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E-Commerce · head to head

BigCommerce vs Square

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
Square logo

Square

E-Commerce

Powering the economy

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Square 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.; Square plus plan pricing not specified in documentation
  • They diverge on capability: BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Square covers Payment processing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigCommerce and Square actually diverge.

Attributes where BigCommerce and Square differ
AttributeBigCommerceSquare
Starting price$29.95/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebPOS (Mobile app), Web

Identical on both: 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 Square

  • Payment processing
  • Point of sale
  • Invoicing
  • Payroll
  • Banking
  • QuickBooks
  • WooCommerce
  • Wix

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

Square

  • Accept payments with all-in-one POS applicationnot BigCommerce
  • Online ordering and basic website creationnot BigCommerce
  • Invoicing and appointment bookingnot BigCommerce
  • Staff scheduling and loyalty programmesnot 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.

Square

  • Plus plan pricing not specified in documentation
  • Processing fees differ by tier but exact rates not detailed
  • Free plan pricing mentioned but specific features for Plus unclear
  • Text marketing charged at 3¢ per message after first 500 included

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

Square

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Accept payments with all-in-one POS app
    • Online site builder (ordering profiles, basic websites, online stores, booking sites)
    • Item library and inventory tracking
  • Plus$null/mo
    • All Free plan features
    • Advanced POS features for food, retail, and appointments
    • Lower processing fees on card transactions

Which should you pick?

Choose BigCommerce if

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

Choose Square if

  • You need payment processing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on POS (Mobile app), Web.
  • You also want point of sale.
Square review

Questions people ask

Is BigCommerce or Square better?
Neither clearly leads. BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month and Square at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BigCommerce or Square?
Square has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29.95/month for BigCommerce and Free for Square.
Does BigCommerce or Square run on more platforms?
BigCommerce runs on Web. Square runs on POS (Mobile app), Web.
Can I use Square for free?
Yes. Square 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 Square is typically brought in for.
What can BigCommerce do that Square cannot?
BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Stencil theme framework, Multi-storefront, Faceted search. Square covers Payment processing, Point of sale, Invoicing, Payroll.

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.

Square: Does Square offer a free plan?

Yes, Square's free plan includes an all-in-one POS app, online site builder, item library and inventory tracking, invoicing, appointment scheduling, staff calendars, and checking and savings account access. No subscription fees are charged.

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.

Square: What does Square Plus add compared to the free plan?

Square Plus adds advanced POS features for food and retail, lower processing fees on card transactions, custom loyalty programs, unlimited email marketing campaigns, text messaging, and staff scheduling and attendance tracking.

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.

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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