Big Cartel vs Squarespace
We give Big Cartel a 2.8 GPA and Squarespace a 2.6, out of 4.0. Big Cartel grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Squarespace grades higher on features. They get the same grade on 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
Squarespace
Template-based website builder with an online store and invoicing
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABig CartelGood | 2.6GPASquarespaceGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CBasic is $19 a month for one site on yearly billing ($25 monthly), and it's the plan a small business would buy, since the store comes with it. That's the ordinary middle of this category ($9 to $22). Core at $29 drops the 2% store fee. |
| 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. | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial with no card needed, which is long enough to build the thing and see if you like it, but after that every site needs a paid plan. |
| 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. | BTemplates, a drag-and-drop editor, a store on every plan, invoicing, memberships, forms, newsletters and SEO tools. That's the whole job of a small business site. Custom code and pop-ups wait for Core, but nothing core is missing. |
| 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. | B4.6 from about 18,800 App Store ratings for its phone app. Templates do most of the design work, so you're mostly swapping in your own words and photos. |
| 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 Google Workspace, Mailchimp, Zapier, Stripe, PayPal and Printful, plus commerce APIs on Core and up. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | artists and makers selling small runs | polished template sites with a shop built in |
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 Squarespace. How we grade
Where they differ
- Big Cartel starts at $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly). Squarespace starts at $19 per site / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
- Big Cartel has a free plan. Squarespace does not, though it has a free trial.
- Big Cartel also covers inventory, online store, digital downloads and shipping labels.
- Squarespace also covers templates, forms and invoicing.
At a glance
| Big Cartel | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) | $19 per site / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) |
| 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 | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Big Cartel, LLC | Squarespace, Inc. |
| Price read from | bigcartel.com | squarespace.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 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
Squarespace
- Creatives and small businesses who want a polished site from a template
- Service businesses that also invoice clients and take payments
- Small shops that want the store and the website in one subscription
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.
Squarespace
- There is no free plan; after the 14-day trial every site needs a paid plan.
- Basic takes a 2% fee on online store sales and allows only 2 contributors; Core removes both limits.
- Custom JavaScript, code injection, pop-ups and shipping labels all need Core or higher.
- The free domain covers the first year of an annual plan only and then renews at Squarespace's standard rate.
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.
Squarespace
- Templates and drag-and-drop editing
- Sites start from a designer template and are laid out in the Fluid Engine drag-and-drop editor. Every site is adjusted for phones automatically.
- AI site builder and AI credits
- Blueprint builds a starting site from a few answers, and built-in AI writes content. Credits run from 10 one-time on Basic to 120 a month on Advanced.
- Online store on every plan
- Sell unlimited physical products, services, digital goods, gift cards and subscriptions, with abandoned-cart emails on all plans. Basic adds a 2% fee on store sales.
- Invoicing, memberships and paid content
- Branded invoices and pay links are free on every plan. Courses, memberships and paywalled content carry a fee of 7% on Basic, falling to 0% on Advanced.
- Hosting, SSL and unlimited bandwidth
- Managed hosting, free SSL certificates and uncapped bandwidth and storage come with every plan. Video hosting runs from 30 minutes on Basic to unlimited on Advanced.
- Forms, newsletters and SEO tools
- Form and newsletter blocks feed a contacts panel, and SEO guidance and keyword reports come built in. Pop-ups and the announcement bar need Core or higher.
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.
Squarespace
Basic$19
per site / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
A full website and store with up to 2 contributors, 30 minutes of video, a 2% fee on online sales and 7% on paid memberships.
Core$29
per site / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Unlimited contributors, no fee on store sales, custom CSS and JavaScript, shipping labels, commerce APIs and 20 AI credits a month.
Plus$49
per site / month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)
Lower card rates (2.7% + $0.30), a 1% fee on paid memberships, 50 hours of video and 40 AI credits a month.
Advanced$99
per site / month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly)
The lowest card rates (2.5% + $0.30), no fee on memberships, unlimited video and 120 AI credits a month.
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.
Squarespace
- Annual discount
Pay yearly to save about 24% to 29%
Basic costs $19 a month billed yearly against $25 billed monthly, and Advanced $99 against $139. Squarespace's page advertises savings of up to 36%.
- Other savings
Free domain for a year with an annual plan
Annual website plans include one year of free registration for one domain on Squarespace's cheapest pricing tier; it then renews at the standard rate.
- Education
Students get 50% off the first year
Students who verify their status through Student Beans get 50% off their first full year on a new annual website plan.
