Big Cartel vs Sellfy
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Quick verdict: Pick Big Cartel if you want a free, simple shop for physical goods; choose Sellfy if you sell digital products and need built-in marketing tools.
Best for: Hobbyist makers — jewelry creators, printmakers, crafters — launching their first online shop on the free $0/month plan, Bands and musicians who want to sell merchandise directly to fans without paying for retail features they won't use
Read the full Big Cartel reviewBest for: Creators selling digital downloads like ebooks, music, presets, courses, and design packs, Sellers who want subscription revenue with automatic weekly, monthly, or yearly payments
Read the full Sellfy reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Big Cartel vs Sellfy: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose Big Cartel if
- You're an artist or maker selling a small physical product catalog.
Choose Sellfy if
- You sell digital downloads, subscriptions, or print-on-demand merchandise.
- You want built-in email marketing, upselling, and affiliate tools.
- You value 24/7 support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Big Cartel vs Sellfy: pros and cons
Big Cartel
Big Cartel strips ecommerce back to the basics artists actually need: a customizable storefront, product listings, order management, and flat pricing from $0 to $90 a month with no hidden fees. The intentionally minimal toolset and $90/month ceiling mean big catalogs will outgrow it. Overall, it's a low-risk launchpad for creative side hustles and first shops.
Pros
- A free plan at $0 per month lets you open a real store with no upfront investment, which is rare among ecommerce platforms
- Flat monthly pricing from $0 to $90 with no hidden fees keeps costs predictable instead of fluctuating with your sales
- The interface is simple enough for non-technical creatives to launch a shop quickly without developer help
Cons
- The feature set is intentionally minimal, so sellers who need advanced shipping rules, marketing automation, or a large app ecosystem may outgrow it
- The $90 per month top plan is the pricing ceiling, and high-volume stores with large catalogs may find better value on platforms built for scale
- Third-party review coverage is thin, which makes it harder to benchmark long-term user satisfaction before committing
Sellfy
Sellfy offers flat monthly pricing with 0% platform transaction fees, 20GB file uploads, subscriptions, and built-in email plus affiliate marketing — no code needed. Plans run $22–$119 a month, but yearly sales caps and Business-tier gating on key growth tools are real limits. Overall, it's a solid pick for creators selling digital products without per-sale fees.
Pros
- Charges 0% transaction fees on all plans, so a $10 ebook sale keeps its full price minus only the standard PayPal/Stripe processing fee — the site contrasts this with Gumroad's 10% per-sale cut.
- Supports digital uploads up to 20GB per file on Premium (15GB on Business, 10GB on Starter), enough for full video courses, music packs, and design bundles without external file hosting.
- Bundles email marketing, affiliate programs, SEO, product upselling, and cart abandonment recovery into the dashboard, replacing separate subscriptions to tools like Kit ($0–$1000/mo) or Refersion ($99/mo).
Cons
- Plans are capped by annual sales volume ($10k Starter, $50k Business, $200k Premium); exceeding your cap without upgrading can trigger a 2% overage fee on the excess revenue.
- The 0% transaction fee claim excludes payment processing — PayPal or Stripe still takes roughly 2.9% + 30¢ per sale, and payouts depend on those gateways being available in your country.
- Cart abandonment, affiliate marketing, upselling, custom fields, and removing Sellfy branding are all gated behind the Business plan ($59/mo yearly) or higher, so the entry tier omits key growth tools.
Big Cartel and Sellfy in detail
Big Cartel
Big Cartel is a hosted ecommerce website builder designed for DIY makers and artists. It provides the core tools of an online store — product listings, a customizable storefront, and order management — in a package simple enough for someone with no technical background. The platform's entire focus is helping independent creatives sell their goods and grow from a first sale into a sustainable shop.
Standout features
- Customizable Storefront Themes
- Product and Inventory Management
- Order Management
- Built for Creative Sellers
Use cases
- Launching a First Shop for Handmade Goods
- Selling Band Merchandise Directly to Fans
- Selling Art Prints and Photography
- Testing a Side Hustle Before Going Professional
Sellfy
Sellfy is an online store builder aimed at creators. It handles digital products like ebooks, music, videos, and design files (up to 20GB per file), plus subscriptions and physical goods. Its site cites 75K+ creators who've earned $165M+ through it. If you want one place to sell, take payments, and run simple marketing, it's built for that job.
Standout features
- Keep more of every sale with 0% transaction fees
- Launch a no-code store in minutes
- Sell big files and build recurring income
- Run marketing without stacking extra tools
Use cases
- Sell digital downloads with big files
- Build recurring income with subscriptions
- Mix digital and physical products
- Automate marketing while you create
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Big Cartel | Sellfy |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $15/mo Tools to grow your sales | $29/mo Starter |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | 30 days |
| Annual billing savings | — | Up to 25% |
| Pricing model | Flat price | Flat price |
| Cost for 1 user | $15/moCheaper Tools to grow your sales plan, billed monthly | $29/mo Starter plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 5 users | $15/mo Tools to grow your sales plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $29/mo Starter plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 10 users | $15/mo Tools to grow your sales plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $29/mo Starter plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 25 users | $15/mo Tools to grow your sales plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $29/mo Starter plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Plans | 3 | 3 |
| Prices checked | Checked Oct 12, 2026 | Checked Oct 12, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
For 1 user (billed monthly), Big Cartel costs $15/mo vs Sellfy at $29/mo.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do Big Cartel or Sellfy charge transaction fees?
Neither charges platform transaction fees. Both take 0%, though standard Stripe or PayPal payment processing fees still apply to your sales.