When you start researching where to build your eCommerce store, it quickly becomes clear that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

Different platforms are built for different business models, which is why comparing your options matters. 

BigCommerce is a popular option that often stands out due to its built-in features, scalability, and reliability for online retailers.

That said, its focus on traditional eCommerce workflows may not align with every business’s needs—especially for brands that want more flexibility or a creator-first approach.

This article explores alternative platforms worth considering if BigCommerce isn’t the right fit for how you want to build and grow your store.

Why Consider BigCommerce Alternatives?

Pricing Concerns 

BigCommerce offers a free plan (you can try it for 15 days before upgrading to a paid plan), but its pricing plans may not fit the budgets of new content creators, smaller businesses, or startups.

Since BigCommerce uses revenue tiers for how much in online sales you can generate per year on each plan, you may find yourself needing a more expensive BigCommerce plan sooner than you anticipate.

Alternative eCommerce platforms may offer more cost-effective solutions.

Feature Limitations

While comprehensive, BigCommerce may not have all the specific features or integrations a business needs to operate efficiently.

Their eCommerce platform does offer a drag-and-drop visual website builder and mobile optimization, but BigCommerce offers no dedicated mobile shopping app, unlike what you might find on a site like Fourthwall, which includes a customized mobile app for free with all of their websites.

BigCommerce is also said not to be particularly user-intuitive, and some features are paywalled.

Scalability Issues

As businesses grow, their needs can change.

Some might find BigCommerce less adaptable to their evolving requirements; their basic shipping features can be lacking, requiring you to find and use a plug-in.

Customer service/tech support for shop owners can also reportedly be quite slow.

Customization Needs

Businesses looking for extensive store customization options might find BigCommerce's offerings restrictive; the initial store setup is reportedly confusing, especially if you're new to eCommerce. 

Editing your themes has been called "tricky," and the store's templates/customization options seem fairly limited unless you're willing to shell out quite a bit of extra money.

6 BigCommerce Alternatives

Here are six well-known eCommerce platforms that content creators and businesses can consider as alternatives to BigCommerce, each with its own unique features, pricing structures, integrations, and customization options:

1. Fourthwall

Fourthwall is an eCommerce platform designed for content creators and small businesses.

It offers an easy-to-use suite of tools, including its own website builder, for creating customizable websites and membership offerings, as well as seamless integration with social media and livestreaming platforms.

Fourthwall also offers special features that enable direct live sales on platforms like Twitch, TikTok Shop, and YouTube, making it even more ideal for influencers and content creators.

Pros:

• Fourthwall's user-friendly interface is ideal for content creators and small businesses, offering full control over your brand. You can even bring in your own domain name.
• Fourthwall offers a large catalog of premium products you can customize and sell to create your own unique merch line. You can also sell your own products, digital products, and services.
• Robust eCommerce tools on Fourthwall, including endlessly customizable websites, memberships, a free mobile app included with each website, and a long list of payment options. Oh, and did we mention that Fourthwall sites and shops are free? There are no monthly fees, paid plans, or up-front costs.
• Seamless integration with social media and livestreaming platforms for direct sales. Fourthwall also handles the customer service for your fans/customers.

Cons:

• Doesn't offer complex B2B tools, large-scale inventory management, or deeply customizable backend workflows like BigCommerce.

2. Wix

Founded in 2006, Wix is known for its affordable pricing plans, although the smallest Wix plans can be limited in features.

It features a wide range of templates and an app market for additional functionalities. 

The platform provides a drag-and-drop website builder with plenty of customization options, making it easy enough for small businesses to put together visually appealing online stores.

Pros:

• Drag-and-drop customizable store/Wix website builder.
• Wix offers affordable pricing plans for small businesses to get started, starting at $17 per month, but if you're already hitting 100 Wix store transactions a month, you'll need to bump up to the $36 paid plan.
• Wide range of Wix templates and design flexibility.

Cons:

• Wix has limited eCommerce functionality compared to other platforms, as you can use only one payment provider for debit/credit card payments.
• Additional costs for premium Wix website features.

3. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress, offering high customization with a large selection of plugins and themes.

It's a flexible platform that enables businesses to create tailored eCommerce solutions for online selling.

While WooCommerce requires some technical knowledge to manage, WooCommerce benefits from strong community support and extensive documentation.

Pros:

• WooCommerce is free to use with WordPress as the website builder, and customization is available through plugins and themes; no contracts are required.  WooCommerce sites are also fairly easy to make mobile-friendly.
• A vast array of integrations for selling physical products, digital products, and services.

Cons:

• WooCommerce sites require some technical knowledge to set up and maintain, and the learning curve can be steep. 
• Additional costs for separate hosting services (paid plans for these can vary) and for premium themes (which typically cost from $35 to over $100); also, WooCommerce only works with WordPress, so if you don't want to learn WordPress, you're out of luck.

4. Shopify

Shopify is a popular eCommerce platform built to support businesses of all sizes, from small dropshipping shops to large online retailers.

It provides inventory management and analytics tools that help sellers track products, sales, and performance as they scale.

Shopify also includes a large library of free and premium themes for store design, though some page layouts and features require third-party apps or custom code to fully customize.

Pros:

• Shopify offers comprehensive ecommerce features with easy setup and management via its eCommerce software.
• Large app store for additional website builder functionalities and integrations via Shopify's selection of store apps and plugins.
• Good Shopify customer support is available 24/7, plus tutorials and other resources for shop owners.

Cons:

• Monthly fees can add up; Shopify's subscription model can cut into your profits. You can try the free plan for 3 days, then the basic paid plan starts at $39. Some of the more desirable premium themes can also cost hundreds of dollars.
• Transaction fees are charged in addition to your Shopify subscription plan, unless you opt to use Shopify Payments.

5. Volusion

Volusion caters to small-to mid-sized businesses that sell online.

It's a cloud-based eCommerce platform that offers built-in SEO tools, marketing features, and a website builder with plenty of design templates and customization options. 

Volusion can be good for newer businesses looking for easy store expansions and for those with some web design knowledge who don't need much assistance.

Pros:

• Fairly simple setup with a user-friendly interface that works with third-party apps; you'll learn most of the features on your own.
• Built-in SEO tools and marketing features.
• Low transaction fees that are more than competitive with other names in eCommerce.

Cons:

• Somewhat limited customization options compared to other platforms.
• There's no setup fee, but there's also no long-term free version (you can try it for 14 days first); the most basic paid plan is $29 and only allows up to 100 products.
• Volusion's customer service, while it claims to be extensive, gets fairly low marks, especially if you've purchased a lower-level paid plan.

6. Prestashop

PrestaShop is an open-source eCommerce platform that’s known for keeping day-to-day store management relatively straightforward.

Once your store is set up, creating product listings and handling orders is fairly easy, but meaningful customization usually requires working knowledge of HTML or CSS.

PrestaShop also supports a wide range of payment and delivery options, including standard credit cards and PayPal, built-in PDF invoicing, flexible shipping methods, and local pickup or delivery.

Pros:

• You can list unlimited products to sell online on Prestashop.
• Prestashop offers a selection of strong SEO tools, as well as tools for inventory management and marketing, including email and coupon codes.

Cons:

• There are no drag-and-drop interfaces here; customizing your store requires downloading a separate program or app, learning to edit CSS and template files, or hiring a website developer.
• You can start on Prestashop for free, but you'll probably need to rapidly shift to a hosted plan (around $26 per month) for actual customer support and ease of use.

Make Fourthwall Your eCommerce Solution!

If you’re exploring eCommerce alternatives that actually fit how creators and modern brands sell online, Fourthwall is built for you.

Fourthwall combines a fully branded website, powerful eCommerce tools, and creator-first features into one easy-to-use platform.

You can sell custom merch, digital products, memberships, and more, without relying on third-party apps or paying monthly fees.

If BigCommerce feels built for traditional retailers, Fourthwall offers a more flexible, creator-focused way to monetize your audience. Launch your store and start selling with Fourthwall today.

FAQ: BigCommerce 

What are the disadvantages of BigCommerce?

Some potential disadvantages of BigCommerce include higher pricing, limited customization for advanced users, and scalability issues for rapidly growing businesses.

Is Fourthwall better than BigCommerce?

It depends on your needs. Fourthwall is excellent for content creators and small businesses looking for a user-friendly platform with robust ecommerce tools and creative features.

BigCommerce might be more suitable for very large, more traditional businesses needing advanced business features.

What is the best alternative to BigCommerce?

There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. The best alternative to BigCommerce depends on your specific requirements, such as budget, free plan benefits vs. paid plan, desired features, and scalability.

Shopify and WooCommerce are popular alternatives for more traditional business models, while Wix and Volusion are for those who have time to navigate a steeper learning curve.

Fourthwall, however, is a top drawer choice for more creative, diverse creators who want lots of options for their store to reflect their brand, without a lot of financial investment.