Big Cartel vs Square Online
We give Big Cartel a 2.8 GPA and Square Online a 2.6, out of 4.0. Big Cartel grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Square Online grades higher on the free plan and 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
Square Online
Online store builder that shares stock and payments with Square POS
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABig CartelGood | 2.6GPASquare OnlineGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CA store on your own domain means Square Plus at $49 a month per location, with no yearly rate on record. That's the dear end of this category, though Plus covers Square's point of sale and invoices too. Square's own cut is its card rate: 2.9% + 30¢ online on Plus. |
| 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. | BSquare Free is a real store with no monthly fee: SEO tools, pickup, local delivery and shipping labels. The catches are a Square web address and online cards at 3.3% + 30¢ rather than 2.9% + 30¢. There's a 30-day trial of Plus or Premium too. |
| 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. | BIt covers the whole job: a builder with SEO tools, one stock count with your shop, pickup, local delivery, bulk labels with discounted US rates, and Afterpay. Abandoned-cart emails need Plus and live carrier rates need Premium at $149, but the core is all there. |
| 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. | CNo App Store rating on record for the store itself. If your items are already in Square they carry over, but you're still building a site from layouts, so it lands on a C. |
| 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 Facebook, Instagram, Google and Afterpay, and a Wix store can sync to the Square catalog. It's a short list, and there's no desktop app. |
| Best for | artists and makers selling small runs | shops already taking payments with Square |
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 Square Online. 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. Square Online starts at $49 a month and scores 2.7.
Big Cartel scores higher and starts $37 a month lower. Of the other online store builders on the chart, none scores higher than Big Cartel for less, and 4 score higher than Square Online 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). Square Online starts at $49 per location / month (Square Plus).
- Big Cartel also covers digital downloads.
At a glance
| Big Cartel | Square Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) | $49 per location / month (Square Plus) |
| 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. | Square Free: a store on a Square web address with SEO tools, pickup, local delivery and shipping labels, and no monthly fee. Online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢, and a custom domain needs Plus. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Platinum | 30-day free trial of Square Plus or Square Premium |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Big Cartel, LLC | Block, Inc. |
| Price read from | bigcartel.com | squareup.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
Square Online
- Shops and restaurants that already take payments with Square in person
- Small sellers who want to start a store with no monthly fee
- Businesses offering pickup or local delivery alongside shipping
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.
Square Online
- Square Free cannot connect a custom domain; that takes Square Plus at $49 a month per location.
- Online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢ on Square Free against 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium.
- Plus and Premium are Square-wide plans billed per location, which also cover point of sale, invoices, staff and booking tools.
- Real-time carrier shipping rates at checkout need Square Premium at $149 a month per location.
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.
Square Online
- Website builder with SEO tools
- Build a single ordering page or a multi-page store with layouts, a blog and SEO tools, and run several Square Online sites from one account.
- Shared catalog with Square POS
- Items, stock and discounts are shared with Square Point of Sale, so stock is tracked across shop locations and online. A Wix store can also sync to the Square catalog.
- Pickup, delivery and shipping
- Offer in-store or curbside pickup, local delivery by staff or couriers, and shipping, with bulk label printing and discounted US shipping rates on every plan.
- Payments built in
- Square processes cards, digital wallets and Afterpay installments. Afterpay costs the seller 6% + 30¢ per sale, and cards issued outside the US add 1.5%.
- Marketing and social selling
- Coupons, pop-ups and lead forms on every plan, Facebook and Instagram connections with Facebook ads, and abandoned-cart emails from Square Plus.
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.
Square Online
Square Free$0
Website builder with SEO tools, pickup, delivery and shipping labels; online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢ and in-person ones 2.6% + 15¢.
Square Plus$49
per location / month
Custom domain, expanded design and custom code, abandoned-cart emails, reviews, preorders and subscriptions, with online card payments at 2.9% + 30¢.
Square Premium$149
per location / month
Adds real-time shipping rates, advanced reporting and 24/7 phone support, with online cards at 2.9% + 30¢ and in-person at 2.4% + 15¢.
Square ProCustom
For businesses processing over $250,000 a year: custom pricing and processing fees, arranged with Square's sales team.
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.
Square Online
No public discounts listed.
