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Ecommerce platform

Big Cartel

The creator's storefront, still serving artists loyally.

Also known as BigCartel

  • Starting priceFrom $15/mo
  • ModelSaaS subscription
  • Sold toStarter
  • Last checkedOctober 2026

What merchants praise and criticise about Big Cartel103 merchant opinions analysed, October 2026

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Big Cartel at a glance

Commercial model
SaaS subscription
Architecture
IntegratedBack end and storefront ship as one product. APIs may exist, but the bundled storefront is the main way to sell.
Deployment
Cloud SaaS
Headless
Headless limitedAPIs exist, but there is no official headless storefront support. No
Founded
2005
Headquarters
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Who Big Cartel suits

Independent artists, musicians, makers and print-on-demand creators with small catalogues.

Approximate fit by business scaleGuidance from vendor positioning and documented merchants, not a guarantee. Complexity matters as much as revenue.

  • Under $50K GMVStrong fit
  • $50K to $500KLess typical
  • $500K to $10MLess typical
  • $10M to $100MLess typical
  • $100M+Less typical

Strong fit up to $50K GMV.

Strengths

Artist-friendly pricing, simple product-first approach, no transaction fees, minimal admin.

Limitations

Very limited features beyond basic selling, small product caps, no advanced marketing tools.

Big Cartel reviews: what merchants praise and criticise

From 103 merchant opinions in reviews and discussions we analysed, October 2026. App-store reviews are weighted to match each app's published star ratings, because people who write reviews are more often unhappy than people who only rate.

37% positive·62% negative·1% mixed

Weighted balance of merchant opinion.

Admin app, Google Play
3.3 from 281 ratings
Admin app, App Store
4.7 from 6,835 ratings

Big Cartel pros, from merchant reviews

Share of all praise in the opinions we analysed.

  • Mobile app

    34%

    Merchants in our sample praise the Big Cartel admin app for tracking stock, sales and orders, and describe it as easy to use. Some note the updated app runs smoothly and matches desktop functionality, with one linking its usefulness to startups.

Big Cartel cons, from merchant reviews

Share of all criticism in the opinions we analysed.

  • Mobile app

    65%

    The discussions we analysed most often describe the admin app crashing, freezing, loading slowly or repeatedly logging users out, with several linking problems to recent updates. Merchants also report removed features, such as photo management, inventory tracking and shipping labels, and unreliable order notifications.

Problems raised on support forums

Share of support-forum posts and help requests that name each problem area. Counted separately because people post on support forums when something has gone wrong.

  • Mobile app38%
  • Reliability13%
  • Content and blogging13%
  • SEO13%
  • Shipping and fulfilment13%

Big Cartel pricing

From $15/mo

Published starting price for the software or plan only. It does not include hosting, apps, implementation, development or running costs.

Plans
Gold free (5 products), Platinum $15/mo (50 products), Diamond $30/mo (500 products).
Transaction fees
None
Billing
Platinum $15/mo, Diamond $30/mo; free Gold plan
Hosting included
Yes
Quote only
No

Big Cartel costs beyond the subscription

Share of merchant, developer and agency discussions about what Big Cartel costs to run that name each cost. A share of those discussions, not of all merchants.

  • Plan subscription93%
  • Platform transaction fees30%
  • Payment processing4%
  • Paid apps4%

Big Cartel capabilities

Recorded as built in, in a paid tier or first-party module, through third-party apps only, or not documented.

  • B2B / wholesale

    Not documented

    Not documented.

  • Multi-currency

    No

    Not offered.

  • Multi-language

    Via apps

    Third-party apps only.

  • Multi-store

    Not documented

    Not documented.

  • Point of sale

    Built in

    Built in. Paid plans only; card payments via Stripe.

  • Subscriptions

    Higher tier

    Paid tier or first-party module. Monthly cycle only per help article.

  • Multi-vendor marketplace

    Not documented

    Not documented.

Where Big Cartel needs an app, developer or higher plan

Named in at least three separate discussions in our research.

  • More product listingsa higher plan
  • Bloggingan app
  • Theme code editinga higher plan

Big Cartel market position and merchants

74,224 live stores on Big Cartel, down 61% year on year (Store Leads, 2026 Q2).

Documented merchants

  • Black Label Skateboards
  • Steve's Coffee
  • The Card Chop

From vendor case studies or platform signals on the merchant's live site. Examples, not endorsements.

Platforms to compare with Big Cartel

Sold to the same segment, ordered by how many of the same capabilities the vendor provides.