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E-commerce · Platforms

BigCommerce or WooCommerce: which fits your store

BigCommerce is hosted and ties plans to sales volume. WooCommerce is free software you host and maintain. Here is how that plays out in cost and features.

BigCommerce: hosted, sales-based plan tiers

WooCommerce: free plugin, you maintain it

Both handle B2B, in different ways

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The short answer

Choose BigCommerce if you want a hosted store with strong built-in catalog and B2B features and no servers or plugin updates to manage, and you are comfortable with plan tiers tied to your annual online sales. Choose WooCommerce if you already run WordPress, want content and commerce on one site, need unusual customization, or want full control of your code, hosting and data, and you have someone to maintain it.

Cost works differently on each. As of 2026, BigCommerce’s pricing page lists its Core, Growth and Scale plans at $39, $105 and $399 a month on monthly billing, with each plan covering sales up to a set level. WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin, but you pay for hosting, paid extensions, payment processing and upkeep.

Side by side

BigCommerce

Hosted software as a service. BigCommerce runs servers, security and updates. Rich native features such as product options, faceted search and multi-storefront. Plans priced in tiers, each with a sales ceiling. Open APIs and headless options for custom front ends.

WooCommerce

Open-source plugin for WordPress. You choose the host, theme and extensions. Unlimited customization, because you control the code. No platform sales caps. You or your developer handle updates, security, backups and performance.

Fees and sales caps

BigCommerce, from its pricing page as of 2026:

  • Core: $39 a month, or $29 billed yearly, for trailing twelve-month online sales up to $30,000.
  • Growth: $105 a month, or $79 billed yearly, up to $100,000.
  • Scale: $399 a month, or $299 billed yearly, with an overage of 0.9% on sales above $33,333 a month.
  • Performance: from $1,499 a month billed yearly, on contracted terms. BigCommerce says Scale stores move up to it automatically once trailing twelve-month sales reach $2 million.
  • No fee on orders through BigCommerce’s embedded payment providers; a fee of 2.0%, 1.0% or 0.6% depending on plan when you use an open, third-party provider. BigCommerce says card processing begins at 2.89% + 29 cents.

BigCommerce measures sales on a trailing twelve-month basis, so a growing store moves up a tier automatically. Build that into your forecast.

WooCommerce, as of 2026:

  • The plugin is free, with no platform fees or sales caps.
  • WooPayments charges 2.9% + 30 cents for US cards, plus 1.5% for cards issued outside the US and 1% for currency conversion, with no monthly fee for online payments.
  • Hosting, extensions and maintenance are where the cost goes. A store needs hosting that can handle carts, checkout and accounts, which cannot be cached like ordinary pages, plus a budget for paid extensions renewed yearly.

Compare a full year, not a month

Put the same items in a one-year estimate for each platform:

  1. Plan fee or hosting for 12 months, using the BigCommerce tier your forecast sales put you in.
  2. Card processing on your expected online sales, plus any third-party payment fees.
  3. Apps or extensions for every feature you need on day one, at yearly renewal prices.
  4. Theme, design and any custom development.
  5. Maintenance and support hours, which are higher on WooCommerce.
  6. Then repeat at double your current sales to see how each platform scales.

Hosting, speed and security

With BigCommerce, hosting, the content delivery network and platform security patches are part of the service. Your responsibilities shrink to staff logins, apps you install and your own content.

With WooCommerce, these sit with you and your host. Good managed WordPress hosting, a caching setup that excludes cart and checkout pages, regular updates of WordPress, WooCommerce, the theme and every extension, and tested backups are the minimum. Use a hosted payment form, such as WooPayments, so card numbers never touch your server. Outdated plugins are one of the most common ways WordPress sites are compromised, so this is not optional.

Extensibility and customization

  • WooCommerce can be changed at any level: checkout fields, pricing rules, product builders, account pages. Thousands of plugins exist, and a developer can write anything that is missing. The trade-off is that every addition is something to keep updated and compatible.
  • BigCommerce covers more out of the box, including product options and variants, customer groups and multiple storefronts, and offers APIs and an app marketplace for the rest. Deep changes go through its APIs, its theme framework or a headless front end, rather than editing the platform itself.
  • Content. WordPress remains strong for articles, guides and landing pages. BigCommerce has a blog and page builder, and some businesses pair it with WordPress as the front end.

B2B and wholesale

Both can sell to businesses. BigCommerce markets a B2B Edition with company accounts and multi-company hierarchies, account credit, price lists, quotes, purchase orders, net terms and a buyer portal. Check with BigCommerce whether it is included in your plan or priced separately.

WooCommerce handles B2B through extensions for wholesale pricing, roles, minimum orders, quotes and payment on account. That route can be cheaper and more tailored, but you assemble and maintain the pieces. For a few wholesale accounts, WooCommerce extensions are usually enough. For many accounts with buyer hierarchies, approval flows and ERP sync, BigCommerce’s built-in tooling saves custom work.

Choosing between them?

Book a free 30-minute call. We look at your products, sales and team with you and tell you which platform we would pick and what we would do first. No obligation. Pick a time.

Decision rules

Lean BigCommerce if:

  • You do not want to manage hosting, updates or plugin conflicts.
  • You have large catalogs with many options, or need several storefronts.
  • Wholesale is a major part of the business and you want B2B tools built in.
  • Your sales are predictable enough to plan around the plan tiers.

Lean WooCommerce if:

  • Your site already runs on WordPress and content drives sales.
  • You need custom checkout, pricing or product logic.
  • You want no platform sales caps and full ownership of code and data.
  • You have a developer or support partner for monthly updates and testing.

Integration and migration

Both connect to common accounting, ERP, shipping and email tools such as QuickBooks and Klaviyo, through apps or extensions. Custom integrations are simpler to host on WooCommerce because you control the server; BigCommerce relies on its APIs and webhooks. If you move between them, map every old URL to its new address with 301 redirects, move customers and order history, rebuild email automations and test checkout, taxes and shipping before launch.

How JLB USA helps

JLB USA has built websites for growing businesses for more than 15 years, with 500+ clients and 1,000+ projects. We build on BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Shopify, Shopify Plus, Magento, Ecwid and OpenCart, so we recommend the fit rather than the only platform we know. Clients can edit their own store and keep it if they leave, and we set up redirects so rankings carry over in a move. See our web design services, hosting and support for WooCommerce stores with constant automated monitoring and malware cleanup, and our Shopify versus WooCommerce comparison.

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Pick a time. We look at what you have now with you and tell you what we would change first. No obligation.

Prefer to talk now? Call 954-539-5678, or send the form and we’ll contact you.

Questions we hear

Is WooCommerce cheaper than BigCommerce?

The plugin is free, but hosting, paid extensions and maintenance add up. For small stores the totals can be close. WooCommerce gets relatively cheaper at high sales because it has no platform sales tiers.

Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

BigCommerce lists no fee on orders through its embedded payment providers, and a 2.0%, 1.0% or 0.6% fee by plan when you use an open, third-party provider, as of 2026.

What happens when I outgrow a BigCommerce plan’s sales limit?

BigCommerce measures trailing twelve-month online sales and moves stores to the plan that matches. On Scale, sales above the monthly threshold carry a 0.9% overage.

Which is better for B2B?

BigCommerce has more built in through its B2B Edition. WooCommerce can do B2B with extensions, which suits simpler wholesale needs or very custom ones.

Which is better for SEO?

Both can rank well. WooCommerce on WordPress gives more control over content and URLs; BigCommerce handles technical basics for you. Content quality and speed matter more than the platform.

Related services

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