Adobe Commerce development
Storefront design
Performance & SEO
AI & agentic commerce
Release tracker
Choose BigCommerce if you want a hosted SaaS platform with no servers or upgrades to manage, your catalog and B2B needs fit its standard model, and you would rather extend through apps and APIs than own application code. Choose Adobe Commerce (or Magento Open Source) if you need deep control over catalog, pricing, checkout and integrations, run many brands or regions with different rules, or have complex B2B processes such as approval chains and negotiated quotes. Both can serve growing brands; the deciding factors are how unusual your requirements are and how much of the platform you want to own.
What each platform is in 2026
BigCommerce is a hosted SaaS commerce platform. Since July 31, 2025, its parent company has been called Commerce.com, Inc., which now runs three product lines: BigCommerce, Feedonomics (product feeds to marketplaces and ad channels) and Makeswift (visual page building). The BigCommerce platform itself keeps its name. As of November 2026, its pricing page lists Core, Growth, Scale and Performance plans; the lower tiers have trailing twelve-month GMV thresholds that move you to a higher plan as you grow, and Performance has custom, contracted pricing. For headless builds BigCommerce offers Catalyst, a Next.js and React storefront framework built on its GraphQL Storefront API.
Adobe Commerce is the licensed edition of Magento. It runs on-premises or with any host, on Adobe Commerce on cloud infrastructure (PaaS), or as Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service, Adobe's SaaS edition with a headless storefront on Edge Delivery Services. Its licence fee is set by Adobe, based on tiers such as gross merchandise value. Magento Open Source is the free core without Adobe's B2B module and services. For more background, see what Adobe Commerce is.
Side-by-side comparison
| Area | BigCommerce | Adobe Commerce |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting and upgrades | Fully hosted; platform updates applied by BigCommerce | PaaS or self-hosted: you plan upgrades and patches. SaaS (Cloud Service): Adobe applies updates |
| Customization depth | Themes, apps, scripts and APIs; no access to core code | Full code access on PaaS and on-premises (custom modules, plugins); out-of-process extensions on SaaS |
| Headless | Catalyst (Next.js) on the GraphQL Storefront API, or any frontend | GraphQL and REST APIs, API Mesh, Storefront on Edge Delivery Services, or any frontend |
| B2B | B2B Edition: company accounts with hierarchies and role-based access, quoting, custom buyer pricing, purchase order and net-terms payment, open-source buyer portal | B2B module: company hierarchies and roles, shared catalogs, negotiable quotes, purchase order approval rules, requisition lists, quick order |
| Multi-store | Multi-storefront from one account | Websites, stores and store views with separate catalogs, prices, currencies and languages from one Admin |
| Payments | Many embedded providers; Core, Growth and Scale charge an Open Payment Provider Fee on orders through other providers (as of November 2026) | Any gateway via extensions or custom integration; no platform fee on payments |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans with GMV thresholds; Performance by contract | Licence by GMV tier (quoted by Adobe), plus hosting on PaaS or on-premises |
| Talent pool | Front-end and app developers; less platform-specific skill needed | Specialist Magento developers needed for back-end work |
Customization: where the platforms differ most
On BigCommerce, you change behavior through configuration, apps, webhooks and APIs. That keeps the platform stable and upgrades free, but some changes are simply not possible: you cannot rewrite how the core calculates a price or how a cart rule works. Complex logic moves into external services that call the APIs.
On Adobe Commerce PaaS or on-premises, developers can change almost any behavior with modules, plugins and observers inside the application. That is why it suits unusual pricing, configurators and deep ERP integration. The cost is ownership: every customization must survive upgrades and security patches. Adobe's newer approach, through App Builder, events and webhooks, moves customizations out of the core to make upgrades easier, and on the SaaS edition that out-of-process model is the only option.
B2B: both have it, at different depths
BigCommerce B2B Edition, per its product page, covers company accounts with multi-company hierarchies and role-based access, quoting, custom buyer pricing, purchase order and net-terms payment, and an open-source buyer portal. Adobe Commerce's B2B module offers company structures with roles and permissions, shared catalogs, negotiable quotes with back-and-forth, approval rules for purchase orders and requisition lists. If your buyers need approval chains or different catalogs per company, test those flows on both before deciding. Our guide to the best B2B ecommerce platform goes deeper.
Total cost: compare five years, not one
We do not quote prices here because both vendors price by size and contract. Compare total cost over five years using these drivers:
- Platform fees: BigCommerce plan or contract versus Adobe Commerce licence (or none, for Magento Open Source).
- Payment costs: processing rates and any fees for using non-embedded providers.
- Hosting and operations: included with BigCommerce and Adobe's SaaS; separate for Adobe Commerce on-premises and part of the Adobe cloud package for PaaS.
- Apps and extensions: monthly app subscriptions on SaaS versus one-off or yearly extension licences on Magento.
- Development and upgrades: usually higher on Adobe Commerce PaaS because of the control you have; lower, but more constrained, on BigCommerce.
Our breakdown of what an Adobe Commerce website costs lists the drivers on the Adobe side in more detail.
Migration effort
Moving either way is a real project. Products, customers and orders can be migrated with tools or APIs; what takes time is everything around them:
- URLs and SEO: URL structures differ, so a full redirect map is essential.
- Customer passwords: check early whether existing password hashes can be imported into the target platform; if not, plan a password reset campaign.
- Integrations: ERP, PIM, tax and shipping connections must be rebuilt or reconfigured.
- Custom logic: moving from Adobe Commerce to BigCommerce often means moving custom code into apps or external services; the other direction means rebuilding app features as modules or configuration.
The ecommerce replatforming guide walks through planning, data and cutover.
Who should pick which
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Standard catalog, small team, want zero server work | BigCommerce |
| Headless build with a JavaScript team and modest back-end needs | BigCommerce with Catalyst, or Adobe Commerce with a headless frontend if back-end logic is complex |
| Complex B2B with approvals, company hierarchies and shared catalogs | Adobe Commerce |
| Many brands or regions with different catalogs, prices and rules | Adobe Commerce (BigCommerce multi-storefront if rules are simple) |
| Heavy custom pricing, configurators or ERP-driven logic | Adobe Commerce |
| Need marketplace and ad-channel feeds as a priority | Either; BigCommerce bundles Feedonomics in the same company |
If you are also considering Shopify, our Magento vs Shopify comparison uses the same approach.
FAQ
Is BigCommerce cheaper than Adobe Commerce?
For many mid-sized stores with standard needs, the platform fee and hosting are lower on BigCommerce. For complex stores, the cost of working around platform limits can change that. Compare five-year totals.
Can BigCommerce handle large catalogs?
Yes, many large catalogs run on it. The question is less size and more how complex the product, pricing and inventory rules are.
Is Magento Open Source an option instead of Adobe Commerce?
Yes, if you do not need Adobe's B2B module, staging or SaaS services. B2B features can be added with extensions.
Making the decision
List your three hardest requirements and test them on both platforms before committing. If Adobe Commerce fits, Mistri's Adobe Commerce development team can scope the build, and our Magento migration service covers moving data, URLs and integrations from your current platform.
Sources
BigCommerce pricing (BigCommerce, checked November 2026); Commerce.com, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (SEC); Catalyst overview (BigCommerce Developer documentation); B2B for Adobe Commerce introduction (Adobe Experience League); Adobe Commerce as a Cloud Service overview (Adobe Experience League); BigCommerce B2B Edition (BigCommerce).
