Big Cartel vs Snipcart (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Big Cartel: it is second in our ranking of online store builders, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Big Cartel grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and 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
Snipcart
Shopping cart and checkout for any website, built for developers
Which one is for you
Pick Big Cartel if
- Fits if you're an artist, band or maker selling merch or small batches
- Works for a small catalog at a flat $12 a month on yearly billing
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for larger shops, as it's built for small catalogs and keeps its tools simple
- Tight if you stay free, as Gold allows 5 products, one template and no custom domain
- Pricey if you want abandoned-cart recovery, drops, automatic discounts or Zapier, all on Diamond at $24 a month yearly
- Watch out: the pricing pages don't say how many products Platinum and Diamond allow
- Watch out: card and PayPal fees still come from your payment provider, and the Platinum trial lasts 7 days
Pick Snipcart if
- Fits if you are a developer adding a shop to a static or custom site
- Works for small stores that want unlimited products and variants on one flat price
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a ready-made storefront, since you build the pages yourself
- Pricey if sales pass $1,000 a month, because the cost becomes 2% of sales on top of the gateway's fees
- Watch out: there are no feature tiers, so the price is the only lever
- Watch out: the pricing page bills in USD only
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABig CartelGood | 2.0GPASnipcartFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 lowest-priced quarter of this category. Prices are flat with no Big Cartel fee on sales, so you only pay your payment provider. | B$20 a month for stores under $1,000 in monthly sales, against $29 for the cheaper quarter of online-store builders. Past $1,000 it is 2% of sales plus gateway fees. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free Gold plan takes card and PayPal checkout and handles sales tax, 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. | CTest mode is free forever with no card, but a live store always pays. There is no free plan for real sales. |
| Features | CIt covers the basics: 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. | DIt is a cart, not a store. You bring the site, the pages and the product display, so it is no use without a site built elsewhere. |
| Ease of use | A4.74 from about 6,800 App Store ratings, above our line for an A. Pick a template, add your products and the shop is open. | DNo store rating on record. Setup means adding code to your pages and styling the cart yourself. |
| 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 only, with a full API and webhooks, six payment gateways, PayPal Express Checkout, TaxCloud and TaxJar. |
| Best for | artists and makers selling small runs | a shopping cart added to a site you already built |
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 Snipcart. 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. Snipcart starts at $20 a month and scores 1.7.
Big Cartel scores higher and starts $8 a month lower. Of the other online store builders on the chart, none scores higher than Big Cartel for less, and 5 score higher than Snipcart 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 also covers shipping labels.
At a glance
| Big Cartel | Snipcart | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) | $20 per month under $1,000 in monthly sales, otherwise 2% of sales |
| 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 | Snipcart inc. |
| Price read from | bigcartel.com | snipcart.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
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.
Snipcart
- Above $1,000 a month in sales the cost is 2% of sales, on top of the payment gateway's own fees.
- There are no feature tiers; the pricing page lists one set of features for every live store.
- It is a cart for an existing site, so you build or supply the storefront yourself.
- The pricing page is billed in USD.
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.
Snipcart
- Cart in your own page
- The cart and checkout run inside your site, with no redirect to another domain to confirm a purchase.
- Products and variants
- Unlimited physical and digital products, subscriptions, variants and discounts on every account.
- APIs and webhooks
- A full set of APIs and webhooks connect orders to other tools, and a custom payment gateway is supported.
- Shipping and tax
- Custom shipping methods, real-time shipping estimates, unlimited tax rates, and TaxCloud and TaxJar integrations.
- Store management
- A merchant dashboard with inventory management, customizable invoices and emails, abandoned-cart recovery and multi-currency.
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.
Snipcart
Test mode$0
Forever-free test development with no credit card; for building and testing the cart before taking real orders.
Live store$20
per month for stores under $1,000 in monthly sales
Above $1,000 a month in sales, the flat fee is replaced by 2% of each transaction. Payment gateway fees are extra.
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.
Snipcart
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Big Cartel or Snipcart?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Big Cartel is cheaper to start with: $12 a month, against $20 a month for Snipcart. Big Cartel starts at $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly), and Snipcart starts at $20 per month under $1,000 in monthly sales, otherwise 2% of sales.
Which has a free plan, Big Cartel or Snipcart?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Big Cartel has a free plan. Snipcart does not.
Which platforms do Big Cartel and Snipcart run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Big Cartel lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.