BigCommerce Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 4 Free
BigCommerce alternatives: Saleor, Medusa, PrestaShop, WooCommerce and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 22, 2026.
•3 min read•Website Builders & Landing Pages
Verdict:BigCommerce suits merchants who want a hosted store with built-in catalogue, checkout and multi-channel selling, and who prefer to leave the servers to someone else. Leave it when the platform fee climbs faster than sales, or when your build needs a custom storefront that the hosted theme system does not allow. BigCommerce's Core plan is $29 a month on annual billing, so the fee is fixed before you sell anything. The open-source options remove the platform fee entirely, but they move the work of hosting, security and updates onto your team. Saleor and Medusa are built for developers who want a headless backend and a storefront they write themselves; Saleor is the more complete commerce core, and Medusa is the lighter engine with a paid cloud. PrestaShop suits a self-hosted shop that needs a large module library and a standard admin panel. WooCommerce is the cheapest entry if the store sits on WordPress, because the core plugin is free under GPL-2.0 and the cost is hosting and extensions. Shopify is the hosted comparison most merchants shortlist, with no free plan and a larger app store. The trade-off is consistent: the free stacks save the subscription and cost you engineering time, while the hosted platforms bill you monthly and handle the operations.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saleor | Free (Open source version is self-hosted; Cloud Sandboxes plan is labeled Forever Free); paid from $1599 per month (Cloud Select) | Web, Self-hosted | Developers building a custom storefront | Docs only |
| Medusa | Free (MIT-licensed core you host yourself); paid from $29 per month, billed monthly (Medusa Cloud Develop) | Web, Self-hosted | Headless commerce with a custom frontend | Docs only |
| PrestaShop | Free (Source code is free to download and install on your own hosting) | Web, Self-hosted | Self-hosted shops with many modules | Docs only |
| WooCommerce | Free (Core is free with no monthly subscription; you pay for hosting and extensions) | Web, Self-hosted | Stores built on an existing WordPress site | Docs only |
| Shopify | Paid from $29 per month, billed yearly (Basic; $39 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android | Hosted stores that need many apps | Docs only |
| Wix | Free (Free plan at $0, no credit card required (Wix-branded domain and ads not checked)); paid from $17.77 per month, Light plan, yearly subscription paid in full at purchase | Web | Website builder | Docs only |
| Squarespace | Paid from $19 per month (Basic; the page shows $19 and $25 for it without labelling which is annual billing) | Web | Website builder | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You are a developer who wants a custom storefront and a free core (Saleor is the pick)
- You want a headless backend with a paid cloud option (Medusa is the pick)
- You run a self-hosted shop with a big module library (PrestaShop is the pick)
- Your store already runs on WordPress (WooCommerce is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on BigCommerce features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
BigCommerce today: Paid from $29 per month, billed annually (Core; $39 billed monthly) (BigCommerce pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Why people look for BigCommerce alternatives
BigCommerce caps online sales by plan: Core covers up to $30K trailing-twelve-month GMV and Growth $100K, after which you are upgraded to the next plan, while Scale charges 0.9% on GMV above $33,333 a month. Open payment providers carry a fee of 2.0% on Core, 1.0% on Growth and 0.6% on Scale, on top of processor fees. Customer groups and abandoned cart saver are not on Core, and price lists are Performance-only, from $1,499 a month.
Saleor
Compared with BigCommerce: Open-source commerce platform under BSD-3-Clause that you self-host for free. Compared with BigCommerce you gain code ownership and no platform fee, but you run the hosting and lose the managed upgrades and the hosted theme store.
Price: Free (Open source version is self-hosted; Cloud Sandboxes plan is labeled Forever Free); paid from $1599 per month (Cloud Select) (Saleor pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. BSD-3-Clause (open source).
Project activity: 23.5k GitHub stars · latest release 3.23.44 (Oct 20, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Developers building a custom storefront.
Worth knowing: Cloud Volume is $3999 per month; Enterprise pricing is negotiated. Headless, so you build the storefront yourself.
Medusa
Compared with BigCommerce: MIT-licensed commerce engine you host yourself, with a paid cloud tier from $29 a month. Against BigCommerce it is a headless backend, so you gain flexibility and lose the built-in storefront and hosted checkout.
Price: Free (MIT-licensed core you host yourself); paid from $29 per month, billed monthly (Medusa Cloud Develop) (Medusa pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT (Enterprise Edition features need a commercial agreement) (open source).
Project activity: 37k GitHub stars · latest release v2.22.1 (Oct 23, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Headless commerce with a custom frontend.
Worth knowing: Cloud tiers: Develop $29, Launch $99, Scale $299 per month. Headless, so you build the storefront yourself.
PrestaShop
Compared with BigCommerce: Open-source shop software under OSL-3.0 that you download and host yourself. Compared with BigCommerce it costs nothing for the software, but you pay for hosting and handle security patches and modules.
Price: Free (Source code is free to download and install on your own hosting) (PrestaShop pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. OSL-3.0 (modules AFL-3.0) (open source).
Project activity: 9.2k GitHub stars · latest release 9.2.0 (Sep 30, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Self-hosted shops with many modules.
WooCommerce
Compared with BigCommerce: Free GPL-2.0 WordPress plugin with no monthly subscription; you pay for hosting and extensions. Against BigCommerce it runs on your WordPress site, so you gain content tools and lose the hosted all-in-one service.
Price: Free (Core is free with no monthly subscription; you pay for hosting and extensions) (WooCommerce pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. GPL-2.0 (open source).
Project activity: 10.6k GitHub stars · latest release 11.2.1 (Oct 9, 2026) · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Best for: Stores built on an existing WordPress site.
Shopify
Compared with BigCommerce: Hosted store with Basic at $29 a month billed yearly and no free plan. Compared with BigCommerce it is a similar hosted model with a larger app store, so you gain apps and lose some of BigCommerce's built-in features on the base plan.
Price: Paid from $29 per month, billed yearly (Basic; $39 billed monthly) (Shopify pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Hosted stores that need many apps.
Worth knowing: Basic plan card rates: online 2.9% + 30¢, in person 2.6% + 10¢. Trial is 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months.
Other popular options (paid)
Wix
Compared with BigCommerce: Light is $17.77 a month on a yearly plan, with Core at $29.77 and Business at $39.77. Wix lists a free plan at $0, with a Wix-branded domain and ads not checked.
Price: Free (Free plan at $0, no credit card required (Wix-branded domain and ads not checked)); paid from $17.77 per month, Light plan, yearly subscription paid in full at purchase (Wix pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Squarespace
Compared with BigCommerce: Basic is $19 a month and Core $29 or $39 depending on billing; there is no free plan, only a 14-day trial with no card. Plus is $49 or $65 and Advanced $99 or $139.
Price: Paid from $19 per month (Basic; the page shows $19 and $25 for it without labelling which is annual billing) (Squarespace pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- You are a developer who wants a custom storefront and a free core: Saleor
- You want a headless backend with a paid cloud option: Medusa
- You run a self-hosted shop with a big module library: PrestaShop
- Your store already runs on WordPress: WooCommerce
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Saleor, Medusa, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Shopify: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from BigCommerce. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked 2026-10-22: BigCommerce, Saleor, Medusa, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.