What is Big Cartel used for?

Big Cartel is a hosted store builder for artists, makers and small businesses, with templates, product imports and tools for physical and digital goods. It is a good fit for artists selling prints and merchandise, musicians selling releases and merch, and small makers moving off a marketplace.

Yes. Big Cartel has a free plan, and paid plans start at $15 per month. A free trial is also available.

Is Big Cartel open source?

No. Big Cartel is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Big Cartel include EverShop, WooCommerce and PrestaShop.

What are some alternatives to Big Cartel?

Big Cartel competes with Etsy, Square Online and Ecwid. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Big Cartel alternatives.

Big Cartel: features, pricing and alternatives

About Big Cartel

Big Cartel is a hosted online store builder designed for artists, makers and other independent merchants. A seller picks a customizable template, adds products, sets up shipping, payments and design details, and publishes a store without writing code.

Stores can sell physical goods, digital goods such as design templates and music files, and print-on-demand items that providers print and ship. Merchandising features include discounts, scheduled product drops and exclusive access, and social selling tools connect a shop to Instagram, Facebook and Google Shopping. Products can be imported directly from Shopify, Etsy or Squarespace.

Big Cartel is a commercial service whose pricing starts at $0, with higher tiers listed on its pricing page. It suits small creative businesses that want a simple storefront and a community of fellow sellers rather than a large enterprise platform.

Key features

Customizable store templates
Product import from Shopify, Etsy and Squarespace
Physical, digital and print-on-demand products
Discounts and scheduled product drops
Instagram, Facebook and Google Shopping links
No-code shop designer

Good fit for

→Artists selling prints and merchandise
→Musicians selling releases and merch
→Small makers moving off a marketplace

Tags: ecommerce; online-store; artists; makers; print-on-demand; digital-products; saas

Big Cartel: questions and answers

What is Big Cartel used for?: Big Cartel is a hosted store builder for artists, makers and small businesses, with templates, product imports and tools for physical and digital goods. It is a good fit for artists selling prints and merchandise, musicians selling releases and merch, and small makers moving off a marketplace.
Is Big Cartel free?: Yes. Big Cartel has a free plan, and paid plans start at $15 per month. A free trial is also available.
Is Big Cartel open source?: No. Big Cartel is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Big Cartel include EverShop, WooCommerce and PrestaShop.
What are some alternatives to Big Cartel?: Big Cartel competes with Etsy, Square Online and Ecwid. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Big Cartel alternatives.