Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

BigCommerce vs Stripe

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
Stripe logo

Stripe

E-Commerce

Financial infrastructure for the internet

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Stripe 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.; Stripe requires developer setup and API integration for most use cases
  • They diverge on capability: BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Stripe covers Payment processing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigCommerce and Stripe actually diverge.

Attributes where BigCommerce and Stripe differ
AttributeBigCommerceStripe
Starting price$29.95/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded20092010

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 Stripe

  • Payment processing
  • Subscription billing
  • Invoicing
  • Terminal (in-person payments)
  • Fraud prevention
  • 3D Secure
  • Global payouts
  • Financial reporting

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

Stripe

  • Online paymentsnot BigCommerce
  • Subscription managementnot BigCommerce
  • Marketplace paymentsnot BigCommerce
  • Global expansionnot BigCommerce
  • Platform monetizationnot 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.

Stripe

  • Requires developer setup and API integration for most use cases
  • Dispute fee of $15 per chargeback is standard industry cost
  • Limited offline payment capabilities

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

Stripe

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Stripe review.

Which should you pick?

Choose BigCommerce if

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

Choose Stripe if

  • You need payment processing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want subscription billing.
Stripe review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Stripe: What are Stripe's transaction fees?

Standard US rates are 2.9% plus 30 cents for online card payments, 2.7% plus 5 cents for in-person, 3.4% plus 30 cents for keyed/phone transactions, and 0.8% capped at $5 for ACH payments.

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.

Stripe: How many currencies and countries does it support?

Stripe accepts 135+ currencies and supports payment acceptance in 40+ countries through Stripe Connect, enabling sellers to onboard and receive payouts in minutes.

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.

Stripe: What payment methods are supported?

Stripe supports dozens of payment methods including credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, and local payment options, with additional support through partnerships with Meta and Google.

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.

Stripe: Are there monthly fees or contracts?

No. Stripe charges no monthly fees or contracts, only per-transaction fees and dispute fees, making costs fully transparent and variable.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on BigCommerce

More on Stripe

Keep looking

Other head to heads