The main difference between Big Cartel and Shopify is their target audience and scale. Big Cartel caters to artists and makers by offering a straightforward and budget-friendly platform to sell unique products. It is known for its simplicity and design-focused approach. It is great for those starting small. On the other hand, Shopify is a comprehensive e-commerce solution suitable for businesses of all sizes. It provides a wide range of features, scalability, and customization options which makes it an ideal choice for entrepreneurs and established businesses. It offers the tools and flexibility for businesses to expand and grow in the world of e-commerce.
In this versus, we compare Big Cartel vs Shopify in-depth to help you choose one of them. If you want to know more details, we recommend you to read our Big Cartel review and Shopify review.
However, you can also directly find the Best Ecommerce Platform, we list them by ranking (based on our review rating), you can find all the comparisons we made and we explain how you should choose the proper one.
Here is what we will talk about in the rest of this article:
Quick overview
Big Cartel vs Shopify at a Glance
To make your choice quick and efficient, here is a short summary about our comparison of Shopify vs Big Cartel. Find out their ratings, features, prices and then discover the winner of the versus.
Pros and Cons comparison
Big Cartel Review, Pricing, Features with Pros and Cons
Shopify Review – Pricing and features – The most Popular eCommerce Platform
Specifications comparison
| Details | Big Cartel | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Best Deals And Discounts / Bulk editing / Custom Branding and User Experience / Custom domain / Customization Features / Dropshipping Support / Google Analytics Tracking / Inventory Management / Mobile app / Multiple Payment Options / Product database / Real-time analytics / Sales tax autopilot / Shipping Tools / Stock management | Connect with Customers / Manage Finances / Manage each operation / Promote Everywhere / Sell anywhere around the world |
| Best suited for | Freelancers, Small businesses, Mid size businesses | Individuals, Freelancers, Small businesses, Mid size businesses, Large enterprises |
| Website languages | English | English |
| Website URL | Visit official website | Visit official website |
| Support link | Support page | Support page |
| Support email | support@bigcartel.com | support@shopify.com |
| Live chat | No | Yes |
| Company address | Chicago, IL 60607 | Ottawa, ON |
| Year founded | 2005 | 2006 |
Pricing comparison
Compare the price between Big Cartel vs Shopify
Find out which software has the best valuable pricing, which one offers a free trial and money back guarantee.
| Pricing comparison | Big Cartel | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing range | From $9.99 to $19.99 per month | From $25 to $399 per month |
| Pricing types | Monthly subscription | Annual subscription / Monthly subscription |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | No | Yes, 90 days |
| Money back guarantee | No | No |
| Pricing page link | See plans | See plans |
Big Cartel Pricing details
Navigating the world of e-commerce doesn’t have to break the bank. With Big Cartel’s flexible pricing plans ranging from $0 to $19.99 per month, you can choose the perfect fit for your creative business.
Whether you’re just starting out or scaling up, Big Cartel has a plan tailored to meet your needs !
Gold Plan
- Price: $0 (Always Free)
- Product Limit: Up to 5 products
- Images per Product: One image allowed per product listing
- Payment Options: Supports multiple payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe
- Real-Time Stats: Provides real-time analytics to track sales and visits
- Custom Domain: Allows the use of a custom domain for your store
- Promotions: Enables you to offer discounts and run promotional campaigns
- Shipment Tracking: Offers shipment tracking features
- Sales Tax: Automated sales tax calculations
Platinum Plan
- Price: $9.99 per month
- Product Limit: Up to 50 products
- Images per Product: Allows up to five images per product listing
- Theme Code Editing: Enables direct editing of HTML and CSS for customization
- Google Analytics: Integration with Google Analytics for advanced tracking
- Inventory Tracking: Features for tracking stock levels and setting low-stock alerts
- Bulk Editing: Allows bulk editing of product listings
- Other Features: Includes all features from the Gold Plan like multiple payment options, real-time stats, custom domain, promotions, shipment tracking, and automated sales tax.
Diamond Plan
- Price: $19.99 per month
- Product Limit: Up to 500 products
- Images per Product: Allows up to five images per product listing
- Other Features: Includes all the features available in the Platinum Plan like theme code editing, Google Analytics, inventory tracking, bulk editing, multiple payment options, real-time stats, custom domain, promotions, shipment tracking, and automated sales tax.
Shopify Pricing details
Shopify offers a variety of pricing plans to fulfill the needs of businesses of different sizes. The plans range from Basic Shopify, Shopify, to Advanced Shopify.
Basic Shopify is suitable for small businesses starting their online journey. It offers essential features to set up a store. The Shopify plan offers all the basic features along with additional tools and resources for growing businesses.
Then there is the Advanced Shopify plan. It is designed for high-volume businesses, providing advanced features and enhanced scalability. Shopify’s all plans provide core features such as secure hosting, access to various payment gateways, and mobile responsiveness.
Additional features include discount code creation, abandoned cart recovery, and access to advanced reporting. It’s important to note that transaction fees may apply if you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments.
The availability of certain features, like advanced report builder and third-party calculated shipping rates, may depend on the chosen plan.
Shopify’s pricing plans offer businesses the flexibility to choose a plan that aligns with their needs and budget. It also allows them to upgrade or downgrade as their business grows.
Basic Plan ($25/month)
This plan is for individuals & small businesses, it includes:
- allows you to create your online store with drag and drop
- allows the promotion and selling of products on multiple platforms and sales channels
- you can track inventory
- also includes management of staff
- 24/7 technical support in both email and chat
- allows the creation of basic reports
- inventory locations are provided up to 1,000 in number
- 2 accounts for staff
Shopify Plan ($65/month)
This plan is for small businesses. It has all features of the Basic plan, plus:
- Reports are professional as compared to basic reports of the Basic Plan
- 5 accounts of staff as compared to 2 accounts in the Basic Plan
Advanced Plan ($399/month)
This plan is for medium to large businesses. It includes all features of the Shopify plan, and:
- The report builder is set to Custom
- 15 accounts for staff are provided
Big Cartel offers a free plan for users with up to 5 products. Beyond that, it provides two paid plans that range from $9.99 per month to $19.99 per month. These plans have varying features, such as the number of products, custom domains, and themes. On the other hand, Shopify offers a 3-day free trial, followed by several pricing plans. Its pricing plans range from $25 per month to $399 per month, depending on the features that you require. So, in terms of pricing, we can clearly see that Big Cartel is much more budget friendly as compared to Shopify, which makes Big Cartel a winner.
🏆 Winner: Big Cartel
Learn more in the section below with our comparison of the different features of Big Cartel vs Shopify .
Features comparison
We highlight the main differences between Big Cartel vs Shopify
Here is a quick summary of the differences between the features and services offered by Big Cartel vs Shopify:
Features overview
In this section, we will compare only the big differences between Big Cartel and Shopify, and we will assign a winner for each feature or service.
So we will compare first:
- Pricing and Affordability
- Ease of Use
- Design Customization
- Product Management
- Payment Processing
Pricing and Affordability
Although Shopify provides all the tools that are required for any e-commerce business to survive and excels. But it provides those tools at a very high cost. On the other hand, Big Cartel provides you with affordable pricing plans which help you grow even if you are a smaller business. So, Big Cartel is winner in this category.
🏆 Winner: Big Cartel
Ease of Use
Big Cartel is known for its simplicity and user-friendly interface. It is easy for artists and small businesses to set up and start selling without technical complexity. On the other hand, Shopify also offers a comprehensive and user-friendly interface. Although it has more features but it maintains a high level of usability.
🏆 Winner: Tie
Design Customization
Big Cartel offers limited design customization options, mainly through themes. It is best for users who prefer a simple and minimalist design approach. Whereas Shopify provides extensive design customization through themes and full access to the HTML and CSS code. You can create highly customized online stores with advanced design features.
🏆 Winner: Shopify
Product Management
Big Cartel supports product management with essential features by allowing you to add and categorize products, set prices, and manage inventory. On the other hand, Shopify offers robust product management features, including variants, SKUs, inventory tracking, and the ability to handle complex product catalogs.
🏆 Winner: Shopify
Payment Processing
Big Cartel supports payment processing through integrated gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Square. It is easy to set up and start receiving payments. On the other hand, Shopify offers a wide range of payment options, including its own payment gateway Shopify Payments and third-party gateways.
🏆 Winner: Shopify
User Reviews
Find out what current users think about Big Cartel and Shopify
If you need some external reviews of Ciroapp, you can read the reviews written by their users. Feel free to add your own on these platforms once you are an experienced user of Big Cartel or Shopify, to help our community to choose.
Big Cartel Reviews
Big Cartel Review, Pricing, Features with Pros and Cons
Shopify Reviews
Shopify Review – Pricing and features – The most Popular eCommerce Platform
Now that you have read everything and know all the differences between Big Cartel and Shopify, it’s time to define a winner! Find out in the following whom the winner of this versus is ⚡.
Winner
Big Cartel vs Shopify: Who is the winner?
In this comparison Shopify is the winner due to its feature-rich and highly customizable e-commerce platform. It offers extensive product management, design customization, payment processing options, and scalability which makes it an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes.
On the other hand, Big Cartel is the runner-up for its simplicity and budget-friendly pricing which makes it attractive to artists and small businesses. So, if you are an artist or a small business that is looking for a budget friendly platform, Big Cartel is the right choice for you.
