BigCommerce vs Volusion vs Shopify

BigCommerce vs Volusion vs Shopify – Top Three Ecommerce Shopping Carts in 2013

When it comes to shopping carts, the industry is dominated by the incredible top three ecommerce platforms. These are BigCommerce, Volusion, and Shopify, each one brings value and functionality to the table. Each shopping cart has its pros and cons and the right solution for your business will depend on several questions below:

  1. How many products does your business have?
  2. Will transaction fees have an impact on business profits?
  3. How much monthly bandwidth does your business need?

When answered, these questions can narrow down your choice and make your decision a bit easier. If you are one of those people that can care less about those questions, than our in-depth review on these three shopping carts will do the trick.

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BigCommerce vs Volusion vs Shopify – Which Is The Top Shopping Cart?

First Place: BigCommerce – Overall the best value due to no bandwidth and transaction fees. Has over 59 payment gateways to choose from. It has over 100 good looking templates that can benefit any type of business. On top of all of that, you are given a 10% discount if you prepay for the year. BigCommerce has also introduced their integration with Stripe and a bunch of new templates. The features are very competitive and work good with the 2013 market.

For a complete review, see BigCommerce Review 2013.

Runner-Up: Volusion – Competitive monthly pricing with hidden bandwidth overage fees. There are no transaction fees and lacks a bit when it comes to customer support. It has over 120 free templates, however, most need editing as they are too basic and plain. Volusion has over 30 fully integrated payment gateways. You are given a 10% discount if you have multiple stores hosted by Volusion.

For a complete review, see Volusion Review 2013.

Third Place: Shopify – I really fell in love with Shopify because you do not need any template editing to start selling. The plan pricing is affordable, however, there are 1-2% transaction fees. You can avoid the transaction fees by going with the $179 per month plan. You also receive your own blog on your website. Shopify is fully integrated with over 70 payment gateways including the free and famous Stripe. If you are looking to start selling quickly, Shopify is definitely your choice as everything is already set up for you.

For a complete review, see Shopify Review 2013.

Plans and Pricing Comparison [Winner: BigCommerce]

Each shopping cart has several different plans to choose from, with all having a plan close to the $20 mark. Here is a complete overview of each plan and the price associated with it:

BigCommerce Plans [all plans start you off with a 15-day free trail]:

  • Bronze – $24.95 per month, up to 100 products, no bandwidth overage fees, no transaction fees, 1 GB storage, 3 staff logins, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social sharing tools, $100 in Google AdWords credit, and 24/7 technical support.
  • Silver – $39.95 per month, up to 500 products, no bandwidth overage fees, no transaction fees, 2 GB storage, 10 staff logins, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social sharing tools, $100 in Google AdWords credit, and 24/7 technical support.
  • Gold – $79.95 per month, up to 1,000 products, no bandwidth overage fees, no transaction fees, 5 GB storage, 20 staff logins, abandoned cart saver, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social sharing tools, $100 in Google AdWords credit, and 24/7 technical support.
  • Platinum – $149.95 per month, unlimited products, no bandwidth overage fees, no transaction fees, 30 GB storage, 50 staff logins, abandoned cart saver, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social sharing tools, $100 in Google AdWords credit, and 24/7 technical support.
  • Diamond – $299.95 per month, unlimited products, no bandwidth overage fees, no transaction fees, unlimited GB storage, 100 staff logins, abandoned cart saver, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social sharing tools, $100 in Google AdWords credit, and 24/7 technical support.

BigCommerce wins this category because it is one of the very few that does not have any bandwidth and transaction fees. With five plans to choose from and as low as $24.95 per month, there is something for every business and budget. They give you a 10% discount if you decide to pay annually, instead of monthly.

Volusion Plans [all plans start you off with a 14-day free trail]:

  • Mini – $15 per month, up to 100 products, 1 GB data transfer, bandwidth overage fees per GB, no transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, and 24/7 online support.
  • Bronze – $35 per month, up to 1,000 products, 2 GB data transfer, bandwidth overage fees per GB, no transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, abandoned cart reports, product ratings and reviews, newsletters and 24/7 online support.
  • Silver – $65 per month, up to 2,500 products, 5 GB data transfer, bandwidth overage fees per GB, no transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, abandoned cart reports, product ratings and reviews, newsletters, phone orders, import/export, customer management tools, and 24/7 online support.
  • Gold – $125 per month, up to 10,000 products, 25 GB data transfer, bandwidth overage fees per GB, no transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, abandoned cart reports, product ratings and reviews, newsletters, phone orders, import/export, customer management tools, deal of the day, my rewards, eBay integration, API access, batch order processing, on boarding coach, and 24/7 online support.
  • Platinum – $195 per month, unlimited products, 40 GB data transfer, bandwidth overage fees per GB, no transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, abandoned cart reports, product ratings and reviews, newsletters, phone orders, import/export, customer management tools, deal of the day, my rewards, eBay integration, API access, batch order processing, on boarding coach, and 24/7 online support.

When it comes to pricing, Volusion comes very close to BigCommerce. However, the bandwidth overage fees is what draws me away from Volusion. If you do not mind these overage fees, the shopping cart is priced very competitively.

Shopify Plans [all plans start you off with a 14-day free trail]:

  • Starter – $14 per month, up to 25 products, 1 GB file storage, unlimited bandwidth, 2% transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, and 24/7 chat & email support.
  • Basic – $29 per month, up to 100 products, 1 GB file storage, unlimited bandwidth, 2% transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, and 24/7 customer support.
  • Professional – $59 per month, up to 2,500 products, 5 GB file storage, unlimited bandwidth, 1% transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, discount code engine, and 24/7 chat & email support.
  • Unlimited – $179 per month, unlimited products, unlimited file storage, unlimited bandwidth, no transaction fees, free setup, free templates, mobile store, Facebook store, social media tools, discount code engine, real-time carrier shipping, and 24/7 chat & email support.

Overall, Shopify has competitive pricing across its four available plans. However, three out of the four plans have small percentage based transaction fees. This is not necessarily bad, since it’s only $20 in fees for every $1,000 in transactions you process. However, if you are doing a larger volume of transactions, it can start piling up.

Additional Features [Winner: All Three]

There is not much that can split up the top three in this category. All offer features like promotions, discounts, coupons, and newsletters. Single page checkout is integrated across all of these platforms. You also have the ability to add more features and applications by visiting their application store.

Search Engine Optimization [Winner: All Three]

When it comes to SEO tools, all three shopping carts will rank you high in search engines. All three give you the option to specify title, keywords, and description fields. You also have full control over H1 and meta tags. Overall, BigCommerce, Volusion, and Shopify have SEO friendly tools and urls.

Customer Service and Support [Winner: BigCommerce and Shopify]

All three ecommerce solutions offer 24/7 customer support and have hundreds of guides and videos. However, Volusion has horrible technical support, at times they are clueless. On the other hand, BigCommerce and Shopify have two of the best technical support teams in the industry.

Overview of the Pros and Cons [Winner: BigCommerce and Volusion] 

BigCommerce Pros:

  • Low price
  • Excellent features
  • No bandwidth fees
  • No transaction fees
  • Templates
  • 24/7 support
BigCommerce Cons:
  • Knowledge in html is necessary to build a solid store

Volusion Pros:

  • Low price
  • Features
  • No transaction fees
  • Product options
  • Facebook store
  • 24/7 support
Volusion Cons:
  • Plain templates
  • Bandwidth fees

Shopify Pros:

  • Start selling quickly
  • Features
  • No bandwidth fees
  • Easy-to- use
  • Comes with blog
  • 24/7 support
Shopify Cons:
  • Transaction fees

Conclusion

BigCommerce vs Volusion vs Shopify is probably the most debated topic when it comes to ecommerce shopping carts. All three carts give you the ability to run and manage a successful online business. The one thing that sets these shopping carts apart is the bandwidth and transaction fees. While BigCommerce has neither, Volusion has bandwidth fees and Shopify has transaction fees.

We all want the most value for our buck, BigCommerce is the clear winner there. However, price should not be the main reason you overlook one of these incredible shopping cart platforms. Regardless of which one you choose, you have the features and support to run your store smoothly and efficiently.

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