Magento vs BigCommerce: Features, Cost and Migration
BigCommerce publishes plan prices that step up with trailing 12-month GMV (USD, checked October 2026). Magento's README names OSL 3.0 and says files may instead be licensed under the terms of an ordering document with Adobe (or Magento).
✦ FEATURES
Feature comparison.
| FEATURE | MAGENTO | BIGCOMMERCE |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | The README names OSL 3.0 and says files may instead be licensed under the terms of an ordering document with Adobe (or Magento). | Core is $39 a month ($29 billed annually), Growth $105 ($79), Scale $399 ($299), and Performance starts at $1,499 a month billed annually. |
| Sales thresholds | The 2.4.9 requirements page states no catalog size limit. | Plans track trailing 12-month GMV. Core covers up to $30K and Growth up to $100K. Scale moves to Performance at $2M. |
| Payment fees | Adobe's developer guide says modules provide business functions and themes change the look of the storefront. It does not cover checkout or payments. | Card processing begins at 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction on all plans. Orders through open payment providers carry 2.0% on Core, 1.0% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale. Embedded providers carry no such fee. |
| B2B | Adobe's B2B introduction names company accounts, shared catalogs, Quick Order, Negotiable Quotes, purchase order approvals and requisition lists for Adobe Commerce. | BigCommerce's product page lists purchase orders, negotiated pricing, quoting, invoicing, approvals and corporate accounts under B2B. |
| Price lists and segments | Per Adobe's B2B introduction, shared catalogs set custom prices per product for different companies. | Price Lists are Performance only. Customer groups and segmentation start on Growth. |
| Multiple storefronts | Adobe's multi-site overview says websites, stores and store views can differ in language. Currency is managed per store view. | The multi-storefront add-on is $30 a month (max 3) on Core, $50 (max 5) on Growth and $100 (max 8) on Scale. Performance is contact sales. |
| Headless | Adobe's web API page documents GraphQL and REST and says they let you build headless applications for Adobe Commerce. | BigCommerce describes Catalyst as a storefront framework built on Next.js and React, and lists a GraphQL Storefront API. |
| Apps and extensions | Adobe's developer docs point to Marketplace seller guides and describe App Builder as a way to extend Commerce. | The BigCommerce app marketplace says over 1,200 apps and lists 21 categories. |
| Ease of use | Adobe's guide requires a PSR-4 compliant structure for modules, and says themes change the look and feel of the storefront or Admin. | BigCommerce says Makeswift offers drag-and-drop editing and is designed for non-technical users. Themes allow full code access. |
| Performance and scalability | Adobe's 2.4.9 requirements name Varnish 8 and Valkey 9 among the components for on-premises installs. | BigCommerce cites 99.98% uptime and enterprise-grade infrastructure on its product page. These are the vendor's own claims. |
| Security | Adobe's security overview says merchants are obligated to meet industry guidelines for a secure environment. | BigCommerce's product page mentions enterprise-grade security, compliance standards and two-factor authentication, without naming a standard. |
| SEO | Adobe's SEO overview covers metadata, sitemaps, URL rewrites and search engine robots. | BigCommerce lists built-in SEO tools, optimized URLs, redirects, metadata and rich snippets. Its FAQ adds customizable URLs, automatic sitemaps and structured data. |
| Support | Adobe ends regular support for 2.4.9 on May 31, 2029 and recommends the latest security patch for each release. | 24/7 chat and email support is on all plans. Phone support is included from Growth up. A Customer Success Manager and API support are listed for Performance only. |
| Hosting and deployment | The README links to Quick start and other install guides. It recommends Adobe Commerce to users who need a full-featured solution, citing its optimized cloud architecture and hosting, and says nothing about hosting for Open Source. | BigCommerce's FAQ calls it a hosted storefront and says businesses do not maintain their own infrastructure. |
✦ COST OF OWNERSHIP
Cost of ownership.
| COST ITEM | MAGENTO | BIGCOMMERCE |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription or license | Open Source: the README names OSL 3.0 and says files may instead fall under an ordering document with Adobe (or Magento). | Core $39 a month ($29 billed annually), Growth $105 ($79), Scale $399 ($299), Performance from $1,499 a month billed annually. |
| Payment fees | Not covered by the cited Adobe page. | 2.89% + $0.29 per card transaction, plus the open payment provider fee by plan: 2.0% on Core, 1.0% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale. |
| Infrastructure | The servers or hosting plan you choose for the 2.4.9 stack. | Cost driver: the plan you land on, since plans are tied to trailing 12-month GMV. |
| Apps and extensions | Marketplace extensions, or custom builds on App Builder. | Cost driver: apps from a marketplace that lists over 1,200. |
| Development | Module and theme work in code. Orange Collar Media's Magento rates: a 20-hour block for $3,800 ($190/hour), or a 12-month contract at 20 hours a month and $160/hour. | Cost driver: theme work with full code access, or a Catalyst build on Next.js and React. |
✦ MIGRATION
Migration effort.
Plan the data moves first: catalog, customers and orders map across once fields are scoped. Themes, extensions or apps, and custom checkout logic do not copy over and get rebuilt. Two BigCommerce limits shape the build. Price Lists sit on Performance only, and the multi-storefront add-on caps stores per plan, so test your B2B pricing and store count against both. Then map URLs for the full catalog, set up redirects, and list every integration (ERP, payments, shipping) ahead of a cutover date.
✦ CHOOSING
Which fits your store.
Choose Magento if
- You need module-level control of the code, under a PSR-4 structure.
- You need Adobe's documented B2B features, such as shared catalogs and Negotiable Quotes.
Choose BigCommerce if
- You want published plan prices and a hosted platform.
- You can live with plans pegged to trailing 12-month GMV.
- You want drag-and-drop page editing aimed at non-technical users, per BigCommerce.
✦ QUESTIONS MERCHANTS ASK
Common questions.
How much does BigCommerce cost?+–
What are BigCommerce payment fees?+–
Does Magento have a license fee?+–
Which one handles B2B?+–
How do BigCommerce plans scale?+–
How does support differ?+–
✦ KEEP COMPARING
Related comparisons.
Magento vs Shopify vs BigCommerce: Features and Cost
Shopify and BigCommerce sell hosted plans with published prices. Magento is self-managed, or hosted by Adobe with Adobe Commerce. The sharpest difference between the two hosted platforms is how plans scale: Shopify by plan tier, BigCommerce by trailing 12-month GMV.
Magento Open Source vs Adobe Commerce: Key Differences
Adobe documents some features for Adobe Commerce only, such as Content Staging, and describes its B2B solution for Adobe Commerce. This page lines up licensing, B2B, hosting, security, SEO and support for both editions using Adobe and GitHub documentation.
Magento vs WooCommerce: Features, Cost and Migration (2026)
WooCommerce is the open-source ecommerce platform for WordPress, installed as a free plugin. Magento Open Source is standalone eCommerce software. For many teams the choice comes down to whether the site is a WordPress site first or a commerce platform first.
Shopify Plus vs Magento: Features, Cost and Migration
Shopify Plus is the enterprise tier of Shopify, from $2,300 a month on a 3-year term (US pricing, checked October 2026). At this size the questions change: how many stores, how much B2B, and how each platform handles security, performance, customization, SEO and support.
Shopify vs Magento Total Cost of Ownership: Every Cost Line
Shopify prices the platform line in public. On Magento the same budget splits into hosting, extensions and developer time, which depend on the quotes you collect. This page shows each line, runs the Shopify fee arithmetic over 36 months, and lists the Magento inputs you fill in, with Orange Collar Media's own support rates for the development line.
Shopify vs Magento: Features, Cost and Migration (2026)
Shopify sells a hosted plan with a monthly price. Magento Open Source is a codebase under OSL 3.0, and Adobe Commerce adds an Adobe-provided cloud architecture and hosting. Most of the decision is how much of the platform you want to run.
✦ KEEP EXPLORING
Related services.
SOURCES
- Magento on GitHub (README and license) (opens in a new tab)
- BigCommerce pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce system requirements (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce PHP extension development (opens in a new tab)
- BigCommerce essentials pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce B2B introduction (opens in a new tab)
- BigCommerce product page (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce multi-site overview (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce web API documentation (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce developer documentation (opens in a new tab)
- BigCommerce app marketplace (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce security and compliance overview (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce SEO admin docs (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce release versions (opens in a new tab)
- Orange Collar Media Magento support rates (opens in a new tab)