BigCommerce vs Square Online (2026): which fits your store?
Square Online starts cheaper (free vs $39/mo); Square Online has a free tier, BigCommerce does not.
Side by side
| BigCommerce | Square Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $39/mo | free |
| Free tier | ✗ no | ✓ yes |
| Published plans | 4 | 4 |
| Data confidence | high | medium |
What you'd actually pay
BigCommerce plans
| Plan | Monthly | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $39 | Up to $30K trailing-12-month GMV; plan auto-upgrades to Growth. Open Payment Provider fee 2.0% of eligible order GMV; Embedded Payment Providers $0 fee. Inventory locations up to 4. Multi-storefront add-on $30/mo, max 3. |
| Growth | $105 | Up to $100K trailing-12-month GMV; plan auto-upgrades to Scale. Open Payment Provider fee 1.0% of eligible order GMV; Embedded Payment Providers $0 fee. Inventory locations up to 5. Multi-storefront add-on $50/mo, max 5. |
| Scale | $399 | Up to $33,333/month GMV; 0.9% overage rate applies on GMV above cap. Account auto-upgrades to Performance once TTM GMV reaches $2M. Open Payment Provider fee 0.6% of eligible order GMV; Embedded Payment Providers $0 fee. Inventory locations up to 8. Multi-storefront add-on $100/mo, max 8. |
| Performance | — | For high-volume businesses with $1M+ in annual sales; custom payment terms and custom GMV limits. No Open Payment Provider fee with contracted terms. Multi-storefront and inventory limits are custom/contact sales. |
Square Online plans
| Plan | Monthly | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Square Free | $0 | $0/mo per location; pay processing fees when payments are taken. Processing fees shown include 2.6% + 15¢ in-person, 3.3% + 30¢ online, 2.9% + 30¢ Online API, 1% ACH via invoice with $1 minimum, 1% ACH via API with $1 minimum and $5 cap, 3.5% + 15¢ manual/card on file, 6% + 30¢ Cash App Afterpay; text message marketing not available; 2.5% gift card load fee; 1.00% bitcoin conversions. |
| Square Plus | $49 | $49/mo per location. Processing fees shown include 2.5% + 15¢ in-person, 2.9% + 30¢ online, 2.9% + 30¢ Online API, 1% ACH via invoice with $1 minimum and $10 cap, 1% ACH via API with $1 minimum and $5 cap, 3.5% + 15¢ manual/card on file, 6% + 30¢ Cash App Afterpay; 500 texts included then 3¢ per text; 2.5% gift card load fee; 1.00% bitcoin conversions. |
| Square Premium | $149 | $149/mo per location. Processing fees shown include 2.4% + 15¢ in-person, 2.9% + 30¢ online, 2.9% + 30¢ Online API, 1% ACH via invoice with $1 minimum and $10 cap, 1% ACH via API with $1 minimum and $5 cap, 3.5% + 15¢ manual/card on file, 6% + 30¢ Cash App Afterpay; 2,500 texts included then 1.5¢ per text; 0% gift card load fee; 0.5% bitcoin conversions. |
| Square Pro | — | Custom pricing and processing fees for businesses processing over $250,000 per year. |
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