We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page. It never changes a score or a ranking. How we make money
Most buyers should pick Big Cartel.
Choose Big Cartel for a low-cost, focused shop: it has a free Gold plan, with paid plans at $15 and $30/month. Choose Squarespace if you need a broader website and business toolkit, including scheduling, invoicing, SEO tools, and analytics; its listed prices start at €13.31/month with annual billing or €18.15 month-to-month. These prices use different currencies. For a small independent store on a budget, Big Cartel is the better value; for a site that does more than sell, Squarespace fits better.
01Side by side
| Big Cartel | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; paid plans start at $15/month | €13.31/month annual; €18.15 monthly |
| Free plan | Gold plan available; feature limits not listed | No free plan; 14-day trial |
| Best for | Independent sellers wanting a focused storefront | Businesses needing websites plus broader tools |
| Core strength | Simple storefronts for physical and digital goods | Websites, commerce, scheduling, and business tools |
| Learning curve | Customize a storefront without coding | Drag-and-drop editor; no coding required |
| Integrations/data | Imports from Shopify, Etsy, Squarespace; Diamond adds Zapier | SEO and AI site audits; integrations not listed |
| Team/seat costs | Contributor limits not listed | 2 Basic contributors; unlimited on Core and Advanced |
| Support | Review support score: 5 | Review support score: 5 |
Big Cartel Choose Big Cartel if
- Choose Big Cartel if you want a free plan to start.
- Choose Big Cartel if you sell physical or digital goods.
- Choose Big Cartel if you want a focused, lower-cost storefront.
Squarespace Choose Squarespace if
- Choose Squarespace if your site needs more than a storefront.
- Choose Squarespace if clients need appointment booking and invoicing.
- Choose Squarespace if contributor counts matter: Core and Advanced are unlimited.
02Pricing compared
Big Cartel has a free Gold plan, though its feature limits aren’t detailed in the published pricing information. Paid plans are $15/month for Platinum and $30/month for Diamond; annual prices aren’t listed. The pricing information also lists a 7-day free trial.
Squarespace has no free plan and lists a 14-day trial. With annual billing, Basic costs €13.31/month, Core €20.57/month, and Advanced €35.09/month. Month-to-month prices are €18.15, €29.04, and €50.82, respectively. Those prices include estimated VAT and use a different currency from Big Cartel’s, so they aren’t directly comparable without conversion.
Big Cartel is the lower-cost starting point for a focused shop. Squarespace Basic also charges a 2% online-store transaction fee and a 7% fee on digital content and memberships; Core and Advanced list 0% online-store fees.
03Features and depth
Big Cartel focuses on storefronts for independent sellers. It supports physical and digital products, print-on-demand, discounts, scheduled drops, and password-protected products on Diamond. Sellers can connect to Instagram, Facebook, and Google Shopping, accept cards, wallets, Venmo, and PayPal, and sell in person through the app. Product imports from Shopify, Etsy, or Squarespace are also listed. Diamond adds abandoned-cart recovery and Zapier connections to 7,000+ apps.
Squarespace covers more than ecommerce. Along with product sales, payments, orders, and shipping, it offers appointment scheduling, proposals, contracts, invoicing, SEO tools, analytics, domains, and Google Workspace email. Its AI builder can generate a site from answers, and its editor supports drag-and-drop changes. Plan fees matter for digital sales: Basic lists a 7% digital-content and membership fee, Core 5%, and Advanced 0%.
Choose Big Cartel for a compact shop and seller-focused tools. Choose Squarespace when the store needs to sit alongside a broader business website.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Both products are presented as options for building without coding. Big Cartel offers customizable templates and shop-design controls, while Squarespace pairs templates with a drag-and-drop editor for layouts, fonts, colors, and images. Squarespace also offers an AI site builder, though the published information doesn’t specify how much editing a generated site may need.
The difference is scope: Big Cartel’s listed tools center on running a shop, while Squarespace includes website, scheduling, and business-management features. That broader set may suit teams that want those tools in one platform, but it also means more to choose between. Big Cartel’s Gold plan has limited features, and the published details don’t spell out its caps.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Big Cartel or Squarespace?
Big Cartel is cheaper to start: it lists a free Gold plan and paid plans at $15 and $30 per month. Squarespace starts at €13.31 per month with annual billing or €18.15 month-to-month. The currencies differ, and Squarespace Basic also lists transaction fees.
Can I move my products from Squarespace to Big Cartel?
Big Cartel lists product imports from Squarespace, as well as Shopify and Etsy. The published information doesn’t describe what product details transfer or whether the reverse move is supported, so check the import requirements before switching.
Can I sell digital products on both platforms?
Big Cartel explicitly lists digital products as supported. Squarespace lists digital content and memberships in its transaction-fee schedule, indicating those sales are covered by its plans. Its listed fees are 7% on Basic, 5% on Core, and 0% on Advanced.
Which platform is better for appointments and invoicing?
Squarespace is the clearer fit if you need those tools: its feature list includes appointment scheduling, proposals, contracts, and invoices. Big Cartel’s published features focus on storefronts, product sales, promotions, and in-person selling; appointment booking and invoicing aren’t listed.