Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Big Cartel vs BigCommerce

Big Cartel logo

Big Cartel

E-Commerce

Straightforward pricing, no surprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
BigCommerce logo

BigCommerce

E-Commerce

Hosted e-commerce platform that charges no transaction fee and no surcharge for third party gateways

From
$29.95/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Big Cartel has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Big Cartel custom domain support is not included on the free Gold plan; it is listed as a Platinum-tier feature; BigCommerce plans are gated on annual online sales, so a strong year pushes you into a higher tier and a higher subscription even though your traffic, catalogue and resource usage are unchanged.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Big Cartel and BigCommerce actually diverge.

Attributes where Big Cartel and BigCommerce differ
AttributeBig CartelBigCommerce
Starting priceFree$29.95/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
FoundedUnknown2009

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Big Cartel

Nothing recorded that BigCommerce does not also cover.

Only in BigCommerce

  • No platform transaction fee
  • Stencil theme framework
  • Multi-storefront
  • Faceted search
  • B2B capabilities
  • Headless support
  • Built-in tax integrations
  • Multi-currency

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Big Cartel

  • E-commerce store creationnot BigCommerce
  • Physical and digital product salesnot BigCommerce

BigCommerce

  • A merchant whose volume makes a percentage transaction fee the largest line in the platform decisionnot Big Cartel
  • A retailer needing several branded storefronts sharing one catalogue and one back officenot Big Cartel
  • A B2B seller who needs company accounts and customer-specific price lists without custom developmentnot Big Cartel
  • A team going headless who wants a managed commerce back end rather than a self-hosted onenot Big Cartel

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Big Cartel

  • Custom domain support is not included on the free Gold plan; it is listed as a Platinum-tier feature
  • Abandoned cart recovery, product drop scheduling and Zapier integration are restricted to the top Diamond tier at $30/month
  • Platinum's paid billing starts automatically after a 7-day free trial rather than requiring an active opt-in to convert

BigCommerce

  • Plans are gated on annual online sales, so a strong year pushes you into a higher tier and a higher subscription even though your traffic, catalogue and resource usage are unchanged.
  • There is a documented ceiling on the number of variants a single product can have, which breaks configurable, made-to-measure and heavily optioned catalogues and forces awkward workarounds such as splitting one product into several listings.
  • The application marketplace is much smaller than the largest competitor's, so a specific integration or niche feature is more often a custom build, and custom builds are the line item that quietly exceeds the platform cost.
  • Theme customisation past the visual settings means Stencil, Handlebars templates and a local command line workflow, so changes that look small to a marketing team still require a developer and a deployment.
  • Migrating out moves products and inventory reasonably well and moves the things that matter badly, since customer passwords cannot be exported in usable form, order history rarely transfers intact, and reviews and URL structure have to be rebuilt with a redirect map you must produce yourself or lose the search traffic.

Pricing, plan by plan

Big Cartel

Free
  • GoldFree
    • Free tier with limited features
  • Platinum$15/month
    • Custom domains
    • Physical and digital product sales
    • Shipping label printing
  • Diamond$30/month
    • All Platinum features plus abandoned cart recovery
    • Product drop scheduling
    • Password-protected products

BigCommerce

$29.95/month
  • Standard$29.95/month
    • Unlimited products
    • 2 staff accounts
    • Basic reports
  • Plus$79.95/month
    • All Standard features
    • Up to 5 staff accounts
    • Advanced reports

Which should you pick?

Choose Big Cartel if

  • You want to start without paying.
Big Cartel review

Choose BigCommerce if

  • You need no platform transaction fee.
  • You also want stencil theme framework.
BigCommerce review

Questions people ask

Is Big Cartel or BigCommerce better?
Neither clearly leads. Big Cartel starts at Free and BigCommerce at $29.95/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Big Cartel or BigCommerce?
Big Cartel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Big Cartel and $29.95/month for BigCommerce.
Does Big Cartel or BigCommerce run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Big Cartel for free?
Yes. Big Cartel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month.
What is Big Cartel best used for?
Big Cartel is most often used for e-commerce store creation, physical and digital product sales. Of those, e-commerce store creation and physical and digital product sales are not what BigCommerce is typically brought in for.
What can Big Cartel do that BigCommerce cannot?
BigCommerce covers No platform transaction fee, Stencil theme framework, Multi-storefront, Faceted search.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Big Cartel: How much does Big Cartel cost?

Big Cartel offers a free Gold plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $15 per month for Platinum and $30 per month for Diamond. Both paid plans include a 7-day free trial and have no commitment.

Source
BigCommerce: Does BigCommerce charge transaction fees?

No, and it does not surcharge third party payment gateways either. Revenue affects the price through plan sales thresholds instead.

Big Cartel: What features does the Diamond plan add?

The Diamond plan at $30 per month adds abandoned cart recovery, product drop scheduling, password-protected products, Zapier integration with 7,000+ apps, and priority human support compared to Platinum.

Source
BigCommerce: What happens when I exceed my plan's sales threshold?

You move to the next plan tier. Model this at your projected growth rate, because the increase is driven by revenue rather than by usage.

Big Cartel: Can I cancel Big Cartel anytime?

Yes, Big Cartel explicitly offers no commitment and allows cancellation anytime on paid tiers.

Source
BigCommerce: Is the app ecosystem large enough?

It covers the common integrations. For anything niche, assume a development project rather than an install, and price that in before comparing subscriptions.

BigCommerce: How hard is it to leave?

Products export cleanly. Customer passwords, order history, reviews and SEO URLs do not. Build the redirect map before you cut over, not after traffic drops.

Share

Related pages

More on Big Cartel

More on BigCommerce

Keep looking

Other head to heads