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Home › Categories › E-commerce Platforms

E-commerce Platforms, Compared: Verified 2026 Pricing

Bill BelcaminoBy Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 23, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

Side-by-side pricing for Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce: entry price, free plan, how each vendor bills for AI, and the date we last checked each figure against the vendor’s own pricing page.

E-commerce Platforms, ComparedVerified Sep 23, 2026

Quick answer

  • Lowest published entry price: Shopify — From $29/mo and BigCommerce — Core $29/mo (billed annually), up to $30K trailing-12-month GMV.
  • Free plans: WooCommerce (WooCommerce itself is free forever; only supporting infrastructure costs money).

E-commerce Platforms pricing at a glance

Every row links to the comparison where the figure was verified and to the vendor’s pricing page.

ToolEntry priceFree planAI billingG2 ratingVerifiedSource
ShopifyFrom $29/moNo free tier (3-day trial, then $1/mo for 3 months intro offer)—4.4 / 55,143 reviewsJuly 8, 2026in Shopify vs WooCommerceVendor pricing ↗
WooCommerceFree pluginYes — WooCommerce itself is free forever; only supporting infrastructure costs money—4.4 / 51,282 reviewsJuly 8, 2026in Shopify vs WooCommerceVendor pricing ↗
BigCommerceCore $29/mo (billed annually), up to $30K trailing-12-month GMVNo free plan — 15-day free trial——September 23, 2026in BigCommerce vs ShopifyVendor pricing ↗

Head-to-head comparisons

BigCommerce vs ShopifyUpdated September 23, 2026BigCommerce vs WooCommerceUpdated September 23, 2026Shopify vs WooCommerceUpdated July 8, 2026

Switching guides

BigCommerce to ShopifySwitching guideBigCommerce to WooCommerceSwitching guideShopify to BigCommerceSwitching guideShopify to WooCommerceSwitching guideWooCommerce to BigCommerceSwitching guideWooCommerce to ShopifySwitching guide
Verified data

E-commerce Platforms: security, offline & remote work

The e-commerce tools we track, side by side on compliance, single sign-on, offline access and remote or office controls. Every value links to the vendor page it came from.

What we checkedShopifyWooCommerceBigCommerce
Security & compliance
SOC 2 reportSOC 2 Type IIsourceNot publishedSOC 2 Type IIsource
ISO/IEC 27001Not publishedNot publishedCertifiedsource
Other certificationsPCI DSS Level 1, SOC 3sourceNot publishedISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 27701, ISO 22301source
HIPAA (BAA)Not publishedNot publishedNot published
GDPR data processing agreementDPA offeredsourceNot publishedDPA offeredsource
Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)YesShopify PlussourceNot publishedNot published
SCIM user provisioningYesShopify PlussourceNot publishedNot published
Two-factor authenticationYesEnforcement: Shopify PlussourceNot publishedNot published
Admin audit logYesShopify PlussourceNot publishedNot published
Data residency choicesNot publishedNot publishedNot published
EncryptionNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Self-hosting optionNot publishedYessourceNot published
Offline access
Offline modePartialThe Shopify POS app can complete checkouts offline with cash, custom payment methods and (once activated) card payments on supported readers; customers, gift cards, returns and inventory/order sync need internet, and orders sync automatically on reconnect.sourceNot documentedNot documented
Desktop appsNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Mobile appsiOS, AndroidsourceiOS, AndroidsourceiOS, Androidsource
Offline limitsOffline card payments need POS app 9.14.0+, a supported Shopify reader, a staff permission, and are capped by per-device daily and per-transaction limits.source——
Remote, hybrid & in-office
IP allowlistingNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Device & session controlsNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Office & room hardwareShopify POS runs on iOS/Android and supports Shopify card readers (POS Go, POS Terminal, Tap & Chip and others) plus retail hardware such as barcode scanners and cash drawers.sourcePOS mode in the Woo mobile app accepts card payments via an M2 reader (US) or WisePad 3 reader (UK and other supported countries), Tap to Pay, or an Android phone as a remote reader.sourceIn-store selling is handled through point-of-sale integrations (third-party POS) that connect to the store on every plan.source
Editorial assessment

What this means for your team

  • Audit reports: Shopify and BigCommerce state a SOC 2 report on their own site; we found no SOC 2 statement for WooCommerce. If your security team requires SOC 2, ask WooCommerce directly before shortlisting.
  • Single sign-on: Shopify includes it on Shopify Plus. WooCommerce and BigCommerce don’t document single sign-on with your own identity provider. If your team signs in through Okta, Microsoft Entra ID or Google, price the plan that includes SSO, not the entry plan.
  • Working offline: Shopify works offline only in part; WooCommerce and BigCommerce don’t document an offline mode. Details are in the Offline mode row above.
  • In the office: Shopify: Shopify POS runs on iOS/Android and supports Shopify card readers (POS Go, POS Terminal, Tap & Chip and others) plus retail hardware such as barcode scanners and cash drawers. WooCommerce: POS mode in the Woo mobile app accepts card payments via an M2 reader (US) or WisePad 3 reader (UK and other supported countries), Tap to Pay, or an Android phone as a remote reader. BigCommerce: In-store selling is handled through point-of-sale integrations (third-party POS) that connect to the store on every plan.

Shopify: worth knowing

  • OfflineOffline card payments are not routed to the processor until reconnection, so declines only surface later; Shopify advises reconnecting ideally within 24 hours. source
  • OfficeWith the POS Terminal reader, offline payments still require the store's local Wi-Fi network to be working. source
  • OfflineWhile offline, Shopify POS cannot sync orders and inventory with the Shopify admin; syncing resumes automatically on reconnect. source
  • SecuritySAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, mandatory two-step authentication and the organization user activity log are all Shopify Plus-only. source

WooCommerce: worth knowing

  • SecurityThe core WooCommerce plugin is not PCI certified; PCI DSS compliance is the store owner's responsibility. source
  • SecurityA WooCommerce store's security is tied to its WordPress install and host, so the hosting choice decides most security controls. source
  • OfflinePOS mode downloads the store's product catalog to the device for browsing, search and barcode scanning; WooCommerce does not document offline checkout. source

BigCommerce: worth knowing

  • SecurityBigCommerce holds Level 1 PCI DSS attestations as both a merchant and a service provider. source
  • RemoteThe free BigCommerce mobile app (iOS and Android) lets staff view and update orders and customers away from a desk, using the same login as the browser control panel. source
  • OfficeEvery plan, from Core up, includes POS integrations to connect in-person and online sales. source

Checked September 24, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

Frequently asked questions

Which e-commerce tool is cheapest?

Of the 3 e-commerce tools HelpCompare tracks, the lowest published entry price belongs to Shopify (From $29/mo, verified July 8, 2026) and BigCommerce (Core $29/mo (billed annually), up to $30K trailing-12-month GMV, verified September 23, 2026). Entry prices are the cheapest paid tier each vendor publishes; the right answer at your team size depends on seat minimums and add-ons, which each head-to-head comparison breaks down.

Which e-commerce tools have a free plan?

Free plans: WooCommerce (WooCommerce itself is free forever; only supporting infrastructure costs money).

Where does this pricing data come from?

Every figure was recorded from the vendor's own pricing page during research for a HelpCompare comparison, and is dated. The most recent check in this category was September 23, 2026. Nothing is estimated: where a vendor publishes no price, we say so. The full dataset is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 at helpcompare.com/data/.

Sources

Figures come from each vendor’s pricing page, recorded on the date shown. Download the full dataset from Open Data (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0).

Cite this page: HelpCompare, “E-commerce Platforms, Compared: Verified 2026 Pricing”, helpcompare.com/ecommerce-platforms/ (updated ).

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Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
About the author

Bill Belcamino

Founder and author, HelpCompare

Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent eight and a half years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

“I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 23, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.

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