PLATFORM COMPARISON
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.
✦ FEATURES
Feature comparison.
| FEATURE | MAGENTO | SHOPIFY | BIGCOMMERCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting | You run it on your own Linux stack, or choose Adobe Commerce, which the README says includes cloud architecture and hosting. | Hosting is included. The pricing page lists unlimited web hosting on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus. | The pricing page lists products, file storage and bandwidth on every plan. |
| Entry pricing | The README names OSL 3.0 and does not state a price; the README says files are licensed under OSL 3.0 or the applicable ordering document. | Basic $39 a month ($29 yearly), Grow $105 ($89), Advanced $399 ($359). US pricing, checked October 2026. | Core $39 a month ($29 annual), Growth $105 ($79), Scale $399 ($299). Performance starts at $1,499 a month billed annually. |
| How plans scale | Adobe's system requirements list separate software dependencies for Adobe Commerce on Cloud and for on-premises deployments. | Three plans, with Plus above Advanced. Plus moves higher-volume businesses to a variable platform fee based on revenue and business model. | By trailing 12-month GMV. Core is up to $30K and Growth up to $100K. Scale lists $33,333 a month of GMV, with 0.9% on GMV above the cap. |
| B2B | Company accounts, shared catalogs, negotiable quotes, requisition lists and purchase order approvals. | B2B customers are set up as companies in the admin, and pricing can be personalized per customer. Up to 3 catalogs on Basic, Grow and Advanced. | Price Lists are Performance-only. Customer groups and segmentation come with Growth, Scale and Performance. |
| Multiple storefronts | A single installation can run multiple websites or store views, and you can manage different currencies per store view. | Markets lets you target specific countries or regions. Basic, Grow and Advanced each include 10 inventory locations. | A multi-storefront add-on: $30 a month (up to 3) on Core, $50 (up to 5) on Growth, $100 (up to 8) on Scale. Performance is by contact. |
| APIs | The web API documentation is divided into REST, GraphQL and Getting Started guides. | GraphQL Admin and REST Admin APIs. Bucket size and restore rate vary by API and by plan. | API support is listed on Performance only. The pricing page states no rate limits. |
| Storefront and headless | The developer docs describe Edge Delivery Services storefronts built with Commerce dropins and Content blocks, and list PWA Studio and Page Builder CMS. | 1 headless storefront on Basic, Grow and Advanced. | Headless commerce and Catalyst, described as a composable storefront framework built on Next.js and React, are listed on the product page. |
| Checkout and payments | The developer docs home page does not describe checkout, so this page makes no claim. | Checkout is customized with UI extensions, Functions, web pixel extensions and payments extensions. Third-party gateways carry a transaction fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced. | Card processing begins at 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction. Open payment providers carry a plan-based fee, and embedded providers carry none. |
| Ease of use | Open Source is installed on your own Linux server with PHP and a database, per the system requirements. | The pricing page says stores can be set up from a simple prompt or a pre-built template, and that no coding is required. | BigCommerce describes Makeswift, its visual editor for Next.js sites, as designed for non-technical users. |
| SEO tooling | Not covered by the Adobe pages used for this comparison. | The pricing page FAQ says Shopify can automate marketing and SEO. | The product page cites built-in SEO tools, optimized URLs, redirects and metadata. The pricing page lists a built-in blog on all plans. |
| Scalability and performance | Adobe's developer docs list performance guidance and tools for launching and running sites as a documentation area. | Shopify Plus lists 10K+ checkouts per minute and 99.99% average uptime across its biggest sales events. Plan-level figures for Basic to Advanced are not stated. | The product page cites 99.98% uptime and enterprise-grade infrastructure. |
| Support | The README states no support terms; the README says files are licensed under OSL 3.0 or the applicable ordering document. | Live chat on Basic and Grow, enhanced live chat on Advanced, and priority 24/7 phone support on Plus. | 24/7 tech support by chat and email on all plans. Phone support is included on Growth, Scale and Performance. |
✦ COST OF OWNERSHIP
Cost of ownership.
| COST ITEM | MAGENTO | SHOPIFY | BIGCOMMERCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | Open Source: the README names OSL 3.0 and does not state a price. Adobe Commerce: the README says files are licensed under OSL 3.0 or the applicable ordering document. | Basic $39, Grow $105, Advanced $399 a month on monthly billing. Yearly billing: $29, $89, $359 (US pricing, checked October 2026). (Also see: BigCommerce pricing.) | Core $39, Growth $105, Scale $399 a month, before annual discounts. Performance from $1,499 a month. |
| Payment fees | Set by your gateway. | Third-party gateway fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. (Also see: BigCommerce payments and fees.) | From 2.89% + $0.29 per card transaction. Open providers add 2.0% on Core, 1.0% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale. |
| Hosting | Your host's price, or Adobe Commerce, which the README says includes hosting. Adobe's price is not published in these sources. | Unlimited web hosting is in the plan. (Also see: BigCommerce pricing.) | The pricing page lists bandwidth and file storage on every plan. |
| Apps | The developer docs home page states no app count. | The App Store lists over 16,000 apps. (Also see: BigCommerce app marketplace.) | The marketplace lists over 1,200 apps in 21 categories. |
| Development | Not published by any of the three. It depends on your team. | Not published by any of the three. It depends on your team. | Not published by any of the three. It depends on your team. |
✦ MIGRATION
Migration effort.
Moving between any two of these platforms follows the same pattern. Products, customers and orders are mapped field by field. Themes, custom code and checkout changes are rebuilt on the target platform's extension model. BigCommerce adds one planning point: its plan caps use trailing 12-month GMV, so check which tier your revenue puts you in before comparing prices. Scope redirects and integrations early.
✦ CHOOSING
Which fits your store.
Choose Magento if
- You want code-level control and are ready to run your own server stack.
- You need B2B with quotes and company accounts, as Adobe documents them.
- You want several websites or store views from one installation.
Choose Shopify if
- You want hosting included in the plan and a low-code setup.
- You want Functions-based checkout customization.
- You want a large app catalog: the App Store page states over 16,000 apps.
Choose BigCommerce if
- You want published tiers tied to trailing 12-month GMV.
- You want a multi-storefront add-on priced by plan.
- You want a composable storefront framework (Catalyst) listed by the vendor.
✦ QUESTIONS MERCHANTS ASK
Common questions.
Which has the lowest entry price?+–
Shopify Basic and BigCommerce Core both list $39 a month on monthly billing and $29 on yearly or annual billing (Shopify: US pricing, checked October 2026). The Magento README states no price for Open Source.
Which plans scale with revenue?+–
BigCommerce plans follow trailing 12-month GMV. Shopify moves up by plan, and Plus uses a variable platform fee at higher volume.
Which support headless?+–
Shopify lists 1 headless storefront on Basic, Grow and Advanced. BigCommerce lists headless commerce and Catalyst. Adobe's developer docs list Edge Delivery Services storefronts and PWA Studio.
Which has built-in B2B?+–
Adobe and Shopify both document B2B features. BigCommerce lists Price Lists on Performance only.
Which one do I host?+–
Magento Open Source runs on your own server stack. Adobe Commerce is described in the README as including hosting. Shopify and BigCommerce are hosted.
Which has the most support options?+–
Shopify lists live chat on Basic and Grow, with phone on Plus. BigCommerce lists chat and email support on all plans, with phone on Growth and up. The Magento README states no support terms.
SOURCES
- Magento on GitHub (README and license) (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce system requirements (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce B2B introduction (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce developer documentation (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce web API documentation (opens in a new tab)
- Adobe Commerce multi-site overview (opens in a new tab)
- Shopify pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Shopify Plus pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Shopify Help Center: B2B (opens in a new tab)
- Shopify Help Center: Markets (opens in a new tab)
- Shopify developer docs: Checkout (opens in a new tab)
- Shopify developer docs: API rate limits (opens in a new tab)
- Shopify App Store (opens in a new tab)
- BigCommerce pricing (opens in a new tab)
- BigCommerce payments and fees (opens in a new tab)
- BigCommerce app marketplace (opens in a new tab)
- BigCommerce product page (opens in a new tab)