Big Cartel Fee And Pricing | What’s The Latest News In 2024

Key Takeaways

• Scalable pricing tiers: Big Cartel offers affordable monthly pricing scaled to business needs, with starter plans supporting 5 products maximum and premium plans assisting up to 500 products. 
• Big Cartel has no transaction fees: Their transparent fee structure with no transaction charges and strong support make them a compelling option for indie sellers. This is especially beneficial for high-volume stores.

This article will show that Big Cartel provides a full-featured ecommerce solution with free offerings and scalable paid upgrades tailored for growing businesses. Understanding all associated costs will help merchants determine if Big Cartel’s pricing and platform fit comes 2023 budget and long-term strategic needs.

Big Cartel Fee: The Pricing Plan Options

Big Cartel’s pricing is based on how many products a merchant wants to sell, not set monthly fees. Merchants choose a plan that fits their product range.

As you pick higher plans, you get more features and can list more products. This structure helps small stores start easily and grow by upgrading as needed. Instead of locking in long-term fees, costs adjust as you add more products.

This makes Big Cartel a flexible option, tailoring its services to a seller’s changing product list, compared to other fixed-fee platforms.

Big Cartel Gold 

Pricing: The Free Package

Big Cartel’s free plan provides new merchants with an excellent set of tools to launch their online storefront with minimal investment. Users can sell up to 5 products through a customized, professionally designed theme. 

Moreover, sellers can drive traffic from in-person and online sales channels utilizing a personalized domain name. Basic analytics give merchants early insights through accessible real-time statistics on traffic and transactions. Each listed product may include one high-quality representative image. 

Additional features such as order tracking, product variants, bundle options, and promotional discounts equip stores with capabilities commonly reserved for paid plans on other platforms. Recognizing the need for tax compliance, Big Cartel recently enhanced its free tier with an automatic sales tax calculation service – a rare benefit.

Main Features

• Product Limit: Merchants begin with the flexibility to list up to 5 products and test selling various items on their storefront at no cost. This capacity level allows budding entrepreneurs to focus on perfecting a curated selection before scaling upwards. 
• Themes: A wide selection of fully customizable, professionally designed pieces are unlocked free of charge. Sellers can tailor the look and feel of their site through templates that beautify store aesthetics without design expertise. 
• Product Imaging: Critical high-resolution product images are essential in driving conversions. The plan supports showcasing each item through a single representative photo. 
• Omnichannel Presence: Both in-store and online sales avenues can be activated to reach customers wherever they browse. Moreover, traffic sources are optimized for maximum reach. 
• Analytics: Actionable real-time insights into visitor behavior and purchase metrics grant granular strategic understanding early on to accelerate gains. 
• Custom Domain: Every store is given a personalized domain name to establish its independent brand identity and authority on the web. 
• Advanced Features: Grouped variants, tracking updates, promotions, and bundled deals add powerful tools usually exclusive to paid tiers. 
• Taxes Automatically Calculated: In a rare move, Big Cartel recently integrated sales tax automation – relieving sellers of tax compliance headaches from the outset.

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• No cost to get started, allowing businesses to test the platform before committing funds. It is a great value for new ventures. 
• The gold plan provides core ecommerce functionality like photos, sales channels, analytics, and a custom domain right away. 
• Automatic tax calculations simplify compliance. 
• The feature set is usually sufficient for micro-businesses selling a handful of products. 

Cons: 

• The strict 5-product limit may not accommodate growing inventories long-term. 
• Reliance on a single representative photo per product limits visual merchandising compared to paid tiers. 
• Support is only through an online help center, lacking personal telephone assistance. 
• Advanced tools like variant options, customized themes, and coding access are restricted. More sophisticated analytics and business insights found in paid plans aren’t accessible. 
• Additional higher-plan capabilities will be necessary as use expands, incurring upgraded fees.

Who is suitable for this plan?

The Big Cartel free plan is most suitable for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs starting their first forays into ecommerce. Those who will benefit the most include makers, designers, artists, and creatives looking to showcase a handful of unique handcrafted goods to sell directly online. 

Creators such as photographers, illustrators, and digital content producers offering fewer than five stand-alone products, such as ebooks or templates, can launch their stores conveniently using the free tier. 

Furthermore, this Big Cartel Gold plan is appropriate for hobbyists, part-timers, and brick-and-mortar shops.

Big Cartel Platinum 

Pricing: $9.99 per month

The Platinum plan from Big Cartel represents the first paid premium upgrade available to merchants. Priced at approximately $9.99 per month, it unlocks a substantially larger selling capability for businesses looking to expand their catalog offerings. With the Platinum solution, sellers can list up to 50 unique products on their storefronts. 

Unlike more basic plans, it does not assess any additional per-listing charges. Platinum empowers merchants to showcase each product through up to five high-quality photos. This enhanced visual content enables a more well-rounded presentation of products from varied angles or with different variants. 

The Platinum option is an affordable plan for stores seeking to promote a more extensive selection through Big Cartel’s flexible pay-as-you-grow model.

Main Features

• Themes: Merchants continue to benefit from free customization options for their storefront design templates. 
• Sales Channels: Both physical and digital commerce avenues remain supported. 
• Listings: The expanded limit of 50 unique product SKUs allows deeper catalogs. 
• Images: Each listing can showcase the item through 5 high-resolution photos. 
• Analytics: Real-time sales performance visibility and traffic reports are provided. 
• Customization: Code-level theme tweaks are accessible. 
• Inventory Management: Stock levels can be monitored. 
• SEO: Google Analytics integration improves insights. 
• Discounts: Promotions like sales and coupons are available. 
• Bulk Edits: Streamlined mass updates reduce admin tasks. 
• Variations: Product option groupings are customizable. 
• Tracking: Order status visibility is added. 
• Taxes: Compliant sales tax calculations remain automated. 

Overall, this Platinum plan retains the free tier’s benefits while unlocking expanded capabilities for growing businesses.

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• Extremely cost-effective monthly subscription under $10, providing substantial value. This affordable pricing enables expanded capabilities. 
• Vastly increased inventory capacity allows the listing of 50 unique products, over 10 times more than the free tier. Merchants can truly showcase expanded selections. 
• Products can now be visually merchandised to their full potential through robust support for up to 5 high-resolution images per listing. This enhances customer understanding and engagement. 
• Core operational and business tools, including analytics, custom themes, discounts, and fulfillment data, are retained. Merchants can gain strategic insights into what’s working well. 
• Sales tax calculations remain automated, simplifying legal compliance for growing sellers. This saves time spent on manual calculations. 

Cons: 

• While unlocking a substantial selection size, very high-volume enterprise sellers may still outgrow the 50 SKU limit if expanding into hundreds of products across categories. 
• Coding access continues to be restricted, so complete design control is not enabled for advanced customization needs. 
• Any added applications would demand separate subscription costs on top of the monthly fee. Integrated capabilities are limited. 
• As businesses upgrade needs, comparatively heavier investments will be necessary to access the highest tiers’ unlimited listings and coding access.

Who is suitable for this plan?

The Big Cartel Platinum plan would be well-suited for businesses looking to expand their capabilities from essential free stores, like micro-enterprises. 

Moreover, this pricing plan would benefit makers, artisans, and crafters seeking to feature a more comprehensive portfolio of distinctive handcrafted creations. 

Sellers operating as a part-time venture, digital content providers holding multiple ebooks, templates, or memberships, and early-stage companies are also the appropriate users of this Platinum plan.

Big Cartel Diamond

Pricing: $19.99 per month

The Diamond plan represents Big Cartel’s premium subscription aimed at accomplished growing businesses. Priced at a slight premium over the standard paid Platinum option, Diamond opens the door to listing a much more extensive catalog of up to 250 total products. 

This vast limit equips merchants with the ability to showcase their full breadth of inventory across multiple categories, ensuring all offerings are just a click away for customers. The elevated lineup capacity makes Diamond an ideal fit for established merchants seeking to promote their widest selection yet. 

Main Features

• Product Limit: Merchants can now list up to 250 products, almost 5x the capacity of Platinum. This vast limit accommodates full inventory breadth. 
• Same Features: Diamond retains all advanced functionality of Platinum, like customizable themes, 5 photos per listing, sales channel support, reports, and tracking tools. 
• Variations: Product option groups empower personalized, tailored assortments. 
• Automated Taxes: Compliant sales tax calculations streamline legal obligations. 
• Editing: Efficient bulk editing and theme code customization boost productivity. 
• Discounts: Sales, coupons, and promotions activate targeted deals. 
• Stock Visibility: Inventory levels can be monitored for reorder points. 
• Analytics: Google Analytics integration supplies important audience insights. 
• Premium Packaging: The enhanced capabilities serve high-growth multi-category online inventory needs at scale. 
• Growth Enabler: By expanding listing power to 250 SKUs, Diamond supports established businesses as their catalogs and operations swell over time.

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• Very reasonable $20/month fee for vastly expanded capabilities 
• Almost 5x listing limit of Platinum at 250 products 
• Ability to showcase a complete inventory assortment 
• Mature operational tools and analytics for growing enterprises 
• Sales tax calculations included

Cons: 

• Still not unlimited listings for huge stores 
• Coding access more restrictive than highest Titanium plan 
• Additional integrations would incur separate costs

Who is suitable for this plan?

The Big Cartel Diamond plan provides an affordable solution for established merchants seeking to showcase their full breadth of inventory across numerous categories and additional functionality that the Platinum plan can’t offer. As a result, medium-to-large companies are the targeted audience of this Diamond plan.

Big Cartel Titanium 

Pricing: $29.99 per month

As Big Cartel’s highest subscription level available, Titanium provides retailers with industry-leading inventory management abilities. For a premium cost, it expands sellers’ capacity to 500 total product listings – significantly more than any previous option offers. 

While this vast amount affords extensive branding opportunities for most mid-sized stores, retailers experiencing enormous growth may still surpass the Titanium limits as their assortments broaden into new categories. 

Even with nearly double the listing power of the already-generous Diamond tier, specific merchants expanding into hundreds of items per classification could feasibly max out the allotted 500 SKUs. 

Therefore, though undoubtedly Big Cartel’s most accommodating package presently, the Titanium solution may one day prove insufficient for the extraordinary scaled needs of even the most extensive online empires maintaining truly massive inventories.

Main Features

• Product Imaging: Merchants can showcase items visually through up to 5 high-resolution photos each. 
• Design Flexibility: An extensive library of free customizable themes allows stores to craft unique brand identities. 
• Omnichannel Presence: Both physical and digital storefronts can be seamlessly activated. 
• Performance Insights: Valuable real-time sales and traffic analytics deliver strategic foresight. 
• Brand Control: Full personalization is achieved through the assignment of a custom domain name. 
• Audience Understanding: Deeper audience analysis is enabled through Google Analytics integration. 
• Theme Customization: Code-level adjustments optimize templates to specific business needs. 
• Inventory Visibility: Stock levels across all 500+ SKUs can be conveniently tracked. 
• Streamlined Operations: Bulk actions automate repetitive administrative tasks. Order 
• Management: Shipping status updates maintain customer service standards. Revenue 
• Activation: Promo tools help drive demand through targeted time-bound deals. 
• Assortment Flexibility: Product option groupings facilitate endless tailored collections. 
• Tax Compliance: Automatic sales tax calculations furnish compliance with peace of mind.

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• Industry-leading 500 product limit, far surpassing other plans 
• Full-featured toolkit for advanced operational management 
• Robust analytics and controls for large-scale operations 
• Affordable at $30/month compared to other vendors 
• Valuable ongoing support for growing businesses 
• Automated tax integration saves time

Cons: 

• Strict limit may eventually constrain massively expanded stores 
• More advanced applications still require separate costs 
• Code-level access still less than proprietary platforms 
• Not as seamless an upgrade path for hyper-scaling stores 
• Limited payment/fulfillment integration versus competitors

Who is suitable for this plan?

The Big Cartel Titanium plan is well-suited for established businesses experiencing prosperous growth.

Mid-market multi-category retailers are another targeted segment of the Titanium plan, as the plan can support these businesses into new markets and online sellers diversifying beyond initial product niches.

While limitations may emerge for hyper-scaling enterprises, Titanium remains an excellent solution for ambitious brands experiencing prosperous developments and seeking to capture expansive new opportunities through premier ecommerce management on Big Cartel.

Big Cartel Fee: Free vs Premium Features

Free Features

Big Cartel provides an all-in-one ecommerce solution with high customization capabilities: 

• Customer Support: Telephone and email assistance is available daily to help with issues like website coding and customization. 
• Merchants can also reference an extensive self-help center. 
• Order Management: The control panel allows merchants to easily send order confirmation emails, print shipping labels, export order histories, and gain full transaction visibility. 
• Search Engine Optimization: Out-of-the-box store pages are optimized to be discoverable by search engines. Merchants also receive SEO best practice recommendations. 
• Mobile Access: An intuitive mobile app complements the desktop dashboard, allowing online management. This exceeds the capabilities of desktop-only editors. 
• Security: Robust security measures such as SSL encryption protect merchant stores and customer data by default, ensuring peace of mind.

Premium Features

While Big Cartel’s free tiers provide strong foundations, several capabilities require paid upgrades: 

• Custom Domains: Registering a personalized domain name boosts branding and SEO success but necessitates separate registration/renewal expenses. 
• Reporting: Actionable insights into traffic patterns and sales performance help optimization but demand upgraded access to tools like integrated Google Analytics. 
• Inventory Levels: Managing stock visibility and tracking depletion assists replenishment processes yet demands paid features. 
• Theme Customization: Tailoring templates through HTML/CSS modifications create aesthetically-pleasing storefronts however, coding access only unlocks at higher price points. 
• Promotions: Time-bound promotional codes and coupons driving incremental demand leverage the shopping cart interface, a paid feature. 
• Visual Merchandising: Upselling through showcasing products from varied angles using multiple dedicated images necessitates a premium subscription.

Big Cartel Fee: Additional Costs

While Big Cartel offers an intuitive startup experience, specific advanced customizations require additional investments: 

• Domain Registration: Using a personalized domain enhances credibility but demands separate registration/renewal fees beyond your monthly plan. 
• Theme Development: While templates provide a baseline appearance, professionally-designed custom themes optimized for mobile and leveraging HTML/CSS elevate presentation but necessitate hiring a developer. 
• Payment Processing: While Big Cartel avoids transaction charges, integrated payment providers like Square, PayPal, or Stripe deduct per-sale processing fees that accumulate over high-volume periods. Supporting multiple payment options compounds these costs. 
• PCI Compliance: Merchants must consider the data security standards required by each payment provider to safely accept and handle customer financial information online. 
• App Integrations: While some extensions integrate at no cost, functionality additions like abandoned cart recovery, live chat, and email campaigns may have separate subscription pricing. 

Don’t overlook these peripheral yet mandatory investments when evaluating your true total cost of ownership on Big Cartel versus competitors. Advanced customization demands factoring in expenses beyond the baseline platform and theme selection. Holistic budgeting prevents unforeseen charges.

Big Cartel Fee: Big Cartel App Store

Big Cartel’s app store provides convenient access to helpful integrations without complex Zapier configuration. Applications streamline functions like: 

• Customer Service: Live chat improves support quality and response times. 
• Abandoned Cart Recovery: Tools mitigate lost sales from unfinished purchases. 
• SEO: Integrations optimize search visibility. 
• Email marketing and social selling apps extend reach via multi-channel engagement. Emerging businesses also gain access to: 

• Shopping Carts: Flexible options accommodate specific merchant needs. 
• POS Systems: Omnichannel inventory and sales insights. 
• Additional Software: Tailored solutions for integrated operations. 

Big Cartel Fee: Is It Worth Your Money?

Whether Big Cartel pricing provides value depends on individual business needs. For small new ventures, affordable monthly rates and email support suffice. However, scalability limitations may emerge as companies expand. 

Features like abandoned cart recovery and comprehensive coding access on starter tiers are notably absent. While Big Cartel caters well to creative niches, those requiring more robust tools could outgrow its capabilities. 

The generous free plan and a wide array of paid upgrades undoubtedly benefit many early-stage entrepreneurs. However, free users should recognize functionality constraints, requiring eventual upgrades. 

Additional costs beyond base rates, such as themes, apps, and payment processing fees, also factor in. While pricing remains competitive, fully factoring in ancillary expenses prevents unforeseen charges.

Big Cartel Fee: FAQs

Bottom line

In summary, Big Cartel’s tiered pricing plans are designed to accommodate a variety of business needs affordably. From free starter stores ideal for testing to premium subscriptions for larger-scale companies, flexible monthly options scaled to growth replace restrictive one-size-fits-all competitors’ models.