Big Cartel vs Shopify: which fits your store?

Last verified 2026-08-29 some data medium/low confidence

Big Cartel and Shopify are both ecommerce platform tools compared here on pricing verified 2026-08-29, published plans, App Store standing, and themes from recent merchant reviews. Big Cartel starts cheaper (free vs ≈ $31/mo); Big Cartel has a free tier, Shopify does not. — auto-generated from tracked data; editorial verdict pending.

How do Big Cartel and Shopify compare?

	Big Cartel	Shopify
App Store rating	—	—
Price from	free	≈ $31/mo
Free tier	✓ yes	✗ no
Published plans	3	5
Data confidence	medium	high

What would you actually pay?

Big Cartel plans

Plan	Monthly	Limits / notes
Gold (Free)	$0	Limited features
Platinum	$15	7 days free trial, then $15/mo
Diamond	$30	No commitment, cancel anytime

Verified 2026-08-08 from vendor pricing page.

Shopify plans

Plan	Monthly	Limits / notes
Basic	≈ $31	10 inventory locations; no additional staff accounts listed; up to 3 B2B catalogs; 50 synced marketplace orders/month free, then 1% up to $99 USD/month; 1 headless storefront; 2% fee for third-party payment providers
Grow	≈ $86	10 inventory locations; up to 5 staff accounts; up to 3 B2B catalogs; 50 synced marketplace orders/month free, then 1% up to $99 USD/month; 1 headless storefront; 1% fee for third-party payment providers
Advanced	≈ $446	10 inventory locations; up to 15 staff accounts; up to 3 B2B catalogs; 50 synced marketplace orders/month free, then 1% up to $99 USD/month; 1 headless storefront; up to 2x API rates on select APIs; 0.6% fee for third-party payment providers
Plus	≈ $2441	200 inventory locations; unlimited staff accounts and B2B catalogs; 25 headless storefronts; up to 10x API rates on select APIs; up to 9 free expansion stores; 20 POS Pro locations included; 0.2% fee for third-party payment providers
POS Pro	≈ $92	Priced per physical retail location; Plus includes 20 locations

≈ prices converted from EUR at 1.1622 (ECB, 2026-09-07).

Subscription prices are shown in EUR and were not converted to USD. Some ancillary limits, credits, and fees are displayed in USD.

Verified 2026-08-29 from vendor pricing page.

FAQ

Which is cheaper, Big Cartel or Shopify?

Big Cartel starts lower at free, vs ≈ $31/mo for Shopify (verified 2026-08-29).

Does Big Cartel or Shopify have a free plan?

Big Cartel has a free tier; Shopify does not publish one.

Which is rated higher on the Shopify App Store?

App Store ratings are shown in the table above where available.

How we compare: pricing and plans are collected automatically from vendor pages on a schedule and shown with verification dates; ratings come from the Shopify App Store; merchant sentiment is synthesized from the most recent App Store reviews (paraphrased, never quoted). We currently have no affiliate relationship with either vendor. Found an error? The data snapshot behind this page is dated — check the vendor's page for same-day changes.

Related comparisons

Big Cartel vs Adobe Commerce (Magento) · Big Cartel vs BigCommerce · Big Cartel vs Ecwid · Big Cartel vs Fourthwall · Big Cartel vs Medusa · Big Cartel vs Saleor