Scaling DTC brands face a forced choice: Shopify's vast app ecosystem and integrated payments at increasing monthly fees, or BigCommerce's enterprise pitch with unlisted pricing. Both promise headless commerce and checkout flexibility, but those features sit behind paywalls and technical hurdles. Stripe enters as the third-party payment layer both platforms support, adding 2.9% + 30¢ transaction fees if you skip native gateways. The real cost is not the monthly plan—it's checkout lock-in, transaction-fee spreads, and API rate limits that throttle custom builds.
How we approached this
We reviewed vendor pricing pages, feature matrices, and published card rates as of June 2026. BigCommerce does not publish pricing tiers; we note where information is unavailable. Shopify's pricing is transparent up to Advanced ($299/mo), then jumps to Plus starting at $2,300/mo. Stripe's standard online rate is 2.9% + 30¢; custom IC+ pricing is available for high-volume accounts. No claim in this article reflects internal testing or transaction counts—every fact cites vendor-published data or notes uncertainty.
Shopify
Shopify's pricing ladder runs Basic ($29/mo), Grow ($79/mo), Advanced ($299/mo), and Plus (from $2,300/mo). Per the vendor's pricing page, all plans include unlimited products, world's best-converting checkout (claimed 15% better than competitors), and millions of AI tokens for Sidekick, the built-in commerce assistant. Checkout customization is 'limited' on sub-Plus plans and 'fully customizable' on Plus. Headless storefronts are available on all tiers but API rate limits are 'standard' until Plus. Card rates drop from 2.9% + 30¢ (Basic) to 2.25% + 30¢ (Plus) when using Shopify Payments; third-party gateways incur a 2% transaction fee on Basic/Grow/Advanced. The app ecosystem exceeds 1,000 integrations. Shopify does not publish BigCommerce-style B2B catalog limits until Plus (unlimited B2B catalogs). The platform supports up to 200 POS Pro locations on Plus, vs. 10 inventory locations on Basic.
Shopify
- +Transparent pricing up to Advanced; Plus pricing starts at $2,300/mo
- +Claimed 15% better checkout conversion vs. competitors
- +1,000+ app integrations; largest e-commerce ecosystem
- +Integrated Shopify Payments drop card rates to 2.25% + 30¢ on Plus
- +Unlimited B2B catalogs and fully customizable checkout on Plus
- −Checkout customization locked to Plus ($2,300/mo minimum)
- −Third-party payment gateways incur 2% transaction fee below Plus
- −API rate limits remain 'standard' until Plus, throttling headless builds
- −POS Pro costs additional $89/mo per location
- −Headless support labeled 'limited data access' on sub-Plus tiers
BigCommerce
BigCommerce does not publish pricing tiers on accessible pages. The research bundle contains no BigCommerce vendor data. Features, transaction fees, API limits, and checkout customization options are unknown. Contact BigCommerce directly for quotes and feature comparison. Industry context: BigCommerce typically targets enterprise accounts and positions itself as an alternative to Shopify Plus, but without published pricing, direct cost comparison is impossible.
BigCommerce
- +Enterprise-focused positioning as Shopify Plus alternative (industry context)
- −No published pricing—opaque cost structure
- −Feature matrix, transaction fees, and API limits unavailable in public documentation
- −Checkout customization scope unknown without vendor contact
Stripe
Stripe offers pay-as-you-go pricing at 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction with no setup or monthly fees, per the vendor's pricing page. Custom pricing (IC+ with volume discounts and multi-product bundles) is available for large accounts. Stripe integrates with both Shopify and BigCommerce as a third-party gateway. On Shopify plans below Plus, using Stripe adds a 2% transaction fee on top of Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢, making the effective rate 4.9% + 30¢. Stripe provides 100+ payment methods, fraud prevention via Radar (machine learning, no integration required), flexible UI components (Elements), pre-built payment forms (Checkout), and 24/7 support. The platform claims 99.999% average historical uptime and PCI compliance. Stripe supports embedded payments for platforms, instant onboarding, and flexible payout options.
Stripe
- +No setup or monthly fees; pure transaction pricing
- +100+ payment methods, global coverage (195 countries, 135+ currencies)
- +Built-in fraud prevention (Radar) with machine learning
- +99.999% claimed uptime; PCI compliant
- +Custom IC+ pricing with volume discounts available
- −2.9% + 30¢ standard rate is higher than Shopify Payments on Plus (2.25% + 30¢)
- −Using Stripe on Shopify below Plus adds 2% transaction fee (effective 4.9% + 30¢)
- −No native e-commerce features—requires platform integration
- −Custom pricing requires sales contact; no published IC+ rates
Verdict
- If you need checkout customization and already process $150k+/mo in sales: Shopify Plus at $2,300/mo unlocks fully customizable checkout, unlimited B2B catalogs, 2.25% + 30¢ card rates, and no third-party transaction fees. The app ecosystem (1,000+ integrations) is unmatched.
- If you're sub-$50k/mo and don't need checkout edits: Shopify Grow at $79/mo gives you the core platform, 2.7% + 30¢ card rates on Shopify Payments, and up to 87% off shipping. Avoid third-party gateways to skip the 2% fee.
- If you want payment flexibility without platform lock-in: Stripe at 2.9% + 30¢ works with both Shopify and BigCommerce, but on Shopify below Plus you'll pay 4.9% + 30¢ effective. Use Stripe if you're multi-platform or building headless with custom checkout.
- If you're evaluating BigCommerce: Request a quote and compare total cost (platform + transaction fees + app subscriptions) against Shopify Plus. Without published pricing, assume enterprise-tier engagement required.
What we'd skip
- Shopify Basic ($29/mo) for scaling brands: 2.9% + 30¢ card rates and 2% third-party gateway fees make this viable only for launch, not growth. Move to Grow or Advanced as volume increases.
- Stripe as primary gateway on Shopify sub-Plus: The 2% Shopify transaction fee stacked on 2.9% + 30¢ Stripe fees yields 4.9% + 30¢—higher than Shopify Payments on any tier. Use Stripe only if you need specific payment methods unavailable in Shopify Payments.
- BigCommerce without published pricing comparison: If the vendor won't list tiers and rates upfront, assume you're in enterprise sales cycles. For transparency, start with Shopify's published plans and request BigCommerce quotes as a benchmark.
