Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

BigCommerce vs Instacart

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
Instacart logo

Instacart

E-Commerce

US and Canada grocery delivery and pickup marketplace with a paid membership tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Instacart 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.; Instacart item prices shown in the app are frequently higher than the same items in the physical store, and this markup is not clearly separated from delivery and service fees at checkout, making true cost comparison difficult.
  • They diverge on capability: BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Instacart covers Multi-retailer marketplace.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigCommerce and Instacart actually diverge.

Attributes where BigCommerce and Instacart differ
AttributeBigCommerceInstacart
Starting price$29.95/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionFree to download; item markups plus delivery and service fees per order, optional subscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS, Android, Web
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

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 Instacart

  • Multi-retailer marketplace
  • Instacart+ membership
  • Same-day and scheduled delivery
  • Pickup option
  • Item substitution controls
  • Instacart Ads and retail media

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 Instacart
  • A retailer needing several branded storefronts sharing one catalogue and one back officenot Instacart
  • A B2B seller who needs company accounts and customer-specific price lists without custom developmentnot Instacart
  • A team going headless who wants a managed commerce back end rather than a self-hosted onenot Instacart

Instacart

  • A household with limited time wanting groceries delivered same day from a familiar supermarket chainnot BigCommerce
  • A frequent orderer comparing whether an Instacart+ subscription pays off against per-order feesnot BigCommerce
  • Someone using SNAP EBT benefits at a participating retailer through the appnot BigCommerce
  • A shopper who wants to order ahead and collect at pickup to avoid the delivery fee entirelynot 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.

Instacart

  • Item prices shown in the app are frequently higher than the same items in the physical store, and this markup is not clearly separated from delivery and service fees at checkout, making true cost comparison difficult.
  • Shoppers are a mix of employees and independent contractors depending on market and retailer, and gig-classified shoppers have raised pay and working-condition complaints that have drawn regulatory attention in several US states.
  • The service fee and delivery fee combination means a small grocery order can carry a large proportional surcharge, making Instacart uneconomical for frequent small top-up shops.
  • Item substitutions chosen by a shopper when stock runs out can differ meaningfully from what was ordered, and refund handling for a poor substitution requires customer support intervention.
  • Availability is limited to the US and Canada, and even within those countries, delivery zones and retailer coverage vary block by block in a way that is not obvious until you enter an address.

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

Instacart

Free
  • Pay per orderFree
    • Item prices often marked up versus in-store
    • Delivery fee varying by store and delivery window
    • Service fee of roughly 5 percent of order subtotal
  • Instacart+$9.99/month
    • Delivery fees waived on orders over a store minimum
    • Reduced service fees
    • Also offered at a discounted annual rate

Which should you pick?

Choose BigCommerce if

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

Choose Instacart if

  • You need multi-retailer marketplace.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want instacart+ membership.
Instacart review

Questions people ask

Is BigCommerce or Instacart better?
Neither clearly leads. BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month and Instacart at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BigCommerce or Instacart?
Instacart has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29.95/month for BigCommerce and Free for Instacart.
Does BigCommerce or Instacart run on more platforms?
BigCommerce runs on Web. Instacart runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Instacart for free?
Yes. Instacart 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 Instacart is typically brought in for.
What can BigCommerce do that Instacart cannot?
BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Stencil theme framework, Multi-storefront, Faceted search. Instacart covers Multi-retailer marketplace, Instacart+ membership, Same-day and scheduled delivery, Pickup option.

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.

Instacart: Are Instacart prices the same as in the store?

Often not. Many retailers set higher item prices for Instacart orders than for in-store purchase, on top of delivery and service fees.

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.

Instacart: Does Instacart+ pay for itself?

Only for households ordering often enough that the waived delivery fees exceed the subscription cost; occasional orderers usually do not break even.

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.

Instacart: Are Instacart shoppers employees?

It depends on the market and retailer; Instacart uses a mix of directly employed and independent contractor shoppers.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on BigCommerce

More on Instacart

Keep looking

Other head to heads