Magento vs BigCommerce

There are many eCommerce platform options out there, but do they all fit your needs? What is the essential information you need to have before you choose? For most applications, Magento could be your best choice. Let us show you why.

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Features

Though meant for the same purpose, these two platforms are very different from each other. There is little to compare face to face, since Magento is an open-source platform that allows you to keep a copy on your system and upload it when necessary via FTP. In contrast, BigCommerce is a cloud-based service or SaaS (Software as a Service). Here are some of their features:

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  MAGENTO

  BIGCOMMERCE

  • There is a free, open-source version, and also an Enterprise paid edition.
  • Self- hosted. You require a third-party hosting solution.
  • Based on the top SEO ranking factors, Magento 2 is number one. It handles every SEO capability required by this type of business.
  • Robust support community due to a large number of users.
  • Magento can both integrate with existing marketplaces and serve as a platform to create one through multi-vendor marketplace extensions.
  • Not free. Packages start at around US$30 per month and will increase as your store grows.
  • Hosted solution.
  • BigCommerce is not as capable and ranks fourth in SEO potential.
  • BigCommerce University is a good source of support.
  • You can integrate a BigCommerce site with an existing marketplace, like Amazon and eBay, but the platform itself has no option to create a marketplace.

  MAGENTO

  • There is a free, open-source version, and also an Enterprise paid edition.
  • Self- hosted. You require a third-party hosting solution.
  • Based on the top SEO ranking factors, Magento 2 is number 1. It handles every SEO capability required by this type of business.
  • Robust support community due to a large number of users.
  • Magento can both integrate with existing marketplaces and serve as a platform to create one through multi-vendor marketplace extensions.

  BIGCOMMERCE

  • Not free. Packages start at around US$30 per month and will increase as your store grows.
  • Hosted solution.
  • BigCommerce is not as capable and ranks fourth in SEO potential.
  • BigCommerce University is a good source of support.
  • You can integrate a BigCommerce site with an existing marketplace, like Amazon and eBay, but the platform itself has no option to create a marketplace.
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Scalability

Magento 2 is fully scalable, apt for medium and large stores. If it does not have the desired feature out of the box, it can be easily added, making it very versatile. It is ready to increase the number of products or categories.

BigCommerce is fine for startups or beginners, though it may grow as your business requires. However, it features an annual sales limit. Should you exceed this limit, you will be automatically promoted to the next level, which will come at an additional cost. With faster-growing businesses, this new cost may pile up sooner than you might expect.

  MAGENTO

  BIGCOMMERCE

  • Capable of handling many more orders per hour.
  • Near-instant server response while browsing catalogs.
  • Fast cart and checkout pages.
  • Can manage multiple admin users on the backend.
  • Suitable for startups and smaller businesses.
  • Can accommodate more significant numbers of orders with a more expensive plan.

  MAGENTO

  • Modular architecture allows for easy and progressive growth.
  • Ability to integrate statistical tools makes Magento the post powerful platform regarding discovery of future trends.
  • Can be scaled up or down.

  WOOCOMMERCE

  • Starter plan may run out of resources as store grows.
  • As store grows hosting charges increase.
  • Updates, backups, and security of website are store owner’s responsibility.

“Magento scales very well. That means if you keep adding more products, there’s no significant performance decline. This sounds like a very technical and unuseful [sic] thing but actually it’s very important and depends heavily on the type of eCommerce solution you are providing. In our case, we were supposed to have many products (+15,000) so we never have many scale issues with it.”

Santiago Valdés, Marketing, Growth & Technology

Functionality

Built-in features and the possibility of enhancing the UX and functionality by means of extensions or add-ons make these two platforms equally desirable. However, when it comes to expanding its opportunities, Magento 2 has a definite edge. From design flexibility to future-proofing your store, Magento has much more to offer.

You want to be able to customize your store to meet each of your needs, so you must ensure that the platform you choose will allow you to do so, especially if you want to sell B2B. Being open-source, Magento 2 can accommodate truly complex requirements, while BigCommerce is more of a come-as-is solution which, even though powerful, may cause you delays if a needed extension does not yet exist.

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Security

  MAGENTO

  BIGCOMMERCE

  • Magento is continuously releasing fixes and patches to ensure that the platform remains protected against vulnerabilities.
  • Magento uses current technologies and updated components (PHP 7, Composer, Zend Framework, Symfony), and the integration of SSL Certificates to further enhance the shopping experience by reinforcing the level of trust of customers.
  • BigCommerce stores are level 1 certified PCI compliant to guarantee that your customers’ personal information is never at risk.
  • Free and paid SSL Certificates are available. The paid ones are GeoTrust verified and feature additional security such as site seals, increased purchase protection, and extended validation. Free ones only offer basic encryption.

  MAGENTO

  • Magento is continuously releasing fixes and patches to ensure that the platform remains protected against vulnerabilities.
  • Magento uses current technologies and updated components (PHP 7, Composer, Zend Framework, Symfony), and the integration of SSL Certificates to further enhance the shopping experience by reinforcing the level of trust of customers.

  BIGCOMMERCE

  • BigCommerce stores are level 1 certified PCI compliant to guarantee that your customers’ personal information is never at risk.
  • Free and paid SSL Certificates are available. The paid ones are GeoTrust verified and feature additional security such as site seals, increased purchase protection, and extended validation. Free ones only offer basic encryption.

Support

A robust and very active support community has developed for Magento due to the large number of users. And, since it is open-source, there are multiple forums where users and developers are willing to answer your questions and help make this a better platform. Also, customer support is available by the hour for a fee.

In the case of BigCommerce, the best source of support is BigCommerce University. There is also phone, email, and chat support 24/7 on all their packages.

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