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Volusion vs Shopify vs BigCommerce Comparison: Which is the best?

Last updated: August 01, 2024
Written and researched by experts at AvadaLearn more about our methodology

By Sam Nguyen

CEO Avada Commerce

The majority of online merchants are now looking into SaaS solutions. These web-based sale platforms provide you with everything you need to start an online store, including web hosting, web security, robust feature sets, round-the-clock technical support, and attractive storefront design models. And, best of all, you don’t need any prior web experience to run a web-based eCommerce platform.

Shopify, BigCommerce, and Volusion dominate the eCommerce builder market, and at first glance, the three online store builders may appear to be very similar. You’ll note the big differences between the platforms as soon as you start customizing your shop. We’ll tell you which eCommerce software platform is better for creating an online store in this thorough comparison analysis of Shopify vs BigCommerce vs Volusion.

About Volusion, Shopify and BigCommerce

Volusion

volusion
Volusion

Volusion is a hosted eCommerce platform that allows you to build a fully functioning online store from the ground up. It comes with a simple website builder that includes features like site search, in-page editing, drag and drop and more. There are several flexible themes to select as well.

Shopify

shopify
Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows you to create an online shopping website with shopping cart and checkout features, order processing, omnichannel sales, marketing automation, all integrated with Shopify. As of 8/2020, more than 1,000,000 customers are using the platform, making Shopify the #1 eCommerce platform in the world. Shopify is designed for everyone; you don’t need any programming skills to get started with Shopify.

BigCommerce

bigcommerce
BigCommerce

BigCommerce is the world’s leading all-in-one e-commerce platform for small and medium retailers (SMBs) with all the features needed to open, promote, manage and expand online stores in a way. the most effective; from pre-built designs for computers, phones, ordering processes, statistics, and dedicated e-commerce advertising tools. Founded in 2009, Bigcommerce has been used by over 55,000 retailers around the world.

Volusion vs Shopify vs BigCommerce Comparison

Here is a quick comparison of Shopify vs BigCommerce vs. Volusion below. It describes each site’s price, the number of stores it will support, and the most significant eCommerce features.

volution shopify bigcommerce
Volusion Shopify BigCommerce

Pricing & Plans

Although price is a vital consideration when choosing an eCommerce platform, you cannot decide solely on this basis. Since we all know that to make money, you must first invest money; you should be aware of the features that come with the price you pay. BigCommerce, Shopify, and Volusion all have different pricing plans that you can choose from depending on your needs.

pricing
Pricing

BigCommerce, Volusion, and Shopify, like most SaaS solutions, operate on a subscription basis. The software, hosting, security, and support are all paid monthly.

Mini ($15), Plus ($35), Pro ($75), and Premium ($135) are the four plans offered by Volusion. Volusion does not charge processing fees, but they do charge fees for bandwidth overages. If you use more bandwidth than your allocated limit, you’ll have to pay $7 per GB.

Standard - $39, Plus - 105, Pro - 199.95, and Enterprise - the price is disclosed upon request - are the four Bigcommerce pricing plans. With unlimited bandwidth in each package, the normal and successful scheme, a decent collection of features even in the cheapest, and increasingly powerful functionality with each upgrade. It’s worth noting that the Pro package only allows you to place 3,000 orders a year. If you get more, the platform will charge you an additional $80 per thousand new orders.

Shopify Starter Plan ($5) Shopify Basic Plan ($39), Shopify Plan ($105), and Shopify Advanced Plan ($399) are the three levels of Shopify. All plans come with a 3-day free trial period. The plans’ flexibility varies, but all of them provide an infinite number of items and file storage. There’s also the option of selling both offline and online at the same time. However, you’ll need to get in touch with Shopify’s team to determine how much it would cost. Another choice is Shopify Plus Plan, a cart edition plan that separates itself from other SaaS platforms despite not having the standard price.

Volusion is the clear winner in this category because their plans are typically less expensive than those of BigCommerce and Shopify.

Features

BigCommerce, out of the three platforms in this comparison, has the most important eCommerce features built-in. This means you can get all of the features you need to create, run, and maintain an online store without having to go to the app store all the time.

BigCommerce’s plans come with nearly the same features, regardless of the price. There are a few exceptions to this rule, like filtered search is only available at higher price points. However, BigCommerce’s features are available to all users for the most part.

Here are some of the features available in BigCommerce:

  • Import/export in bulk
  • Groups of customers
  • Native integrations with Amazon and eBay
  • Product reviews are built-in to the blog.
  • Abandoned cart saver (at higher price points)
  • Filtered search (at higher price points)
  • Checkout on a single tab

Although Shopify and Volusion both have similar eCommerce features, you’ll probably have to upgrade to a more costly plan or go to the app store to use them.

BigCommerce wins this category because they have more functionality at a lower cost.

Templates

web design
Web design

Shopify always takes the cake when it comes to web design, thanks to a wide variety of customization features that don’t need much coding experience and a large number of eye-catching templates. The great thing about Shopify is that the templates and themes you’ll find on the platform are easy to implement and edit.

Volusion, on the other hand, has a much narrower selection of themes, with just 28 free options and about 88 themes paid to choose from.

Whereas, Bigcommerce does not even have as many themes as Volusion, but you can tell they’ve put a lot of effort into creating high-quality themes with robust features. There are 16 free and 42 paid themes to select, and it’s easy to check the theme store for the suitable one.

Ease of use

web design
Web design

Shopify definitely wins this case. Shopify is well-known for its ease of use; it can be set up in minutes and requires no technical skills to customize looks and add items. Its admin screen. In my view, it is the gold standard for what a simple and functional dashboard should look like. There are no excessive features that would bloat the view and cause the user to become confused. Shopify will most likely be able to satisfy your needs, whether you are a beginner launching your first shop or an accomplished designer.

Besides, BigCommerce and Volusion are both well-known for their user-friendliness.

You’ll be greeted by a tidy, well-organized admin panel when you log into your BigCommerce account. Many of the features you’ll need are tucked away in the sidebar’s nesting groups. BigCommerce offers a short guide to assist you in locating certain functions, but it isn’t very helpful. Fortunately, finding things out on your own isn’t too challenging.

Volusion has a similarly clean admin panel. Instead of listing features in a sidebar, features are categorized and filed away in the top of the admin. Volusion’s video tutorials will assist you in learning how to run your shop. Fortunately, adding items, updating your content, and creating new discounts is easy.

Transaction fees

The fact that you won’t have to pay transaction fees is a major benefit of using BigCommerce.

Shopify will charge you transaction fees for any payment you process on your store if you want to accept payments through external methods. The new transaction fee rates for the Basic Shopify plan ($39 per month), the Shopify plan ($105 per month), and the Advanced Shopify plan ($399 per month) are 2.0 percent, 1.0 percent, and 0.5 percent, respectively.

shopify transaction fees
Shopify transaction fees

Volusion does not offer the option to waive transaction fees. The current processing fee rates for the Personal plan ($25 per month), the Professional plan ($75 per month), and the Business plan ($135 per month) are 2.0 percent, 1.0 percent, and 0.5 percent, respectively.

shopify transaction fees
Shopify transaction fees

Integration

There are 320 add-ons available in BigCommerce’s app store. While some of these are free, the majority must be purchased. BigCommerce also works with eBay, Amazon, and ShipperHQ natively.

Over 80 add-ons are available in Volusion’s marketplace. Popular choices like MailChimp, Xero, and Quickbooks are among them.

BigCommerce and Volusion both have APIs that your developers can use to create any missed connections.

Shopify connects to a range of other systems and resources to boost your store’s experience and streamline your business processes. Shopify supports and integrates with anything, from your accounting software to your email platform including Hubspot, Mailchimp, Zapier, Amazon, EBay,… thanks to its robust app stores.

BigCommerce wins this category mainly due to the number of add-ons accessible. BigCommerce also has a range of excellent regional integrations with famous marketplaces.

Payment gateways

BigCommerce has 40 payment gateways to choose from, enabling you to connect your site to your favorite payment processor. They also have a contract with PayPal (Powered by Braintree), which might save you money over other payment service providers. Payment processing rates for each BigCommerce plan are shown in the screenshot below.

bigcommerce payment gateways
BigCommerce Payment gateways

Both Shopify and Volusion have the potential to integrate with a number of payment gateways, including PayPal and Stripe. Shopify offers over 100 payment gateways, in comparison to only 34 for Volusion. Shopify Payments is open to retailers in 11 countries and charges no transaction fees. In contrast, Volusion payments are only available in the United States.

You must also pay a recurring fee to use Volusion Payments. There’s also the application process to consider, which can take up to seven business days and is very inconvenient.

As a result, Shopify is obviously the clear winner when it comes to payments.

Security

To speed up the distribution of their shops, Shopify uses a CDN (Content Delivery Network) from CDNetworks. ServerCentral is where they store their servers. Similarly, the example shops do not seem to be quick. Shopify is PCI Level 1 compliant and has been checked by the PCI DSS. As a result, Shopify comes out on top in terms of hosting.

BigCommerce, unlike Shopify, does not have a CDN (Content Delivery Network), but it does have three own data centers that are SAS type II accredited. The sample shops seem to work similarly to Shopify. BigCommerce, like Shopify, is PCI Level 1 compliant but not PCI DSS validated.

While in the case of Volusion, all plans include PCI Certification, which is excellent for safeguarding your website. CDNs are fast, and domain registration is included with Volusion’s full hosting package.

Customer support

Shopify and BigCommerce also provide excellent technical support and assistance, including live chat and phone support 24 hours a day, insightful videos, emails, social media, and more. Both sites provide similar customer service to their users. Volusion, on the other hand, is only available for a few hours per day only between 7am and 10pm CST. There is no email support, either, because Volusion claims that providing you with phone support would provide you with a better experience. As a result, it is already ruled out in this situation.

If you must choose between Shopify and BigCommerce, Shopify is unquestionably the better choice. In comparison to BigCommerce, Shopify has a much larger audience due to its higher experience. As a result, it is comparatively easier for a customer to contact the group for some form of assistance or support relevant to your online store.

Final words

It’s difficult to make a true comparison between Volusion, Bigcommerce, and Shopify because, in the end, it all boils down to your demand and location. Every platform has advantages and disadvantages. For instance, BigCommerce is suitable for larger businesses but is costly; similarly, Volusion is a viable alternative for data-driven businesses but is not user-friendly. But that’s not all; when we consider the other major factors that can make a difference in a market, Shopify comes out on top. Before deciding on an e-Commerce solution, consider all of the above considerations and undertake your own analysis to choose which one is the most suitable for your business.

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Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.

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