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Pricing, plan names, free plan availability, and trial details are checked against official provider pages before being used in ProPicked scores. Vendor relationships do not change rankings, scores, or recommendations.
Provider Pricing Facts
Provider pricing facts: Big Cartel offers a free plan; OpenCart offers a free plan.
Source and Freshness Note
Source and freshness note: pricing, free-plan, and feature signals are compared from public provider data and updated comparison records. Last checked March 2026.
Big Cartel vs OpenCart: Honest Comparison (2026)
Big Cartel
Simple ecommerce platform built specifically for artists and makers
OpenCart
Free open-source e-commerce platform with a massive extension marketplace
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Quick Verdict:
Big Cartel wins with 7.5/10 vs 7.4/10. Choose Big Cartel for ease of use. Choose OpenCart for its unique strengths.
Big Cartel wins this comparison with a score of 7.5/10 vs 7.4/10. Both offer free plans. Big Cartel stands out for free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees, while OpenCart excels at completely free and open-source with no licensing fees. However, OpenCart leads in our detailed feature analysis (6.6 vs 3.3).
| Feature | Big Cartel | OpenCart |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating | 7.5/10 | 7.4/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7.7/10 | 7.2/10 |
| Features | 7.7/10 | 7.0/10 |
| Value for Money | 7.6/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Customer Support | 7.9/10 | 7.0/10 |
| Free Plan | Yes ✓ | Yes ✓ |
| Starting Price | $15/mo | $59/mo |
| Feature Score | 3.3/10 | 6.6/10 |
| Top Strength | Free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees | Completely free and open-source with no licensing fees |
| Biggest Weakness | Very limited features compared to full ecommerce platforms | Requires self-hosting and server management knowledge |
| Best For | Independent artists and makers selling creative work | Budget-conscious merchants wanting free e-commerce software |
| Winner | Big Cartel (7.5/10) | |
What is Big Cartel?
Simple ecommerce platform built specifically for artists and makersBig Cartel is a lightweight ecommerce platform purpose-built for artists, makers, designers, and independent creators who want to sell their work online without the complexity of full-featured ecommerce solutions. Founded in 2005, the platform has remained intentionally simple and focused, serving over one million artists worldwide. Big Cartel offers a clean, minimalist store builder with customizable themes designed to showcase creative work rather than overwhelming visitors with ecommerce clutter. The platform supports physical products, digital downloads, and made-to-order items with simple inventory tracking. Each plan includes a free custom domain connection, SSL certificate, and real-time stats.
- +Free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees
- +Purpose-built for artists with creator-focused design themes
- +Incredibly simple setup that takes minutes not hours
- •Independent artists and makers selling creative work
- •Creators wanting a free or very affordable online store
- •Small-catalog sellers prioritizing design over features
What is OpenCart?
Free open-source e-commerce platform with a massive extension marketplaceOpenCart is a free, open-source e-commerce platform that provides a full-featured online store out of the box with zero licensing costs. Built on PHP and MySQL, OpenCart offers an intuitive admin dashboard, multi-store management from a single backend, and support for multiple languages and currencies. The platform ships with essential e-commerce features including product management with options and attributes, customer accounts, order processing, coupon and discount systems, and built-in SEO tools. OpenCart's extension marketplace hosts over 13,000 modules and themes, covering payment gateways, shipping methods, analytics integrations, and design customizations. The platform supports popular payment providers including PayPal, Stripe, Square, and dozens of regional processors.
- +Completely free and open-source with no licensing fees
- +Multi-store management from a single admin dashboard
- +Over 13,000 extensions and themes in the marketplace
- •Budget-conscious merchants wanting free e-commerce software
- •Businesses running multiple online stores from one backend
- •Developers seeking an open-source platform to customize freely
Big Cartel vs OpenCart: Key Differences
Big Cartel vs OpenCart: Quick Verdict
Big Cartel and OpenCart are neck and neck at 7.5/10 and 7.4/10. At this point, the best choice is whichever one clicks with how you work.
Choose Big Cartel if:
- Free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees
- Purpose-built for artists with creator-focused design themes
- Incredibly simple setup that takes minutes not hours
- You match the profile: independent artists and makers selling creative work
- You want the higher-rated option overall (7.5/10 vs 7.4/10)
Choose OpenCart if:
- Completely free and open-source with no licensing fees
- Multi-store management from a single admin dashboard
- Over 13,000 extensions and themes in the marketplace
- You match the profile: budget-conscious merchants wanting free e-commerce software
Decision Summary
Who wins in each scenario? A quick look at how Big Cartel and OpenCart compare across different buyer needs.
Both score 7.5/10 overall
Scores 7.6/10 on value vs 7.1/10
Ease of use: 7.7/10 vs 7.2/10
Features + support avg: 7.8/10 vs 7.0/10
Free plan available + 7.6/10 value
Both offer free plans
Choose Big Cartel if you need...
- ✓Free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees
- ✓Purpose-built for artists with creator-focused design themes
- ✓Incredibly simple setup that takes minutes not hours
- ✓Lower starting price ($15/mo vs $59/mo)
- !Very limited features compared to full ecommerce platforms
- !Maximum 500 products even on the highest plan
Choose OpenCart if you need...
- ✓Completely free and open-source with no licensing fees
- ✓Multi-store management from a single admin dashboard
- ✓Over 13,000 extensions and themes in the marketplace
- !Requires self-hosting and server management knowledge
- !Core features are basic without marketplace extensions
Our Take: Big Cartel vs OpenCart
This is one of the closer matchups we've reviewed. Big Cartel (7.5/10) and OpenCart (7.4/10) are separated by just 0.1 points — practically a statistical tie. Your decision should come down to workflow fit, not scores.
Where they differ: Big Cartel's biggest strengths are free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees and purpose-built for artists with creator-focused design themes. OpenCart, on the other hand, shines with completely free and open-source with no licensing fees and multi-store management from a single admin dashboard. These reflect fundamentally different product priorities.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each one with zero risk before committing. We recommend trying both for a week with real data.
Big Cartel vs OpenCart Score Comparison
| Category | Big Cartel | OpenCart |
|---|---|---|
🏆Overall Score | 7.5▲ | 7.4 |
💫Ease of Use | 7.7▲ | 7.2 |
⚙Features | 7.7▲ | 7.0 |
💰Value for Money | 7.6▲ | 7.1 |
💬Customer Support | 7.9▲ | 7.0 |
Why These Scores? Our Reasoning
- +Free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees
- +Purpose-built for artists with creator-focused design themes
- +Incredibly simple setup that takes minutes not hours
- -Very limited features compared to full ecommerce platforms
- -Maximum 500 products even on the highest plan
- +Completely free and open-source with no licensing fees
- +Multi-store management from a single admin dashboard
- +Over 13,000 extensions and themes in the marketplace
- -Requires self-hosting and server management knowledge
- -Core features are basic without marketplace extensions
Big Cartel vs OpenCart Pros & Cons
+Strengths
- ✓Free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees
- ✓Purpose-built for artists with creator-focused design themes
- ✓Incredibly simple setup that takes minutes not hours
- ✓No transaction fees on any plan beyond payment processor charges
- ✓Clean aesthetic puts focus on creative work not ecommerce clutter
- ✓Affordable paid plans starting at just $12 per month
-Weaknesses
- ✗Very limited features compared to full ecommerce platforms
- ✗Maximum 500 products even on the highest plan
- ✗No built-in email marketing or advanced SEO tools
- ✗Limited payment gateway options restricted to Stripe and PayPal
+Strengths
- ✓Completely free and open-source with no licensing fees
- ✓Multi-store management from a single admin dashboard
- ✓Over 13,000 extensions and themes in the marketplace
- ✓Lightweight and fast compared to Magento and WooCommerce
- ✓Built-in multi-language and multi-currency support
- ✓Large global community with extensive documentation
-Weaknesses
- ✗Requires self-hosting and server management knowledge
- ✗Core features are basic without marketplace extensions
- ✗Extension quality varies and compatibility issues can arise
- ✗Lacks built-in advanced marketing and analytics tools
Who Should Use Big Cartel vs OpenCart?
Big Cartel is ideal for
- •Independent artists and makers selling creative work
- •Creators wanting a free or very affordable online store
- •Small-catalog sellers prioritizing design over features
OpenCart is ideal for
- •Budget-conscious merchants wanting free e-commerce software
- •Businesses running multiple online stores from one backend
- •Developers seeking an open-source platform to customize freely
When NOT to Choose Big Cartel or OpenCart
Knowing when a tool is the wrong fit is just as important as knowing its strengths
Skip Big Cartel if...
- ✗Very limited features compared to full ecommerce platforms
- ✗Maximum 500 products even on the highest plan
- ✗No built-in email marketing or advanced SEO tools
- ✗Limited payment gateway options restricted to Stripe and PayPal
Skip OpenCart if...
- ✗Requires self-hosting and server management knowledge
- ✗Core features are basic without marketplace extensions
- ✗Extension quality varies and compatibility issues can arise
- ✗Lacks built-in advanced marketing and analytics tools
Big Cartel vs OpenCart Decision Framework
Choose based on what matters most to you
Big Cartel vs OpenCart Pricing
| Pricing Feature | Big Cartel | OpenCart |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Starting Price | $15/mo | $59/mo |
| Free Trial | Not available | Not available |
| Number of Plans | 3 | 3 |
| Value Rating | 7.6/10 | 7.1/10 |
Big Cartel Plans
- ✓5 products
- ✓1 image per product
- ✓Custom domain
- ✓Real-time stats
- +1 more
- ✓50 products
- ✓5 images per product
- ✓Custom domain
- ✓Google Analytics
- +1 more
- ✓500 products
- ✓5 images per product
- ✓Everything in Platinum
- ✓Inventory tracking
- +1 more
OpenCart Plans
- ✓Open source ecommerce
- ✓Unlimited products
- ✓Multi-store support
- ✓SEO tools
- +1 more
- ✓Managed hosting
- ✓Automatic updates
- ✓Free SSL certificate
- ✓Daily backups
- +1 more
- ✓Everything in Cloud
- ✓Dedicated resources
- ✓Premium extensions
- ✓Priority support
- +1 more
What You Get: Plan Feature Comparison
Comparing Big Cartel's Platinum ($15/mo) vs OpenCart's Cloud ($59/mo)
| Feature | Big Cartel | OpenCart |
|---|---|---|
| 50 products | ✓ | ✗ |
| 5 images per product | ✓ | ✗ |
| Custom domain | ✓ | ✗ |
| Google Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| No Big Cartel branding | ✓ | ✗ |
| Managed hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automatic updates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Free SSL certificate | ✗ | ✓ |
| Daily backups | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email support | ✗ | ✓ |
Which Should You Choose?
Big Cartel
OpenCart
Quick Buyer's Guide
Based on our analysis, here's who each tool is best suited for
- ✓Independent artists and makers selling creative work
- ✓Creators wanting a free or very affordable online store
- ✓Users who need free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees
- ✓Teams with tighter budgets ($15/mo vs $59/mo)
- ✓Budget-conscious merchants wanting free e-commerce software
- ✓Businesses running multiple online stores from one backend
- ✓Users who need completely free and open-source with no licensing fees
Big Cartel vs OpenCart: The Bottom Line
Big Cartel and OpenCart are dead even — this one comes down to personal preference.
## Our Verdict Big Cartel and OpenCart are neck and neck at 7.5/10 and 7.4/10. At this point, the best choice is whichever one clicks with how you work. ### Choose Big Cartel if: - Free plan with 5 products and zero transaction fees - Purpose-built for artists with creator-focused design themes - Incredibly simple setup that takes minutes not hours - You match the profile: independent artists and makers selling creative work - You want the higher-rated option overall (7.5/10 vs 7.4/10) ### Choose OpenCart if: - Completely free and open-source with no licensing fees - Multi-store management from a single admin dashboard - Over 13,000 extensions and themes in the marketplace - You match the profile: budget-conscious merchants wanting free e-commerce software With virtually identical scores, the best choice depends entirely on your workflow, budget, and which specific features you'll use daily.