Shopify vs. Big Cartel
While some of the big-name ecommerce shopping cart providers seem to encourage potential online shop operators who have their sights set on being the next Amazon, there are a couple who have spared a thought for the more modest among us. One of the great things about hosted shopping cart services is that they provide users who have limited time and programming expertise with the chance to nonetheless get an online store up and running – and profitable – in as little time and with as little hassle as possible. Shopify and Big Cartel are two great examples of providers that understand and welcome smaller operations; the big question is, which one does it better?
The Basics
Big Cartel offers just two basic paid packages for shop operators. The $9.99 US/month Platinum plan accommodates up to 25 products, while the Diamond plan, at $19.99/month, allows users to place up to 100 products in their stores. Additionally, Big Cartel is one of very few ecommerce shopping cart providers to offer a free option, the Gold plan, which is limited to 5 options and doesn’t offer the same range of customization options or statistics tracking as the paid packages.
Shopify has a greater range of pricing plans. For small stores, their $24/month Basic plan suits, with a product limit of 100, and 100MB of storage space for image files and the like. Note that Shopify also charges a 2% fee on all transactions for Basic plan users, and that the Basic plan removes some otherwise “basic” features like coupon code support, real-time statistics tracking, and SSL connection support for the administrative console.
eCommerce Cart Features
In terms of features, Big Cartel and Shopify are almost neck and neck; both cover the areas that are considered “the basics” for shopping cart services, with various statistics tracking and order and inventory management capabilities. Shopify, as previously noted, is missing a few important things in its Basic iteration, but it does have some features that Big Cartel lacks, such as support for several different payment gateways, and digital (downloadable) product sales. Big Cartel does allow users to receive payments via PayPal, which is adequate for most users, but it would be nice to have a few other options, and Shopify comes through here.
Ease of Use
Where Shopify really distinguishes itself is with its clean interface and simple yet extremely powerful customization tools. Big Cartel is reasonably good for users who are satisfied with its design templates, which are good enough that many users, especially small vendors, should find them adequate. However, if you want any degree of control over the appearance or functionality of your store, there’s really no contest between the two. Shopify makes it almost unbelievably easy to customize the appearance and performance of your store even if you don’t have any HTML or CSS knowledge, and this is thanks to the suite of customization tools it offers, from an excellent built-in editor, to its use of the Liquid templating language, which takes a little more effort to learn but gives you even more possibilities.
BigCartel vs. Shopify Conclusion
So, it’s clear that, if you want to have a greater number of options as to how your store looks and feels, Shopify is the way to go. For users who are less concerned about looks, though, it’s a more difficult choice. While Shopify is slightly more feature-rich, operators of small stores may prefer Big Cartel, which is much more affordable thanks to lower monthly prices and the absence of transaction fees. The 2% fee on all transactions for Shopify Basic plan users can take a lot of the joy – not to mention the profit – out of ecommerce.