Big Cartel vs Wix: Which Is Better in 2026?

Big Cartel is an ecommerce platform built specifically for artists, makers and independent creators who want to sell online without the cost or complexity of a big commerce suite. Home to roughly 3 million shops that together list around 6 million products and have sold more than $2.5 billion, it has spent years focused on one audience: people who make things and want a simple, affordable way to sell them.

What is Big Cartel?

Big Cartel lets you launch a clean, customizable online store in four straightforward steps: choose a template, add your products, configure your store settings and start promoting. There's no coding required, and the templates are designed to put the work — the art, the product, the craft — front and center rather than burying it in clutter.

Who it's for

The platform is made for jewelry makers, printmakers, painters, designers, ceramicists, illustrators, photographers, publishers and every other kind of independent creator. If you're a solo maker or a small creative business that finds mainstream ecommerce platforms overwhelming or overpriced, Big Cartel is built with you in mind.

Key features

• Customizable store templates that need no coding
• Selling of physical goods, digital products and print-on-demand merchandise
• Product import from Shopify, Etsy and Squarespace
• Social selling across Instagram, Facebook and Google Shopping
• In-person sales through the mobile app
• Dashboard analytics and order management
• An app marketplace to extend your store

Sell everywhere

Big Cartel doesn't confine you to a single storefront. You can sell physical and digital products, offer print-on-demand items, push products to Instagram, Facebook and Google Shopping, and even take payments in person at markets or pop-ups through the mobile app. For makers who sell both online and at events, that flexibility keeps everything in one place.

Pricing

Pricing is deliberately simple and creator-friendly. There's a free tier to get started (with a 7-day premium trial), then Platinum at around $15/month and Diamond at around $30/month for shops that are scaling up. Crucially, Big Cartel is known for straightforward pricing with no hidden fees, so makers keep more of what they earn.

Support and philosophy

Big Cartel prides itself on "real humans, not chatbots" for support, reflecting a long-standing, creator-first philosophy. Rather than chasing enterprise clients, the company has stayed focused on independent artists, which shows in both the product's simplicity and the way it treats its customers.

Getting started and growing

Opening a Big Cartel shop is quick even if you've never built a website. You pick one of the customizable themes, add your products with photos and descriptions, set up shipping and payments, and share your store — no developer, no monthly minimum to begin. If you're moving from another platform, product import from Shopify, Etsy and Squarespace saves you from re-entering your catalog by hand.

As your shop grows, the dashboard gives you the numbers that matter — orders, views and sales trends — while the app marketplace lets you bolt on extra capabilities only when you need them. That "start simple, add later" approach keeps the platform approachable for first-timers while still supporting makers who are turning a hobby into a real business.

Why choose Big Cartel

If you're a maker who wants to sell without wrestling a complicated platform or paying steep fees, Big Cartel is one of the best-fitting options available. Its simple setup, transparent pricing, multi-channel selling and genuinely human support make it a home for creative businesses rather than a one-size-fits-all store builder.

Wix is a hugely popular website building platform that lets anyone create a website or online store through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, with remarkable design freedom. Known for its flexibility, Wix lets users place elements anywhere on the page and customise nearly every aspect of their site's design, making it possible to build exactly the site you envision without any coding. This combination of ease and creative control has made it one of the world's most widely used website builders, enabling millions of individuals and businesses to establish an online presence on their own.

The platform offers hundreds of templates as starting points, a flexible editor that gives users freedom to design as they like, and a vast range of features and apps to add functionality — from online stores and bookings to blogs, forms, and marketing tools. Wix also offers AI-powered tools that can help generate a website based on your needs, further lowering the barrier to getting online. It includes hosting, the ability to connect a custom domain, and everything needed to build, publish, and grow a site, all designed to be accessible to people with no technical background while still offering depth for those who want it.

Wix is used by small businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and individuals who want to build a website or online store easily and with creative control. The value is flexibility and accessibility: it empowers anyone to create a customised, functional website without coding or hiring professionals, with the design freedom to make it their own. For small businesses needing an online presence, creators showcasing their work, or anyone wanting a personal site, Wix provides an approachable yet capable all-in-one solution. By combining ease of use with extensive flexibility and a huge range of features, Wix has helped a vast number of people bring their ideas and businesses online, making professional web presence achievable for everyone regardless of technical skill.