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BigCommerce review: Core's $30K sales cap and which processors avoid the 2% fee
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · scored under rubric v1
BigCommerce suits a store that wants to use Stripe, PayPal Braintree or Adyen with no extra fee, and needs unlimited products and staff users. The catches are the $30K yearly sales cap on Core and no abandoned-cart emails until Growth.
BigCommerce Core costs $29 a month billed annually or $39 month to month, for stores up to $30K in trailing-12-month sales; past that it moves to Growth ($79 or $105). BigCommerce Payments charges 2.89% + $0.30 per card sale on Core. Stripe, PayPal Braintree and Adyen carry no extra fee; providers off its embedded list pay 2.0%.
What it does well
- No extra fee with embedded providers such as Stripe, PayPal Braintree and Adyen
- Unlimited products and users on Core
- Discount options and up to 4 inventory locations on Core
- 15-day free trial
Where it falls short
- Core moves up to Growth once trailing-12-month sales pass $30K
- No abandoned cart saver on Core
- 2.0% fee on Core with providers off the embedded list
- B2B Edition needs the Performance plan and a custom quote
BigCommerce sells hosted store plans with its own card option, BigCommerce Payments (built with PayPal), and a B2B Edition for enterprise stores. On June 1, 2026 it renamed its plans: Standard, Plus, Pro and Enterprise became Core, Growth, Scale and Performance.
What BigCommerce costs
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Sales limit and fee with other providers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | $29 a month | $39 a month | $30K trailing 12 months; 2.0% |
| Growth | $79 a month | $105 a month | $100K trailing 12 months; 1.0% |
| Scale | $299 a month | $399 a month | $33,333 a month, then 0.9% on sales above it; 0.6% |
| Performance | From $1,499 a month | Annual only | Custom pricing; no provider fee |
Prices from its pricing page, read Oct 9, 2026.
Over time
Total = monthly price × 12 × years, or yearly price × years, or a one-time price once. Only current plan prices; fees are listed separately. Taxes, add-ons and promotional prices are not included.
Current prices
| Plan | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Core (billed annually) Per month billed annually (25% saving). Up to $30K trailing-12-month GMV, then the plan auto-upgrades to Growth. 2.0% Open Payment Provider Fee on orders through providers not on BigCommerce's embedded list. | $29 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Core (billed monthly) Month to month; same GMV cap and fees as above. | $39 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Growth (billed annually) Per month billed annually; up to $100K TTM GMV, then the plan auto-upgrades to Scale; 1.0% Open Payment Provider Fee. | $79 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Growth (billed monthly) Month to month. | $105 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Scale (billed annually) Per month billed annually; $33,333/month GMV then 0.9% on GMV above the cap; 0.6% Open Payment Provider Fee; auto-upgrades to Performance once TTM GMV reaches $2 million. | $299 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Scale (billed monthly) Month to month. | $399 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Performance Custom pricing from $1,499 per month, billed annually (formerly Enterprise); contracted terms, no Open Payment Provider Fee. | $1,499 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
What you get on Core
The Core plan panel lists "Unlimited products and users" and up to 4 inventory locations. It includes coupons, discounts and gift cards (more than 70 discount options), and free sitewide HTTPS with a dedicated SSL certificate on your own domain.
BigCommerce Payments charges "Core Card processing rate: 2.89% + $0.30" for eligible US merchants, about $1.75 on a $50 sale. The PayPal button and Venmo cost 3.49% + $0.49.
The fee rule is the useful part. Orders through BigCommerce's embedded payment providers, which include Stripe, PayPal Braintree, Adyen, Checkout.com and Worldpay, carry a $0 fee. Only providers outside that list pay the Open Payment Provider Fee: 2.0% of eligible order GMV on Core.
Catches and fine print
- The sales cap. Core covers up to $30K in trailing-12-month sales. Past it, the plan moves up to Growth, at $79 a month annually or $105 monthly. Growth caps at $100K, and Scale charges 0.9% on monthly sales above $33,333.
- No abandoned-cart emails on Core. The pricing table marks the abandoned cart saver for Growth and up. Customer groups and segmentation also start on Growth.
- Two card rates. The pricing page footnote says card processing "begins at 2.89% + $0.29" for all plans. The BigCommerce Payments page gives Core 2.89% + $0.30. We use $0.30, the worse reading for a buyer.
- BigCommerce Payments is US-only for now, per its payments page.
- B2B costs more than the list price. B2B Edition builds on the Performance plan, from $1,499 a month billed annually, and B2B Edition itself is "Contact us" pricing. Its help centre lists company payment terms, quotes and purchase orders. Per-product minimum purchase quantities are a standard catalog setting.
Support
The pages we read don't set out support channels or hours for Core. Its B2B Edition article lists priority support and customer success management among enterprise features for qualifying stores.
Who it suits
BigCommerce fits a store under $30K a year in sales that already uses, or wants to use, Stripe, PayPal Braintree or Adyen and doesn't want to pay a platform fee for that choice. Unlimited staff users on Core also help a small team.
Look elsewhere if you need abandoned-cart emails on the entry plan, if your sales will pass $30K soon and $79 a month is more than you want to pay, or if you need B2B price lists without an enterprise contract.
See how it compares in our ecommerce platform ranking, our list for B2B and wholesale, and platform fees compared.
Alternatives in Ecommerce platforms
| Alternative | Score | Best for | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | 8.3/10Very goodOur score | Stores that already pay for web hosting and want no platform fee No affiliate relationship | Visit WooCommerceOn woocommerce.com |
| Sellfy | 8.2/10Very goodOur score | Creators selling downloads, subscriptions and print-on-demand with under $10k a year in sales No affiliate relationship | Visit SellfyOn sellfy.com |
| Shopify | 7.1/10GoodOur score | Stores that want B2B price lists and net payment terms on the entry plan No affiliate relationship | Visit ShopifyOn shopify.com |