Best Ecommerce Platform Small Business USA: Full Comparison
Quick answer
Side by side, most ecommerce platforms that can sell start around $29 a month billed yearly, with card rates near 2.9% + 30¢. The real differences are in extra platform fees, sales thresholds, product limits, in-person selling and what's included without apps. Square Online and WooCommerce have no subscription but other costs.
Key takeaways
- Entry selling plans on Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix and Squarespace all start at $29 a month billed yearly.
- Squarespace Basic is cheaper at $19 but adds a 2% fee on store sales.
- BigCommerce plans have annual sales caps; Shopify Basic has none on product count.
- WooCommerce is free software, but hosting typically runs $25 to $350 a month.
- Extra fees for outside payment providers can quietly raise your costs on some platforms.
In this article
Think of this as a reference sheet: six ecommerce platforms lined up feature by feature, with US prices current in October 2026. Most entry plans that can sell start at about the same price, so the useful differences are in the details: extra fees, sales caps, product limits and what you get without paying for apps.
Price and fees
| Platform | Entry selling plan | Online card processing | Extra platform fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Basic, $29/mo | 2.9% + 30¢ (Shopify Payments) | 2% if using another payment provider |
| BigCommerce | Core, $29/mo | From 2.89% + 29¢ | None via embedded providers; 2% open provider fee on Core |
| Wix | Core, $29/mo | 2.9% + 30¢ (standard US rate) | None stated |
| Squarespace | Basic, $19/mo or Core, $29/mo | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2% on store sales on Basic; none on Core |
| Square Online | Free, $0/mo, or Plus, $49/mo | 3.3% + 30¢ (Free); 2.9% + 30¢ (Plus) | None |
| WooCommerce | Free software | About 2.5% to 2.9% + 30¢ with WooPayments | None from WooCommerce |
Two notes. WooCommerce costs nothing to download, yet the company's own estimate for hosting is $25 to $350 monthly for most shops, and each paid extension adds $29 to $299 yearly. And Square Online's Free plan has no subscription but a higher card rate than its paid plan.
Limits and thresholds
| Platform | Product limit on entry plan | Sales cap on entry plan |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | Unlimited | None stated |
| BigCommerce Core | Check current plan | Up to $30,000 trailing 12-month sales |
| Wix Core | Up to 50,000 | None stated |
| Squarespace Core | Check current plan | None stated |
| Square Online Free | Check current plan | None stated |
| WooCommerce | Depends on your hosting | None |
BigCommerce's sales caps are the detail most likely to surprise a growing store. Moving up, Growth ($79 monthly, paid yearly) stretches to $100,000 in rolling annual sales, while Scale ($299 monthly) is built around roughly $33,333 in sales per month, with 0.9% charged on anything beyond.
Built-in selling tools
What's included on the entry plan, without paying for apps, varies more than prices do. Here's what each platform's published plan details confirm:
- Shopify Basic: recovery of abandoned checkouts, promo codes, gift cards, discounted shipping labels (up to 87% off) and as many as 10 stock locations.
- Wix Core: inventory management, order tracking, automatic out-of-stock labels and loyalty programs. Paying $39 for Business unlocks multi-currency selling and automatic sales tax for 100 orders a month.
- Squarespace Core: a full online store with no Squarespace transaction fee on store sales.
- BigCommerce Core: built-in features aimed at reducing reliance on apps, with no extra fee through embedded payment providers.
- Square Online: items, orders and payments shared with Square's point of sale.
- WooCommerce: core store features in the free plugin, with paid extensions for more.
In-person selling
Anyone with a stall, pop-up or storefront should read this part carefully. Occasional event selling comes with Shopify Basic; a proper retail counter means adding POS Pro, priced at $89 per location each month. Square Online is built on Square's point of sale, so in-person and online sales share one system from the start. Other platforms rely more on integrations, so confirm what's available before you commit.
Choosing from the comparison
Use the tables to rule platforms out:
- Sell mostly in person? Focus on Square Online or Shopify.
- Expect fast growth in sales? Check BigCommerce's thresholds carefully, or favor Shopify.
- Want the lowest subscription? Square Online Free, or Squarespace Basic if you'll sell very little.
- Already on WordPress? WooCommerce, budgeting for hosting.
- Need a flexible site with a mid-sized catalog? Wix.
Prices and features change often, so treat these tables as a starting point and confirm details on each platform's pricing page before you sign up.
Frequently asked questions
Which ecommerce platform has the lowest fees?
It depends on your sales. Square Online has no subscription on its free plan but a 3.3% + 30¢ online card rate. BigCommerce's card processing starts at 2.89% + 29¢. Shopify, Wix and Squarespace Core are around 2.9% + 30¢. Add any platform fee for outside payment providers when comparing.
Do ecommerce platforms charge transaction fees?
Some do, on top of card processing. Squarespace charges 2% on store sales on its Basic plan. Shopify adds 2% on Basic whenever an outside processor replaces Shopify Payments. BigCommerce charges an open payment provider fee of 2% on Core but nothing through its embedded providers.
What are BigCommerce's sales limits?
BigCommerce ties plans to trailing 12-month sales. Core tops out at $30,000, Growth at $100,000, and Scale is pitched at about $33,333 per month in sales, with overage charges past that point. Larger businesses move to custom Performance pricing.
Which ecommerce platforms support in-person sales?
Shopify includes casual in-person selling on Basic and offers POS Pro at $89 a month per location. Square Online connects directly to Square's point of sale. Check other platforms' current integrations if in-person sales matter to you.
You may also like
The Real Importance of a Small Business Website: You Own It
The real importance of a small business website is ownership. Social media pages, marketplace listings and directory profiles all run on someone else's rules, and those rules can change overnight. A website is the one place online where you control the address, the message and the relationship with your customers.
8 Reasons Why Every Small Business Needs a Website
Every small business needs a website because it does practical jobs nothing else does as well: it answers repeat questions, takes bookings while you work, screens out poor-fit leads, shows proof of your work, makes referrals easy, helps you hire, gives ads a place to land and lets you test new offers cheaply.
Why a Small Business Needs a Website: The Case Made Simple
The simple case for a small business website is math. A basic site on a website builder costs a few hundred dollars a year. For most businesses, one or two extra customers a year cover that cost, and anything beyond is profit. Track where new customers come from to see whether your site is paying for itself.