What you'll actually pay — on the platform you'll actually use.
Most "best ecommerce platform" lists pretend the choice is between $29 and $39 a month. The Decision Wizard returns your real annual cost across 5 platforms.
Updated quarterly. Last verified: Q2 2026.
What's your annual store revenue (or projected for year 1)?
The 5 best ecommerce platforms in 2026
BigCommerce
WooCommerce
How we tested
We set up real stores on each platform in Q1 2026 — real products, real test transactions, real checkout flows. Every pricing figure on this site reflects what we paid, not what the marketing page says.
Typical month-1 spend if you commit seriously: $80–$220/mo on Shopify Basic with a paid theme and two essential apps; $50–$200/mo on BigCommerce Standard with a free theme; $30–$60/mo on WooCommerce + decent hosting + the four free plugins you actually need. We tested all three on a real $20-product store for 30 days each.
Shopify vs BigCommerce — the key numbers
The most important comparison in the market. Both start at $39/mo — but BigCommerce's 0% transaction fee makes it significantly cheaper at $100K+ GMV with a mixed payment gateway setup.
| Feature | Shopify | BigCommerce | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transaction fee | 0–2% (plan-dep.) | 0% always | BigCommerce ✓ |
| Starting price | $39/mo | $39/mo | TIE |
| App ecosystem | 8,000+ apps | 1,200+ apps | Shopify ✓ |
| B2B native | Limited | Full B2B Edition | BigCommerce ✓ |
| At $100K GMV Mixed payment gateway | ~$3,200–$4,500/yr | ~$1,800–$3,200/yr | BigCommerce ✓ |
At $100K GMV with UK/EU payment mix (30% PayPal). Full comparison →
The insight every competitor buries
Every top-5 SERP competitor compares monthly plan fees. That's the wrong axis. The right axis is blended cost per $100K GMV at your specific payment mix.
Shopify Basic's $39/mo looks cheapest until you add: Shopify Payments' 2.9%+30¢ on every online card, the 2% transaction fee if you use PayPal or Klarna (because UK/EU buyers expect them), Klaviyo ($45/mo for email), and Judge.me ($0–$15/mo for reviews). The blended all-in cost at $100K GMV is $2,500–$4,500/yr — not $468/yr.
BigCommerce Standard at the same GMV: $1,800–$3,200/yr. WooCommerce at the same GMV: $800–$2,500/yr (excluding developer time). The marketing-page comparison hides a 2–3× real-cost spread.