Big Cartel vs Shopify
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
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 review
Best for: First-time founders who want a store live fast, Brands selling both online and in person with POS
Read the full Shopify reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Big Cartel vs Shopify: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose Big Cartel if
- You prefer simple monthly billing without yearly commitments
Choose Shopify if
- You want 24/7 live chat support on every plan
- You need specialized features from 21,000+ apps
- You're growing toward enterprise, in-person, or global selling
Big Cartel vs Shopify: 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
Shopify
Shopify pulls your store, checkout, payments, POS, and multi-channel selling into one admin, backed by Shop Pay's proven conversion lift and a 21,000+ app ecosystem. Expect costs and app subscriptions to climb as you grow. Overall, it's the safest default for anyone serious about selling online, from first sale to full scale.
Pros
- One centralized admin handles website, checkout, payments, POS, shipping, and marketing, so online and in-store sales stay in sync without juggling separate tools
- Shop Pay checkout converts up to 50% higher than guest checkout per an external April 2023 study, and products appear automatically to 250M+ pre-verified Shop app shoppers
- Sidekick AI lives directly in the admin to spot growth opportunities and automate tedious tasks, with no extra tool to manage
Cons
- Third-party transaction fees apply if you don't use Shopify Payments — 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus — which cuts into margins on every sale
- POS Pro costs an extra $89/month per retail location on every non-Plus plan, a significant add-on for multi-location retailers
- The Basic plan has no additional staff accounts and limited checkout customization, forcing an upgrade as soon as you hire help
Big Cartel and Shopify 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
Shopify
Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform for building, running, and growing a business. It covers your website, checkout, payments, POS, shipping, and marketing from one admin. You can sell online, in person, on social, and through AI chat channels. It serves everyone from solo entrepreneurs to enterprise brands — Mattel and Glossier run on it.
Standout features
- Sell everywhere your shoppers are
- A checkout built to close sales
- Sidekick works inside your admin
- Go live in three steps
- Room to extend and grow
Use cases
- Launching a first store as a solo founder
- Running online and in-person sales from one system
- Scaling a small team into a full operation
- Expanding into international markets
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Big Cartel | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $15/mo Tools to grow your sales | $39/mo Basic |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | 3 days |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | Up to 26% |
| Pricing model | Flat price | Flat price |
| Cost for 1 user | $15/moCheaper Tools to grow your sales plan, billed monthly | $39/mo Basic plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 5 users | $15/mo Tools to grow your sales plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $39/mo Basic 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) | $39/mo Basic 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) | $39/mo Basic plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Plans | 3 | 4 |
| Prices checked | Checked Oct 12, 2026 | Vendor page 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 Shopify at $39/mo.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.
More comparisons
Frequently Asked Questions
Which platform scales better as I grow?
Shopify. It serves solo sellers through enterprise brands like Mattel, with unlimited staff accounts and up to 200 POS locations on Plus. Big Cartel's scale limits aren't documented.