BigCommerce vs Magento: Key Differences for Australian eCommerce

BigCommerce vs. Magento Overview

BigCommerce operates as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, meaning users pay a monthly fee to use the technology without owning it. It offers customizable themes for building websites, catering to scalability without requiring technical skills. While not the most cost-effective option, BigCommerce supports brand growth and online presence expansion.

Compare between BigCommerce vs Magento, in contrast, Magento is open-source ecommerce software, with its basic edition available for free. However, users must handle additional costs like hosting, security, and SEO tools separately, unlike hosted ecommerce platforms. Magento provides extensive creative freedom and flexibility but requires coding expertise for full customization, making it challenging for non-technical users to utilize effectively.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Pros and Cons for Australian Market

BigCommerce 

Pros: 

• Between BigCommerce vs Magento, BigCommerce features a user-friendly and intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate. It is suitable for businesses of all sizes, offering scalability. 
• Comes with a rich set of integrated features for comprehensive eCommerce functionality. Offers a variety of reasonable pricing plans to fit different business budgets. 
• Integrates 65 popular global payment methods at no transaction cost. 
• Provides a diverse selection of themes and extensions to customize your online store. 

Cons: 

• BigCommerce applies sales volume restrictions which may impact larger businesses.
• Deployment costs can increase over time, potentially affecting long-term budgeting.
• Customization options on BigCommerce are somewhat limited compared to other platforms.

Magento 

Pros: 

• When comparing BigCommerce vs Magento, Magento is ideal for large enterprises requiring complex customization and scalability. 
• It offers extensive built-in features beyond what’s available in SaaS platforms. There are no sales volume limitations on Magento, accommodating high transaction volumes. 
• Magento offers a wide range of available extensions to enhance functionality and customization. 

Cons: 

• Magento requires a high level of technical expertise to fully leverage its capabilities. Deployment times on Magento are typically longer due to the need for extensive customization.
• Initial costs on Magento can be substantial, including setup and ongoing maintenance expenses.

BigCommerce vs Magento: Detailed Comparison for Australia Market

Ease of Use

Ease of use is a crucial factor for eCommerce businesses when selecting a platform. Here’s how BigCommerce vs Magento compare in terms of user-friendliness:

BigCommerce:

BigCommerce operates as a SaaS platform, designed to be user-friendly and accessible even for businesses without extensive technical knowledge. Setting up an eCommerce website on BigCommerce is straightforward; businesses enter basic information to access the dashboard. From there, they can manage everything from product listings to website design without needing to delve into complex programming.

BigCommerce enhances user experience with a drag-and-drop page builder, allowing businesses to create and customize their storefronts effortlessly, without requiring coding skills. Themes and extensions can be easily integrated with a few clicks, streamlining the customization process.

Magento:

In contrast, Magento requires a higher level of technical expertise during setup. Tasks such as configuring FTP files, integrating themes, and managing extensions necessitate familiarity with coding and backend operations. While this initial setup phase can be challenging, businesses often collaborate with Magento agencies to navigate these complexities and maintain their eCommerce websites effectively.

Once set up, Magento offers robust customization capabilities through its backend interface, enabling businesses to tailor attributes and functionalities to suit their specific needs.

Watch more: Magento vs Shopify: A Comprehensive Comparison for Australia

Features

SEO

SEO is a critical feature for every eCommerce website, and it’s pivotal for businesses to evaluate platforms based on their SEO capabilities. Both BigCommerce vs Magento offer essential SEO optimization tools, such as Google site maps, SEO-friendly URLs, URL rewriting, meta descriptions, 301 redirect handling, and mobile compatibility.

BigCommerce includes a built-in blog feature in its solution packages, whereas Magento requires businesses to integrate a blog extension separately. Both platforms offer additional SEO enhancements through extensions available in their respective marketplaces. Magento, in particular, offers a broader range of advanced SEO tools, albeit at potentially higher costs compared to BigCommerce.

Multiple Channels Integration:

BigCommerce excels in pre-integrating major sales channels like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Facebook, and Instagram into all pricing plans. Businesses needing additional sales channel integrations can utilize apps from BigCommerce’s marketplace. In contrast, Magento allows businesses the flexibility to integrate various sales channels independently, with Amazon integration available at no extra cost.

Purchase Flow:

Both Magento and BigCommerce Partners facilitate a seamless online shopping experience with features like product filtering, comparison, recently viewed items, a wishlist, one-page checkout, guest checkout options, real-time shipping rate calculations, multiple shipping addresses, order tracking, and reordering capabilities.

Payment Options:

BigCommerce supports 65 integrated payment gateways, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Amazon Pay, without transaction fees. Magento initially offers PayPal and Authorize.net, requiring businesses to integrate third-party payment providers for additional options. Magento’s marketplace provides over 450 payment-related extensions, each with varying costs and integration complexities.

Themes & Extensions

When comparing themes and extensions for eCommerce platforms like BigCommerce vs Magento, several key factors influence the choice of platform.

BigCommerce:

BigCommerce offers a selection of 266 themes, priced between $195 and $395, with 12 free options available. These themes are modern, responsive across various devices, and suitable for diverse industries. 

However, compared to other SaaS platforms like Wix or Squarespace, BigCommerce may appear to have relatively fewer customization options and a smaller quantity of free and paid themes. The exact count of themes may vary due to similarities in layout with differing color schemes.

Magento:

Magento provides a more limited selection of themes, offering 9 options in total. Among these, only 3 themes are free, while the others range from $150 to $499 each. Businesses can also purchase Magento themes on ThemeForest, where prices range from $39 to $299 per theme.

Additionally, Magento Partners allow businesses to create custom interfaces tailored to specific requirements through specialized providers, typically costing between $1000 and $5000.

About extensions, both BigCommerce vs Magento boast extensive extension libraries to enhance eCommerce functionality. Magento, however, holds a slight advantage in offering a broader range of extensions compared to BigCommerce.

Customization and Scalability

Customization:

Customization in eCommerce platforms refers to the ability to tailor features, themes, and integrated extensions to meet specific website requirements.

• Magento: As an open-source platform, Magento provides developers with full access to and control over the source code. This allows extensive customization capabilities, enabling businesses to make both frontend and backend modifications according to their needs.
• BigCommerce: Operating as a SaaS platform, BigCommerce restricts backend modifications, limiting businesses to frontend interface adjustments through code snippets. Most extensive modifications require backend access, which is more limited compared to Magento’s open-source flexibility.

Scalability:

Scalability refers to the platform’s ability to maintain performance as an eCommerce site expands, handling increased website traffic and sales volumes.

• Magento: Known for its robust scalability, Magento does not impose sales volume limits. It can efficiently manage large website traffic and sales volumes, making it suitable for high-growth eCommerce businesses.
• BigCommerce: While BigCommerce also supports large website traffic and sales volumes, it imposes annual sales volume limits based on the pricing plan:

• Standard: Up to $50k/year
• Plus: Up to $180k/year
• Pro: Up to $400k/year
• Enterprise: Custom limits

Businesses exceeding their plan’s sales volume limit must upgrade to a higher-tier plan to accommodate growth, distinguishing it from Magento’s unrestricted scalability.

Security

Both BigCommerce vs Magento are well-established in the eCommerce industry, trusted by numerous businesses for their security features. However, they differ significantly in how they handle security-related assistance.

BigCommerce, as a SaaS platform, integrates security support into its service packages. This includes SSL certificates, firewalls, backups, and intrusion detection systems. Businesses deploying eCommerce solutions through BigCommerce can access 24/7 customer support for immediate assistance with any security-related issues that may arise.

In contrast, Magento’s open-source nature places the responsibility for security management squarely on businesses. This entails tasks such as managing SSL certificates, implementing two-factor authentication, and ensuring PCI compliance. Although Magento releases periodic security updates, the process of manually applying these updates can be challenging for users lacking technical expertise.

Additionally, Magento’s support options are more limited compared to BigCommerce. Businesses can seek assistance during specified operating hours or rely on third-party intermediaries, which can be cumbersome and time-consuming.

Popularity

BigCommerce vs Magento are prominent choices in the eCommerce landscape, though their popularity varies significantly.

As reported by BuiltWith, Magento currently boasts 129,099 active websites, whereas BigCommerce hosts 43,106 active websites. This data highlights Magento’s broader popularity in the market.

Magento is favored by major brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, and Tesla, who utilize its robust platform for their eCommerce operations. In contrast, BigCommerce is chosen by brands such as Skullcandy, LARQ, and Molton Brown, showcasing its appeal among diverse businesses looking for scalable eCommerce solutions.

Watch more: Top 10 Magento Agency Partners You Can Rely On

Localization and Compliance for the Australian Market

When considering localization and compliance for the Australian market, both BigCommerce vs Magento offer capabilities that cater to different business needs and technical requirements.

BigCommerce:

• Multi-currency Support: Allows businesses to display prices in Australian Dollars (AUD) and other currencies, facilitating international transactions.
• Language Support: Provides options for translating storefronts into multiple languages to accommodate diverse customer bases.

Magento:

• Customizable Tax Rules: Allows businesses to configure tax rules specific to Australian GST requirements and other local taxes.
• Flexible Shipping Configuration: Enables businesses to set up complex shipping rules and integrate with local carriers for efficient shipping management.
• Multi-store Capabilities: Supports the creation of multiple stores under a single Magento instance, ideal for businesses targeting different regions within Australia.
• Compliance Management: Requires active management and configuration of compliance features such as GDPR and PCI DSS, leveraging Magento’s open-source flexibility.

Conclusion

By weighing these differences carefully, businesses can select the platform best suited to their specific goals and operational demands. With extensive experience in deploying eCommerce solutions globally on both BigCommerce vs Magento platforms, SmartOSC excels in efficiently developing and managing eCommerce websites for diverse businesses.

For a complimentary consultation on implementing eCommerce websites using BigCommerce or Magento, feel free to reach out to us directly.