Top Shopify Plus Alternatives for Enterprise eCommerce

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While Shopify Plus is a titan in enterprise eCommerce, it's not the end-all-be-all. For ambitious brands with very specific technical demands, complex B2B sales cycles, or a hunger for complete control over their code, looking into Shopify Plus alternatives isn't just a good idea—it's a critical strategic move. The main players you'll hear about are BigCommerce Enterprise, Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento), and Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

Why Growing Brands Look Beyond Shopify Plus

Let's be clear: Shopify Plus is a fantastic platform. But its "one-size-fits-most" philosophy can sometimes feel restrictive, especially for businesses with unique operational workflows. As a company scales, friction points can emerge that send them searching for a different solution.

The push to find an alternative usually boils down to a few key needs: more granular control, more powerful built-in features without relying on apps, or a fundamentally different approach to the platform's architecture. This guide cuts through the marketing fluff to give you a real-world analysis of the top contenders. We'll get into the weeds on each platform's architecture, best-fit scenarios, and the true cost of running it so you can find the right home for your long-term growth.

This screenshot from BigCommerce's own marketing perfectly captures its core strategy: positioning itself as an "Open SaaS" platform. They're highlighting API-first flexibility as a direct contrast to Shopify's more closed ecosystem.

The real takeaway here is that platforms like BigCommerce aren't just trying to be a cheaper Shopify. They're built on a different philosophy, betting that enterprise brands want more openness and direct access to the platform's core.

Understanding the Enterprise eCommerce Market

It helps to see where Shopify Plus fits in the broader picture. Globally, its market share is quite small at around 0.19%, which really underscores its focus on the enterprise segment rather than total number of stores. While it's one of many platforms, it punches well above its weight, going head-to-head with long-standing enterprise solutions. You can find more data on Shopify's market position on Uptek.com.

Making a thoughtful platform choice can become a massive competitive advantage. To get started, let’s take a quick look at the top alternatives and where they shine.

At a Glance Comparing Top Shopify Plus Alternatives

This table offers a high-level snapshot of the leading enterprise platforms, highlighting their primary strengths and the types of businesses they serve best. It's a great starting point for seeing where your own brand might fit.

Platform	Primary Strength	Ideal Business Profile
BigCommerce Enterprise	Open SaaS & Headless Flexibility	B2B/B2C hybrid models needing low TCO and API-first architecture.
Adobe Commerce	Limitless Customization	Technically mature businesses with complex requirements and development resources.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud	Unified Commerce & AI	Global enterprises prioritizing deep CRM integration and personalization.

Each of these platforms represents a distinct path for growth. Your choice will depend entirely on your business model, technical maturity, and long-term vision.

BigCommerce Enterprise: The Headless Commerce Powerhouse

When you're looking for an alternative to Shopify Plus, BigCommerce Enterprise stands out by championing what it calls an "Open SaaS" philosophy. It’s a compelling middle ground: you get the security and lower maintenance of a SaaS platform, but with the deep API access you'd normally expect from an open-source solution. This makes it a real contender, especially for headless commerce.

This approach is a direct answer to brands that feel hemmed in by more restrictive platforms. Instead of forcing your business into a predefined template, BigCommerce provides a rock-solid backend and essentially hands the keys to your developers. They get the freedom to build completely custom frontends using modern frameworks like React, Next.js, or Vue.js. This is a game-changer if your unique customer experience is your primary competitive edge.

At its core, the platform is built to be API-first. This means just about every function—from product data and inventory to the checkout itself—can be controlled programmatically. For development teams, this offers the granular control needed to craft unique, high-performance digital storefronts without having to reinvent the wheel on core commerce functions.

A Lower Total Cost of Ownership

One of the strongest arguments for BigCommerce is its potential for a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to other enterprise platforms. It’s not just about the monthly fee; it's about what you get right out of the box, which often means you don't need a bloated and expensive stack of third-party apps.

Many features that would require a paid app on Shopify Plus are native to BigCommerce Enterprise. These include:

Complex Product Filtering: Advanced faceted search is built-in, so customers can easily navigate huge catalogs without you needing another app.

Multi-Storefront Management: You can run multiple, distinct storefronts from a single BigCommerce backend—perfect for managing different brands, regions, or B2B/B2C sites.

Robust B2B Functionality: Features like customer-specific pricing, quote management, and purchase orders are native, saving you from the hefty cost of dedicated B2B app suites.

By baking this functionality right in, BigCommerce helps merchants slash their "app tax" and simplify their tech stack. A simpler stack means fewer potential points of failure and lower monthly bills. While Shopify's massive app ecosystem is a major strength, BigCommerce’s argument is that essential enterprise features shouldn't always be an add-on.

A Specialist in Headless Commerce and B2B

BigCommerce truly shines as a Shopify Plus alternative when things get complex, particularly in B2B and headless commerce scenarios. Its API-first design is exceptionally well-suited for businesses running sophisticated hybrid models serving both B2C and B2B customers from one place.

BigCommerce's key differentiator is how it makes headless commerce feel more accessible. While Shopify Plus has powerful APIs, BigCommerce's "Open SaaS" model is intentionally built to separate the frontend from the backend. This gives developers a much clearer, more direct path to building custom experiences without needing complicated workarounds.

Imagine a B2B manufacturer. With BigCommerce, they can power a public-facing website for direct-to-consumer sales while running a separate, password-protected portal for their wholesale clients. That portal can have custom price lists, bulk ordering forms, and unique payment terms, all managed from the same dashboard.

The BigCommerce homepage reinforces this positioning, clearly targeting established brands and complex B2B operations.

This messaging makes it clear: BigCommerce is built for merchants who need more than a standard D2C store and value adaptability for complex business models.

This inherent flexibility is exactly what you need if you want to innovate at the customer experience layer. Because the core commerce engine is decoupled, you can bring in specialized tools to perfect your checkout flows. For example, a solution like Checkout Links can be integrated to generate dynamic, pre-populated carts for targeted marketing campaigns or customer support tickets. You could send a B2B client directly to a pre-filled order with their negotiated pricing already applied—a seamless experience that is a direct result of the Open SaaS model.

Adobe Commerce (Magento) For Unmatched Customization

When an off-the-shelf platform just won't cut it for your unique business logic, it's time to talk about Adobe Commerce, formerly known as Magento. As a Shopify Plus alternative, it’s not for everyone—in fact, it’s a heavyweight contender built for enterprises that demand absolute, granular control over every line of code and customer interaction.

Its real power lies in its open-source DNA. Unlike SaaS platforms that guide you down a well-defined—and sometimes restrictive—path, Adobe Commerce hands you the entire toolbox. This freedom is what allows businesses to build truly custom user journeys, handle incredibly complex product configurations, and integrate with legacy backend systems that other platforms simply can't touch.

But make no mistake, this level of freedom has its price. It’s not just about licensing fees; it’s about the serious technical resources required. Choosing Adobe Commerce is less like renting a pre-built shop and more like designing and constructing the entire shopping mall from the ground up.

Self-Hosted vs. Cloud-Hosted Architecture

One of the first forks in the road with Adobe Commerce is deciding on your deployment model, a choice that directly impacts your costs and day-to-day responsibilities.

Adobe Commerce (Cloud): This is the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) option. Here, Adobe handles the cloud infrastructure, security, and performance tuning. It’s a more managed route, but you'll still need developers to handle the customizations.

Magento Open Source: This is the free, self-hosted version. With this, you’re on the hook for everything—finding and paying for hosting, managing security patches, ensuring PCI compliance, and handling all maintenance. While "free" is an attractive word, the total cost of ownership can add up surprisingly fast.

The fundamental trade-off with Adobe Commerce is control versus complexity. You get the power to build anything you can dream up, but you also inherit the full responsibility for keeping it stable, secure, and performing at its best. It's a demanding platform, but for the right business, it's incredibly powerful.

Built for Deep B2B and Advanced Segmentation

While many platforms have been bolting on B2B features, Adobe Commerce was practically born with them. It boasts one of the most robust native B2B suites available, engineered specifically for manufacturers and distributors navigating complex sales cycles.

You get features like company accounts with hierarchies of multiple buyers, custom catalogs and pricing for each company, detailed quote management workflows, and quick order forms. These aren't just simple add-ons; they are deeply woven into the platform's core, ready to be customized to your exact business rules. Add to that an advanced customer segmentation engine, and you can create dynamic, personalized experiences based on a massive range of attributes, from order history to customer demographics.

The Adobe Commerce dashboard itself reflects this complexity, offering a sophisticated interface for managing these deep operations.

This is a cockpit built for technical users and e-commerce managers who need to drill down into the nitty-gritty of their multi-layered sales strategy.

The True Cost and Challenge

The biggest hurdle with Adobe Commerce is its high total cost of ownership and the need for specialized developers. Shopify's ease of use has helped it capture a massive 29% market share in the US, creating a huge talent pool of developers and agencies. You can learn more about the current e-commerce platform market on Enricher.io. In contrast, finding experienced Magento developers is often harder and more expensive.

Implementation costs are substantial, and ongoing maintenance isn't a line item you can ignore—it's a constant operational expense. When you commit to this platform, you're not just buying software; you're investing in a dedicated development team or a specialized agency to keep the engine running smoothly.

For these reasons, Adobe Commerce is the right fit for large enterprises, typically with established IT departments and multi-million dollar revenues that can justify the investment. It’s for businesses whose entire competitive edge is tied to a unique, custom-built e-commerce experience that no SaaS platform can provide. For them, Adobe Commerce isn't just an alternative; it's the only way forward.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud: The Unified Commerce Leader

When the discussion about Shopify Plus alternatives expands beyond just e-commerce and into building a complete, 360-degree customer strategy, Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) always enters the conversation. Think of it less as a simple storefront builder and more as a crucial piece of the vast Salesforce ecosystem. It's built for global enterprises where having a single view of the customer isn't just a nice-to-have, but a core business strategy.

What really sets SFCC apart is its native connection to Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Marketing Cloud. This isn't a clunky integration; it's a seamless web of data. An interaction with a service agent, a purchase made in a physical store, and an online browsing session all flow into one unified customer profile. This is the bedrock for the kind of deeply personal, AI-driven retail experiences that major brands need to stay competitive.

AI and Personalization at its Core

Salesforce doesn’t just tack on artificial intelligence as an afterthought. It's woven directly into the platform through its Einstein AI tools, and it goes far beyond basic product recommendations. Einstein powers intelligent product sorting on category pages, offers predictive insights to your team, and automates merchandising rules that adapt to shopper behavior in real time.

For example, Einstein can automatically reorder products on a category page for every single visitor, tailoring the display based on their past clicks and purchases. It can also flag opportunities for your merchandising team, like identifying products often bought together but not yet bundled, creating new revenue streams without hours of manual data crunching. This built-in intelligence is a major advantage over platforms that need a stack of third-party apps to achieve the same thing.

Structured for Global Omnichannel Operations

SFCC is engineered from the ground up to handle complexity. It thrives in scenarios that would buckle other platforms, like managing distributed order fulfillment that pulls inventory from hundreds of retail stores. It’s also a powerhouse for launching and managing dozens of international sites, each with its own language, currency, and local regulations.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is for brands that measure success by customer lifetime value across every single touchpoint. It trades the wide-open, source-code freedom of a platform like Adobe Commerce for a more guided, best-practices approach. This ensures stability and scalability for the most complex global operations.

This structured, multi-tenant cloud architecture provides a clear path for enterprise-level success. While it might offer less raw customizability than a platform like Adobe Commerce, it delivers greater reliability and a more predictable roadmap for massive, multi-country rollouts.

The Salesforce platform overview really drives home its focus on the "Customer 360" approach, where commerce is just one part of a much larger customer journey.

The key takeaway here is that SFCC’s value is deeply intertwined with the entire Salesforce ecosystem, with a heavy emphasis on AI-powered personalization and data unity.

This deep integration opens up powerful new ways to create a frictionless experience. Imagine a customer service agent on Service Cloud seeing a shopper’s abandoned cart. With a tool like Checkout Links, the agent can instantly generate a direct link to that pre-filled cart—with a special discount already applied—and send it to the customer. This simple action, informed by a complete customer history, turns a support ticket into a sale. It’s a perfect illustration of unified commerce at work, making SFCC the definitive Shopify Plus alternative for any enterprise that puts CRM at the heart of its commerce strategy.

Platform Comparison Matrix: Cost and Core Features

Choosing an enterprise e-commerce platform is a huge decision, and you need to look past the marketing fluff. To make the right call, we need a clear, data-driven look at what really matters: the total cost of ownership (TCO), core features, B2B muscle, and architectural flexibility. Let’s dissect the real-world trade-offs between the top Shopify Plus alternatives.

This isn't just about ticking boxes on a feature list. It’s a strategic guide to help you see how different pricing models—from Shopify's revenue-based fees to the custom quotes of its rivals—will actually impact your bottom line.

Deconstructing Total Cost and Platform Value

The sticker price for an enterprise platform is almost always misleading. What you really need to calculate is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which is a mix of implementation fees, developer hours, app subscriptions, and hidden transaction fees. Each platform has a completely different philosophy on this, creating distinct value propositions.

Shopify Plus is famous for its straightforward pricing, which starts at $2,500 per month or a percentage of your revenue, whichever is higher. BigCommerce Enterprise takes a different tack, aiming to reduce the "app tax" by including more robust features out-of-the-box; its pricing is a custom quote based on your order volume. Then you have Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento), where the open-source version looks "free" upfront but often ends up with the highest TCO due to significant development, hosting, and maintenance demands.

A key philosophical difference lies in what comes standard. Shopify Plus leans on its massive app ecosystem for specialized functions, while BigCommerce Enterprise and Adobe Commerce build more complex tools, like advanced B2B and multi-store management, directly into their core platforms. This is a critical distinction that directly impacts how much you'll spend on developers and ongoing subscriptions.

This chart helps visualize how these financial and performance differences play out across the leading platforms.

As you can see, each platform strikes a different balance between upfront costs and long-term scalability. This is the fundamental trade-off you have to weigh for your business.

Enterprise Platform Head-to-Head Feature Comparison

To really figure out which platform fits your business goals, you need to get into the weeds. The following table breaks down the critical architectural and functional differences between these enterprise systems, giving you a clear snapshot of where each one shines—and where it falls short.

Feature/Aspect	Shopify Plus	BigCommerce Enterprise	Adobe Commerce (Magento)
Pricing Model	Starts at $2,500/mo or revenue share. Predictable but scales with sales.	Custom quote based on order volume. Lower TCO potential.	Custom quote (Cloud) or free (Open Source) with high dev/hosting costs.
B2B Capabilities	Basic native features; advanced functions require the B2B on Shopify Plus package or apps.	Strong native B2B suite. Includes customer groups and custom pricing.	Most robust native B2B suite. Unmatched customization for complex logic.
Headless Architecture	Strong API support (Storefront API), but less "open" than competitors.	"Open SaaS" model designed for headless. High API limits and flexibility.	Open-source foundation offers complete freedom for headless builds.
App Ecosystem	The largest and most mature app store, offering solutions for nearly any need.	Smaller but growing ecosystem. Focuses on quality integrations.	Massive extension marketplace, but quality and support can vary widely.
Ease of Use	The most user-friendly interface, empowering non-technical team members.	User-friendly for a powerful platform, but more complex than Shopify.	Steep learning curve; requires specialized developers for most tasks.

This comparison highlights a clear pattern. Shopify Plus wins on ease of use and boasts an unrivaled app marketplace, which makes it incredibly fast to adapt. Its dominance is clear in the market; among the top one million highest-traffic websites, Shopify holds a commanding 28.8% share. This strong position, especially in the U.S. market, shows its appeal to high-growth brands that need reliability and solid support. You can dive deeper into these market share statistics on Mobiloud.com.

On the other hand, BigCommerce Enterprise strikes a compelling balance between the convenience of SaaS and the power of an API-first design, making it a fantastic choice for B2B-focused or headless-first brands. Adobe Commerce is still the go-to for businesses whose entire competitive edge is built on deeply customized, one-of-a-kind functionality that simply can't be replicated on a standard SaaS platform.

Even with all these powerful native features, you’ll always need tools to fine-tune the customer journey. For instance, Checkout Links helps merchants create pre-filled shopping carts to drive sales from targeted emails, social campaigns, or customer support chats. It's a simple way to smooth out the path to purchase, a strategy that works beautifully on any of these platforms. We cover several great tactics like this in our guide on how to increase average order value on Shopify, many of which can be applied anywhere.

How To Choose The Right Platform For Your Business

Picking an enterprise eCommerce platform is so much more than a tech decision. Think of it as a strategic marriage that will define how your business grows for years to come. It’s easy to get lost in feature comparison charts, but the truth is, the right choice has everything to do with your specific business model, your team's technical chops, and where you see yourself in the future.

You've got to start by looking inward and asking some honest questions. Once you have a crystal-clear picture of what you truly need, you can find a platform that feels less like software and more like a genuine partner in your growth. Don't let flashy features distract you; focus on the foundation that will support your business for the long haul.

Frame Your Decision Around Key Business Drivers

The best alternative to Shopify Plus for your brand will slot perfectly into your core business goals. I always advise clients to assess their operations through these three lenses first. It helps create a solid framework for making the right call.

Business Model: Is your bread and butter B2B? If so, you’ll need native wholesale features like custom pricing tiers and quoting tools right out of the box. Or are you a D2C-first brand where creative control and headless innovation are non-negotiable? Your answer here creates a clear fork in the road, pointing you either toward a platform like BigCommerce (known for its B2B muscle) or something like Adobe Commerce (where you have total control).

Technical Maturity: Take a hard look at your team. Do you have experienced developers on staff who are ready and willing to wrestle with a complex, open-source environment? Or do you need a more approachable SaaS platform that lets your marketing team make daily updates without filing an IT ticket? Your internal resources are the deciding factor on whether a beast of a platform like Adobe Commerce is even a realistic option.

Growth Trajectory: Where are you headed in the next five years? If world domination with deep CRM integration is on the roadmap, a platform like Salesforce Commerce Cloud suddenly looks very attractive. But if your goal is to innovate at a breakneck pace with an API-first mindset, the Open SaaS model from BigCommerce might be a much better fit.

A Practical Checklist For Your Team

Get your key people in a room—marketing, sales, IT, finance, everyone—and walk through this checklist together. Answering these questions honestly will save you from making a very expensive mistake down the line.

What is our primary sales model? (e.g., D2C, B2B, hybrid, marketplaces)

How important is headless commerce to our brand identity and future plans?

What level of in-house technical expertise can we realistically dedicate to the platform?

Which integrations are absolute deal-breakers for our operations? (Think ERP, PIM, CRM)

What is our true budget for the total cost of ownership (TCO), not just the sticker price?

How critical are native internationalization tools for our global expansion plans?

Your choice of platform will directly influence how you attract and convert customers. When selecting the right platform, it's essential to consider how it facilitates effective E-Commerce SEO strategies to boost online store visibility, ensuring your products reach the widest possible audience. A platform with strong, native SEO tools can give you a significant advantage.

Aligning Platform Strengths With Your Use Case

Once you've got that clear picture of your needs, you can map them to the strengths of each Shopify Plus alternative. It becomes much simpler.

Choose BigCommerce Enterprise if: You're running a complex B2B/B2C hybrid business and want to keep your total cost of ownership in check. It gives you a ton of powerful features out of the box and a modern, API-first architecture that’s perfect for headless builds without the headache of self-hosting.

Choose Adobe Commerce if: You have a skilled development team on standby and need limitless customization. This is the choice for businesses with unique logic or incredibly complex product configurations that no standard SaaS platform could ever handle.

Choose Salesforce Commerce Cloud if: Your entire strategy revolves around a single, unified view of the customer. It’s built for large-scale, global retailers who want to lean heavily on deep CRM data and AI-driven personalization to create omnichannel experiences.

At the end of the day, remember that even the most powerful platform is only as good as the strategies you use with it. Making it easier for people to buy is always a smart move. That's where a tool like Checkout Links comes in, enhancing any of these platforms by letting you send customers from an email or an ad directly to a pre-filled cart. We explore similar conversion-boosting tactics in our guide on why you should add post-purchase upsells, a principle that works wonders on any high-powered e-commerce setup.

Frequently Asked Questions About Platform Migration

Picking a new e-commerce platform and planning the move is a huge undertaking. It's natural to have a lot of questions about the cost, the hassle, and whether it will all be worth it in the end. Let's break down some of the most common concerns merchants have when considering a switch from Shopify Plus.

A big one right off the bat is the migration process itself. How long does this actually take, and what gets carried over? For a standard migration that includes your products, customer lists, and order history, you should budget between 60 to 90 days. The exact timeline depends on how complex your current setup is and the sheer volume of data you're moving. Platforms like BigCommerce have dedicated teams to help with this, which can make a world of difference.

What Is The True Cost Of Switching Platforms?

It's easy to get fixated on the monthly subscription fee, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The real number you need to focus on is the total cost of ownership (TCO). This is a much more honest look at your expenses and includes a few key things:

Implementation Fees: The upfront cost to get your new site designed, built, and launched.

App Subscriptions: What you'll pay every month for all the third-party apps needed to get the functionality you're used to.

Developer Costs: Ongoing expenses for a developer to handle maintenance, run updates, and build out any custom features you need.

For example, an open-source platform might look cheap because it has no licensing fee, but the development and hosting costs can quickly spiral. Over a few years, its TCO could easily end up much higher than a SaaS platform's.

How Do I Choose The Right Partner Agency?

Your implementation partner is just as critical as the platform itself—maybe even more so. Don't just pick the first agency you find. You need a partner with a proven track record on your chosen platform and, ideally, one who knows your industry inside and out.

Dig into their case studies. Ask to speak with their past clients. Make sure they genuinely understand your business challenges, whether that's complex B2B ordering or navigating international sales. A great partner isn't just a group of coders; they're a strategic guide who will help you grow.

Ultimately, the best alternative to Shopify Plus is the one that fits your unique business model, your team's technical skills, and your ambitions for the future. Answering these questions honestly upfront will help ensure your next platform isn't just a tool, but a true partner in your success.

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