BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a hosted ecommerce platform that provides merchants with storefront building, inventory management, payment processing, and multichannel selling tools through a subscription-based, open software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.

The platform was founded in 2009 in Sydney, Australia by Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper, who had previously built Interspire, a licensed shopping cart software product. Dissatisfied with the fragmented tools available to online merchants, they relaunched under the BigCommerce name as a fully hosted SaaS solution.

The company relocated its headquarters to Austin, Texas in 2011 following early investment rounds, and went public on the Nasdaq in 2020 under the ticker BIGC. As of 2025, BigCommerce serves tens of thousands of merchants across more than 150 countries.

BigCommerce positions itself as an open SaaS platform – a model that combines the managed infrastructure of traditional SaaS (hosting, security updates, compliance) with full API access and support for headless commerce architectures. This distinguishes it from closed SaaS platforms and from self-hosted solutions such as WooCommerce, where merchants manage their own server environments.

A notable commercial distinction is that BigCommerce does not charge platform-level overhead costs in the form of transaction fees, regardless of which payment gateway a merchant uses – a policy that contrasts with some competing hosted platforms. For a broader comparison of platform options, see Shopify vs BigCommerce.

Example

A mid-sized outdoor equipment retailer selling through its own website and two wholesale accounts uses BigCommerce to manage all three channels from a single dashboard. The merchant connects the store to a third-party payment gateway without incurring additional platform fees and uses the open API to integrate a custom inventory tool built by its development team. When adding a B2B pricing tier for trade customers, the merchant configures it through BigCommerce’s native wholesale features without installing a third-party application.

Key characteristics

• Open SaaS architecture: BigCommerce provides managed hosting and security while exposing full API access, allowing developers to build custom integrations or decouple the frontend from the backend in a headless configuration.
• No platform transaction fees: Unlike some hosted ecommerce platforms, BigCommerce does not charge an additional percentage on sales regardless of which payment processor the merchant selects.
• Native B2B functionality: The platform includes built-in tools for wholesale pricing, customer-group-specific catalogues, quote management, and purchase order support, features that competing platforms often require third-party applications to replicate.
• Multi-storefront management: Enterprise-tier merchants can operate multiple distinct storefronts – for different brands, regions, or customer types – from a single BigCommerce account.
• Tiered subscription plans: Access is sold through Standard, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise plans, with annual revenue thresholds that trigger automatic upgrades to the next tier.

Related terms

• Ecommerce – the broader category of online commercial transactions that hosted platforms such as BigCommerce are built to facilitate.
• WooCommerce – a self-hosted ecommerce plugin for WordPress that functions as an alternative to BigCommerce for merchants who prefer direct control over their server environment.
• Payment gateway – the service that authorises card transactions at checkout; BigCommerce integrates with multiple gateways without applying platform-level fees on top of processor charges.
• Wholesale – a pricing model commonly used in B2B commerce, supported natively within BigCommerce’s enterprise and higher-tier plans.
• Order fulfillment – the process of processing and shipping a customer order, which BigCommerce supports through native tools and third-party logistics integrations.

Frequently asked questions

How does BigCommerce differ from Shopify?

Both are hosted SaaS ecommerce platforms, but they differ in several structural ways. BigCommerce charges no platform transaction fees regardless of payment gateway, whereas some Shopify plans charge 0.5–2% on sales processed through non-native gateways.

BigCommerce also includes more native B2B and wholesale features and exposes broader API access by default. Shopify has a larger app marketplace and a larger merchant base overall. A detailed breakdown is available at Shopify vs BigCommerce.

Is BigCommerce suitable for dropshipping?

BigCommerce supports dropshipping through integrations with third-party sourcing and order automation tools. The platform’s open API makes it possible to connect supplier catalogues and automate order fulfillment workflows, though the native dropshipping toolset is less developed than on platforms built specifically for that model.

What does “open SaaS” mean in the context of BigCommerce?

Open SaaS refers to a hosting model in which the platform manages infrastructure, security, and software updates (as in traditional SaaS), but also provides full access to its APIs and supports headless commerce architectures where merchants can use a custom or third-party frontend. This gives developers more flexibility than closed SaaS platforms while removing the server-management burden of self-hosted solutions.

Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

BigCommerce does not charge platform-level transaction fees on any of its subscription plans. Merchants pay standard processing rates set by their chosen payment gateway or processor, but BigCommerce itself does not take an additional percentage of each sale.

AliDropship: An all-in-one platform for starting dropshipping in 2026

AliDropship is a dropshipping platform that covers store creation, product imports, order automation, and marketing within a single system. It is designed for users with no prior ecommerce experience, though it also supports scaling for more established stores.

🛍️ Free turnkey store

New users receive a free pre-built store – set up, designed, and stocked with products. The store includes a ready-to-use product catalogue and a standard storefront design. It also comes with hosting, a domain, SSL, and payment systems already set up and included.

📦 Products

The platform provides access to a product catalogue covering both trending and niche items, with one-click import to your store. The catalogue is updated regularly to reflect current market availability. Products can be browsed, filtered, and added without leaving the platform.

🚚 Shipping & fulfillment

AliDropship provides access to a vast catalogue of products from global suppliers and handles order fulfillment automatically once a purchase is made. Customers receive tracking information directly, and orders are processed without manual intervention from the store owner.

📣 Marketing & promotion tools

The platform includes built-in marketing tools covering email campaigns, discount management, SEO settings, and social media integration. These are available within the dashboard and do not require third-party subscriptions for basic use.

👌 Ease of use

AliDropship requires no coding knowledge. The dashboard contains all the necessary tools for managing your store, products, and orders in one place. Additional features and products can be added as the store grows without rebuilding the existing setup.