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Vendure vs BigCommerce

BigCommerce B2B Edition packages a lot of B2B. Packaged is the operative word: the depth stops at fixed edges.

The short answer

Choose Vendure when

  • Approvals are multi-step, or contract prices need validity dates
  • You need an ERP call at checkout, written by your team on Enterprise Advanced pricing
  • Spending limits must sit inside the approval rules
  • You do not want growth repriced by GMV caps and payment-provider fees
  • You choose the region, the cloud and the infrastructure

Choose BigCommerce when

  • Your B2B fits inside the packaged feature set
  • You want zero DevOps with a documented compliance record
  • Punchout via TradeCentric covers your procurement need
  • Multi-storefront on every plan matters to you
Pain points

The biggest pain points on BigCommerce, and how Vendure solves them

Vendure B2B capabilities by plan, from 9 of 32 on Starter to all 32 on Enterprise.
1 of 3

Cost scales with complexity, not with GMV

The June 2026 restructure prices growth: GMV allowances with automatic upgrades, a 0.9% overage on Scale, a 0.6% to 2.0% Open Payment Provider fee on Core to Scale (0% on Performance with contract), and B2B Edition quoted separately. Vendure Core is free, the plans are a flat monthly fee and Enterprise a flat annual one.

BigCommerce custom logic runs outside the platform, in external apps, webhooks and middleware that call rate-limited APIs. Vendure plugins sit next to Vendure Core as TypeScript modules.
2 of 3

The buying rules are modelled, not packaged

B2B Edition's edges are exactly where mid-market B2B deals stall: approvals are single-step and list-based, and there is no ERP call at checkout. Each of those becomes a custom service against an API rate-limited to 150 requests a minute. In Vendure, contract pricing and single-level order approvals arrive at Scale, and multi-level approvals with timeouts and delegation, negotiation, access policy, Configurator and PunchOut (cXML) at Enterprise, as product rather than project.

BigCommerce runs the commerce backend and the B2B Edition APIs on Google Cloud, operated by BigCommerce. Vendure self-hosts on any cloud or on-premises, with data in PostgreSQL, MySQL or MariaDB.
3 of 3

The code, the data and the deployment stay yours

BigCommerce is cloud-only on Google Cloud, operated by BigCommerce, with no self-hosting. The one deeply customisable piece, the open-source Buyer Portal, stops auto-updating the moment you fork it. Vendure runs on any cloud or on-premises, in the region you choose, the GPLv3 core cannot be revoked, plugins live beside the core so there is nothing to fork, and your data sits in your own SQL database.

How they compare

Six dimensions, the same six on every Vendure comparison page. Every claim about BigCommerce is sourced at the foot of this page.

Vendure compared with BigCommerce across six dimensions: architecture and extensibility, licensing and cost model, B2B depth, hosting and operations, ecosystem and talent, and migration effort.
DimensionVendureBigCommerce
Architecture and extensibilityVendureTypeScript end to end on NestJS, with GraphQL Shop and Admin APIs. Plugins sit beside the core. No forks, no extension cap.BigCommerceClosed multi-tenant SaaS on Google Cloud. Apps and webhooks only, no plugin system, metafields cap at 250 per resource. The B2B API allows 150 requests a minute.
Licensing and cost modelVendureFree open-source core under GPLv3. Four flat, cumulative plans from €199 a month on a 12-month term, with Enterprise from €60,000 a year. No GMV, per-order or per-user fees.BigCommerceCore $29 to Performance from $1,499 a month, billed annually, with GMV allowances, automatic upgrades and a 0.6% to 2.0% Open Payment Provider fee on Core to Scale (0% on Performance with contract). B2B Edition is priced separately.
B2B depthVendureCompany accounts and quotes from Starter. Organization hierarchy at Growth. Contract pricing, single-level order approvals, the audit log and the Next.js B2B storefront at Scale. PunchOut (cXML), Configurator and multi-level approvals with timeouts and delegation at Enterprise.BigCommerceWide and packaged: five-level hierarchies, buyer roles, quotes, an invoice portal, rep masquerade, punchout via TradeCentric. Approvals are single-step and list-based, with no ERP call at checkout.
Hosting and operationsVendureSelf-host on any cloud or on-premises, in any region. Managed Vendure Cloud is planned for Q1 2027, with a base set of Cloud resources in each paid plan.BigCommerceCloud-only on Google Cloud, operated by BigCommerce, with no self-hosting. Strong compliance record: PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 1/2/3, ISO 27001.
Ecosystem and talentVendureMainstream TypeScript, Node and GraphQL. No proprietary skill silo.BigCommerceA large generalist web pool. React for Catalyst and the Buyer Portal, Handlebars for Stencil themes. B2B on Catalyst is officially experimental.
Migration effortVendureExport catalogue, companies and customers via CSV and the APIs. A forked Buyer Portal is retired rather than merged forward.BigCommerceNot applicable.

Vendure pricing: a free open-source core, then four flat tiers

Vendure Core is free under GPLv3. Starter, Growth, Scale and Enterprise add B2B capabilities cumulatively, on a flat fee with no GMV, per-order or per-user charges.

Compare tiers and pricing
Where each platform is strong

Where BigCommerce is strong

Where BigCommerce is the better answer, we say so. Inside the package, B2B Edition does the job. This comparison is about the edges of the package.

  1. B2B Edition packages more B2B than most SaaS

    Five-level hierarchies, buyer roles, quotes, an invoice portal with net terms, rep masquerade and punchout through TradeCentric. This is a genuinely wide feature set and denying it would not be honest.

  2. A serious compliance record

    PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 1/2/3 and ISO 27001. It is a managed platform, with no servers and no DevOps for your team to carry.

  3. Multi-storefront on every plan

    Every plan can run several storefronts from one dashboard, for separate brands, customer segments or regions, with each added storefront priced per month. Catalyst is a real Next.js path, and the App Marketplace lists reviewed third-party apps.

Migration triggers

When teams move from BigCommerce to Vendure

These are the moments the package stops fitting and custom services start accumulating around it.

  • Complex B2B hits the package edges

    multi-level approvals, spending limits inside approval rules, or checkout-time ERP calls

  • The June 2026 cost mechanics start to bite

    GMV allowances, automatic upgrades and the Open Payment Provider fee

  • Forked Buyer Portal maintenance

    where every upstream release becomes a manual merge

  • Infrastructure control

    when the region, the cloud and the infrastructure have to be your choice, which BigCommerce's SaaS-only model does not offer

Migration runs in three phases: catalogue, company and customer import, storefront rebuild, then integration cutover. We scope the effort against what is actually in production rather than quoting a band.

Moving off BigCommerce?

Catalogue, company and customer export via CSV and the APIs, a storefront rebuilt on the GraphQL API, and webhooks replaced by typed events. Migration guides are being written; the hub has what exists today.

IBMHans Kohler AGBreitlingKlektMunchSwileQVCHemglassFeddersen GroupFlowtechWilhelm WeishäuplSKYdeals

Teams building complex commerce with Vendure

FAQ

Vendure and BigCommerce, answered

Sources (13) · claims last checked 2026
  1. BigCommerce pricing: plan prices, GMV caps and auto-upgrades, the 0.9% overage on Scale, the Open Payment Provider fee, and additional storefronts on every plan · bigcommerce.com/pricing
  2. BigCommerce B2B Edition app listing: custom pricing on request · bigcommerce.com/apps/b2b-edition
  3. BigCommerce B2B Edition overview: buyer roles, sales quotes, the invoice portal on net terms and sales staff assisting buyers · docs.bigcommerce.com/developer/docs/b2b-edition/getting-started/overview
  4. BigCommerce B2B Edition best practices: the limit of 150 API requests per minute · docs.bigcommerce.com/developer/docs/b2b-edition/getting-started/best-practices
  5. BigCommerce B2B Edition account hierarchy: up to five layers of company accounts · bigcommerce.com/blog/now-available-b2b-edition-account-hierarchy
  6. BigCommerce B2B Edition buyer functions: shopping lists submitted for approval and approved by a buyer with the right permission · support.bigcommerce.com/articles/en_US/Knowledge/B2B-Edition-Buyer-Functions
  7. TradeCentric for BigCommerce: punchout and purchase-order automation · bigcommerce.com/apps/tradecentric
  8. BigCommerce API reference: at most 250 metafields per order, product, category, variant or brand per client ID · docs.bigcommerce.com/developer/api-reference/rest/admin/catalog/products/metafields/create-product-metafield
  9. BigCommerce Catalyst documentation: the B2B Edition integration with Catalyst is experimental · docs.bigcommerce.com/developer/docs/storefront/catalyst/experiments/b2b-edition
  10. BigCommerce trust centre: Google Cloud infrastructure, PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 1/2/3 and ISO 27001 · security.bigcommerce.com
  11. BigCommerce open source: the B2B Buyer Portal · github.com/bigcommerce/b2b-buyer-portal
  12. BigCommerce App Marketplace: reviewed third-party apps · bigcommerce.com/apps
  13. Vendure pricing and plans · vendure.io/pricing