Big Cartel is one of the cheapest ways to run a small shop. Here is the ladder from free to Diamond and when each step makes sense.
We.Inc is free to start, no credit card. AI building from $20/mo.
As of September 2026, Big Cartel lists Gold as a free, limited plan, Platinum at $15 a month after a 7-day free trial, and Diamond at $30 a month. Platinum adds custom domains, digital products, label printing and apps; Diamond adds abandoned-cart recovery, product drops, password-protected products and Zapier.
Its pricing page shows a yearly option but did not list yearly prices or product limits when we checked, so confirm those on bigcartel.com/pricing.
| Gold | Platinum | Diamond | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | Free | $15 | $30 |
| Custom domain | Check plan page | Yes | Yes |
| Key additions | Limited features | Digital products, labels, apps, in-person selling | Abandoned carts, drops, Zapier, priority support |
| Product limit | Not listed on page | Not listed on page | Not listed on page |
Prices as shown on the vendor's own pricing page on September 28, 2026, in US dollars. Vendors change prices often, so confirm on their page before you buy.
Best for: Artists and makers with a small, changing catalogue
Price: Gold free; Platinum $15, Diamond $30 a month (as of September 2026)
Pros: Very low monthly price; Built for artists and makers; Label printing and shipping discounts; Import from Etsy, Squarespace and Shopify
Cons: Fewer store features than Shopify; Free plan is limited; Check product limits on the vendor page
Best for: People who want to describe a site or web app in plain English and have AI build it
Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $50/mo, Max $99/mo.
Pros: Describe what you want in chat and AI builds a full, editable site or app; Edit by clicking on the page, by asking in chat, or in a real code editor; Export the React and TypeScript code to GitHub, so you are never locked in; Unlimited sites on paid plans, custom domains from Starter
Cons: The free plan is templates only; AI building needs a paid plan; Newer platform with a smaller app marketplace than the big names; Store features are simpler than a dedicated ecommerce platform
Step 1, testing a few products: Gold, $0. Step 2, selling on your own domain, or selling digital files: Platinum, $180 a year. Step 3, running limited drops or recovering abandoned carts: Diamond, $360 a year. Card processing through your payment provider is on top at every step.
Because Big Cartel's page did not show product limits when we checked, check the plan comparison for how many products each tier allows before you list your whole catalogue.
Monthly prices, assuming no change: Platinum $540, Diamond $1,080. We.Inc Starter is $720 over three years. Yearly billing may be cheaper; see bigcartel.com/pricing.
An artist or maker selling a few products: Big Cartel Platinum is hard to beat on price. A shop doing timed drops: Diamond. A store with a large catalogue or complex shipping: a full ecommerce platform. A business where the store is part of a bigger website with services, a blog and pages: a website builder.
Keep your product photos and descriptions in your own files. Big Cartel lets you import from other platforms; check its help centre for exporting before you build a large catalogue.
A We.Inc store takes payments through your own Stripe and suits simple products alongside a full website. It does not offer label printing, shipping discounts or in-person selling, which Big Cartel does, so for a pure maker shop Big Cartel is often the better and cheaper choice.
Where We.Inc fits: the free plan publishes up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI and no custom domain, and needs no credit card. AI building, where you describe the site and it is written for you, starts at $20 a month (Starter, 250 credits); Pro is $50 and Max is $99.
We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so read this with that in mind. Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown, with a link to it. We say where the other option is the better choice, and we do not publish scores for tests we have not run.
Gold is free, Platinum $15 a month and Diamond $30 a month, as of September 2026.
Yes, Gold, described as a free, limited-feature plan. Platinum has a 7-day free trial.
Its pricing page did not list product limits when we checked on September 28, 2026. Check the plan comparison on bigcartel.com.
At monthly prices: $540 on Platinum or $1,080 on Diamond, before payment processing.
Yes on plan price: Platinum is $15 a month against Shopify Basic at $19 billed yearly or $25 monthly. Shopify has far more store features.
Start for free and publish your first site today.
We.Inc is an AI-powered website builder you can resell under your own brand. Launch a branded client dashboard, bill on Stripe Connect, and deliver AI-generated websites in minutes. White-label plans start at $99 a month for 25 client sites, with a 7-day free trial and no per-site fees.