Why Use BigCommerce? | 5 Reasons to Choose It Over Other Platforms

The topic of choosing the right eCommerce platform is worthy of discussion, especially for merchants balancing speed, flexibility, and long-term costs. BigCommerce has emerged as a standout choice—an Open SaaS platform that often outperforms alternatives like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento in real-world builds.

Not only has BigCommerce helped modernize how brands launch and scale stores, it has also driven major advances in composable commerce, B2B tooling, and API-first development that benefit both marketers and engineers.

In this article, we’ll explain five core reasons to choose BigCommerce over other platforms, show how those advantages translate into outcomes, and share practical guidance to make your rollout smooth and successful.

If you’re looking for information more closely related to headless implementations, check out our Headless eCommerce Guide for a deeper dive into architecture choices.

Composable Architecture: Building the Exact Tech Stack You Want

One of the most strategic advantages BigCommerce offers is its support for composable commerce, allowing brands to assemble their ideal tech stack using best-in-class tools instead of relying on a monolithic platform.

In a composable model, each part of the customer experience—CMS, search, PIM, checkout, analytics, personalization—can be chosen independently and connected through APIs. BigCommerce enables this by providing:

• 100% API coverage for catalog, carts, customers, checkout, promotions, and storefront data
• Modular services that plug into any frontend framework (Next.js, React, Astro, Vue, etc.) for full headless flexibility.
• Certified integrations with leading providers like Bloomreach, Contentstack, Amplienc, Algolia, and Akeneo
• Multi-storefront + channel APIs, making it easy to share logic across multiple brands or experiences

This architecture gives merchants complete freedom to evolve their stack over time. You can start with out-of-the-box BigCommerce features, adopt a headless frontend later, or gradually integrate specialized systems—without replatforming.

For growing brands, composable commerce on BigCommerce means less technical debt, faster iteration cycles, and the ability to replace or upgrade individual services without disrupting the entire ecosystem.

Key Differences Between BigCommerce and Other Platforms

Here are the main differences between BigCommerce and other platforms:

• Open SaaS Flexibility: Hosted reliability with open APIs and headless freedom—without heavy plugin debt.
• Scalability & Performance: Proven uptime, large-catalog support, and fast storefronts at enterprise scale.
• Built-In Features That Replace Plugins: Native promotions, faceted search, multi-storefront, B2B, and more reduce total cost of ownership.
• Headless + Modern Frontends: BigCommerce empowers cutting-edge builds using headless CMS platforms and Catalyst/Next.js—delivering lightning-fast, future-proof storefronts.

Mechanically speaking, the core distinction is the platform model. Closed SaaS platforms favor simplicity but can limit deep customizations; open-source options offer freedom but shift hosting, security, and maintenance onto your team. BigCommerce’s Open SaaS blends both: you keep enterprise-grade hosting and security while retaining API-level control for custom UX, data flows, and headless builds.

BigCommerce vs Other Platforms Diagram

Because BigCommerce ships robust features natively (and exposes them via APIs), you reduce reliance on third-party apps that can slow down your site and complicate maintenance.

1. True Open SaaS Flexibility

BigCommerce’s Open SaaS model gives merchants the best of both worlds: cloud hosting with enterprise reliability and the flexibility to customize through open APIs, SDKs, and headless integrations.

Unlike closed platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce lets developers build with modern frameworks such as Next.js, React, or Astro while maintaining full access to data and checkout customization.

This makes BigCommerce ideal for teams that want to scale or innovate without hitting platform limitations.

2. Built-In Scalability and Performance

BigCommerce was engineered to handle high-volume sales and large product catalogs right out of the box. It delivers 99.99% uptime, global CDN support, and optimized caching—critical for enterprise operations.

Unlike WooCommerce (which depends heavily on your hosting environment) or Magento (which can require costly infrastructure), BigCommerce manages performance at scale so your store stays fast no matter how large it grows.

3. Native Multi-Channel Selling

BigCommerce integrates natively with leading sales channels including Google Shopping, Meta, Amazon, TikTok, and eBay, allowing merchants to reach audiences wherever they shop—all from one dashboard.

This eliminates the need for expensive or brittle third-party connectors and ensures consistent pricing, inventory, and fulfillment data across all channels.

4. Enterprise-Grade SEO and Checkout Customization

BigCommerce was designed with SEO and checkout conversion in mind. You get advanced URL control, microdata support, automatic sitemaps, and the ability to customize meta fields natively—no plugin required.

At checkout, the Checkout JS SDK and Checkout API enable deep customization of the buying experience, making it possible to tailor B2C or B2B flows without compromising PCI compliance.

5. Lower Total Cost of Ownership

Unlike Shopify’s app-heavy model or Magento’s developer-intensive maintenance, BigCommerce includes critical enterprise features by default—B2B pricing, customer groups, staging environments, and multi-storefront support.

This reduces your total cost of ownership (TCO) significantly. You pay for what matters—growth, performance, and stability—not a patchwork of extensions or hosting bills.

Conclusion

Overall, BigCommerce represents a major step forward for brands seeking flexibility and scalability without the hidden complexity of competing platforms. Choosing the right eCommerce solution means looking beyond setup speed and focusing on how well the platform supports long-term growth.

With its Open SaaS architecture, native enterprise features, and developer-friendly APIs, BigCommerce is a platform built to grow with you, not against you.

So, if you’re ready to future-proof your business—embrace the BigCommerce revolution!

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If you're interested in having a BigCommerce storefront built for you at no cost (yes FREE) reach out to us. We offer free storefront setups for qualifying businesses when you enroll through the BigCommerce partner referral program (no extra cost to you).

Interested? Learn more here!