If you’ve been thinking about opening up your very own online store and have already done some research about it, then you’ve probably come across these names: Ecwid and BigCommerce. They’re both very popular e-commerce platforms that have helped many get their business off the ground. While they have that in common, there are some stark differences between the two that you should definitely know about. First off, Ecwid is a plugin and not a website builder. This means that it’s integrated into a ready-made website so that you can connect a web store to it. BigCommerce, on the other hand, is a robust and powerful website builder that can do away with the help of third-party apps.
To help you figure out which of the two you should be using to build your business, here’s an in-depth comparison of Ecwid and BigCommerce. This way, you can have a much better understanding of their similarities and differences in terms of ease of use, features, design, and pricing.
Ecwid vs BigCommerce Comparison Chart
| Model | Ecwid | BigCommerce |
 |  | |
| Ease of Use | It’s easy to connect the Ecwid plugin to your existing website or social media channels. | There’s a steeper learning curve involved when you’re first getting started with BigCommerce. |
| E-Commerce Features | Plugin comes with e-commerce features that are similar to that of website builders. | Offers more flexibility when it comes to design customization, customer engagement, and SEO. |
| Design Customization | You have to rely on apps to make design customizations to your storefront. | You get access to hundreds of themes, all of which allow you to make design customizations. |
| Pricing | Free – $0/month Venture – $15/month Business – $35/month Unlimited – $99/month | Standard – $29.95/month Plus – $79.95/month Pro – $299.95/month |
Ease of Use
Ecwid is much easier to navigate than BigCommerce.
Even if you’re a newbie to the e-commerce world, you don’t have to worry because Ecwid will make things easy for you. All you have to do is connect the Ecwid plugin to your pre-designed website or chosen social media channel and you can immediately start selling. While the integration does involve some code insertions, the set-up process is still a no-brainer as all you have to do is follow the set-up wizard and watch as your web store gets created. What’s great is that if you already have an existing website, there’s no need to abandon it as you can simply integrate it with Ecwid and you’re ready to sell. Ecwid also has an Instant Site feature which lets you easily create a one-page website where you can feature your products.
BigCommerce users, however, have to be a little more tech-savvy in order to understand how everything works. You won’t be completely lost though because you’ll be taken through a tour so that you can get familiar with the technicalities of the platform. The hardest thing to navigate about BigCommerce would have to be its split editor which requires you to add your products in one area and edit your storefront in another. You should be fine though once you’ve gotten more used to it. While there is a steeper learning curve involved when you’re using BigCommerce, this is easily justified because it is, after all, a much more powerful system compared to Ecwid.
E-Commerce Features
BigCommerce has more advanced e-commerce features than Ecwid.
Even though Ecwid is a plugin, its features are comparable to those of website builders. It comes with a bunch of useful e-commerce tools that can be easily integrated into your website. The POS software, for example, lets you sell your products in both online and offline modes. The plugin also comes with multi-channel support, allowing you to sell your products across your different social media platforms. It even lets your customers pay via multiple payment gateways such as PayPal, Vend, Stripe, and so many more. To boot, it has an abandoned cart recovery feature, allowing you to follow up on forgotten items. As mentioned, Ecwid also makes it possible for you to create your very own one-page website so that you can properly showcase your products.
Being the powerful website builder that BigCommerce is, you can expect it to have more advanced features than Ecwid. For one, it lets you create and manage any kind of online store regardless of its size. You’re also given maximum control and flexibility when it comes to design customization, customer engagement, marketing elements, and integrations. The biggest advantage of using BigCommerce, however, would probably have to be its SEO capabilities. BigCommerce lets you fully customize your URLs which is a big deal because Google is pretty choosy and only likes those that are shorter and understandable. BigCommerce also lets you modify the robots.txt file right from your dashboard, another plus point for SEO. In addition, it has a blog feature which lets you create content that would rank well in searches.
Design Customization
BigCommerce allows for more flexibility when it comes to design customization.
Because Ecwid is a plugin that you integrate with an existing website, you don’t have much flexibility when it comes to design customization. What you can do, however, is to make your show window more eye-catching by editing some of the existing design provisions. You can, for example, change the background color of your web store. If you want to make more significant customizations, you’d have to make use of apps such as Store Designer or Decorator. If you used Ecwid’s Instant Site feature to create a one-page website, you can change up its look by tinkering with the appearance options found on your admin page or choose from preset themes. If you’re more technologically-advanced, you can also use your coding skills to make CSS modifications to create a unique-looking online store.
Again, because BigCommerce is a highly-capable website builder, it lets users enjoy more design customizations as compared to Ecwid. You get to choose from over a hundred free and paid themes, all of which are conveniently organized by categories and topics. What’s great is that these themes are responsive, meaning they’ll adjust themselves to fit any screen. You also have the complete freedom to modify the elements of design as you please, whether if it’s by changing up the color scheme, picking out another font, or putting up various images. If, however, you’re not satisfied with any of the available themes, you can always make your own. By using the Stencil Theme Editor, you can customize the look of your storefront according to your preference without any coding involved.
Pricing
Ecwid is the more affordable option compared to BigCommerce.
What’s great about Ecwid is that it offers a Free Plan Forever. Without having to shell out anything, you can showcase up to ten products and start selling. You even get a mobile responsive shopping cart plus unlimited bandwidth. If you do, however, want access to more advanced e-commerce tools such as multi-channel integration and sell more than just a handful of products, you have to upgrade to the paid plans. There are three to choose from, namely the Venture plan which will cost you $15/month, the Business plan which comes in at $35/month, and the Unlimited plan which is priced at $99/month. You can save more by paying for these plans annually instead of monthly.
Unfortunately, BigCommerce doesn’t come with a free plan like Ecwid. It does, however, let you take their plans out for a test drive via a 14-day free trial. That should be more than enough time for you to see if the platform is the right pick for you. If you do decide to sign up, you have three plans to choose from: the Standard plan which you can get at $29.95/month, the Plus plan which is offered at $79.95/month, and the Pro plan which costs $299.95/month. Similarly to Ecwid, you get to save quite a bit if you pay for these plans on an annual basis. While BigCommerce does seem pricier on paper, it can’t be forgotten that its features are a lot more robust and that might be enough to justify the higher costs.
Verdict
Ecwid is ideal for smaller stores while BigCommerce is the way to go if you want to scale your business.
It’s obvious that Ecwid and BigCommerce are completely different e-commerce platforms. In order for you to choose between the two, you’d have to first figure out which direction your business is headed. If you’re planning to launch a simple online store and you tend to keep it that way, it would be best to go with Ecwid. The set-up is an easy process, its features are meant to cater to smaller businesses, and it’s the more affordable option between the two. It wouldn’t make sense to spend more for features that you don’t even have any use for. If, however, you plan to scale your business, BigCommerce is the smarter option. It’s packed with a broad variety of powerful tools and features that will help you achieve the growth you’re aiming for.
