Not sure which\u00a0eCommerce\u00a0platform is right for your business? With all the information that\u2019s out there, it\u2019s a pretty tough choice to make. But there\u2019s no need to worry…we\u2019re here to help.<\/p>\n
Below, we will\u00a0compare\u00a0Magento<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0BigCommerce<\/a>, so you can choose the right platform for your online store.<\/p>\n Straight out the box, both Magento and BigCommerce will meet more than your basic eCommerce platform needs. You\u2019ll be able to customize your theme,\u00a0create checkout pages, manage products, perform email marketing, and much more.<\/p>\n While they overlap in several ways, they each offer their own special capabilities as well, so you\u2019ll want to make sure your platform\u2019s unique features align with your specific needs.<\/p>\n After all, you want to give your customers the best shopping experience possible, right?<\/p>\n A fundamental difference between Magento and BigCommerce is their software.<\/p>\n Magento is an open-source PaaS – \u201cPlatform as a Service\u201d, while BigCommerce is a SaaS platform \u201cSoftware as a Service.\u201d This is a key distinction that affects what you can do with each platform.<\/p>\n PaaS is a development and deployment environment in the cloud.\u00a0 Resources are available to deliver anything from simple cloud-based apps to advanced cloud-enabled enterprise applications.<\/p>\n SaaS on the other hand is the licensing of software and a delivery model where this license is on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted.<\/p>\n Magento gives merchants an open-source framework to work with, which gives you a ton of control over your store\u2019s design and functionality. You\u2019ll be able to build your store from the ground up and design your own apps and extensions, which makes Magento perfect if you\u2019re in need of complex, highly customized solutions.<\/p>\n However, to take advantage of all that endless creative freedom, you\u2019ll probably want to hire a team of developers, which can mean a little extra investment and maintenance costs.<\/p>\n On the flip side, BigCommerce is a ready-to-use platform. Not only does it allow you to choose from a set of pre-built and customizable themes, but its core product already includes features like product reviews, digital marketing, and loyalty programs.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s a closed source platform but it\u2019s a low-cost way to get started which may not require as much assistance from a developer.<\/p>\n Although easier to use, do keep in mind that there are restrictions on the functionality within BigCommerce\u2019s platform compared to Magento.\u00a0 If Magento doesn\u2019t have a specific built-in feature you can build one yourself. This means customization with Magento is limitless.<\/p>\n Magento offers multi-store functionality in the same installation – allowing users to create and access multiple stores on different URLs. All stores through the multi-store installation share the same backend, making administrative work a lot easier.<\/p>\n Magento allows users to customize the whole experience to local customs and shopper expectations all around the world.\u00a0 This includes site design, a product mix, and support for local technologies and suppliers. Users can integrate most local business and custom systems, without breaking the bank.\u00a0 Magento goes above and beyond to support multi-currencies, multi-payment methods, and multi-languages.<\/p>\n BigCommerce doesn\u2019t let complexity slow them down either.\u00a0 They too offer multi-currency, multi-language, multi-store, and multi-brand solutions along with international options for shipping and taxes through their platform – allowing users to sell to customers almost anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n Magento Commerce includes everything you need to manage\u00a0B2B eCommerce sites<\/a> for multiple brands, channel partners, and key accounts. B2B customers can manage their own company accounts by setting up various levels of buyers who require specific roles and permissions. Magento also allows users to personalize the online experience with the ability to assign different pricing lists and custom catalogs, and target content and promotion to specific segments.\u00a0 Customers can view details on previous orders, track their quotes, manage their credit, view real-time inventory levels, place their orders online by entering SKUs, or uploading CSV files, and more.\u00a0 All of this – reducing the need for support from the user. Magento truly offers a seamless experience for its customers.\u00a0 The one downside though…this only comes with Magento Commerce and not the free version.<\/p>\n BigCommerce is amongst the best in class for B2B solutions.\u00a0 Through built-in integrations and extensions, they empower users to build sleek site designs for large catalogs, while offering customer and pricing segmentation down to the SKU level.\u00a0 They also allow users to enable a better B2B eCommerce experience by utilizing automated customer and pricing segmentation, purchase orders, net payment terms, user roles, and integrations with major ERP and CRM systems.\u00a0 On top of this, they also offer advanced B2B shipping rates through native integration with ShipperHQ and allow one-click, pre-built tools including immediate quote generation, user permissions, and re-ordering.\u00a0 BigCommerce has its customer experience at the forefront of its game.<\/p>\n Another advantage with BigCommerce is that they take care of any hosting and software maintenance. After new releases, your software is automatically updated.\u00a0 And if any problems arise, their team fixes the issues.<\/p>\n Magento users, on the other hand, will need to find and manage their own hosting after licensing the software if they are using Magento\u2019s free version. They\u2019ll also be responsible for any maintenance, software upgrades, and bug fixes.\u00a0 Magento\u2019s paid version, however, is hosted on Amazon\u2019s Cloud – AWS.<\/p>\n Since BigCommerce hosts and maintains your platform, they also ensure that your store is PCI compliant. As an e-commerce seller, you must be PCI compliant to safeguard your customers\u2019 payment information.<\/p>\n As you might\u2019ve guessed, Magento merchants are responsible for their own website’s security and need to meet PCI compliance standards on their own. All that extra power and flexibility comes with a little added responsibility.\u00a0 If you need help in this area – you know what to do.\u00a0\u00a0Hit us up<\/a>!<\/p>\n One of the most important factors you\u2019ll want to take into consideration when choosing an eCommerce platform is any plugins, apps, and integrations you\u2019re going to need.<\/p>\n Between Magento and BigCommerce, both platforms have extensive app marketplaces that give sellers the opportunity to customize their store. You\u2019ll be able to find specific plug-ins or apps for shipping,\u00a0cart abandonment, email marketing, rewards programs, and much more.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0BigCommerce\u2019s app marketplace<\/a>\u00a0is a lot smaller than\u00a0Magento\u2019s Marketplace<\/a>, naturally because they\u2019re a newer platform with fewer developers and users at this time. However, the disparity is generally not an issue as both platforms offer most of the basic plug-ins your website might need.<\/p>\n Perhaps a more important difference is that BigCommerce installs its apps directly to your store as soon as you download them\u2013\u2013and they take care of any future updates and fixes automatically.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Magento follows a more manual installation process, plus you\u2019ll need to maintain and upgrade your own extensions whenever it\u2019s necessary. But the platform also allows you to build and install your own custom extensions, should you need a custom solution.<\/p>\n Once again, BigCommerce results in a more limited, yet user-friendlier process, while with Magento you pay the price of more responsibility for that extra flexibility.<\/p>\n And a comparison wouldn\u2019t be complete without looking at pricing. So what would it cost to set up and maintain a store on these two very different platforms?<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with Magento.<\/p>\n The great thing about Magento is that\u00a0the platform is initially free<\/a> if you\u2019re just starting out. Since it\u2019s open-source, the Magento Community licensing comes at no cost.\u00a0 However, you will need to consider extra fees for hosting, security, and PCI compliance, as well as any extra apps or extensions for your webstore.<\/p>\n Magento also offers a paid version called\u00a0Magento Commerce<\/a>, which is targeted more at online stores generating more than $1million in sales a year.\u00a0 This comes at a start pricing of $22K a year.<\/p>\n In both instances, the most notable cost with Magento is going to be your web developer or agency fees, as it\u2019s pretty hard to customize your own\u00a0store without their help.<\/p>\nBasic Overview<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Software<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Usability<\/strong>
\n<\/b><\/h3>\nMulti-Store Capabilities<\/strong><\/h3>\n
B2B<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Hosting, Security & Maintenance<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Plug-Ins & Extensions<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Pricing<\/strong><\/h3>\n