Big Cartel vs Etsy
Big Cartel and Etsy both serve independent artists but use radically different business models. Big Cartel offers maximum control and 0% commission, favoring fixed subscriptions. Etsy provides huge marketplace exposure for a high percentage of your sales revenue.
Simple Selling for Creative Beginners
Big Cartel excels as a straightforward, commission-free platform tailored specifically for independent artists needing an easy start. We find the generous free plan perfect for testing the waters, but limitations in advanced features and reported issues with support response times make scaling challenging. Overall, this is an excellent, affordable choice for hobbyists or new sellers who prioritize simplicity over complex functionality.
Pros
- Permanently free Gold plan is available for starters ($0).
- No sales commission taken (0% transaction fees).
- Simple, intuitive, and easy to set up for non-coders.
- Designed specifically for independent artists and makers.
Cons
- Platform functionality is limited, especially for scaling (max 500 products).
- Customer support response times can be painfully slow, sometimes taking hours.
- Users report recent platform instability and bugs.
- Paid plans are considered high value for the basic feature set provided.
Unique finds, operational headaches.
We recognize Etsy’s powerful concept of offering unique, handmade goods and strong personalization options. However, external reviews reveal chronic operational issues, particularly concerning system stability and customer care responsiveness. Overall, the platform’s valuable market niche is severely undermined by widespread failures impacting key reliability factors for both buyers and sellers.
Pros
- Access to a vast selection of unique, handmade, and vintage items.
- Enables strong product personalization (engraving, embroidery).
- Pricing model uses low listing fees rather than mandatory monthly subscriptions.
- Effective platform for supporting independent and small businesses.
Cons
- Customer support is widely reported as unhelpful, inadequate, or entirely nonexistent.
- Both buyer and seller accounts are frequently suspended without clear reason or explanation.
- High incidence of misleading product listings and scam sellers (poor accuracy).
- Widespread reliability issues concerning delivery, shipping delays, and faulty tracking.
AboutBig Cartel
Big Cartel is an easy-to-use platform designed to help creatives turn their passion into profit. It’s where do-it-yourselfers go to become professionals.
This solution serves independent artists, bands, and makers of all types. Its diverse audience includes painters, jewelry makers, designers, printmakers, and photographers.
The goal is simple: give you the tools you need to sell your stuff and grow your shop. You’ll keep more of what you earn with straightforward pricing and no hidden fees.
AboutEtsy
Etsy is a vibrant online marketplace dedicated to all things distinctive and handmade or vintage. It is where you find items beyond the typical store purchase, ensuring your shopping feels personal. This destination is perfect for shoppers looking for original items, spanning from mugs and home goods to jewellery and apparel. Etsy focuses on delivering gifts as special as the recipient, prioritizing unique craftsmanship. It's a great place to discover essential items tailored to specific hobbies too. 💡
Highlights
Feature Comparison
Features Overview
We highlight the main differences and pick a winner for each feature.
Pricing Model & Fees
Big Cartel is subscription-based with 0% commission on sales. Etsy charges high percentage transaction fees every time you sell an item.
Big Cartel runs $0 to $30 per month, depending on listing capacity. You retain 100% of your sales revenue via the platform transaction. Etsy requires only $0.20 per listing, active for four months or until sold. They charge a minimum 6.5% transaction fee plus processing fees (3% + $0.25). Successful high-volume sellers will pay significantly more to Etsy than they would to Big Cartel.
Traffic Source & Exposure
Etsy provides instant access to millions of shoppers searching their massive marketplace. Big Cartel requires you to drive all website traffic yourself.
Etsy is a definitive shopping destination for handmade and vintage products. Customers search and discover you organically within their platform daily. Big Cartel hosts your separate, standalone shop, meaning you must handle all marketing. Building traffic to Big Cartel requires significant external effort and ongoing investment. This initial exposure is Etsy's main advantage over Big Cartel.
Product Limits
Big Cartel severely limits total product capacity, maxing out quickly at 500 listings. Etsy supports selling a vastly larger inventory without hard limits.
Big Cartel is designed for niche artists selling small, curated collections. The highest tier supports only 500 unique product listings easily. If you exceed 500 products, Big Cartel cannot scale with your business needs. Etsy allows creators to list thousands of variations or products without hitting platform capacity limits. Etsy is much better suited for businesses planning rapid inventory growth and high volume.
Branding & Control
Big Cartel lets you maintain a strong, branded standalone storefront with customization. Etsy shops are constrained by the standard marketplace design.
Big Cartel offers various customizable templates to ensure your specific brand aesthetic shines through. You gain far more control over the customer experience and site flow. Etsy shops must conform to the required marketplace structure and user experience. While customization exists, your shop always feels like part of the larger Etsy platform. Big Cartel is the clear winner if brand independence is paramount.
Seller Support
Big Cartel promises responsive support from real human beings for all shop owners. Etsy sellers widely report abysmal and often nonexistent customer support.
Big Cartel support responds to all users, offering guaranteed prioritization on the Diamond plan. Many long-term Big Cartel users praise the human interaction and professional assistance. Etsy customer service is notoriously unreliable and often replies with generic, unhelpful automated messages. Sellers on Etsy face frequent, unexplained account suspensions without human arbitration. Superior support makes Big Cartel a safer long-term choice.
E-commerce Features
Big Cartel offers essential revenue recovery tools like abandoned cart recovery on paid tiers. Etsy focuses primarily on core marketplace listing functionality.
The premium Diamond plan on Big Cartel includes automated abandoned cart recovery mechanisms. This actively helps minimize lost sales revenue by contacting customers who left checkout. Big Cartel also includes 'Sales tax autopilot' across all plans for easier compliance. Etsy relies on third-party tools or seller effort for advanced features like abandoned cart recovery. Big Cartel provides more native tools for professional e-commerce management.
Target Audience & Niche
Big Cartel targets indie artists and makers with dedicated followings. Etsy serves general consumers seeking unique, personalized, or vintage items.
Big Cartel focuses on providing the technical tools for artists to sell their work commission-free. Its market approach is focused on self-starters with limited inventory. Etsy facilitates discovery for a massive, global audience searching for specific goods. Etsy is ideal if your products are highly searchable, like specific crafts or personalized items. Both platforms support handmade, but Big Cartel champions small control.
Scalability Model
Big Cartel scalability is simple: pay more for more product listings. Etsy scalability involves paying far greater fees as sales volume increases.
Scaling Big Cartel revenue doesn't increase your platform fee, ensuring profit predictability. Scaling simply means upgrading from 50 to 500 listings, the cost is capped. Scaling on Etsy means paying 6.5%+ of every new dollar earned in commission fees. If you foresee yearly revenue jumping from $5,000 to $100,000, you save significantly on total expenses with Big Cartel.
Our Verdict
The core decision between Big Cartel and Etsy comes down to traffic versus control. Big Cartel gives you a personalized shop front and maximizes profit retention. Etsy gives you instant access to millions of buyers, but they take a large percentage of every completed sale. You must decide if paying 6.5%+ commission is worth that massive marketplace exposure. Big Cartel’s superpower is its financial transparency and commission-free structure. You pay a predictable fee ($0 to $30/month) and keep 100% of your sale revenue. If you are an artist with a solid social media following, Big Cartel maximizes long-term profitability. Furthermore, Big Cartel offers better customer support and critical retention tools. Etsy’s superpower is its monumental built-in audience and powerful search engine. If you launch a new product today, Etsy ensures a potential buyer sees it immediately. Etsy is cheaper for beginners testing the waters with minimal upfront cost ($0.20 listing fee). However, successful sellers quickly find Etsy’s transaction and ad fees severely erode profit margins. The clear deciding factor is inventory size and primary sales channel. Choose Big Cartel if you have under 500 products and want to protect profit margins. Choose Etsy if you need vast market reach for high volume sales immediately. Big Cartel offers profitable stability; Etsy offers instant discovery. Use Big Cartel if you value your brand and need reliable support for your business. Use Etsy only if immediate traffic is essential and you accept high commission costs. Big Cartel offers superior value and professionalism for serious, long-term makers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper for high volume sales: Big Cartel or Etsy?
Big Cartel is cheaper for high volume sellers due to its 0% commission policy. Etsy requires a minimum 6.5% transaction fee on every sale. Big Cartel’s maximum mandatory fee is only $30 monthly, regardless of how much you sell.
Does Big Cartel give me a better chance of getting discovered organically?
No, Etsy provides massive, consistent organic traffic inherently as a marketplace. Big Cartel is a standalone website, requiring you to handle your own marketing and SEO. You must drive all traffic to your Big Cartel shop.
Can I import my listings from Etsy to Big Cartel easily?
Yes, Big Cartel supports easy importing of existing product listings from Etsy. This straightforward migration path simplifies moving your established inventory. Moving from Big Cartel to Etsy is also generally possible but requires higher effort.
Which platform has better customer support for sellers?
Big Cartel offers significantly better support, promising help from real human beings. Etsy customer service is widely criticized as inaccessible and unhelpful. Big Cartel users have confidence in getting timely issue resolution.
How do Big Cartel's product limits compare to Etsy?
Big Cartel is severely limited, maxing out at only 500 listings on its top plan. Etsy supports vastly larger inventories without stated limits. If you have or expect to have thousands of products, Etsy is the only viable option.
Does Big Cartel charge transaction fees like Etsy?
Big Cartel does not charge any transaction fees or take a commission on your sales. You only pay the flat rate subscription fee. Etsy charges sellers a minimum 6.5% transaction fee plus a payment processing fee.
Ready to Choose?
Both tools have their strengths. Choose based on your specific needs.