Ecommerce Platform Pricing Comparison

Monthly Subscription Pricing

Shopify

Shopify offers four plan tiers. The Basic plan costs $39 per month and includes unlimited products, two staff accounts, basic reports, up to 1,000 inventory locations, and Shopify Payments. The Shopify plan at $105 per month adds five staff accounts, professional reports, better shipping discounts, and lower card processing rates. The Advanced plan at $399 per month adds fifteen staff accounts, custom report builder, third-party calculated shipping rates, and the lowest card processing rates. Shopify Plus for enterprise starts at $2,300 per month with custom negotiation for high-volume merchants.

All plans include unlimited products, SSL certificate, abandoned cart recovery, discount codes, manual order creation, and 24/7 support. The differences between plans primarily affect staff accounts, reporting depth, shipping features, and card processing rates.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce Standard costs $39 per month and includes unlimited products, unlimited staff accounts, real-time carrier shipping quotes, customer groups, and faceted search. The Plus plan at $105 per month adds customer segmentation, abandoned cart saver with customizable emails, and stored credit cards. The Pro plan at $399 per month adds Google customer reviews, custom SSL, and advanced product filtering. Enterprise pricing is custom.

BigCommerce plans have annual revenue caps: $50,000 on Standard, $180,000 on Plus, and $400,000 on Pro. Exceeding the cap triggers an automatic upgrade to the next tier.

Squarespace

Squarespace Business at $33 per month includes ecommerce with a 3% transaction fee on every sale. Basic Commerce at $36 per month removes the transaction fee and adds customer accounts, checkout on your domain, and ecommerce analytics. Advanced Commerce at $65 per month adds abandoned cart recovery, subscription products, advanced shipping options, and commerce APIs.

Wix

Wix Business Basic at $17 per month includes online payments, 50 GB storage, and basic ecommerce features. Business Unlimited at $25 per month adds 100 GB storage, enhanced ecommerce tools, and subscription products. Business VIP at $35 per month adds priority support, loyalty programs, and advanced analytics.

WooCommerce

The WooCommerce plugin is free. Hosting costs depend on provider and plan level. Shared hosting runs $3 to $10 per month. Managed WordPress hosting from SiteGround, Cloudways, or Nexcess runs $14 to $50 per month. VPS or dedicated hosting for larger stores runs $50 to $200 per month. Domain registration adds $10 to $15 per year.

Credit Card Processing Fees

These are the fees your payment processor charges on every credit card transaction. They are separate from the platform's own surcharges.

Shopify Payments

Basic plan: 2.9% plus 30 cents per online transaction. Shopify plan: 2.7% plus 30 cents. Advanced plan: 2.5% plus 30 cents. In-person rates are lower: 2.6% plus 10 cents on Basic, decreasing with higher plans. International card fees add 1.5% on top of the standard rate.

Stripe (WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Squarespace)

Standard rate: 2.9% plus 30 cents per successful charge. International cards add 1.5%. Currency conversion adds an additional 1%. Stripe is available in over 40 countries. Volume discounts are available for businesses processing over $1 million annually through Stripe custom pricing.

PayPal

Standard rate for online payments: 2.99% plus 49 cents per transaction. PayPal Here for in-person: 2.29% plus 9 cents. International transactions: 4.99% plus 49 cents. PayPal is supported on all major ecommerce platforms and is the most widely recognized payment brand globally.

Square

Online rate: 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. In-person rate: 2.6% plus 10 cents. No monthly fees, no minimum transaction requirements. Square is the default processor for Square Online and is supported as a gateway on Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Squarespace.

Transaction Fee Surcharges

Transaction fee surcharges are additional fees that the platform charges on top of your payment processor's fees. This is the cost that creates the largest pricing differences between platforms.

Shopify: 2% on Basic, 1% on Shopify, 0.6% on Advanced when using any payment gateway other than Shopify Payments. Zero surcharge when using Shopify Payments.

BigCommerce: Zero surcharges on all plans with all payment gateways.

Squarespace: 3% on the Business plan. Zero on Basic Commerce and Advanced Commerce.

Wix: Zero surcharges on all plans.

WooCommerce: Zero surcharges. You pay only what your payment gateway charges.

Surcharge Impact by Revenue

On $50,000 in annual revenue using an external gateway on Shopify Basic, the 2% surcharge costs $1,000 per year. On $100,000, it costs $2,000. On $500,000, it costs $10,000. On Squarespace Business, the 3% surcharge on $50,000 costs $1,500. These surcharges make Shopify (without Shopify Payments) and Squarespace Business significantly more expensive than their advertised monthly price suggests.

Theme and Design Costs

Shopify: About twelve free themes. Premium themes cost $180 to $350 from the official Shopify Theme Store. Third-party themes from ThemeForest and other marketplaces cost $30 to $80 but vary in quality and support.

BigCommerce: About twelve free themes. Premium themes cost $150 to $400 from the BigCommerce Theme Marketplace.

Squarespace: All templates are free and included with every plan. No premium theme market.

Wix: All templates are free and included with every plan.

WooCommerce: Thousands of free WordPress themes with WooCommerce support. Premium themes cost $50 to $130 from ThemeForest, StudioPress, or independent developers. Page builders like Elementor Pro ($59/year) add visual design capabilities.

App and Extension Costs

This is where the total cost of ownership diverges most dramatically between platforms. The monthly app bill can exceed the platform subscription itself.

Shopify: The average Shopify store runs five to fifteen apps. Free apps exist for basic functions, but most stores need paid apps for email marketing ($20 to $100/month), reviews ($10 to $50/month), SEO ($15 to $40/month), upsells ($10 to $30/month), and subscription or loyalty features ($20 to $100/month). A typical small business app stack costs $50 to $200 per month. Some stores spend over $500 per month on apps.

BigCommerce: Stores typically run fewer apps because more features are built in. Real-time shipping quotes, faceted search, customer groups, and product filtering do not require apps on BigCommerce. A typical app stack costs $20 to $100 per month.

WooCommerce: Extensions use annual pricing rather than monthly. A typical setup with five premium extensions costs $300 to $1,000 per year ($25 to $83 per month equivalent). Many essential functions are covered by free plugins.

Squarespace: Minimal app costs. Most features are built in. The extensions marketplace has limited offerings, and most stores use zero to two paid extensions.

Wix: Similar to Squarespace, most features are built in. App costs are minimal for most stores.

Total Cost of Ownership by Revenue Level

$50,000 Annual Revenue

WooCommerce on managed hosting: $400 to $900 per year (hosting, extensions, theme). BigCommerce Standard: $700 to $1,200 per year (subscription, apps, theme). Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments: $1,100 to $2,000 per year (subscription, apps, theme). Squarespace Basic Commerce: $450 to $600 per year (subscription, minimal extras). Wix Business Basic: $220 to $350 per year (subscription, minimal extras).

$200,000 Annual Revenue

WooCommerce on managed hosting: $600 to $1,500 per year. BigCommerce Plus (forced upgrade from $50k cap): $1,500 to $2,200 per year. Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments: $1,500 to $2,800 per year. Shopify Basic with external gateway: $5,500 to $6,800 per year (subscription plus $4,000 surcharge). Squarespace Advanced Commerce: $800 to $1,000 per year.

$500,000 Annual Revenue

WooCommerce on optimized hosting: $1,200 to $3,000 per year. BigCommerce Pro (forced upgrade from revenue cap): $5,200 to $6,500 per year. Shopify Advanced with Shopify Payments: $5,500 to $7,000 per year. Shopify Basic with external gateway: $11,500 to $13,000 per year (subscription plus $10,000 surcharge).

The True Cost Equation

The cheapest platform at every revenue level is WooCommerce, assuming you can manage the hosting and technical maintenance. The cheapest hosted platform depends on your revenue: Wix and Squarespace are cheapest at low revenue, BigCommerce is cheapest at mid to high revenue (due to zero surcharges), and Shopify is competitive only when using Shopify Payments (which eliminates the surcharge).

But cost is not the only factor. A platform that costs $500 more per year but converts 1% more visitors into buyers on $100,000 in revenue adds $1,000 in additional sales. Shopify's checkout optimization, Shop Pay's conversion lift, and extensive marketing integrations generate real revenue that can offset higher platform costs. The cheapest platform is not always the most profitable.

Calculate your total cost of ownership for your specific revenue, payment gateway, and feature needs. Then compare that total cost against the revenue impact of each platform's checkout optimization, SEO capabilities, and marketing tools. The platform that maximizes profit, not the platform that minimizes cost, is the right choice.