The Short Answer: Shopify is the better long-term choice for most online businesses because it offers stronger SEO tools, more customization options, and a deeper app ecosystem to scale with. Big Cartel works for independent artists or hobby sellers with five or fewer products who want a free plan with a simple setup.
Picking the right e-commerce platform shapes how easily you can sell, market, and grow. This guide walks through the key differences between Shopify and Big Cartel so you can pick the platform that fits your specific needs and gives your online store room to grow.
Quick Snapshot: Big Cartel vs Shopify
Here is how the two e-commerce platforms compare at a glance:
Big Cartel Pricing Explained
Big Cartel keeps pricing simple and is built around how many products you sell. The platform offers a free plan and two paid plans:
- Gold (Free): Up to 5 products, no custom domain
- Platinum ($15/month): Up to 50 products, custom domain, theme code editing
- Diamond ($30/month): Up to 500 products, abandoned cart recovery, priority support
Big Cartel does not charge transaction fees, but you still pay your payment processor. Stripe and PayPal each charge around 2.9% + $0.30 per sale.
What Big Cartel Users Get
- A simple website builder with limited customization
- Free themes that are mobile-friendly
- Inventory management on paid plans
- Basic shipping rate setup
- Discount codes (paid plans only)
Where Big Cartel Falls Short
- No native blog or content marketing tools
- No native email marketing
- No abandoned cart recovery on the free or Platinum plans
- Limited third-party app integrations
- No live chat support, only email during business hours
Shopify Pricing Explained
Shopify offers four main plans plus a starter option, with pricing built around the features and reporting your online business needs:
- Basic ($39/month): Unlimited products, abandoned cart recovery, basic reports
- Grow ($105/month): Lower transaction fees, professional reports, 5 staff accounts
- Advanced ($399/month): Custom reports, 15 staff accounts, lowest transaction fees outside of Plus
- Shopify Plus (starts at $2,300/month): Enterprise features for high-volume brands
Shopify Payments waives transaction fees entirely. Using a third-party payment processor adds a 0.6% to 2% fee depending on your plan.
Features That Matter for Growth
When you compare Big Cartel vs Shopify on the features that drive online sales, the gap widens fast.
SEO and Search Engines
Shopify gives you customizable URLs, meta titles, meta descriptions, schema markup, a built-in blog, and clean site architecture, which is why dedicated Shopify SEO services can move the needle on organic traffic so quickly. These advanced features help your store rank in search engines and pull in organic traffic at scale. Big Cartel auto-generates basic meta tags but does not include a blog, structured data tools, or the deeper SEO controls growing brands need. If organic traffic matters to your online business, Shopify wins.
App Integrations
The Shopify App Store gives you thousands of third-party apps for email marketing, reviews, loyalty programs, shipping, and more. Big Cartel has a small library of integrations, which limits what you can automate or customize.
Inventory Management
Both platforms track inventory, but Shopify supports unlimited products, multi-location inventory, and barcode scanning. Big Cartel caps you at 500 products on the Diamond plan, which is a hard ceiling for any growing brand.
Customization Options
Shopify themes are flexible, with both free and paid options that you can customize through a visual editor or by editing Liquid code. Big Cartel offers around 17 free themes with limited editing. Growing brands often outgrow what Big Cartel allows visually.
Customer Support
Shopify offers 24/7 live chat support across every plan. Big Cartel offers email support during business hours only. For business owners who run their store outside of 9 to 5, this difference matters.
Who Big Cartel Is Built For
Big Cartel is a strong fit for a narrow group:
- Independent artists, musicians, and crafters
- Sellers with 5 or fewer products
- Hobby sellers who do not plan to scale
- Anyone who wants a free plan with no long-term commitment
If your goal is to put a few products online without monthly fees, Big Cartel does that well. The simple user interface and free theme library make it easy to launch fast.
Who Shopify Is Built For
Shopify is built for any business that wants room to grow:
- Small businesses with plans to scale
- E-commerce brands with growing product catalogs
- Stores that need email marketing, abandoned cart recovery, and discount codes built in
- Brands that sell physical and digital products
- Businesses that want strong SEO performance and a real content marketing strategy
Even smaller businesses benefit from starting on Shopify. The Basic plan covers most of what you need, and the platform grows with you instead of forcing a migration later.
When You Should Switch From Big Cartel to Shopify
If you started on Big Cartel and your online shop is growing, here are the signs it is time to switch:
- You have hit the 500-product ceiling on Big Cartel's Diamond plan
- You want to run email marketing campaigns natively
- You need abandoned cart recovery on every order, not just Diamond
- Your customers expect features like product reviews, loyalty programs, or subscriptions
- You want stronger SEO and rankings in search results
- You are paying for multiple third-party tools to fill feature gaps
Once you are spending $50 or more per month on supplementary tools, Shopify's $39 Basic plan is usually the smarter financial move.
Quick Tips for Choosing the Right E-Commerce Platform
- Think two years ahead, not two months. Pick the platform that fits where you want to be, not just where you are today.
- Factor in payment gateway fees. Big Cartel saves on monthly fees but charges the same payment processor rates as Shopify.
- Count the apps. If you need email marketing, reviews, or analytics, those add up fast on Big Cartel.
- Try before you commit. Shopify offers a free trial and a $1/month promo for the first three months, so you can build out a real store before paying full price.
Pick the Right Platform for Your Business
For independent artists with a small product catalog and no plans to scale, Big Cartel is a fine entry point. For everyone else, Shopify is the stronger long-term choice. The advanced features, app store, SEO tools, and 24/7 support give online businesses the tools they actually need to grow, instead of patching gaps with third-party apps.
If you are launching a Shopify store or thinking about migrating from Big Cartel, 20North can help. Our team handles Shopify development, Shopify SEO, and Shopify migrations so your transition protects your search rankings and sets your store up for long-term growth.
Get in touch to talk to our experts about what makes sense for your business.
