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E-commerce & Retail · head to head

PrestaShop vs Big Cartel

PrestaShop logo

PrestaShop

E-commerce & Retail

Open-source ecommerce platform for online merchants

From
Free
Rated
-
Big Cartel logo

Big Cartel

E-commerce & Retail

Straightforward pricing, no surprises

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only PrestaShop has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PrestaShop prestaShop's Classic core is free and open source, but the Hosted managed edition and most marketplace modules (payment, shipping, SEO addons) are priced individually with no published rate card, only listed per-module in the Addons marketplace.; Big Cartel custom domain support is not included on the free Gold plan; it is listed as a Platinum-tier feature

Where they differ

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

Attributes where PrestaShop and Big Cartel differ
AttributePrestaShopBig Cartel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
Free tierYesNo
Founded2007Unknown

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

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 PrestaShop

  • Product catalog management
  • Order management
  • Payment gateway integration
  • Shipping module
  • Customer management
  • SEO tools
  • Analytics
  • Mobile-responsive design

Only in Big Cartel

Nothing recorded that PrestaShop does not also cover.

Where each one falls short

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

PrestaShop

  • PrestaShop's Classic core is free and open source, but the Hosted managed edition and most marketplace modules (payment, shipping, SEO addons) are priced individually with no published rate card, only listed per-module in the Addons marketplace.

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

Pricing, plan by plan

PrestaShop

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Core ecommerce features
    • Community support
    • Modules marketplace
  • Enterprise Edition$3999/year
    • All Community features
    • Premium support
    • Advanced analytics

Big Cartel

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Big Cartel review.

Which should you pick?

Choose PrestaShop if

  • You need product catalog management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want order management.

Choose Big Cartel if

Nothing in the data separates Big Cartel from PrestaShop on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Questions people ask

Is PrestaShop or Big Cartel better?
Neither clearly leads. PrestaShop starts at Free and Big Cartel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PrestaShop or Big Cartel?
PrestaShop has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for PrestaShop and On request for Big Cartel.
Does PrestaShop or Big Cartel run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use PrestaShop for free?
Yes. PrestaShop has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Big Cartel starts at On request.
What can PrestaShop do that Big Cartel cannot?
PrestaShop covers Product catalog management, Order management, Payment gateway integration, Shipping module.

Related pages

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