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BigCommerce vs Magento

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Introduction

It is well-known that choosing a platform for an online store is a very responsible moment. In the future, it will definitely influence the success of your marketplace because website’s performance means a lot. There are plenty of eCommerce solutions but today we will compare the leading ones: BigCommerce VS Magento.

BigCommerceMagento
Release Date20092008
Fundamental differenceSaaSOpen source
Ease of useThe system is not complicated.Technical knowledge is required.
Pricing & Payment ModelVaries from $29.95

(Standard Plan) to $249.95 (Pro Plan)

  • Monthly payment
  • Annual Subscription
  • Quote-based
Free & Premium

Enterprise Edition costs more than $22,000 a year

  • Monthly payment
  • Quote-based
Online Store SizeSmall/Medium/Large Medium-size and large business
Payment Gateways2Checkout, Amazon Pay, Stripe, PayPal, Cybersource Direct, Authorize.net, NMI, Apple Pay, WorldPay, etc.PayPal, BrainTree, Stripe, Authorize.net, Amazon Payments, 2Checkout, SagePay, WorldPay, etc.
Support24/7 support via chat, email, and US-based phone for technical issuesOnly Magento Enterprise users are provided with official technical support.

Magento Community doesn’t include this service.

SEO OptionsSEO-friendly platformSEO functions are very extensive
BloggingBigCommerce Next has introduced a built-in blogMagento doesn’t provide proper built-in blogging functionality
Abandoned Cart SaverProvidedNo built-in solution
Themes & Designs42 paid and 16 free themesVariety of free and premium solutions
Plugins & ExtensionsApp store is smaller1500+

Fundamental difference

BigCommerce is a SaaS, cloud-based solution. If you wonder what is SaaS, there is an understandable explaining to you: a user doesn’t buy an application but rents a ready-made option.

The point is that a SaaS provider is responsible for technical support, provides updating and guarantees smooth site’s performance. Therefore, there is a huge advantage for an online store owner who is more focused on business targets and doesn’t have to be busy with technical details. In addition, the cost of renting is much beneficial than purchasing an app.

BigCommerce is also appropriate for advertising banners, landing pages, coupon codes, and blogs.

Magento an open source option. What does it mean? The system gives access to view, make some research and change the code allowing users to be convinced with some site’s vulnerabilities and avoid possible failures. Developers of an online store can build additional modules and extensions designed by third-party creators.

Ease of use

BigCommerce is considered to be a simple platform that doesn’t require profound technical knowledge. Using a comprehensive set of tools the system gives, everyone is able to build a perfect online store. As an alternative platform, BigCommerce needs some time to learn. But after reading the documentation, you’ll be ready to work with the system

Magento is known as a very complicated platform that can be managed by people who are good at programming. Let’s be honest: the administration of such a flexible system requires profound knowledge.

Pricing & Payment Model

One of the BigCommerce benefits is the price. There is no programming skills needed, so the cost of development is much lower especially in comparison with analogous services. In addition, it will host your online store. The shopping cart offers 15 days free trial for a user to try system management.

Magento has two options:
1. Magento Community is a free option without hosting.
2. Magento Enterprise is a premium version offering plenty of plugins and extensions, quality technical support and configuration options for a business. 30 days free trial with a limited access is guaranteed.

Online Store Size

If you only start selling goods or services on the Internet and can’t spend so much money on eCommerce but strive to make a business successful, BigCommerce would be the perfect solution. So, this is appropriate for small and medium-sized stores. Of course, you may build a large business but there is another system that would be much better for this purpose.

Magento is an absolute opposite. This powerful platform is developed for medium-sized and large enterprises and offers more benefits for these types. According to the statistics, many renowned brands choose this one.

Payment Gateways

Both platforms provide a great choice of Payment Gateways, allowing your customers to choose the most relevant one. Nevertheless, Bigcommerce offers more solutions than Magento. But there are no local payments in BigCommerce (for example, Swedbank, SEB, etc) that can cause a bad impact on conversion purchases.

Support

If you have any troubles, connect dedicated BigCommerce support via chat, phone or email and get consulted on any theme you need.

Unfortunately, free Magento Community doesn’t include this service.

However, Magento Enterprise, the premium version, gives access to the official technical support. Anyway, the Internet is filled with forums where third-party developers have already written about familiar problems that you probably face with.

SEO Options

For some reason, many online store owners fail to control this question in their eCommerce marketing campaign. Actually, the role of optimization is very significant and both marketplaces have extensive SEO functions.

Magento provides an excellent infrastructure for optimization that is more beneficial than BigCommerce one. Nevertheless, the last one offers advanced features and customization options to make your business best. Be sure to use this opportunity.

Blogging

Actually, blogging is the useful chance for a user to find out more about products, a company and just be informed about anything. BigCommerce includes this option providing you with all the necessary tools. Magento doesn’t guarantee proper built-in blogging functionality but you can use extra plugins to add it.

Abandoned Cart Saver

If you think that this criteria is not important, you’re so mistaken. Merchants share that it is great when a system reminds a customer about an abandoned cart, encouraging him to continue shopping. Consequently, sales capabilities are rising. And BigCommerce comes with this function.

Speaking of Magento, the online store builder doesn’t provide this one but you always can use third-party solutions to make the site better.

Themes & Designs

BigCommerce has a limited choice of 42 paid and 16 free themes while Magento, the open source platform, offers more wide-ranging decisions which will definitely serve your design needs.

Plugins & Extensions

Although both shopping carts have an extended choice of apps, Magento marketplace is bigger than Bigcommerce one. It has more than 15,000 options. The point is that the last one comes with great already built-in functionality.

Also, installation process differentiates, too. Magento platform has a traditional one, while BigCommerce installs plugins and extensions directly to a store after downloading. And it’s much easier to do.

To sum up

We suppose that you completely understand the concern of a robust online store website showing perfect uptime and smooth performance. All the site’s advantages are aimed at consumers because we want them to be fully satisfied with services and definitely have a desire to come back on shopping.

If your site crashes and doesn’t function right, you’ve got some problems that have to be immediately solved. Otherwise, you risk losing your clients who probably will never visit your store again. And it hugely damages your business. So be aware.

All things considered, Magento features are preferred by medium-sized and large brands with huge sales capabilities and high demands.

So, define which platform is superior for you. Set your goals, estimate the capabilities, and think one more time before making a choice. If you need help of eCommerce Web Developers, just let us know. Good luck!

Alexandra Soloviova

Alexandra SoloviovaBusiness Development Manager

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