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E-Commerce · head to head

BigCommerce vs Klarna

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
Klarna logo

Klarna

E-Commerce

Buy now pay later and instalment checkout for online and in-store merchants

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Klarna merchant fees for the short-term products run around 5.99% plus a fixed fee in the United States, roughly double a standard card rate, so unless Klarna measurably lifts average order value or conversion it is a straight margin loss.
  • They diverge on capability: BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Klarna covers Pay in 4.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigCommerce and Klarna actually diverge.

Attributes where BigCommerce and Klarna differ
AttributeBigCommerceKlarna
Starting price$29.95/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Klarna

  • Pay in 4
  • Pay in 30 days
  • Longer-term financing
  • Klarna app placement
  • Klarna Checkout
  • In-store payments
  • On-site messaging
  • Merchant portal

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

Klarna

  • A fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basketnot BigCommerce
  • A merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkoutnot BigCommerce
  • A European retailer wanting a single hosted checkout that handles instalments, invoice and card in one flownot BigCommerce
  • A brand that wants distribution inside Klarna's shopping app as an acquisition channel rather than only a payment optionnot 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.

Klarna

  • Merchant fees for the short-term products run around 5.99% plus a fixed fee in the United States, roughly double a standard card rate, so unless Klarna measurably lifts average order value or conversion it is a straight margin loss.
  • Rates are negotiated and unpublished, which means small merchants pay the standard rate while large ones negotiate down, and you cannot benchmark what you are being charged without going to market.
  • Returns and partial refunds are handled through Klarna's systems rather than your payment processor, so your finance team reconciles a second settlement flow and customer service handles a second dispute process.
  • Buy now pay later is being brought under consumer credit regulation in the UK, the EU and Australia, which is already changing affordability checks and disclosures; the checkout experience that converts today may be legally required to add friction.
  • Klarna owns the post-purchase relationship, sending payment reminders and marketing in its own name, so a shopper who has a poor collections experience associates it with your brand while you have no control over the messaging.

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

Klarna

On request
  • Klarna for Business$undefined/year
    • Per-transaction percentage plus a fixed fee, negotiated by merchant
    • No published rate card; rates vary by market, product and volume
    • Short-term products priced materially above card interchange

Which should you pick?

Choose BigCommerce if

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

Choose Klarna if

  • You need pay in 4.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want pay in 30 days.
Klarna review

Questions people ask

Is BigCommerce or Klarna better?
Neither clearly leads. BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month and Klarna at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BigCommerce or Klarna?
BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month and Klarna at On request.
Does BigCommerce or Klarna run on more platforms?
BigCommerce runs on Web. Klarna runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Klarna is typically brought in for.
What can BigCommerce do that Klarna cannot?
BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Stencil theme framework, Multi-storefront, Faceted search. Klarna covers Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days, Longer-term financing, Klarna app placement.

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.

Klarna: What does Klarna cost a merchant?

Klarna does not publish a rate card. In the United States most merchants pay around 5.99% plus $0.30 for short-term products, with longer-term financing nearer 3.29% plus $0.30, and large merchants negotiate lower.

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.

Klarna: Does the merchant carry the credit risk?

No. Klarna pays the merchant the full amount less fees and takes the risk of the shopper not paying.

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.

Klarna: Can I use Klarna alongside my existing processor?

Yes. It is normally added as an additional payment method through Shopify, Adyen, Stripe or a direct integration rather than replacing your card acquirer.

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.

Klarna: Is Klarna still independent?

Yes. It listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2025 and holds a Swedish banking licence.

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