Big Cartel vs Shopify: which fits your store?

Last verified 2026-10-01

Big Cartel and Shopify are both ecommerce platform tools compared here on pricing verified 2026-10-01, published plans, App Store standing, and themes from recent merchant reviews. Big Cartel starts cheaper (free vs ≈ $30/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	≈ $30/mo
Free tier	✓ yes	✗ no
Published plans	3	5
Data confidence	high	high

What would you actually pay?

Big Cartel plans

Plan	Monthly	Limits / notes
Gold	$0	Limited features
Platinum	$15	7-day free trial; $0 to start, then $15/month
Diamond	$30	No commitment; cancel anytime

Verified 2026-10-01 from vendor pricing page.

Shopify plans

Plan	Monthly	Limits / notes
Basic	≈ $30	10 inventory locations; no additional staff accounts listed; 50 synced marketplace orders/month free, then 1% up to $99 USD/month; 2% fee for third-party payment providers; limited checkout customization and API data access; 1 headless storefront.
Grow	≈ $83	Up to 5 staff accounts; 10 inventory locations; 50 synced marketplace orders/month free, then 1% up to $99 USD/month; 1% fee for third-party payment providers; limited checkout customization; full API data access; 1 headless storefront.
Advanced	≈ $430	Up to 15 staff accounts; 10 inventory locations; 50 synced marketplace orders/month free, then 1% up to $99 USD/month; 0.6% fee for third-party payment providers; limited checkout customization; up to 2x rate on select APIs; 1 headless storefront.
Plus	—	Unlimited staff accounts and B2B catalogs; 200 inventory locations; up to 200 POS Pro locations, with 20 locations included according to the comparison table; 50 synced marketplace orders/month free, then 1% up to $99 USD/month; 0.2% fee for third-party payment providers; full checkout customization and API data access; up to 10x rate on select APIs; 25 headless storefronts; up to 9 expansion stores.
POS Pro	≈ $89	Priced per physical retail location; includes advanced staff roles and permissions, in-store inventory management, in-store pickup, and flexible delivery.

≈ prices converted from EUR at 1.1205 (ECB, 2026-10-22).

Prices are displayed in EUR and were not converted to USD. Some credits, marketplace overage caps, and promotional benefits are separately stated in USD.

Verified 2026-10-01 from vendor pricing page.

FAQ

Which is cheaper, Big Cartel or Shopify?

Big Cartel starts lower at free, vs ≈ $30/mo for Shopify (verified 2026-10-01).

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.

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