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E-Commerce · head to head

Big Cartel vs Heartland Retail

Big Cartel logo

Big Cartel

E-Commerce

Straightforward pricing, no surprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Heartland Retail logo

Heartland Retail

E-Commerce

Cloud point of sale and inventory management sold alongside Heartland card processing

From
$150/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; Heartland Retail the software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Big Cartel and Heartland Retail actually diverge.

Attributes where Big Cartel and Heartland Retail differ
AttributeBig CartelHeartland Retail
Starting priceFree$150/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
FoundedUnknown1997

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 Heartland Retail does not also cover.

Only in Heartland Retail

  • Multi-store inventory
  • Cloud point of sale
  • Purchasing and receiving
  • Customer records
  • Sales and stock reporting
  • Integrated card processing
  • E-commerce integrations

What people use each for

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

Big Cartel

  • E-commerce store creationnot Heartland Retail
  • Physical and digital product salesnot Heartland Retail

Heartland Retail

  • A specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of themnot Big Cartel
  • Replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every storenot Big Cartel
  • A retailer whose buying team needs purchase orders and receiving rather than just a cash registernot Big Cartel
  • An existing Heartland processing customer consolidating software and payments under one suppliernot 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

Heartland Retail

  • The software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.
  • Leaving means changing till software and merchant account together, and since the payment terminals, the reporting history and the staff training are all tied to the same supplier, the switching cost is far higher than a software migration alone.
  • It is not an online store platform, so a merchant selling on the web still buys and maintains a separate e-commerce platform, and the stock and order integration between the two is an ongoing operational dependency rather than a one-off setup.
  • Historical sales and customer purchase history rarely migrate cleanly out of a point of sale system, so a retailer who switches typically starts with an empty history and keeps the old system read-only, paying for it, for years.
  • Heartland sits within Global Payments, a group that has repeatedly restructured its portfolio through acquisitions and divestitures, so which entity owns and invests in this specific product is not stable over a long contract term.

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

Heartland Retail

$150/month
  • Core$150/month
    • POS system
    • Inventory management
    • Customer management
  • Professional$350/month
    • All Core features
    • Omnichannel
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Big Cartel if

  • You want to start without paying.
Big Cartel review

Choose Heartland Retail if

  • You need multi-store inventory.
  • You also want cloud point of sale.
Heartland Retail review

Questions people ask

Is Big Cartel or Heartland Retail better?
Neither clearly leads. Big Cartel starts at Free and Heartland Retail at $150/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Big Cartel or Heartland Retail?
Big Cartel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Big Cartel and $150/month for Heartland Retail.
Does Big Cartel or Heartland Retail 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. Heartland Retail starts at $150/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 Heartland Retail is typically brought in for.
What can Big Cartel do that Heartland Retail cannot?
Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory, Cloud point of sale, Purchasing and receiving, Customer records.

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
Heartland Retail: Can I use it as my online store?

No. It manages the shop floor and stock. Selling online means a separate e-commerce platform and an integration to keep the catalogue and stock aligned.

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
Heartland Retail: Do I have to use Heartland for card processing?

The product is sold as part of a payments relationship, and that is where the supplier's margin sits. Ask explicitly what the software costs standalone before assuming you have a choice.

Big Cartel: Can I cancel Big Cartel anytime?

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

Source
Heartland Retail: What should I negotiate hardest on?

The card processing rate and the contract term, not the software subscription. Ask for interchange-plus pricing in writing rather than a blended rate.

Heartland Retail: What happens to my sales history if I leave?

Assume products and current stock export cleanly and that years of transaction history do not. Budget for keeping the old system available read-only during any transition.

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