Software · head to head
Retail Pro vs Big Cartel
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Retail Pro pricing details not disclosed; requires sales consultation; 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 Retail Pro and Big Cartel actually diverge.
| Attribute | Retail Pro | Big Cartel |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Unknown | subscription |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Windows | Web |
| Founded | 1988 | Unknown |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Retail Pro
- Point of sale
- Inventory management
- Customer database
- Employee management
- Sales analytics
- Promotion management
- Multi-store support
- Reporting tools
Only in Big Cartel
Nothing recorded that Retail Pro does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Retail Pro
- Multi-location retail POS operations (1 to 250+ stores)not Big Cartel
- Inventory management with serialized product trackingnot Big Cartel
- Customer loyalty programs via AppCard integrationnot Big Cartel
Big Cartel
No use cases recorded yet. See the Big Cartel review.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Retail Pro
- Pricing details not disclosed; requires sales consultation
- No published technical requirements or system specifications
- International deployment requires fiscal/tax compliance consultation per region
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
Retail Pro
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Retail Pro review.
Big Cartel
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Big Cartel review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Retail Pro if
- You need point of sale.
- You work on iOS, Android, Windows.
- You also want inventory management.
Choose Big Cartel if
Nothing in the data separates Big Cartel from Retail Pro on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is Retail Pro or Big Cartel better?
- Neither clearly leads. Retail Pro starts at On request and Big Cartel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Retail Pro or Big Cartel?
- Retail Pro starts at On request and Big Cartel at On request.
- Does Retail Pro or Big Cartel run on more platforms?
- Retail Pro runs on iOS, Android, Windows. Big Cartel runs on Web.
- What is Retail Pro best used for?
- Retail Pro is most often used for multi-location retail pos operations (1 to 250+ stores), inventory management with serialized product tracking, customer loyalty programs via appcard integration. Of those, multi-location retail pos operations (1 to 250+ stores) and inventory management with serialized product tracking are not what Big Cartel is typically brought in for.
- What can Retail Pro do that Big Cartel cannot?
- Retail Pro covers Point of sale, Inventory management, Customer database, Employee management.