The storefront for artists, makers, and small bands. Honest pricing, zero bloat.
Starts at Free (up to 5 products) · from $9.99/month · Best for artists & makers, band merch, small-batch creators.
Last reviewed November 2, 2026
Overview
Quick facts about Big Cartel.
- Launched
- 2005 (Salt Lake City)
- Headquarters
- Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Ownership
- Private (founder-owned)
- Scale
- ~70,000 active merchants
- Known for
- The default storefront for independent artists + bands since 2005.
Pros & cons
The honest breakdown.
What's great
- Honest flat pricing — $0, $9.99, $19.99, $29.99
- No transaction fees ever (just payment processor fees)
- Clean, artist-first themes that look modern out of the box
- No app clutter — the product does what it says
- Owned founder-run since 2005 — stable, not VC-pressured
- Perfect for small-batch, limited-edition drops
What to watch for
- Product cap on all plans (max 500 products on highest plan)
- Fewer themes vs Shopify
- No native blogging or deep content tools
- Limited internationalization
If you're an artist, musician, maker, or small-batch brand doing under 500 products and under $100K/year, Big Cartel is the cleanest, calmest storefront on the internet. Shopify is more capable but also 10x more complex and expensive. Pick Big Cartel for simplicity.
Ideal for
Artists, bands, makers, small-batch creators doing 1-500 SKUs and under $100K/year.
Skip it if
You need 500+ SKUs, you want deep SEO/content tooling, or you plan to go global with multi-currency.
Pricing plans
What each plan gives you (and what it costs).
Gold (Free)
$0
Transaction fee: 0% (just payment processor fees)
Best for
Testing the waters
- 5 products
- 1 image per product
- Basic themes
Platinum
$9.99
Transaction fee: 0%
Best for
Hobby makers
- 50 products
- Custom domain
- Discount codes
- Google Analytics
Diamond
$19.99
Transaction fee: 0%
Best for
Serious small-batch sellers
- 250 products
- Theme customization
- Inventory tracking
- Shipment tracking
Titanium
$29.99
Transaction fee: 0%
Best for
Growing but still small
- 500 products
- Priority support
- Advanced reports
💰 Costs the pricing page doesn't show
Budget for these on top of the subscription. They're normal — just not advertised.
Payment processing
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Stripe or PayPal — standard rate.
Custom themes
$50-$300 one-time
Free themes are good; marketplace adds variety.
Shipping labels
At cost (Shippo, ShipStation)
Big Cartel doesn't mark up shipping.
Real-world cost
What Big Cartel actually costs at your scale.
Subscription is just the floor. Here's realistic monthly total including apps, payment fees, and day-to-day tools — based on real stores we've built and maintained.
Revenue
$5K/year
~$10/mo
Platinum plan $10
Revenue
$30K/year
~$25/mo
Diamond or Titanium + processing
Revenue
$100K/year
~$40/mo
Titanium $30 + processing. At $100K, start considering Shopify for scale features.
Features
What's built-in, what's paid, what's missing.
Catalog (5-500 products)
Capped by plan
Checkout
Inventory tracking
Multi-currency
Free themes
Theme customization (HTML/CSS)
Diamond+
Mobile responsive
App marketplace
Deliberately not one
Discount codes
Platinum+
Email list integration (Mailchimp)
Social share
Native blog
Google Analytics
Native sales reports
Basic
Shopify-level advanced reports
Facebook/TikTok pixel
Global readiness
Can you actually sell globally on Big Cartel?
Multi-currency, multi-language, local payment methods, regional tax compliance — the four pillars of international commerce. Here's where Big Cartel lands on each.
Countries
Global (seller location limited to US/CA/UK/AU/EU for payment)
Currencies
Single currency per store
Languages
English
Tax compliance
US sales tax basic, EU VAT basic (seller handles)
Local payment methods supported
Strongest in
Weak in
How it compares
Big Cartel vs the main alternatives.
The head-to-head that actually matters — what each platform wins on, based on 19 years of delivering both.
Simplicity vs capability.
Big Cartel wins on
- Cheaper for <500 SKU stores
- Simpler onboarding
- No app bloat
- No transaction fee
Shopify wins on
- Unlimited products
- App ecosystem
- Multi-currency
- SEO + blog depth
Artist-focused vs design-first.
Big Cartel wins on
- Cheaper
- Faster setup
- Zero transaction fee
Squarespace wins on
- Better design templates
- Blog + portfolio features
- Email marketing included
Migration
Moving in, and moving out.
What it actually takes to get onto Big Cartel — and how painful it is if you outgrow it later. No vendor lock-in surprises.
Moving to Big Cartel
Here's what it typically takes to migrate from common starting points.
Typical time
1-5 days
Typical cost
$0-$300
Downshifting from Shopify to Big Cartel for simplicity. Products export cleanly as CSV.
Leaving Big Cartel later
How hard is it if this isn't the right platform for you in 2-3 years? (Honest vendor lock-in reality.)
CSV export of products + customers. Shopify imports Big Cartel data easily when you're ready to scale.
Social proof
Brands that run on Big Cartel.
~70,000 indie artists + makers
Art, music, crafts, zines
SMBMany indie record labels
Music merch
SMBFAQ
People ask us this a lot.
Big Cartel vs Shopify for a small band?+
Big Cartel wins for bands under 500 products: $19.99/mo flat vs Shopify's $29/mo + apps + transaction fees. Setup is 10 minutes. For bands scaling past 500 SKUs, limited edition drops, or needing CRM/email, migrate to Shopify.
What's the real cost at Big Cartel?+
Platform: $0-$29.99/month depending on products. Payment processing: 2.9% + $0.30 (Stripe/PayPal). That's it — no transaction fee on top. Compare to Shopify at $29 + 2.9% + $0.30 (Shopify Payments) with $0 extra transaction fee, so pricing is comparable only when you're small.
Does Big Cartel support international selling?+
Basic. One currency per store, no multi-language. Fine for selling to a global audience in USD/GBP/EUR but not for building truly local experiences.
Can I use my own domain?+
Yes — custom domain on all paid plans ($9.99+). Free plan uses yourstore.bigcartel.com.
Who owns Big Cartel?+
Private, founder-owned since 2005 (Matt Wigham). Deliberately not VC-funded — they've resisted the enshittification playbook. 70,000+ merchants, profitable, remote team of ~30.
Find what's slowing your Big Cartel store down.
We've audited 500+ stores. Big Cartel has predictable failure modes — get the prioritized fix list specific to your store.
- 12 dimensions audited (performance, SEO, security, conversion + more)
- Done by Dharmendra (20 yrs, 500+ stores)
- Razorpay USD/INR · NDA-protected · 24-hr refund
Still unsure if Big Cartel is right for you?
Book a 30-minute call. I'll tell you honestly — even if the answer is "pick something else."
Book a call · $29