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E-Commerce · head to head

BigCommerce vs Ecwid

BigCommerce logo

BigCommerce

E-Commerce

Hosted e-commerce platform that charges no transaction fee and no surcharge for third party gateways

From
$29.95/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ecwid logo

Ecwid

E-Commerce

Sell anywhere ecommerce platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ecwid has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BigCommerce plans are gated on annual online sales, so a strong year pushes you into a higher tier and a higher subscription even though your traffic, catalogue and resource usage are unchanged.; Ecwid the $5 a month Starter plan caps the catalogue at 10 products
  • They diverge on capability: BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Ecwid covers Omnichannel selling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigCommerce and Ecwid actually diverge.

Attributes where BigCommerce and Ecwid differ
AttributeBigCommerceEcwid
Starting price$29.95/monthFree
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce), founded (2009).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BigCommerce

  • No platform transaction fee
  • Stencil theme framework
  • Multi-storefront
  • Faceted search
  • B2B capabilities
  • Headless support
  • Built-in tax integrations
  • Multi-currency

Only in Ecwid

  • Omnichannel selling
  • Product catalog
  • Payment processing
  • Inventory management
  • Email marketing
  • Analytics
  • Mobile app
  • API access

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BigCommerce

  • A merchant whose volume makes a percentage transaction fee the largest line in the platform decisionnot Ecwid
  • A retailer needing several branded storefronts sharing one catalogue and one back officenot Ecwid
  • A B2B seller who needs company accounts and customer-specific price lists without custom developmentnot Ecwid
  • A team going headless who wants a managed commerce back end rather than a self-hosted onenot Ecwid

Ecwid

  • E-commerce store setup with no transaction fees charged by Ecwidnot BigCommerce
  • Multi-channel selling across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterestnot BigCommerce
  • Automated email marketing with abandoned cart recovery campaignsnot BigCommerce
  • Inventory management and order tracking across all sales channelsnot BigCommerce
  • AI-powered product photo background removal and enhancementnot BigCommerce

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BigCommerce

  • Plans are gated on annual online sales, so a strong year pushes you into a higher tier and a higher subscription even though your traffic, catalogue and resource usage are unchanged.
  • There is a documented ceiling on the number of variants a single product can have, which breaks configurable, made-to-measure and heavily optioned catalogues and forces awkward workarounds such as splitting one product into several listings.
  • The application marketplace is much smaller than the largest competitor's, so a specific integration or niche feature is more often a custom build, and custom builds are the line item that quietly exceeds the platform cost.
  • Theme customisation past the visual settings means Stencil, Handlebars templates and a local command line workflow, so changes that look small to a marketing team still require a developer and a deployment.
  • Migrating out moves products and inventory reasonably well and moves the things that matter badly, since customer passwords cannot be exported in usable form, order history rarely transfers intact, and reviews and URL structure have to be rebuilt with a redirect map you must produce yourself or lose the search traffic.

Ecwid

  • The $5 a month Starter plan caps the catalogue at 10 products
  • Staff accounts start at the Business plan, and are limited to 2 until the Unlimited plan
  • Abandoned cart recovery requires the Business plan at $65 a month
  • In person selling through POS integration is Unlimited only, at $149 a month
  • The Venture plan at $35 a month still caps products at 100

Pricing, plan by plan

BigCommerce

$29.95/month
  • Standard$29.95/month
    • Unlimited products
    • 2 staff accounts
    • Basic reports
  • Plus$79.95/month
    • All Standard features
    • Up to 5 staff accounts
    • Advanced reports

Ecwid

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 10 products
    • Basic storefront
    • Standard payment methods
  • Unlimited$99.08/month
    • Unlimited products
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose BigCommerce if

  • You need no platform transaction fee.
  • You also want stencil theme framework.
BigCommerce review

Choose Ecwid if

  • You need omnichannel selling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want product catalog.
Ecwid review

Questions people ask

Is BigCommerce or Ecwid better?
Neither clearly leads. BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month and Ecwid at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BigCommerce or Ecwid?
Ecwid has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29.95/month for BigCommerce and Free for Ecwid.
Does BigCommerce or Ecwid run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Ecwid for free?
Yes. Ecwid has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month.
What is BigCommerce best used for?
BigCommerce is most often used for a merchant whose volume makes a percentage transaction fee the largest line in the platform decision, a retailer needing several branded storefronts sharing one catalogue and one back office, a b2b seller who needs company accounts and customer-specific price lists without custom development, a team going headless who wants a managed commerce back end rather than a self-hosted one. Of those, a merchant whose volume makes a percentage transaction fee the largest line in the platform decision and a retailer needing several branded storefronts sharing one catalogue and one back office are not what Ecwid is typically brought in for.
What can BigCommerce do that Ecwid cannot?
BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Stencil theme framework, Multi-storefront, Faceted search. Ecwid covers Omnichannel selling, Product catalog, Payment processing, Inventory management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BigCommerce: Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

No, and it does not surcharge third party payment gateways either. Revenue affects the price through plan sales thresholds instead.

Ecwid: Does Ecwid charge transaction fees?

Ecwid states on its site: no transaction fees. However, pricing tiers and their specific features are not disclosed on the vendor's public pages.

Source
BigCommerce: What happens when I exceed my plan's sales threshold?

You move to the next plan tier. Model this at your projected growth rate, because the increase is driven by revenue rather than by usage.

Ecwid: Is there a free version of Ecwid?

Ecwid offers a free tier to launch a store and start selling. Specific upgrade tiers and costs are not listed on the vendor's website.

Source
BigCommerce: Is the app ecosystem large enough?

It covers the common integrations. For anything niche, assume a development project rather than an install, and price that in before comparing subscriptions.

Ecwid: How much does Ecwid cost?

Ecwid does not publish pricing details on its website. The vendor directs users to contact sales or view pricing, but specific rates are not displayed publicly.

Source
BigCommerce: How hard is it to leave?

Products export cleanly. Customer passwords, order history, reviews and SEO URLs do not. Build the redirect map before you cut over, not after traffic drops.

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