BigCommerce Free Trial: Is It Right For You? (A Step-by-Step Guide)

Your Complete Guide to the BigCommerce Free Trial

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Thinking about launching an online store? You’ve likely come across BigCommerce, a powerhouse in the e-commerce world. But before you commit, you want to take it for a test drive. That’s where the bigcommerce free trial comes in—it’s your all-access pass to explore the platform’s features, build a test store, and decide if it’s the right fit for your business, all without spending a dime.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about the big commerce free trial. We’ll cover how to sign up, what’s included, how to find extended trial offers, and what to do when your trial period ends. Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

What is BigCommerce and Why Consider It?

So, what is bigcommerce platform exactly? BigCommerce is a leading "Software-as-a-Service" (SaaS) e-commerce platform that provides entrepreneurs and established businesses with all the tools they need to build, manage, and scale an online store. In essence, what is bigcommerce used for is creating a professional, feature-rich retail hub that can handle everything from product listings and payment processing to marketing and analytics.

Many merchants find themselves asking, is bigcommerce better than shopify? While both are excellent platforms, there are specific reasons why bigcommerce over shopify might be the better choice for your business. BigCommerce stands out for its built-in features, advanced SEO capabilities, and, most notably, its policy of not charging transaction fees on any of its plans. It’s particularly powerful for businesses with large or complex catalogs and those looking to scale without being penalized for growth. The best way to know for sure is to use the trial to evaluate the e-commerce platforms company bigcommerce on how to start a business for yourself.

How the Standard BigCommerce Free Trial Works

The most common question we see is, does bigcommerce have a free trial? The answer is a resounding yes. The standard bigcommerce trial gives you 15 days to explore the platform’s full potential. Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect.

The process begins with a simple bigcommerce sign up on their website—no credit card required. You’ll provide some basic information about your business, and within minutes, you’ll have access to your very own bigcommerce trial store. This is a fully functional backend dashboard where you can begin building your site. The standard bigcommerce free trial period is designed to give you enough time to get comfortable with the interface, add a few products, and test out the core features. You’ll get a clear idea of how does bigcommerce work from the merchant’s perspective. While the standard is 15 days, occasionally you might find a promotional offer for a bigcommerce 30 day trial, which gives you even more breathing room.

Searching for Extended Trials: 30, 90 Days, and Beyond

While the 15-day trial is the standard, BigCommerce frequently runs promotions, often in partnership with other companies, that offer extended trial periods. If you have a more complex build or simply want more time for evaluation, it’s worth searching for these special offers.

You may come across offers for a bigcommerce free trial 3 months, which is a fantastic opportunity for a deep dive. These are often marketed as a bigcommerce 90 day free trial or bigcommerce 3 months free. Similarly, the terms big commerce 90 day trial and bigcommerce 3 month trial are used interchangeably for the same generous offer. To find them, you may need to look for a special bigcommerce free trial code or a bigcommerce first-month free code through affiliate partners, marketing agencies, or tech review sites. These extended trials are not always publicly available on the main BigCommerce site, so a bit of searching can pay off.

What You Can Do With Your BigCommerce Trial Account

Your bigcommerce trial account is more than just a demo—it’s a sandbox where you can build your entire store. During the trial, you have access to a vast majority of the features included in the plan you’re testing. Here are just a few things you can do:

  • Design Your Store: Choose from a wide range of free and premium themes and use the drag-and-drop Page Builder to customize your homepage, product pages, and more.
  • Add Products: You can add an unlimited number of products, create categories, and configure product variations. This is a great time to test features like native size charts bigcommerce provides for apparel stores.
  • Set Up Sales Channels: Explore powerful integrations and connect your product catalog to other platforms, including the bigcommerce facebook marketplace.
  • Configure Settings: Set up your payment gateways, shipping rules, and tax settings so you’re ready to go live.
  • Test Advanced Features: Depending on the plan you trial, you can explore enterprise-grade tools. The robust bigcommerce identity platform ensures secure customer accounts, and you can even experiment with setting up a B2B portal to test a guided buying free trial experience for wholesale customers.
  • Build Your complete bigcommerce new store: From the homepage to the checkout, you can get your entire store ready for launch. The only thing you can’t do is accept live payments until you choose a paid plan.

After the Trial: Understanding BigCommerce Pricing and Plans

Ultimately, the trial is designed to lead you to a paid plan. This brings up the critical questions: how much does bigcommerce cost and does bigcommerce have a free plan?

To be clear, bigcommerce is a premium, subscription-based platform. Beyond the trial, there is no "BigCommerce free" plan. Answering the question of bigcommerce is free or paid, it is definitively a paid service. The bigcommerce cost varies based on the plan you choose.

The bigcommerce pricing is tiered into several bigcommerce plans (Standard, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise), each designed for businesses at different stages of growth. Each plan unlocks more advanced features and comes with a higher annual sales threshold. The good news is that the pricing is transparent, and unlike some competitors, BigCommerce does not charge its own transaction fees on top of what your payment processor charges.

A Balanced Look: BigCommerce Pros and Cons

To provide a fair assessment, it’s important to look at both sides. Here is a brief overview of the bigcommerce pros and cons to help you make an informed decision during your trial.

Pros:

  • No Transaction Fees: BigCommerce doesn’t take an extra cut of your sales, regardless of your plan.
  • Powerful Built-in Features: Many features that require paid apps on other platforms (like product reviews, real-time shipping quotes, and gift cards) are built-in.
  • Excellent SEO: The platform is renowned for its strong, customizable SEO features, helping your store rank higher in search results.
  • Scalability: BigCommerce is built to grow with you, from a small startup to a large enterprise, with robust B2B capabilities.

Cons:

  • Learning Curve: With so many built-in features, the dashboard can feel a bit more complex for absolute beginners compared to simpler platforms.
  • Premium Theme Costs: While there are free themes, the selection of premium themes can be an additional upfront cost.
  • Annual Sales Limits: The Standard, Plus, and Pro plans have annual online sales limits. If you exceed them, you’ll need to upgrade to the next plan level.

What Happens When Your Trial Ends?

As your big commerce trial nears its end, you’ll receive notifications prompting you to select a paid plan. If you’ve built out your store and are ready to start selling, you can simply choose the plan that best fits your needs, enter your payment information, and your store will be ready to go live.

If you decide BigCommerce isn’t the right fit, you don’t have to do anything. Your trial store will simply expire and become inaccessible. For those who may have upgraded and then changed their mind, learning how to cancel bigcommerce subscription is straightforward through the account dashboard. Your store data is typically saved for a short period after the trial ends, giving you a window to reconsider and upgrade if you wish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BigCommerce free?
No, BigCommerce is a paid e-commerce platform. It does not have a free-forever plan. The trial is your chance to use bigcommerce free for a limited time to test its features before committing to a paid subscription.

How long is the BigCommerce free trial period?
The standard trial period is 15 days. However, promotional offers for 30, 60, or even 90 days are sometimes available through BigCommerce partners and special campaigns.

Can I sell products during my BigCommerce trial?
You can build your entire store, add products, and set up payment and shipping options during the trial. However, to begin accepting live orders from customers, you must upgrade to a paid plan.

Do I need a credit card to sign up for the BigCommerce trial?
No, a credit card is not required to sign up for the standard 15-day free trial. You only need to provide payment information when you decide to upgrade to a paid plan.

What happens to my store after the trial ends?
If you do not upgrade to a paid plan, your trial store will be deactivated. Your data, products, and design configurations are saved for a period of time, allowing you to upgrade later and pick up where you left off. After that grace period, the data may be permanently deleted.