Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BigCommerce
Score 7.5 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
BigCommerce is a SaaS platform that allows SMBs to develop eCommerce sites. Features include the capabilities to design the storefront, configure products, manage payments, generate traffic, and optimize conversion.
$29.95
per month
Squarespace
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Squarespace is a CMS platform that allows users to create a DIY blog, eCommerce store, and/or portfolio (visual art or music). Some Squarespace website and shop templates are industry or use case-specific, such as menu builders for restaurant sites.
$12
per month
Pricing
BigCommerceSquarespace
Editions & Modules
Standard
$29.95
per month
Plus
$79.95
per month*
Pro
$299.95
per month*
Enterprise
Custom
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BigCommerceSquarespace
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details*if paid annuallyPersonal: $12/month (paid annually) $16/month (paid monthly) Business: $18/month (paid annually) $26/month (paid monthly) Basic Commerce: $26/month (paid annually) $35/month (paid monthly) Advanced Commerce: $40/month (paid annually) $54/month (paid monthly)
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BigCommerceSquarespace
Considered Both Products
BigCommerce
Chose BigCommerce
We used Shopify, Squarespace and storenvy. All were bloated and had a lot of unnecessary and useless features and at a cost that did not seem beneficial to us. In the end, BigCommerce looked like it would work best for our online / brick and mortar model that we run. Also the …
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce's biggest advantage that I've seen is the ability to have a large catalog of products compared to sites like Shopify and Squarespace. BigCommerce allows for large product menus and product options giving the users easier navigation throughout the catalog. Also, …
Chose BigCommerce
We looked at a couple of e-commerce platforms including Squarespace. We found the functionality, ease of use, scalability, storefront features and such to be most attractive with BigCommerce, especially for the price.
Chose BigCommerce
We sell high-risk items as far as the banks are concerned. BigCommerce allows me to make the changes I need to make myself without having to rely on a web designer to assist me. Squarespace and Stripe dropped us for selling "drug paraphernalia" so we needed a solution quickly …
Chose BigCommerce
Though Shopify has an easy to use interface for the beginners in eCommerce, they charge an additional merchant fee for using a payment gateway other than their own. For a store like mine where margins are already slim, added fees and charges can really stack up. BigCommerce …
Chose BigCommerce
Squarespace did not have the ability to host our entire product line with all the necessary variations and options. As such, we had to go with a platform that could grow with us. BigCommerce did just that. It was easy to integrate, has been easy to use, and we are happy with …
Chose BigCommerce
We chose BigCommerce based on their inventory software, and we continue to stand by that decision. Squarespace and Wix simply cannot handle the amount of inventory we carry, and Shopify (at the time) did not seem suitable for us. We appreciate the flow and layout of …
Chose BigCommerce
We started off using Shopify, as it seems "everybody" does, but we needed more product flexibility and shipping variations. Shopify offered that, but wanted double/triple the price from the tier we were on. Since we were just starting out, we didn't want to pay a crazy big …
Chose BigCommerce
osCommerce was our previous platform. It worked great for what it was but was too difficult to maintain and behind the times. When looking for a replacement, Squarespace and Shopify were both evaluated. Squarespace was not responsive at the time and did not support all of the …
Chose BigCommerce
While all of these platforms have their advantages, they couldn't provide the level of international shipping and the multiple shipping options needed by my clients with advanced e-commerce stores. Those two major features were the reason we went with BigCommerce in the first …
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce combines the ease-of-use that you get form Shopify, with the ability to handle large numbers of Sku's like a custom Magento site might have.

But unlike a custom site like Magento, you don't need a coder or developer for every little change you want to make to the …
Chose BigCommerce
We very much liked BigCommerce because it was the perfect fit or the best of both worlds as far as our business is concerned. It had a really robust shopping cart experience that comes standard and it allows for a Sandbox environment that we can use for future custom build-outs.
Chose BigCommerce
Pricing-wise, BigCommerce is pretty much the same. Our problem was a way to track inventory across in-store, on-site and online sales. BigCommerce was the solution that worked best with Square.
Chose BigCommerce
I have managed to build 2 large websites on BigCommerce and it is fast and reliable. Have managed builds on Magento as well as small website projects on Wix, GoDaddy and Shopify and they all have their pros and cons. This is an ever-changing space and it really comes down to …
Chose BigCommerce
I find the features of Big Commerce more flexible than the standard ones on Shopify and you seem to need to continuously purchase add ons to do the same thing. In regard to SEO, I find Big Commerce to be better than Square Space sites.
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce allows much more customizability, better reporting, and easier management. I've experienced way fewer issues and their tech support has been above and beyond anything I've experienced elsewhere. The scalability is far superior to any of the above-mentioned site …
Chose BigCommerce
We decided on Big Commerce because it was something I've used previously while working with another vendor. I liked the all in one solution compared to some of the piecemeal integrations I've used in the past. Due to being related to the cannabis industry, it narrowed my …
Chose BigCommerce
Besides Magento and some of the other enterprise-level ecommerce platforms, BigCommerce has the most functionality. Product Options/Facets, Pricing Tiers and Customer Groups, as well as an integrated blog make BigCommerce a great platform to build your website if you have a lot …
Chose BigCommerce
We used Network Solutions and are disappointed by their buggy software and their unwillingness to fix their bugs. We evaluated Shopify, but did not think they were technical enough. Shopify has more flash though. Squarespace did not offer foreign ordering at that time. 10% …
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce is easily customizable, and offered everything we needed. User groups, free shipping per group, coupon codes, bin numbers
Chose BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a robust machine. And that's what you need for your big business dreams. With all its advanced features, BigCommerce makes sure the learning curve is never steep. If you are new to e-commerce, that's the kind of platform that you need--the kind that offers an …
Squarespace
Chose Squarespace
Squarespace is more visually appealing than the other platforms, but is not quite as well suited for large libraries of content. With some work on integrating blog-type pages and navigation into the overall template (with a similar visual style) this could easily be addressed. …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BigCommerceSquarespace
Online Storefront
Comparison of Online Storefront features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.3
417 Ratings
5% below category average
Squarespace
-
Ratings
Product catalog & listings7.8413 Ratings00 Ratings
Product management6.9410 Ratings00 Ratings
Bulk product upload7.4310 Ratings00 Ratings
Branding7.1361 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile storefront7.3401 Ratings00 Ratings
Product variations7.3387 Ratings00 Ratings
Website integration7.6341 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual customization7.4403 Ratings00 Ratings
CMS7.0296 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Shopping Cart
Comparison of Online Shopping Cart features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.4
403 Ratings
2% below category average
Squarespace
-
Ratings
Abandoned cart recovery7.5361 Ratings00 Ratings
Checkout user experience7.4398 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Payment System
Comparison of Online Payment System features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.8
399 Ratings
6% below category average
Squarespace
-
Ratings
eCommerce security7.8399 Ratings00 Ratings
eCommerce Marketing
Comparison of eCommerce Marketing features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.1
404 Ratings
5% below category average
Squarespace
-
Ratings
Promotions & discounts7.3380 Ratings00 Ratings
Personalized recommendations6.8316 Ratings00 Ratings
SEO7.3375 Ratings00 Ratings
eCommerce Business Management
Comparison of eCommerce Business Management features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
7.2
409 Ratings
8% below category average
Squarespace
-
Ratings
Multi-site management7.6185 Ratings00 Ratings
Order processing7.1388 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory management7.1344 Ratings00 Ratings
Shipping6.9349 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom functionality7.4344 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
-
Ratings
Squarespace
8.5
59 Ratings
6% above category average
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.559 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
-
Ratings
Squarespace
8.3
51 Ratings
8% above category average
API00 Ratings8.044 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language00 Ratings8.733 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
-
Ratings
Squarespace
7.8
88 Ratings
3% above category average
WYSIWYG editor00 Ratings9.076 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness00 Ratings8.069 Ratings
Admin section00 Ratings8.387 Ratings
Page templates00 Ratings7.188 Ratings
Library of website themes00 Ratings7.185 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design00 Ratings6.784 Ratings
Publishing workflow00 Ratings9.076 Ratings
Form generator00 Ratings7.569 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
BigCommerce
-
Ratings
Squarespace
8.2
78 Ratings
11% above category average
Content taxonomy00 Ratings8.966 Ratings
SEO support00 Ratings7.171 Ratings
Bulk management00 Ratings8.044 Ratings
Availability / breadth of extensions00 Ratings8.058 Ratings
Community / comment management00 Ratings8.958 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BigCommerceSquarespace
Small Businesses
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus
Score 9.0 out of 10
Divi
Divi
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
IBM Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
Image Relay
Image Relay
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
IBM Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
Tridion
Tridion
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BigCommerceSquarespace
Likelihood to Recommend
7.3
(436 ratings)
8.3
(88 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(53 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
8.9
(26 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(25 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.7
(342 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BigCommerceSquarespace
Likelihood to Recommend
BigCommerce
The ONLY reason we left Volusion was fear that Volusion was going to go out of business and our website/data would all be lost. I feel BigCommerce is lightyears behind Volusion in website/inventory control. In our experience, BigCommerce customer service severely lacks knowledge, at least compared to what we had in our 7-1/2 years with Volusion. There were times Volusion even helped us with stuff BigCommerce could not understand. I just feel sick about moving and that should not be the case. In my opinion, I downgraded heavily for the feeling BigCommerce would not be going out of business. I just feel sick.
Read full review
Squarespace
I have a gorgeous website that I made myself, thanks to Squarespace. I'm able to integrate marketing emails, SEO, analytics, online carts, pretty much instantly. If you want to get started fast, it's really great. I think if you want to customize square space and you're having trouble, it would be most helpful to hire a square space designer. That's what I would have done in retrospect.
Read full review
Pros
BigCommerce
  • SEO - fast loading speeds, helps us rank on Google
  • Product customization - allows us to customize templates to our needs to fit all viable information
  • Integration with other platforms - seamless connection to other properties like Google Ads and Analytics
Read full review
Squarespace
  • Stupid simple to use. I know very creative people who cannot code and this is probably the easiest ever platform for them!
  • Pretty website templates and great functionality with showing off portfolios.
  • They've already figured out what are the problems that non-coding people have when creating websites and they've figured out a simple solution for all of it.
Read full review
Cons
BigCommerce
  • Better and easier localisation for stores outside the US
  • Speed - it is not the fastest
  • Make sure that third-party theme developers update regularly and use best practice
  • Consider EU and country-specific rules and legal obligations and make customers aware of whether BC is actually fully compliant
Read full review
Squarespace
  • As a wine company it would really love it if Squarespace had an easy plugin for wine club subscriptions.
  • Squarespace would be awesome if it could automatically take your photos that you upload on the site and optimize them for the web and for the website.
  • I do wish we could have more than two contributors for the basic website costs.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
BigCommerce
I personally would not even consider another e-commerce website platform.
Bigcommerce may have the same (or close to the same) functionality and integrations as other SaaS platforms but they excel at customer service and tech support. At the end of the day you need a company that will answer the phone in less than a minute especially if you're having a 5 alarm issue. That said, we hardly ever have any issues. The site was down for a few minutes one time 5 years ago. Sometimes we have issues with coding or apps and they help me with that too. They even walked me through installing our new theme when the contracted developers told me that wasn't included in the development of our new website.
Bigcommerce comes out with new innovations every year, not including apps that other people write for the platform, and there are a lot of those and new ones all the time. And there are a LOT of awesome themes to choose from (Halothemes are the best).
And the price is reasonable!
I'd give Bigcommerce my business any time and recommend them to anyone looking to run an e-commerce website. You could even use them for a non-shopping site, we have one of those too!
Read full review
Squarespace
Unless our website requires significantly more functionality in the future, I can't see us terminating our contract
Read full review
Usability
BigCommerce
I think that overall it has a great front end for the customer. On the back end, it takes a little spin-up time, but in just a couple of hours you can really have your head wrapped around everything you're going to need 99% of the time. It takes me about 5 minutes to train a new user on how to interact with customer orders.
Read full review
Squarespace
It's simple to use for someone who is really good with computers as well as those who are not. I've been using my personal squarespace for years and have also helped clients build a starting page which they are later able to manage theirselves.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
BigCommerce
So far in my time with BigCommerce I have not had any down time when it comes to my webstore or accessing it at any time I need to. Knowing that they have such a good uptime, it makes me feel comfortable that my customers can access things anytime, but also keep sales going 24/7
Read full review
Squarespace
No answers on this topic
Performance
BigCommerce
I have not had any issues with pages loading slow or any real other issues, not that I have encountered so far. Speed of the site and images loading are fantastic and everything just seems to work nicely, which may seem like a simple thing to say about things, but when something just WORKS! Its rather nice vs fighting with things to work right.
Read full review
Squarespace
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
BigCommerce
Because they are always there no matter how simple or complex the question is, if they don't know the answer they don't fake it and just make you go away feeling frustrated.. they get you to someone that does know the answer. I always appreciate their help and their honesty!
Read full review
Squarespace
Help is available directly from the back end and uses full sentence searching to find answers to questions others may have asked before. With a ton of articles and support questions documents, it is very likely that your question has been answered. If not each page has the ability to open a direct email to support. Each case has a number and can be followed. Responses are often quick and have links and directions clearly stated
Read full review
Online Training
BigCommerce
They have a comprehensive online help file system that makes it easy to do almost anything. They cover just about everything you'd want to do with your online store with images, clear descriptions and in some cases video. I will, however, say the videos should be a little more professorially done and not sound like the employees are doing it in their cubical.
Read full review
Squarespace
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
BigCommerce
A certified BigCommerce design and solution partner will usually comprise a team of highly experienced designers, developers and marketers. It is our view that in the vast majority of cases, this will pay dividends in the long-term - especially for those teams that could use the extra support.
Read full review
Squarespace
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
BigCommerce
We switched from Shopify due to the restrictions they implemented on our industry. While we spent tens of thousands of dollars investing in our Shopify store, we can't have them cutting us off anytime they want. We reviewed WooCommerce, but didn't like the storefront or backend. Plus it seems like Wordpress/WooCommerce runs into tons of hacking issues and bugs.
Read full review
Squarespace
Overall, as a designer, it makes perfect sense for small to large businesses to use a site such as SquareSpace. Costs are relatively reasonable with the ability to go in and do custom code.
The issue is certain aspects of it, depending on the plan, you can't do. So, if you want to do API to the site, you need to use the top-tier program to do so. Even at custom code, you won't have access to the API section.
As well, like all templates and themes, everybody is using the same style too.
Read full review
Scalability
BigCommerce
I believe after seeing all of the parts of this platform, one is able to develop the business and keep adding on select features for the business. There are multiple options for purchase with the various platforms once the business grows more. The different features being offered by the platform can lead us to scalability.
Read full review
Squarespace
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BigCommerce
  • Provides a robust platform to sell a high-risk product.
  • Page Builder saves you time and money by negating the need to buy a template.
  • Includes robust promotion settings that allow for codes and automatic discounts, bulk discounts, and customer groups (i.e. military discount), all native options.
Read full review
Squarespace
  • The key positive impact on my overall business objectives is how simple Squarespace sites are to implement new information. Whenever our services change, we can quickly update pages or even change how the website flows, in a very short window of time. This allows me to get back to more urgent work sooner.
  • Our Squarespace site for Club Swim Show helped present our web series to potential partners; Club Swim Show went on to partner with a popular swimming magazine and reach a larger audience through that magazine's hosting thanks to the professional design of our original website.
  • Squarespace does not bring in customers to my storefront, which is fine for me, since I sell things infrequently and it is not my main business, but might work against someone who is expecting a Shopify or Etsy level connection with buyer markets.
Read full review
ScreenShots

BigCommerce Screenshots

Screenshot of Enterprise ecommerce for high-volume brands like Skullcandy.Screenshot of Our industry-leading integration will let you list your products on Amazon directly from the BigCommerce control panel, with centralized inventory and order processing and fulfillment.Screenshot of Easily customize the look and feel of your storefront.