BigCommerce now charges a transaction fee that shrinks as you move up its tiers and caps how much revenue you can process before forcing an upgrade, while Squarespace charges a fee only on its cheapest plan and drops it to zero with no revenue cap at all once you’re on Core or higher.
Table of Contents
- Why This Comparison Matters
- BigCommerce Overview
- Squarespace Overview
- Head-to-Head: Pricing & Fees
- Head-to-Head: Features & Automation
- Head-to-Head: Ease of Use
- Where StableCommerce Fits
- Who Should Choose BigCommerce?
- Who Should Choose Squarespace?
- Migration Guide: Switching from BigCommerce to Squarespace
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Bottom Line
- About This Research
Why This Comparison Matters
Most BigCommerce vs Squarespace comparisons stop at “power platform vs pretty platform” and move on. That framing was already thin, and it got thinner in June 2026, when BigCommerce restructured its entire plan lineup and introduced a transaction fee it didn’t used to charge. Sellers researching this pairing right now are often working from outdated pricing pages, old screenshots, or comparison articles written before the change.
This guide works from the current 2026 pricing structure on both platforms so you can see what actually happens to your costs as revenue grows, not just what the entry-tier sticker price looks like. Sellers evaluating BigCommerce and Squarespace side by side are usually trying to answer one practical question: which platform gets cheaper or more expensive as my store actually grows. That’s the lens for the whole comparison below.
BigCommerce Overview
BigCommerce is a hosted e-commerce platform built for merchants who treat online selling as the core of the business, not a feature bolted onto a website. It’s aimed at growing brands, B2B/wholesale sellers, and multi-channel retailers who need built-in depth rather than a patchwork of plugins.
Strengths:
- Deep native feature set: B2B pricing tools, customer groups, 600 product variants, and multi-currency checkout are built in rather than sold as add-ons
- Strong multi-channel selling into Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok Shop, and Google/Facebook without third-party middleware
- Full REST and GraphQL Storefront APIs, so headless and custom-storefront builds are genuinely supported, not bolted on
Weaknesses:
- As of the June 2026 restructuring, BigCommerce now charges a transaction fee (2.0% down to 0.6% depending on tier) on orders routed through payment providers outside its approved list
- Every plan below the custom Performance tier has an annual revenue cap that forces an automatic upgrade once you cross it
- Themes are functional but not design-led; a polished, magazine-quality storefront usually needs developer work
Pricing summary: BigCommerce’s current lineup is Core ($29/mo billed annually, up to $30K in trailing twelve-month GMV), Growth ($79/mo annually, up to $100K TTM GMV), Scale ($299/mo annually, roughly $400K/year before overage fees kick in), and a custom Performance tier for larger merchants. Full current pricing and fee tables are on BigCommerce’s official pricing page and its 2026 pricing update explainer.
Squarespace Overview
Squarespace is a design-first website builder where e-commerce is one module inside a broader site-building tool. It’s built for creatives, service businesses, and small-catalog sellers who want a beautiful site first and a functional store second.
Strengths:
- Best-in-class templates that look professionally designed with zero design skill required
- No revenue caps on any plan, at any tier, ever
- Transaction fees disappear entirely above the entry tier, which is not true of BigCommerce’s current structure
Weaknesses:
- No B2B tools: no customer groups, no wholesale price lists, no quote workflows
- A roughly 30-extension marketplace versus BigCommerce’s 1,000+, so niche integrations (ERP, 3PL, advanced marketing automation) are often unavailable
- No headless commerce option and limited API access, so custom storefronts or app integrations hit a hard ceiling
Pricing summary: Squarespace’s current plans are Basic ($16/mo billed annually, 2% transaction fee), Core ($23/mo annually, 0% transaction fee), Plus ($39/mo annually, 0% fee plus lower card processing rates), and Advanced ($99/mo annually, 0% fee and the lowest processing rates). Current numbers are on Squarespace’s official pricing page and its transaction fee documentation.
Head-to-Head: Pricing & Fees
| Platform | Plan | Monthly (billed annually) | Transaction fee | Revenue cap / hidden costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BigCommerce | Core | $29/mo | 2.0% (non-approved payment provider) | Caps at $30K TTM GMV, auto-upgrades you to Growth |
| BigCommerce | Growth | $79/mo | 1.0% | Caps at $100K TTM GMV |
| BigCommerce | Scale | $299/mo | 0.6% | Caps around $33,333/mo GMV; 0.9% fee on overage |
| BigCommerce | Performance | Custom, from ~$1,499/yr | 0% with contract | Custom terms, negotiated per merchant |
| Squarespace | Basic | $16/mo | 2% | No revenue cap; 7% fee on digital content/memberships |
| Squarespace | Core | $23/mo | 0% | No revenue cap; digital content fee drops to 5% |
| Squarespace | Plus | $39/mo | 0% | No revenue cap; card processing 2.7% + $0.30 |
| Squarespace | Advanced | $99/mo | 0% | No revenue cap; card processing 2.5% + $0.30 |
Listing fees don’t apply to either platform since neither operates as a marketplace. The practical takeaway: BigCommerce’s transaction fee only disappears if you route payments through its approved providers or negotiate a custom Performance contract, while Squarespace’s fee disappears the moment you move off its cheapest plan and never comes back regardless of how much revenue you process.
BigCommerce’s revenue caps matter more than the fee percentages for fast-growing stores. Cross $30K in trailing revenue on Core and you’re pushed into Growth whether you’re ready to pay more or not; cross $100K and Scale becomes mandatory. Squarespace has no equivalent forced-upgrade mechanism at any tier.
Fees change. Always verify current rates on official pages.
Head-to-Head: Features & Automation
| Feature | BigCommerce | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|
| Product variants | Up to 600 per product | Limited (varies by plan) |
| B2B / wholesale pricing | Built in on all plans | Not available |
| Multi-currency checkout | Built in | Display only, single-currency checkout |
| Real-time carrier shipping | Built in | Not available |
| Abandoned cart recovery | Built in, all plans | Available on commerce-enabled plans |
| Multi-channel selling | Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok, Google, Facebook | Google Shopping, limited Facebook/Instagram |
| App/extension marketplace | 1,000+ apps | ~30 extensions |
| Headless commerce / API | Full REST + GraphQL Storefront API | Limited API, no headless option |
| Subscriptions | Built in | Available on Core plan and above |
| POS integration | Third-party POS partners | Square integration |
BigCommerce wins this table on raw depth, and it isn’t close. Multi-currency checkout, real-time shipping rates, and B2B pricing tools are things Squarespace sellers either can’t get or have to work around with manual processes.
Squarespace’s advantage here is subtler: everything it does include is genuinely built well and requires no configuration. A Squarespace seller adding subscriptions or abandoned cart emails flips a setting; a BigCommerce seller wiring up an equivalent workflow through the 1,000+ app ecosystem sometimes needs to evaluate and configure a third-party tool first.
On automation specifically, the gap is less about whether a feature exists and more about how much you can tune it. BigCommerce’s abandoned cart recovery supports multi-step follow-up sequences with detailed analytics on recovery rate, while Squarespace’s version covers the basics (a single reminder email) without the same depth of customization. The same pattern holds for inventory alerts and reorder automation: BigCommerce exposes more rules and thresholds, Squarespace gives you fewer dials but nothing to misconfigure.
Head-to-Head: Ease of Use
Squarespace is built for people with no technical background. Template selection, drag-and-drop section editing, and a guided commerce setup mean a simple product catalog with checkout can be live in a single afternoon.
BigCommerce is fully hosted too (no server management), but its dashboard has considerably more surface area: shipping zone configuration, tax settings, customer group setup, and channel connections all add steps before launch. A first store on BigCommerce typically takes several days to two weeks to configure properly, longer if B2B pricing or multi-channel listings are part of the setup.
Neither platform requires developer involvement to launch a basic store. The gap opens up in complexity, not in whether you need code: Squarespace’s simplicity is a design choice, while BigCommerce’s added complexity is the tradeoff for the deeper feature set covered above.
Where StableCommerce Fits
Both BigCommerce and Squarespace assume a human is running the store day to day: setting prices, writing product descriptions, responding to the fee structure by choosing plans, watching inventory, and deciding what to promote. StableCommerce takes a different position entirely. It’s an AI-operated commerce platform where the AI handles the ongoing operational work (pricing adjustments, listing optimization, inventory decisions, day-to-day storefront management) rather than just assisting a human who still does it manually.
For someone choosing between BigCommerce and Squarespace primarily because they’re worried about time, not features or design, StableCommerce is worth a look before committing to either. It’s a genuinely different answer to “who does the ongoing work” than either platform offers.
The honest downside: StableCommerce is a newer platform than either BigCommerce or Squarespace, its app and integration ecosystem is smaller than BigCommerce’s, and sellers who specifically want full manual control over every pricing and merchandising decision will find an AI-operated model uncomfortable rather than convenient. See the fuller breakdowns in StableCommerce vs BigCommerce and StableCommerce vs Squarespace for a feature-by-feature look at where each tradeoff lands.
Who Should Choose BigCommerce?
- You run B2B or wholesale alongside (or instead of) direct-to-consumer sales and need customer groups and price lists
- You sell on Amazon, eBay, Walmart, or TikTok Shop in addition to your own site and want native channel management
- Your catalog needs 100+ variants per product, multi-currency checkout, or real-time carrier shipping rates
- You’re already past $30K in annual revenue and expect to keep scaling, since the fee percentage drops as you move up tiers
- You want headless commerce or a custom storefront built on a real API
Who Should Choose Squarespace?
- You’re a photographer, designer, artist, or service business where the website itself is the product and the store is secondary
- Your catalog is small (well under 100 SKUs) and doesn’t need B2B pricing, multi-currency, or complex shipping rules
- You want the lowest possible entry cost with a clear path to a 0% transaction fee (Core plan, $23/mo)
- Design quality out of the box matters more to you than app ecosystem depth or multi-channel reach
- Compare it against another design-forward builder in our Squarespace vs Wix breakdown if aesthetics are your main deciding factor
Migration Guide: Switching from BigCommerce to Squarespace
Moving from BigCommerce to Squarespace usually means downsizing operationally, not just switching tools, since Squarespace can’t replicate BigCommerce’s B2B or multi-channel features. Here’s the realistic path.
- Audit what you’ll lose before you start. List every BigCommerce feature currently in use (customer groups, price lists, multi-currency, connected sales channels) and confirm Squarespace has an equivalent or you’re prepared to drop it.
- Export your product catalog. BigCommerce lets you export products, customers, and orders as CSV files from the admin dashboard. Clean the file before import; BigCommerce’s CSV schema and Squarespace’s import format don’t map one to one.
- Choose your Squarespace plan first. If you need a 0% transaction fee, that means Core or above ($23/mo), not the $16/mo Basic plan.
- Import products into Squarespace. Use Squarespace’s built-in CSV import for basic product data; expect to manually re-add variant structures, since 600-variant BigCommerce products won’t map cleanly onto Squarespace’s more limited variant system.
- Rebuild the storefront design. This is the step most sellers underestimate. BigCommerce themes and Squarespace templates share nothing structurally, so this is a from-scratch design pass, not a migration.
- Reconnect payments and set up redirects. Configure your payment processor in Squarespace, then set up 301 redirects from old BigCommerce URLs to new Squarespace URLs to preserve SEO equity.
- Test the full checkout flow before going live, including tax calculation, shipping rates, and any subscription products.
Common pitfalls: losing multi-channel listings that BigCommerce managed natively (Squarespace can’t replicate Amazon or Walmart integration), losing B2B customer group pricing entirely, and underestimating how long the design rebuild takes. Realistic timeframe for a straightforward catalog under 100 products is one to two weeks; a store with complex variants, B2B pricing, or multiple sales channels can take three to four weeks to migrate properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper overall, BigCommerce or Squarespace?
Squarespace is cheaper at every equivalent tier: its $23/mo Core plan already includes a 0% transaction fee, while BigCommerce’s $29/mo Core plan still carries a 2.0% fee on non-approved payment providers. At higher revenue, BigCommerce’s percentage fee drops, but Squarespace never charges a percentage fee above its entry tier at all.
Which platform is better for beginners?
Squarespace, without much competition. Its guided setup and template system get a basic store live in an afternoon, while BigCommerce’s larger feature set means more configuration screens before launch.
How long does migration between the two typically take?
Migrating from BigCommerce to Squarespace takes one to two weeks for a simple catalog and three to four weeks for a store with complex variants, B2B pricing, or multiple sales channels. The design rebuild, not the data export, is usually the longest step.
Are there hidden fees on either platform?
Yes, on both, and they’re easy to miss. BigCommerce’s revenue caps force automatic plan upgrades once you cross a threshold, and its transaction fee only zeroes out through approved payment providers or a custom contract. Squarespace’s fee-free plans still carry standard card processing rates (2.5-2.9% + $0.30), and its Basic plan charges a 7% fee on digital content and memberships.
Can I use BigCommerce and Squarespace at the same time?
Not in any integrated way. Some sellers run a Squarespace site for content, portfolio, or brand presence alongside a separate BigCommerce store for the transactional side, but there’s no built-in sync between the two, so inventory and pricing must be managed manually across both.
Which platform has better SEO tools?
BigCommerce has stronger e-commerce-specific SEO, including faceted navigation controls that matter for large catalogs. Squarespace has excellent blog and content SEO tools but weaker product-page SEO controls for big inventories.
Which platform offers better customer support?
BigCommerce provides 24/7 phone, live chat, and email support across its plans. Squarespace offers 24/7 chat and email but no phone support, which matters most when you’re troubleshooting a live checkout issue.
What happens to my data if I cancel my subscription?
Both platforms allow product, customer, and order data exports as CSV files before cancellation, and you should always do this first since accounts typically lose full data access shortly after cancellation. Neither platform is required to retain your store data indefinitely once your subscription ends, so export everything (products, customers, order history, images) before you cancel.
Does either platform charge a listing fee like a marketplace would?
No. Both BigCommerce and Squarespace are subscription-based hosted platforms, not marketplaces, so there’s no per-listing fee on either one. That’s a meaningful cost difference versus a marketplace like Etsy or eBay.
How does StableCommerce compare to BigCommerce and Squarespace?
StableCommerce takes a fundamentally different approach: its AI handles ongoing store operations (pricing, listings, inventory decisions) rather than requiring a human to manage them, which neither BigCommerce nor Squarespace does. It’s worth evaluating if the time cost of running either platform, not just the subscription fee, is your real constraint. See StableCommerce vs BigCommerce and StableCommerce vs Squarespace for the full comparison.
Do BigCommerce’s 2026 pricing changes affect stores that signed up before June 2026?
Existing merchants are typically migrated to the new plan structure over a transition period rather than instantly, but the new fee and cap structure eventually applies account-wide. Confirm your specific transition timeline directly with BigCommerce, since terms for existing accounts can differ from new signups.
Which platform is better if I plan to sell wholesale or B2B?
BigCommerce, clearly. Its customer groups, tiered price lists, and quote-friendly workflows are built in on every plan, while Squarespace has no B2B pricing infrastructure at all.
The Bottom Line
BigCommerce and Squarespace now compete on cost in a way they didn’t a year ago, with BigCommerce’s new transaction fees and revenue caps working against it at low volume and Squarespace’s fee-free tiers and uncapped revenue working in its favor for smaller catalogs. But cost is only half the decision. If you need B2B pricing, multi-channel selling into Amazon or Walmart, or headless commerce flexibility, choose BigCommerce and treat the transaction fee as the cost of that depth. If you need a beautiful, simple storefront attached to a content-first website and your catalog is small, choose Squarespace and enjoy the 0% fee once you’re past its entry tier.
Compare current pricing on BigCommerce’s official site and Squarespace’s official pricing page before committing, since both platforms revise plans more often than most comparison articles get updated.
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About This Research
CartCompare evaluates every platform pairing against a fixed framework: pricing, core features, ease of use, and who the platform actually fits. This article is desk research compiled from BigCommerce’s and Squarespace’s official pricing and documentation pages, cross-referenced with StableCommerce’s internal comparison research; it does not include hands-on testing of either platform’s live checkout or admin dashboard.
CartCompare is a research initiative affiliated with StableCommerce. StableCommerce is evaluated against the same criteria as every other platform on this site, including in the sections above.
Content reviewed and updated: 2026-07-17
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CartCompare is an independent e-commerce platform research site, affiliated with StableCommerce. Have a platform we haven’t covered yet, or think we got a fact wrong? Reach out via ecomcartcompare.com/about.