases.
  • BigCommerce requires a paid subscription. It offers several pricing plans depending on the size of your business and feature requirements.

At Pixel Genesys, we help you budget accordingly, whether you choose an open-source or hosted platform.

Both platforms are scalable—but in different ways:

  • WooCommerce offers high scalability when paired with robust hosting and optimized plugins. It allows full control over design and features, but scaling requires proper development and ongoing maintenance.
  • BigCommerce is built with scalability in mind. It can handle large inventories and high traffic volumes without needing additional plugins. Since it’s a hosted solution, much of the backend scalability is managed for you.

Pixel Genesys works with clients to design scalable solutions on both platforms, ensuring performance remains consistent as your business grows.

Both platforms can be secure when properly managed:

  • BigCommerce offers built-in security features like SSL, PCI compliance, DDoS protection, and automatic backups. It is a great choice for businesses wanting out-of-the-box security.
  • WooCommerce can also be highly secure, but it requires manual setup. Security depends on the quality of your hosting provider, the plugins you use, and how well your site is maintained.

At Pixel Genesys, we implement best practices to secure WooCommerce stores—including firewalls, malware scanning, regular backups, and plugin audits—to help match the robust protection that BigCommerce offers by default.

Create Your App with Budget-Friendly Growth
Blog Contact Image
Author Avatar
Ethan Walker

Ethan Walker is a tech writer with a sharp focus on mobile and game development. With a background in digital trends and app technologies, he translates complex development concepts into engaging, easy-to-understand content. From exploring the latest in app monetization to breaking down game design mechanics, Andrew brings clarity and creativity to every piece. He writes to inform, inspire, and guide businesses and developers through the ever-evolving world of mobile apps and interactive entertainment.