Choosing the right e-commerce platform is crucial for online business success. Shopify and Big Cartel are two popular options, each catering to different needs. Shopify is known for its scalability and advanced features, making it ideal for growing businesses. Meanwhile, Big Cartel is tailored for artists and small-scale sellers, offering simplicity and affordability. In this article, we’ll compare the key features, pricing, and usability of both platforms to help you decide which one suits your business best.
Understanding Big Cartel
Big Cartel was established in the year 2005 to help business sell their creative work online. Traditionally it only catered to artists, photographers and creative makers, Big Cartel now has emerged as a rising platform with over 61,000 live websites. The Big Cartel popularity for small business that sells fashion, jewelry, music merchandise, and other creative handmade products has now made it a widely chosen platform.
While Big Cartel initially only focused on artistic services, it has now developed its focus to include all types of small businesses providing a seamless user-friendly experience.
Understanding Shopify
The popular e-commerce platform Shopify was started in 2006 and ever since has evolved into a home for various popular businesses with over 5.5 million live online stores and 8,300 employees. Unlike Big Cartel, Shopify caters to all types of business sizes from small startups to vast businesses like Tesla and Red Bull.
Shopify supports various industries such as fashion, health, electronics, food etc, unlike Big Cartel limitations to cater small businesses only. Shopify’s enhanced scalability makes it a great choice for businesses looking to grow their business with advanced features and user-friendly experience.
Big Cartel Pricing
Given Big Cartels aim to support small businesses, their paid plans are simpler and budget-friendly options for small businesses who have limited budgets and don’t need to sell vast amounts of products.
The popular platinum plan costs $15 monthly and allows you to sell up to 50 products. It includes features like inventory monitoring, better theme customization, and the ability to provide discounts. One of the major benefits of this is, the ability to implement Google Analytics which helps you track how visitors are interacting with your store. Additionally, this plan enables the user to add 5 images per product for better visuality.
For a business that wants to sell more products, the Diamond plan priced at $30 monthly lets you list up to 500 products, it also raises your limit to 25 images per product to showcase enhanced product elements visuality. Along with sharing the same features of platinum plan the diamond plan also offers advanced Google Analytics reporting.
Big Cartel plans are competitive, mostly if you are a startup or want to sell a limited amount of products. It’s a great choice for small businesses , artists and anyone who doesn’t require a vast online store.
Even with all these amazing features the product listing limitation can be a major challenge if your business inventory has more than 500 products or you need more scalable options.
Shopify Pricing
One of the most popular e-commerce platforms Shopify offers five different plans each tailored to meet the expectations of various types of businesses.
- Starter – $5 per month
- Basic – $39 per month
- Shopify – $105 per month
- Advanced – $399 per month
- Plus – Custom pricing, but starting at $2,300 per month
If you are planning to save a bit of money then Shopify provides a 25% discount if you pay annually instead of monthly. Additionally, the free 3 days trial offered by Shopify last shorten than other competitors’ platforms.
What’s Included in Each Plan
Shopify’s starter plan is a bit unique compared to competitors. It’s priced around $5 monthly and is specially designed for selling through social media channels like Facebook and Instagram, as well as messaging apps like WhatsApp. Additionally, it also enables users to use a “ Shopify button” which is a simple purchase button you can integrate into an already existing website.
However, this plan doesn’t provide you with a fully functional online store but only a few very basic features with limited customization options. For a more functional online store, you need to explore other plans of Shopify.
- Basic ($39 per month): This plan enables you to add 1 staff account.
- Shopify ($105 per month): This plan includes up to a maximum of 5 staff accounts and introduces professional reporting features. It also provides you access to ecommerce automation to easily streamline your workflow.
- Advanced ($399 per month): This plan provides up to 15 staff accounts, advanced reporting features, and enables you to easily calculate third-party shipping rates which will help big businesses manage complex shipping challenges
- Plus (starting at $2,300 per month): This plan is suitable for large enterprise-level businesses. It comes with advanced features and tools for security, APIs, fulfillment, and marketing automation. This plan cost is negotiable mostly based on the needs of your store.
One thing that sets Shopify apart is its built-in point-of-sale (POS) functionality, which allows you to sell products in physical locations like retail stores or market stalls. If you need more advanced POS features, you can also purchase a premium ‘POS Pro’ add-on.
Is Shopify Worth It?
Compared to other platforms Shopify’s cost can be on the higher side, especially if you are considering the advanced or plus plans. But the advanced features like powerful tools, active support and reliable scalability for your extended business needs can be a plus point.
If you’re just starting out or primarily selling on social media, the Starter plan is a great low-cost option. On the other hand, if you need a full-fledged online store with advanced features and reporting, you’ll likely want to consider the Basic, Shopify, or Advanced plans.
For large enterprises looking for maximum scalability and customization, the Plus plan is designed to handle even the most demanding e-commerce needs.
Overall, Shopify is a powerful and flexible platform, but it’s worth carefully considering which plan best suits your needs and budget before diving in.
Big Cartel vs Shopify: Key Features
Ease of Use
The Big Cartel platform is specially designed to keep things simple and easy. It’s developed for startups and artists who want to quickly set up an online store without going through any complex coding or customization. The setup process of the Big Cartel is easy with an easy-to-navigate dashboard, this simplicity helps those with little to no technical knowledge.
Shopify also provides a user-friendly experience but it has several features which can cause a bit of complexity for people with limited technical experience. Shopify’s advanced tools for tracking inventory, and managing marketing and sales, give businesses more enhanced control over their store. Although it might take a bit of time to learn, the powerful tools will be worth the effort if your business needs a lot more scalability and special features.
Customization and Flexibility
The Big Cartel platform has a drawback of limited customization options, it offers a few themes to select but provides very limited basic design options. This is a good option for small businesses or startups looking for minimum design needs.
Shopify provides very flexible customization options for users. It has a vast number of templates and themes most of which are highly customizable. Additionally, the Shopify platform comes with a third-party implementation that enables you to integrate any features you want for your store from SEO tools to enhanced checkout options for user experience.
Payment Options
When it comes to payment Big Cartel offers simple and easy payment options. It supports a few major payment getaways such as PayPal and Stripe, which is quite sufficient for startups or small businesses, however, these limited payment options can be a drawback for user experience as most customers prefer multiple payment options.
Shopify platform offers vast number of payment getaways over 100 in total., This is a great option for a business that wants to extend globally to customers. Additionally, Shopify payments help you save on transaction fees which is a major benefit for high sales volumes business.
Inventory Management
Big Cartel works well for small businesses with a limited product range. It offers basic inventory management features to help keep track of your products, but it’s not as comprehensive as some other platforms. For smaller shops that don’t need advanced tracking, this is usually enough.
Shopify provides much more robust inventory management. It’s built to handle large product catalogs, track stock levels, and even allow integration with third-party warehousing and shipping tools. If you plan to scale your business and need more control over inventory, Shopify’s system will be far more suited to your needs.
Who Should Use Big Cartel?
Big Cartel is perfect for artists, creators, and small businesses that don’t need a complex setup or advanced features. If you’re selling a small number of products and want something affordable, easy to use, and simple to manage, Big Cartel is a great choice. It’s especially suited for those who value ease of use over extensive customization.
Who Should Use Shopify?
Shopify is designed for businesses that are looking to grow and scale. Whether you’re just starting out or already running a fast-growing company, Shopify offers the flexibility, advanced customization, and powerful eCommerce tools you need. If your business requires more than basic functionality, Shopify’s robust features and scalability make it a top choice for entrepreneurs and enterprises alike.
Conclusion
Big Cartel is an excellent choice for small businesses, artists, and creators who need a simple, budget-friendly platform with essential features. On the other hand, Shopify is ideal for businesses looking to scale, offering extensive customization, powerful tools, and a global reach for those ready to grow their online stores.