Big Cartel vs Ecwid
We give Big Cartel a 2.8 GPA and Ecwid a 2.2, out of 4.0. Big Cartel grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. Ecwid grades higher on features. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Big Cartel
Simple online store for artists, makers and independent sellers
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABig CartelGood | 2.2GPAEcwidFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPlatinum is $12 a month on yearly billing ($15 monthly) with your own domain, labels and stock tracking, which sits in the cheap quarter of this category. Prices are flat with no Big Cartel fee on sales, so you only pay your payment provider. | CStarter is $5 a month, but that's 10 products on a company.site address. A shop on its own domain starts with Venture at $29 a month on yearly billing ($35 monthly), the category's middle. Ecwid charges no fee on sales on any plan. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free Gold plan is a real shop, with card and PayPal checkout and sales tax handled, but it's 5 products, one template and no custom domain. You'll hit that fast. There's also a 7-day trial of Platinum. | FNothing free: no free plan, and the pricing page mentions no trial. The cheapest way in is Starter at $5 a month, which is cheap but not free. |
| Features | CIt does the basics well: physical and digital products, unlimited labels, stock tracking, in-person sales and print-on-demand apps. But it's a simple toolbox, Google Shopping is the one outside channel named, and the pricing pages don't say how many products paid plans allow. | BThe whole job is here: a store you can embed anywhere or build from 70+ templates, tax at checkout, carrier rates, labels, stock per variation, abandoned-cart emails and subscriptions. Marketplace selling goes through third-party apps, but the core is complete. |
| Ease of use | A4.74 from about 6,800 App Store ratings, among the best here. Pick a template, add your products and you're open. | B4.62 from 1,255 App Store ratings. Adding the store to a site you already run is the easy route, with no new website to build. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with PayPal, Afterpay, Venmo, Google Shopping and Etsy imports, and Zapier's 7,000+ apps on Diamond. No desktop app, so not an A. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with WordPress, Stripe, Square, Clover, Mailchimp, Amazon, eBay and Instagram, plus an App Market from Venture. No desktop app, so it stops at B. |
| Best for | artists and makers selling small runs | adding a shop to the website you already have |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Big Cartel and Ecwid. How we grade
Price against what you get
Big Cartel starts at $12 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Ecwid starts at $5 a month and scores 3.0.
They score the same, and Ecwid starts $7 a month lower. Of the other online store builders on the chart, none scores higher than Big Cartel for less, and none scores higher than Ecwid for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Big Cartel starts at $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly). Ecwid starts at $5 per month (Starter).
- Big Cartel has a free plan. Ecwid does not.
At a glance
| Big Cartel | Ecwid | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) | $5 per month (Starter) |
| Free plan | Gold plan: 5 product listings, one template, card and PayPal checkout, sales tax autopilot and real-time stats, with no credit card required. Custom domains need a paid plan. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Platinum | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Big Cartel, LLC | Ecwid by Lightspeed |
| Price read from | bigcartel.com | ecwid.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Big Cartel
- Artists, bands and makers selling merch or small runs of their own work
- Sellers with a small catalog who want a flat, low monthly price
- Shops that release limited product drops on a schedule
Ecwid
- Owners of an existing website who want to add a store without rebuilding
- Small shops with a short catalog that want a low monthly price
- Sellers who show the same catalog on several sites and social channels
Worth knowing
Big Cartel
- The free Gold plan allows only 5 products and one template, with no custom domain.
- Abandoned-cart recovery, scheduled drops, automatic discounts and Zapier need Diamond at $30 a month, or $24 billed annually.
- The pricing pages do not state how many products Platinum and Diamond allow, beyond saying the paid plans add listings.
- Card and PayPal processing fees come from the payment provider; Big Cartel advertises flat monthly prices with no hidden fees.
Ecwid
- There is no free plan, and Starter allows only 10 products, with no mobile app, App Market or live chat support.
- Ecwid charges no transaction fees on any plan, but the payment provider you connect charges its own processing fees.
- Marketplace selling needs Business and third-party apps that may charge extra; in-person POS syncing needs Unlimited.
- The pricing page mentions no free trial, and staff accounts start on Business with 2 seats.
Key features
Big Cartel
- Templates and shop design
- Start from a template in Big Cartel's free library and change the design without code. The free Gold plan is limited to the Cosmos template.
- Physical and digital products
- Sell physical goods and downloads with size and color variants, edit products in bulk and import listings from Etsy, Squarespace and Shopify.
- Shipping labels and tracking
- Print unlimited shipping labels with discounts of up to 90% on postage, track shipments and keep count of stock on the paid plans.
- Payments and in-person sales
- Take cards, wallets, Venmo, PayPal and Afterpay online, and sell in person by taking payments on a phone with the iOS and Android app.
- Apps, Zapier and promotions
- Install apps for print-on-demand and product reviews, run discounts and a Google Shopping connection, and on Diamond link 7,000+ apps through Zapier.
Ecwid
- Add a store to any website
- Embed the store on an existing site built with WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or another platform, or on several sites at once, and manage it all from one account.
- Instant Site builder
- Build a store site without code from more than 70 templates on a free company.site address, or connect your own domain; Venture and higher can buy one inside Ecwid.
- Social, marketplace and in-person selling
- Sell on Instagram and Facebook from Venture, on Amazon, eBay and Walmart through third-party apps from Business, and in store through Square, Clover or Lightspeed on Unlimited.
- Tax, shipping and stock
- Calculate sales tax at checkout, show carrier rates, generate shipping labels and track stock with low-stock alerts, including stock per product variation.
- Marketing automation
- Automated emails, abandoned-cart reminders, coupons, scheduled promotions, a Mailchimp sync and catalog ads on Meta and TikTok.
- Subscriptions and digital goods
- Sell downloads of up to 25 GB per file from Venture, and bill recurring subscriptions from Business through Lightspeed Payments or Stripe.
Plans
Big Cartel
Gold$0
5 product listings, the Cosmos template, size and color variants, card and PayPal checkout, automatic sales tax and real-time stats.
Platinum$12
per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
Custom domain, physical and digital products, shipping labels and tracking, design changes, apps, in-person sales and inventory tracking.
Diamond$24
per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Adds abandoned-cart recovery, scheduled product drops, password-protected products, automatic discounts, Zapier and priority support.
Ecwid
Starter$5
per month
Up to 10 products, 70+ site templates on a company.site address, a store you can add to any site, and email support.
Venture$29
per month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
Up to 100 products and digital goods, Instagram and Facebook selling, the mobile app, App Market, automated tax, coupons and live chat support.
Business$49
per month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)
Up to 2,500 products, marketplaces, subscriptions, abandoned-cart recovery, wholesale pricing groups, 2 staff accounts and phone support.
Unlimited$119
per month, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)
Unlimited products and staff accounts, in-person selling through a POS integration, 500 scheduled promotions and priority support.
Ways to pay less
Big Cartel
- Annual discount
Pay annually to save 20%
Platinum costs $144 a year ($12 a month) against $15 monthly, and Diamond $288 a year ($24 a month) against $30 monthly.
Ecwid
- Annual discount
Pay annually to save 16%
Venture costs $29 a month billed annually against $35 monthly, Business $49 against $65, and Unlimited $119 against $149. Starter is $5 either way.
