BigCommerce analytics vs Shopify: Complete comparison

This comparison examines feature depth, interface design, real-time capabilities, and which platform suits analytical needs better.

Built-in analytics features: BigCommerce wins

BigCommerce standard plan analytics ($39/month)

Included features: Abandoned cart tracking with recovery analytics. Customer segmentation by spend, frequency, recency. Product performance filtering by category, brand, SKU. Revenue by traffic source. Real-time dashboard. Multi-store analytics (for stores with multiple storefronts). Custom date ranges. Advanced filtering.

No gates: All analytics features available on entry-level plan. No feature restrictions based on pricing tier for analytics capabilities.

Shopify basic plan analytics ($39/month)

Included features: Revenue reports. Product reports. Customer reports (basic). Traffic source reports (basic). Limited date range options. No abandoned cart analytics. No customer segmentation. No advanced filtering.

Gated features: Custom reports require Shopify plan ($105/month). Advanced report builder requires Advanced plan ($399/month). Customer segmentation and detailed attribution behind higher tiers.

Feature depth winner: BigCommerce

BigCommerce includes on base plan what Shopify charges $105-399/month for. Abandoned cart tracking alone worth meaningful value. Customer segmentation enables targeted marketing. BigCommerce provides analytics depth that justifies “complete” designation.

Interface and usability: Shopify wins

Shopify Analytics interface

Design philosophy: Simplicity first. Show essential metrics clearly. Hide complexity. Minimal options reduce overwhelm. Clean visual design with generous white space.

Navigation: Left sidebar with clear categories. Overview, Sales, Products, Customers, Marketing. Obvious information architecture. New users find reports intuitively.

Learning curve: 5-10 minutes to understand interface completely. Non-technical founders comfortable immediately. Minimal onboarding needed.

BigCommerce Analytics interface

Design philosophy: Comprehensiveness first. Show all available data. Provide maximum filtering options. Dense information display utilizing screen space efficiently.

Navigation: Analytics menu with numerous sub-categories. Store overview, Orders, Products, Customers, Marketing, Abandoned carts, Search terms, Coupons. More options create navigation complexity.

Learning curve: 30-60 minutes to understand interface fully. More options mean more learning. Non-technical founders may feel overwhelmed initially. Powerful once mastered.

Interface winner: Shopify

Shopify optimized for ease. BigCommerce optimized for power. Most founders prefer Shopify’s approachable design over BigCommerce’s comprehensive complexity. Simplicity wins for daily use even if depth sacrificed.

Real-time analytics capability

BigCommerce: Near real-time updates every 5-10 minutes. Monitor flash sales, campaigns, Black Friday with immediate feedback.

Shopify: 1-2 hour delay typical. Can’t monitor time-sensitive events effectively. Workaround: mobile app shows order notifications but not analytical dashboard.

Winner: BigCommerce for stores running time-sensitive campaigns or high-volume events.

Abandoned cart analytics

BigCommerce: Comprehensive abandoned cart reports showing contents, value, customer, abandonment stage. Track recovery effectiveness by email sequence and timing. Built-in on all plans.

Shopify: Basic recovery emails but limited analytics. Detailed abandonment reports require apps ($20-150/month).

Winner: BigCommerce provides cart recovery analytics natively. Critical since abandoned carts typically 3-5x completed orders.

Customer analytics and segmentation

BigCommerce customer analytics

Built-in segmentation: Customer groups by lifetime value, purchase frequency, recency, average order value. View customer list filtered by any segment. Identify high-value customers, at-risk customers, one-time buyers automatically.

Lifetime value tracking: See total revenue per customer. Sort by LTV. Identify top 20% customers driving 80% revenue. Focus retention efforts appropriately.

Marketing application: Export customer segments for targeted campaigns. Email high-LTV customers about premium products. Re-engage one-time buyers with discount. Segment-specific marketing without external tools.

Shopify customer analytics

Basic reports: Customer list showing name, location, total spent, orders. Can sort by spend or orders. Basic view without sophisticated segmentation.

Limited segmentation: Can’t segment by purchase frequency, recency, or customer behavior patterns without apps. Manual export and analysis required.

App ecosystem: Apps like Klaviyo, Omnisend, Segments provide advanced customer segmentation. But requires additional tools. Not native platform capability.

Customer analytics winner: BigCommerce

BigCommerce provides customer segmentation enabling targeted marketing immediately. Shopify requires apps for equivalent capability. Customer LTV understanding drives retention strategy. BigCommerce makes it built-in, Shopify makes it optional add-on.

Cost comparison for equivalent analytics

BigCommerce analytics cost

Base plan ($39/month): Includes abandoned cart analytics, customer segmentation, advanced filtering, real-time dashboard. Complete analytics suite at entry price.

No upgrades needed: Analytics features not gated. Standard plan sufficient for comprehensive analytics.

Total cost: $39/month for complete analytics capability.

Shopify equivalent analytics cost

Shopify plan ($105/month): Required for custom reports and better date ranges. Still lacks abandoned cart analytics and customer segmentation.

Required apps: Abandoned cart analytics app ($30-100/month). Customer segmentation app ($30-150/month). Total apps: $60-250/month.

Total cost: $165-355/month for analytics equivalent to BigCommerce base plan.

Cost winner: BigCommerce

BigCommerce provides at $39/month what costs $165-355/month on Shopify. 4-9x price difference for equivalent analytical capability. For analytics-focused stores, BigCommerce dramatically better value.

Which platform for which store?

Choose BigCommerce if:

Analytics priority: Data-driven decision making core to strategy. Need comprehensive analytics without app ecosystem complexity.

Budget consciousness: Want enterprise analytics at entry-level pricing. Can’t justify $165-355/month for Shopify with apps.

Technical comfort: Comfortable with more complex interface. Willing to invest learning time for analytical power.

High abandonment focus: Cart abandonment optimization critical. Need detailed abandonment analytics and recovery tracking.

Choose Shopify if:

Simplicity priority: Interface ease more important than analytical depth. Non-technical founder preferring approachable tools.

Basic needs: Revenue, orders, products, basic customers sufficient. Don’t need segmentation or advanced filtering.

Ecosystem value: Shopify’s broader app ecosystem, payment integration, and platform maturity outweigh analytics disadvantage.

Budget flexibility: Can afford $105/month Shopify plan or analytics apps. Analytics depth worth incremental cost for platform benefits.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Google Analytics with both platforms to get equal analytics?

Yes, but misses the point. Both platforms support GA4 integration. With GA4, analytical capabilities become equivalent (both unlimited). But this comparison evaluates native platform analytics—what you get without additional tools. BigCommerce native analytics superior to Shopify native analytics. If using GA4 anyway, platform analytics less relevant and decision shifts to other factors (ecosystem, ease of use, pricing). Platform-native analytics matter most for founders avoiding GA4 complexity.

Does BigCommerce’s complexity hurt daily use?

Initially, yes. First week feels overwhelming compared to Shopify simplicity. After 2-3 weeks, complexity becomes familiarity. More options become valuable rather than confusing. Long-term users prefer BigCommerce depth. Short-term users prefer Shopify simplicity. Learning curve real but temporary. Analytical power permanent. Trade-off favors BigCommerce for stores investing time in analytics mastery.

Is Shopify’s analytics delay a serious limitation?

Depends on business model. For 90% of operational monitoring, 1-2 hour delay acceptable. Knowing yesterday’s performance drives most decisions. Real-time matters during high-stakes events—Black Friday, product launches, flash sales. These happen 2-5 days yearly, not 365 days. Don’t optimize for rare exceptions. If running frequent time-sensitive campaigns, BigCommerce real-time advantage meaningful. For typical stores, Shopify delay acceptable trade-off for interface simplicity.

Peasy works with Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce—automated email analytics regardless of platform. Starting at $49/month. Try free for 14 days.