BigCommerce vs. Ecwid by Lightspeed

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BigCommerce
Score 7.9 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
BigCommerce is a SaaS platform that allows SMBs to develop eCommerce sites. Features include the capabilities to design the storefront, configure products, manage payments, generate traffic, and optimize conversion.
$39
per month
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Ecwid allows customers the ability to create an online store to any webpage or social media profile. Boasting hundreds of thousands of merchants in 175 countries as users, Ecwid aims to provide everything needed to reach customers wherever they are: in-person, through a website, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, or Google Shopping. In addition, Ecwid’s point-of-sale integrations, email marketing integrations, and dedicated mobile app allow sellers to manage marketing merchandising, and sales - any…
$5
per month
Pricing
BigCommerceEcwid by Lightspeed
Editions & Modules
Standard
$39
per month
Plus
$105
per month
Pro
$399
per month
Enterprise
Custom
per month
Starter
$5
per month
Venture
$30
per month
Business
$55
per month
Unlimited
$130
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BigCommerceEcwid by Lightspeed
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.A 16% discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BigCommerceEcwid by Lightspeed
Considered Both Products
BigCommerce
Chose BigCommerce
Each platform has its pros and cons. However, overall, BigCommerce is the most challenging to work with from a developer's perspective. Simply finding files and locating the code in the theme editor takes too much time.
Chose BigCommerce
- Ease of Use: With guided onboarding, BigCommerce enables us to manage stores independently within days, reducing the need for extensive technical support. ​

-Comprehensive Built-In Features: BigCommerce provides a wide array of native features, minimizing reliance on …
Chose BigCommerce
easy for customization , no lengthy coding required.
Chose BigCommerce
I believe other platforms offer more robust CMS and experience managing tools making content and product updates easier to perform.
Chose BigCommerce
Although k-eCommerce may be a good fit for businesses who's ERP is Microsoft NAV Dynamics, we found the application to be cumbersome and lacking user friendly functionality as compared with BigCommerce. The k-eCommerce support was poor, impersonal and lacked situational …
Chose BigCommerce
I personally prefer BigCommerce over Shopify. Shopify is more confusing to use and takes longer to get a site up and running. Shopify also seemed to heavily lack some needed bulk editing tools that bigcommerce has. The only thing I preferred about Shopify was that it had more …
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce has more built in options than Shopify. While shopify has lots more apps that are available and a lower initial price. The use of third party apps is good to have lots of options but each option needs to be vetted and dealt with independently. They greater number of …
Chose BigCommerce
Big Commerce is definitely king in comparison to EvoX. Not only is Big commerce easier to use, it's also just a more powerful platform with many more capabilities (for example, EVOX has analytic capabilities but, nothing to the extent of Big Commerce's google analytics …
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce had a much strong B2B integration and platform in general than shopify. Netsuite was too expensive at the time to considering it.
Chose BigCommerce
I find BigCommerce easy to use from a non computer person stand point. It was easy to quickly get adjusted to and what they charge for building and running a website far surpassed there competitors.
Chose BigCommerce
We are moving away from BigCommerce. It has not met our needs.
Chose BigCommerce
Their B2B features are incomparable. Shopify was another contender but didn’t have the B2B capabilities that BigCommerce has
Chose BigCommerce
We deal in firearms. I tried Shopify first back in 2016 and that was a miserable mistake, very firearm NOT friendly there. Then we went to Volusion the next month and we were quite happy there for 7-1/2 years and several million $ in sales. The issue is Volusion was losing …
Chose BigCommerce
I chose BigCommerce over Shopify because I felt there were more built-in apps in BigCommerce. Other than that, I felt that both solutions are very similar.
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce combines the ease-of-use that you get form Shopify, with the ability to handle large numbers of Sku's like a custom Magento site might have.

But unlike a custom site like Magento, you don't need a coder or developer for every little change you want to make to the …
Chose BigCommerce
I find the UI to be more appealing and the storefront to be a little less recognizable as a typical Shopify storefront (more generic, etc.)
Chose BigCommerce
We chose BigCommerce over competitors due to customization and cost. We're able to have the site we're looking for, easily managed within our marketing team without hours of tedious revisions.
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce even with add-ons such as a PIM and B2B functionality wins for small businesses on affordability and ease of use. No servers or updates to worry about and no expensive agencies to pay. This being said, if the budget were no issue, for larger organisations Magento is …
Chose BigCommerce
We switched from Shopify due to the restrictions they implemented on our industry. While we spent tens of thousands of dollars investing in our Shopify store, we can't have them cutting us off anytime they want. We reviewed WooCommerce, but didn't like the storefront or …
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce is quick, easy to setup with tons of features, easy to integrate with other applications. All of these great features are available for very less as compared to other application. We have tried multiple application but BigCommerce is one of those who never …
Chose BigCommerce
Bigcommerce provide better security than wordpress , and live support is also avilable.
Chose BigCommerce
We have stuck with Big Commerce due to the amount of work and build outs we have created with the system. The issues we have come across do not raise too many red flags that we would need to switch programs at this time. If we do it is due to the promotion/ sales restrictions, …
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce has more modern tools than Yahoo Small Business, is managed unlike WordPress/WooCommerce, and is cheaper than Shopify with better product options management.
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Chose Ecwid by Lightspeed
Ecwid stacks up extremely well compared to the other products I’ve listed. Sure, there any some instances in which the other products may be better suited due to their very high level of customization. However, for the average business, Ecwid will not only meet their …
Chose Ecwid by Lightspeed
Ecwid gives me the time to put together your business in layers before releasing it to mainstream. Support is always available to assist in product alignment with regions and allowed to match flight zones and legal interface would be good to simplify the type of product that …
Chose Ecwid by Lightspeed
We began our journey using Squarespace and Square exclusively, then ran into complications. A fellow small business owner recommended Ecwid (she had experienced similar issues with Squarespace) and we quickly made the swap/integration and have never regretted it. We've …
Chose Ecwid by Lightspeed
WordPress had a more complex process of setting up a storefront, and a more expense solution at the end of the day to get my small business online presence out there.
Chose Ecwid by Lightspeed
Ecwid is much more intuitive than Shopify and offers enough flexibility that you don't need a myriad of 3rd party add-ons. Super fast to start up. More offerings of payment processors. An easy way to try out a solution before being charged after a 14 day period.
Chose Ecwid by Lightspeed
Ecwid was promoted via our appointed developer. It was not our first choice. The back end system works well and is easy to navigate and understand. Although we opted to use WooCommerce because of the flexibility it offers.
Chose Ecwid by Lightspeed
We sell a product that requires certain controls to sell and most of the companies we researched had specific policies preventing us from selling on their platform. We aren't selling anything dangerous, they are parts of ammunition (the shell casings) and not entire ammunition …
Features
BigCommerceEcwid by Lightspeed
Online Storefront
Comparison of Online Storefront features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.8
Ratings
0% below category average
Ecwid by Lightspeed
8.7
Ratings
10% above category average
Product catalog & listings8.10 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Product management8.00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Bulk product upload7.40 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Branding7.80 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Mobile storefront7.90 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Product variations8.40 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Website integration8.20 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Visual customization7.60 Ratings8.10 Ratings
CMS6.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Shopping Cart
Comparison of Online Shopping Cart features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.9
Ratings
3% above category average
Ecwid by Lightspeed
8.7
Ratings
12% above category average
Abandoned cart recovery7.60 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Checkout user experience8.20 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Online Payment System
Comparison of Online Payment System features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
8.2
Ratings
1% below category average
Ecwid by Lightspeed
9.4
Ratings
12% above category average
eCommerce security8.20 Ratings9.40 Ratings
eCommerce Marketing
Comparison of eCommerce Marketing features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.8
Ratings
1% above category average
Ecwid by Lightspeed
8.6
Ratings
11% above category average
Promotions & discounts7.70 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Personalized recommendations7.30 Ratings8.00 Ratings
SEO8.40 Ratings8.60 Ratings
eCommerce Business Management
Comparison of eCommerce Business Management features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.8
Ratings
3% below category average
Ecwid by Lightspeed
8.2
Ratings
2% above category average
Multi-site management8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Order processing7.70 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Inventory management7.70 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Shipping7.60 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Custom functionality7.70 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BigCommerceEcwid by Lightspeed
Small Businesses
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Score 10.0 out of 10
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus
Score 9.0 out of 10
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
IBM Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BigCommerceEcwid by Lightspeed
Likelihood to Recommend
8.1
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.6
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.5
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BigCommerceEcwid by Lightspeed
Likelihood to Recommend
The ONLY reason we left Volusion was fear that Volusion was going to go out of business and our website/data would all be lost. I feel BigCommerce is lightyears behind Volusion in website/inventory control. In our experience, BigCommerce customer service severely lacks knowledge, at least compared to what we had in our 7-1/2 years with Volusion. There were times Volusion even helped us with stuff BigCommerce could not understand. I just feel sick about moving and that should not be the case. In my opinion, I downgraded heavily for the feeling BigCommerce would not be going out of business. I just feel sick.
Read full review
[Ecwid is] very well suited for small businesses. Extremely flexible and easy to manage from my mobile device. Extremely easy to use. When I finally discovered Ecwid, I was shocked that I hadn't heard more about it or that it had become more popular than Shopify. I think it is far superior to Shopify.
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Pros
  • SEO - fast loading speeds, helps us rank on Google
  • Product customization - allows us to customize templates to our needs to fit all viable information
  • Integration with other platforms - seamless connection to other properties like Google Ads and Analytics
Read full review
  • Clarity - there has been very little confusion and need to reach out to Customer Support for help
  • Consistency - no big, crazy updates or changes have been made to the format of Ecwid during my time using it, so I know when I log in to preform my business tasks I can always locate what I need and accomplish what is at hand easily
  • Simplicity - everything is so clear and straightforward. It's like e-commerce for dummies.
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Cons
  • Better and easier localisation for stores outside the US
  • Speed - it is not the fastest
  • Make sure that third-party theme developers update regularly and use best practice
  • Consider EU and country-specific rules and legal obligations and make customers aware of whether BC is actually fully compliant
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  • In my experience, there is an issue with Ecwid's ability to enable customization of our specific Shipping requirements. In South Africa, we have to be very mindful of the associated costs for online shoppers. We cannot do the required level of customization in Ecwid that we need to offer potential clients the best service and online shopping experience.
  • The available store front design templates are very limited.
  • I have had to move to another platform that will allow for customization of the shipping process together with our integrated shipping partner company in South Africa. (MDS Collivery).
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
BigCommerce is a great platform! It does the job and has a very good API set. I would definitely recommend it to others, but I would warn them about the cost associated with BigCommerce. There are lower cost solutions, but definitely not as feature rich as BigCommerce. It's definitely not perfect, and has a few wrinkles to iron, but nothing is ever perfect. It does the job for us and I do enjoy using the platform!!
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The value given by Ecwid is unmatched. When combined with the ease of use of the product, it is a no-brainer to continue to use the product. The only thing that could cause us to switch is if some feature we needed which is not available which is unlikely based on the feature list we reviewed when making the decision to go with them.
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Usability
I think that overall it has a great front end for the customer. On the back end, it takes a little spin-up time, but in just a couple of hours you can really have your head wrapped around everything you're going to need 99% of the time. It takes me about 5 minutes to train a new user on how to interact with customer orders.
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So easy to use. Nice aesthetics and very intuitive. This was key to starting up quickly. I could find everything easily and it had enough customization options, but not too many. Was able to use much of the standard offerings to customize to my rental business, instead of having to subscribe to expensive rental management software.
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Reliability and Availability
So far in my time with BigCommerce I have not had any down time when it comes to my webstore or accessing it at any time I need to. Knowing that they have such a good uptime, it makes me feel comfortable that my customers can access things anytime, but also keep sales going 24/7
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Always available. Very reliable
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Performance
I have not had any issues with pages loading slow or any real other issues, not that I have encountered so far. Speed of the site and images loading are fantastic and everything just seems to work nicely, which may seem like a simple thing to say about things, but when something just WORKS! Its rather nice vs fighting with things to work right.
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Good overall performance both in desktop and mobile
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Support Rating
Because they are always there no matter how simple or complex the question is, if they don't know the answer they don't fake it and just make you go away feeling frustrated.. they get you to someone that does know the answer. I always appreciate their help and their honesty!
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I have always received the support I need in a timely manner. I enjoy receiving emails every week on trending business topics and new suggestions. They often serve as a reminder for me to include new e-commerce tools into our strategy. And I've always had great experiences with reaching out to the support team with specific questions.
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Online Training
They have a comprehensive online help file system that makes it easy to do almost anything. They cover just about everything you'd want to do with your online store with images, clear descriptions and in some cases video. I will, however, say the videos should be a little more professorially done and not sound like the employees are doing it in their cubical.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
A certified BigCommerce design and solution partner will usually comprise a team of highly experienced designers, developers and marketers. It is our view that in the vast majority of cases, this will pay dividends in the long-term - especially for those teams that could use the extra support.
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Fast and simple implementation of Ecwid's solutions. Easy to learn and navigate
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Alternatives Considered
Big Commerce is definitely king in comparison to EvoX. Not only is Big commerce easier to use, it's also just a more powerful platform with many more capabilities (for example, EVOX has analytic capabilities but, nothing to the extent of Big Commerce's google analytics integration. EVOX's data is very base level and does not provide much customer insight besides visits/pages viewed.
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We began our journey using Squarespace and Square exclusively, then ran into complications. A fellow small business owner recommended Ecwid (she had experienced similar issues with Squarespace) and we quickly made the swap/integration and have never regretted it. We've considered transitioning our website from Squarespace to Shopify, but need Ecwid to continue to be operational regardless.
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Scalability
I believe after seeing all of the parts of this platform, one is able to develop the business and keep adding on select features for the business. There are multiple options for purchase with the various platforms once the business grows more. The different features being offered by the platform can lead us to scalability.
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Good scalability. I use the second plan and there are 2 more plans that I could use if I needed other features or services
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Return on Investment
  • Provides a robust platform to sell a high-risk product.
  • Page Builder saves you time and money by negating the need to buy a template.
  • Includes robust promotion settings that allow for codes and automatic discounts, bulk discounts, and customer groups (i.e. military discount), all native options.
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  • Ecwid has positively impacted our ROI because it provides a very secure platform which allows us to easily certify our PCI Compliance requirements as they are a Tier 1 PCI Certified company so we can be confident they have the right security systems in place which is important to our customers.
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ScreenShots

BigCommerce Screenshots

Screenshot of enterprise ecommerce for high-volume brands like Skullcandy.Screenshot of the integration that lets you list products on Amazon directly from the BigCommerce control panel, with centralized inventory and order processing and fulfillment.Screenshot of where to customize the look and feel of a storefront.

Ecwid by Lightspeed Screenshots

Screenshot of Ecwid store looks perfect on any smartphone and automatically adapts to your customer’s screen size — laptops, tablets, smart TVs or smart watches.Screenshot of Manage your Ecwid store wherever you are from your mobile device.Screenshot of Mobile app for every store. Your customers can shop from their mobile devices with your own dedicated native app and utilize advanced features like Apple Pay.