BigCommerce vs PrestaShop
We give BigCommerce a 2.6 GPA and PrestaShop a 2.4, out of 4.0. BigCommerce grades higher on features and ease of use. PrestaShop grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BigCommerce
Hosted ecommerce platform with plans set by yearly sales
PrestaShop
Open-source ecommerce software, free to self-host or sold hosted
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABigCommerceGood | 2.4GPAPrestaShopFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CCore is $29 a month on yearly billing ($39 monthly), the category's middle, and there's no extra fee when buyers pay through BigCommerce's listed partners. Use another provider and it's 2% a sale. Core only covers $30K of sales a year, mind. | CClassic is free, but you pay for hosting, a domain and any paid modules, and the listing has no figure for those. So we go on Hosted: €24 a month on yearly billing, in euros and before VAT (€29 monthly). That's the ordinary middle, and no PrestaShop fee on sales is listed. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 15-day trial with no card needed. That's long enough to set a store up and see if it suits you before paying anything. | BThe Classic software is free to download with unlimited products, and one person could run a shop on it for years. Hosting isn't free, though, and the 14-day Hosted trial takes payment details at sign-up. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job: one-page checkout, 70+ discount options built in, real-time carrier quotes, stock across 4 locations on Core, and marketplace, ad feed and POS links. Customer groups and abandoned-cart emails wait for Growth, but nothing core is missing. | CCheckout in 20 currencies across 190 countries, Google and social ads, eShip labels, Klaviyo email and proper SEO controls cover the basics. Past that you're adding from 3,200+ themes and modules, and the paid ones cost extra. |
| Ease of use | B4.5 from 639 App Store ratings for its phone app, good if not top of the class. So much is built in that you won't be shopping for apps just to get the basics running. | CNo store rating on record. Hosted takes the server off your hands, but PrestaShop says installing and customizing a store takes some technical knowledge, and the free Classic route means running your own server. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Square, Clover, Stripe, PayPal and Klarna, plus an API. There's no desktop app, so not an A. | BWeb only, but with PayPal, Stripe, Klarna, Klaviyo, Google, Facebook, Instagram and Hostinger, 3,200+ themes and modules, and open code you can change freely. No phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | built-in store features without paid apps | custom stores you own, especially in Europe |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BigCommerce and PrestaShop. How we grade
Price against what you get
BigCommerce starts at $29 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PrestaShop starts at about $26.89 a month and scores 2.3.
BigCommerce scores higher, and starts $2.11 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other online store builders on the chart, none scores higher than BigCommerce for less, and 2 score higher than PrestaShop for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- BigCommerce starts at $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly). PrestaShop starts at €24 per month excl. VAT, billed annually (Hosted; €29 billed monthly).
- PrestaShop has a free plan. BigCommerce does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only BigCommerce lists iOS and Android apps.
- PrestaShop is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- BigCommerce also covers reports and inventory.
At a glance
| BigCommerce | PrestaShop | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | €24 per month excl. VAT, billed annually (Hosted; €29 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Classic: the open-source PrestaShop software, free to download and run on your own hosting, with unlimited products. Hosting, a domain and paid modules cost extra. |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of Hosted; payment details are taken at sign-up |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | BigCommerce Pty. Ltd. | PrestaShop |
| Price read from | bigcommerce.com | prestashop.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
BigCommerce
- Stores that want many built-in features without adding paid apps
- Sellers who list on Amazon, eBay and Walmart from one catalog
- Brands that run several storefronts from one account
PrestaShop
- Developers and agencies building custom stores for clients
- European sellers who want open-source software with VAT and GDPR tools
- Merchants who want to own their store's code and data
Worth knowing
BigCommerce
- Each plan caps sales over the past twelve months (gross order value minus 10%); passing $30K on Core or $100K on Growth moves the store up a plan.
- Orders paid through providers outside BigCommerce's embedded list carry a fee of 2% on Core, 1% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale.
- Scale covers $33,333 of sales a month and charges 0.9% on sales above that.
- Customer groups, abandoned-cart emails and stored cards need Growth or higher, and product filtering needs Scale.
PrestaShop
- Classic is free to download, but hosting, a domain and any paid modules or themes cost extra; the offers page gives no figures for those costs.
- PrestaShop says installing and customizing a store takes some technical knowledge, especially to set it up on a server.
- Hosted is priced in euros excluding VAT, and its legal tools are built around European rules such as GDPR.
- Paid technical support is sold separately, from €90 for an hour of analysis and up to four hours of work.
Key features
BigCommerce
- Checkout and payment partners
- A single-page checkout with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Amazon Pay, and more than 100 currencies through the payment provider you choose, such as Stripe, PayPal, Adyen or Klarna.
- Discounts and promotions
- More than 70 discount options, coupons and gift cards come built in on every plan, without a third-party app.
- Shipping quotes and rules
- Real-time shipping rates from carriers such as UPS, USPS and FedEx, with the ShipperHQ shipping rules engine available as well.
- Inventory across locations
- Track stock and fulfil orders from 4 locations on Core up to 8 on Scale, including in-store pickup and curbside collection.
- Marketplaces, ads and point of sale
- Connect the store to Amazon, eBay and Walmart, send product feeds to Google, Meta and TikTok through Feedonomics Surface, and link POS systems such as Square or Clover.
- Several storefronts in one account
- Run extra storefronts for other brands or regions from one dashboard, for $30 a month each on Core (up to 3) and more on higher plans.
PrestaShop
- Open-source store software
- Download PrestaShop free, install it on your own server and change any part of it, with unlimited physical and virtual products and product packs.
- PrestaShop Checkout with PayPal
- Take payments in 20 currencies across 190 countries, including PayPal installments, with Stripe, Klarna and other payment providers also offered.
- Google, Facebook and Instagram ads
- PrestaShop Marketing runs automated ads on Google networks, and PrestaShop Social syncs the catalog with Facebook and Instagram.
- Shipping and marketing automation
- eShip for PrestaShop prints labels and handles shipments, and PrestaShop Automation connects Klaviyo for targeted email campaigns.
- Marketplace and SEO tools
- Add from more than 3,200 themes and modules in the PrestaShop Marketplace, and manage custom URLs, meta tags, canonical URLs and redirects.
Plans
BigCommerce
Core$29
per month for up to $30K sales a year, billed annually ($39 monthly)
For new stores: up to 4 inventory locations and 24/7 chat and email support, with a 2% fee on orders through payment providers outside BigCommerce's list.
Growth$79
per month for up to $100K sales a year, billed annually ($105 monthly)
Adds customer groups, abandoned-cart emails, stored cards and phone support, with 5 inventory locations and a 1% fee on orders through other providers.
Scale$299
per month up to $33,333 sales a month, billed annually ($399 monthly)
Adds product filtering and 8 inventory locations, charges 0.9% on sales above the monthly cap and 0.6% on orders through other payment providers.
Performance$1,499
per month and up, billed annually
Custom pricing for high-volume stores, sold through sales, with a dedicated customer success manager and no fee on other payment providers under contract.
PrestaShop
Classic€0
Open-source PrestaShop 9 that you download and host yourself, with PrestaShop Checkout, ad tools, shipping and the Marketplace built in.
Hosted€24
per month excl. VAT, billed annually (€29 billed monthly)
Installed and hosted by PrestaShop, with automatic VAT calculation, GDPR and cookie tools, and support by email, chat or phone 6 days a week.
Ways to pay less
BigCommerce
- Annual discount
Pay annually to save 25%
Core costs $29 a month billed annually against $39 billed monthly, Growth $79 against $105 and Scale $299 against $399.
PrestaShop
- Annual discount
Hosted billed annually saves 17%
The Hosted offer costs €290 a year excluding VAT, shown as €24 a month, against €29 a month without commitment.
