When deciding between Big Cartel vs Shopify for your online store, understanding their key differences is crucial. Both platforms offer unique features, but one might be a better fit for your needs. Here are 7 key differences you need to know before making your decision.
1. Ease of Use
- Big Cartel: Known for its simplicity, Big Cartel is easy to set up and navigate. It’s ideal for beginners and small businesses with minimal technical expertise.
- Shopify: While Shopify is user-friendly, it offers more advanced customization options. This may require a learning curve, but it’s perfect for businesses looking to scale.
2. Pricing
- Big Cartel: Big Cartel has a free plan with basic features and paid plans starting at $9.99/month. It’s affordable for small businesses or artists with limited product lines.
- Shopify: Shopify’s pricing starts at $39/month and goes up depending on the features and size of your business. It’s more expensive but offers comprehensive tools for larger stores.
3. Features & Customization
- Big Cartel: Offers basic features like product pages, inventory tracking, and limited themes. Customization options are more limited compared to Shopify.
- Shopify: Offers an extensive set of features, including advanced product management, marketing tools, and a large app marketplace for added functionalities.
4. Payment Processing
- Big Cartel: Supports PayPal and Stripe as payment gateways, but has fewer options for international transactions.
- Shopify: Offers a wider range of payment gateways, including Shopify Payments, which provides lower transaction fees for users.
5. Scalability in Big Cartel vs Shopify
- Big Cartel: Designed for smaller businesses, Big Cartel is not as scalable for rapidly growing companies or those with large inventories.
- Shopify: Shopify excels in scalability, handling everything from small startups to large enterprises with thousands of products and high volumes of traffic.
6. Themes and Design
- Big Cartel: Provides a limited selection of free and paid themes. While the designs are simple and easy to use, customization options are restricted.
- Shopify: Shopify offers a wide variety of customizable themes with more robust design options, perfect for businesses seeking a unique brand identity.
7. Support
- Big Cartel: Offers customer support via email and an online knowledge base. However, it lacks the 24/7 support that Shopify offers.
- Shopify: Provides 24/7 customer support via live chat, email, and phone. It also has an extensive help center and community forum.
Conclusion
Choosing between Big Cartel vs Shopify comes down to your business needs. If you’re just starting and have a small product catalog, Big Cartel is a cost-effective, simple solution. For larger stores or businesses looking to scale, Shopify provides more robust features, customization, and support.
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