BigCommerce’s June 1, 2026 pricing update does more than rename its plans. The company has moved Standard, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise into a new structure called Core, Growth, Scale, and Performance, while also lowering key GMV thresholds and introducing a new Open Payment Provider Fee for self-serve plans.
For creators, independent brands, and small online businesses, the headline is not simply that BigCommerce has new packaging. The practical question is whether a store’s sales volume or payment setup now pushes it into a higher-cost operating model.
BigCommerce says most core product functionality is not changing. But the pricing mechanics around growth, payment processing, and support are changing enough that merchants should not treat this as a cosmetic plan refresh.
What changed on June 1
The old Standard plan is now Core, Plus is now Growth, Pro is now Scale, and Enterprise is now Performance. Core costs $39 per month, or $29 per month when billed annually. Growth costs $105 monthly, or $79 annually. Scale costs $399 monthly, or $299 annually. Performance uses custom pricing, starting as low as $1,499 per month, according to BigCommerce.
The plan names matter less than the new thresholds attached to them. Core now carries a $30,000 trailing twelve-month Inclusive GMV cap, down from the old Standard plan’s $50,000 GMV limit. Growth now has a $100,000 cap, down from the old Plus plan’s $180,000 limit. Scale uses a $33,333 monthly Inclusive GMV cap, with a 0.9% overage on GMV above that monthly amount.
That means some stores that previously sat comfortably inside a lower tier may now find themselves eligible for an automatic move upward. BigCommerce says plan eligibility depends on trailing twelve-month Inclusive GMV, required features, and payment provider setup.
The other major change is the Open Payment Provider Fee. On self-serve plans, BigCommerce now charges a monthly fee on eligible order GMV processed through payment providers outside its embedded provider list. The rates are 2.0% on Core, 1.0% on Growth, and 0.6% on Scale. Performance plans operating under contracted terms are not subject to the same self-serve fee structure.
Why the payment fee matters
Many ecommerce operators are used to thinking about platform fees as a subscription expense: the software costs a certain amount per month, and payment processors charge their own transaction fees. BigCommerce’s update adds another layer for merchants using non-embedded gateways.
The fee is billed by BigCommerce, appears as a monthly invoice line item, and is separate from the payment provider’s own fees. BigCommerce also says it must not be passed through directly to shoppers at checkout, noting that payment network rules and local laws may restrict surcharges on end-user transactions.
The fee is calculated at the order level. If an order is processed by an embedded payment provider, that order’s GMV is not subject to the Open Payment Provider Fee. If the order is processed by an open provider, it is subject to the fee. Merely displaying an embedded option at checkout does not make every transaction fee-free.
That detail is important for stores with mixed payment setups. A merchant might offer PayPal Wallet, which appears on BigCommerce’s embedded provider list, while also taking credit card payments through another gateway. If the shopper pays through the non-embedded gateway, that order is the one exposed to the fee.
A concrete example for a creator-led store
Consider a creator selling physical products, digital bundles, or branded merchandise through a BigCommerce storefront. Suppose the store is on Core and processes a meaningful share of orders through a payment gateway that is not on BigCommerce’s embedded list.
The base subscription may still look modest at $39 per month. But if the store has enough payment volume flowing through an open provider, the 2.0% fee becomes the larger cost line. At $20,000 in eligible open-provider GMV for a month, that would imply a $400 Open Payment Provider Fee before considering the subscription or the processor’s own charges.
The example is not a prediction of every merchant’s bill. It shows the new decision point. Under the updated structure, a creator’s checkout architecture can matter as much as the plan name. Two stores with similar sales can see different BigCommerce costs depending on which provider actually processes each order.
The growth threshold issue
The lower GMV thresholds also change how merchants should read their own growth. A store moving from hobby revenue toward a serious side business may cross plan boundaries sooner than expected.
BigCommerce says Core auto-upgrades to Growth above $30,000 in trailing twelve-month Inclusive GMV, while Growth auto-upgrades to Scale above $100,000. Pro customers with more than $2 million in trailing twelve-month GMV move to Performance. GMV is evaluated on the first of each month, and BigCommerce says merchants receive notice before automatic changes take effect.
There is one nuance that may reduce confusion but not eliminate cost questions: BigCommerce uses Inclusive GMV, which it defines as gross order value after a reduction. As part of this update, BigCommerce changed that reduction factor from 3% to 10%. The result may not match a merchant’s own sales reports or payment provider dashboard.
For operators, that means the relevant number is not just “what did we sell?” It is the Inclusive GMV number BigCommerce displays for plan evaluation, overages, and fee calculations.
What merchants should check now
The update makes three operational checks more urgent for any BigCommerce seller using a self-serve plan:
- Review trailing twelve-month Inclusive GMV: especially if the store is near $30,000, $100,000, or the Scale monthly cap.
- Audit payment routing: identify which provider actually processes each order, not just which payment buttons appear at checkout.
- Look for the invoice line item: BigCommerce says the Open Payment Provider Fee is billed monthly in arrears when applicable.
Merchants can reduce or eliminate the new fee by routing orders through embedded payment providers. BigCommerce lists providers including Stripe, PayPal Braintree, PayPal Complete Payments, PayPal Wallet, Amazon Pay, Adyen, Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm, Checkout.com, Worldpay, Sezzle, and others. The list may change over time, so stores should verify their current setup against BigCommerce’s own published list.
Core customers should also note a support change: phone support is no longer included by default on Core. Chat and email support remain available across all plans, while phone support is included on Growth, Scale, and Performance. BigCommerce says a phone support add-on for Core is coming, with pricing and timing to be shared separately.
What to watch next
The first real test will come through invoices after June 1. Merchants on monthly plans move on their next billing cycle after the notice period, while annual plans move at the end of the current annual service period. Auto-upgrades can still occur when GMV crosses a threshold.
The second test is behavioral. BigCommerce has created a financial reason for merchants to use embedded payment providers. Some sellers may accept that tradeoff to lower platform fees. Others may keep a preferred gateway because of operational needs, existing integrations, regional coverage, or negotiated payment terms.
For creator businesses and lean ecommerce teams, the decision should be made with actual order data rather than plan-page pricing. The right comparison is not simply Core versus Growth or Growth versus Scale. It is subscription cost, payment processor cost, BigCommerce’s open-provider fee exposure, support needs, and the likelihood of crossing the next GMV threshold.
The official BigCommerce pricing update is available here.