BigCartel vs. Shopify: BigCartel suits artists with simple needs, while Shopify offers robust features and scalability for growing businesses.
June 20, 2024
– 8 minute read
BigCartel vs Shopify: A comprehensive comparison
Among today's ecommerce platforms, BigCartel and Shopify stand out as two of the most discussed options. But which is right for your business? In this comprehensive guide, we will delve deep into the intricacies of both platforms, drawing a clear distinction to help you make an informed decision. By understanding each platform's unique offerings, you'll be better equipped to select the one that best aligns with your brand's vision and operational needs.
Background & Target Market
BigCartel
BigCartel, primarily designed for artists and crafters, aims to provide an easy-to-use platform for those looking to sell their creations online. The uniqueness of BigCartel lies in its niche focus. It caters to small businesses, especially those with a smaller number of products. Whether you're a painter, jewelry maker, or musician, BigCartel has carved out a space specifically for the creatively inclined.
Shopify
A giant in the ecommerce industry, Shopify is designed for businesses of all sizes. From dropshipping beginners to established brands, Shopify offers a wide range of tools to cater to various business needs. Its broad target market includes small business owners, mid-sized companies, and even large enterprises looking for a scalable ecommerce solution.
User Experience & Interface
BigCartel
BigCartel offers a straightforward and intuitive interface, especially beneficial for those who might not be tech-savvy. The dashboard is clean, making it easier to add products, check inventory, or view sales. Given its target audience of artists and crafters, BigCartel ensures the user experience remains as simple as possible, allowing creators to focus on their art rather than technicalities.
Shopify
Shopify's interface is user-friendly and designed for both beginners and seasoned ecommerce entrepreneurs. Its dashboard provides insights into sales, traffic, and customer data. Moreover, the drag-and-drop website builders allow businesses to customize their online stores effortlessly. With Shopify, even those with minimal technical knowledge can set up and run their store with ease.
Features
BigCartel
BigCartel is designed to be simplistic and straightforward, focusing its features mainly around the needs of small-scale creators:
Product Listings: Unlike many other platforms, BigCartel's offerings are capped at 300 products for its most premium plan, making it suitable for creators who have a limited product range.
Customization: BigCartel shines in its customization features, allowing artists to infuse their individuality into their store. With its basic theme editor, users can alter colors, fonts, and other essential elements.
Discounts & Promotions: A handy feature for artists and creators looking to run promotions or sales for their fans.
Order Management: Simplified order management, enabling users to track, update, or contact customers about their purchases.
App Integration: BigCartel does offer integration with a few third-party apps, focusing primarily on production and fulfillment needs.
Shopify
Shopify, on the other hand, is a powerhouse packed with features catering to a broad range of businesses:
Unlimited Products: Shopify offers unlimited product listings, allowing businesses to expand without worrying about hitting a cap.
Advanced Customization: With its theme store and extensive developer resources, Shopify allows for deep customization. Plus, its drag-and-drop interface ensures even novices can design compelling sites.
Robust Analytics: Shopify offers detailed sales analytics, helping businesses understand their customers better and refine marketing strategies.
Multi-channel Selling: One of Shopify's standout features is its ability to sell across multiple channels, including social media platforms and online marketplaces.
Shopify App Store: This is where Shopify truly outshines many competitors. Its expansive app ecosystem offers integrations ranging from inventory management to marketing automation.
Security: Shopify ensures that all stores are PCI compliant and provides a free SSL certificate, enhancing the trustworthiness of every Shopify store.
Checkout and Payment Features: Shopify provides a streamlined checkout process and integrates seamlessly with numerous payment gateways, including its own, Shopify Payments.
In a nutshell, while BigCartel concentrates on simplicity and ease-of-use for smaller creators, Shopify casts a wider net, aiming to be the go-to platform for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Its expansive features list ensures that businesses have every tool they need to grow, scale, and succeed in the online market.
Hardware Compatibility
BigCartel
BigCartel doesn't have its own set of hardware offerings. However, it does integrate with third-party card readers and other hardware, making it suitable for those who occasionally set up physical stalls or pop-up shops.
Shopify
Shopify wins in the hardware department. With its dedicated Point Of Sale (POS) system, businesses can integrate their online store with physical retail. Shopify offers card readers, barcode scanners, and receipt printers, ensuring seamless sales both online and offline.
Pricing
BigCartel
Pricing is one of BigCartel's strong points. It offers a free plan for artists who wish to list up to 5 products. For those looking to expand, the paid plans start at $9.99 per month, allowing for 50 products, and go up to $19.99 per month for 500 products. The transparent pricing structure ensures small businesses can budget effectively.
Shopify
Shopify offers a 14-day free trial, post which the basic plan starts at $29 per month. This plan offers all essential ecommerce features, including a custom domain and unlimited product listings. Advanced Shopify plans that cater to larger businesses are priced higher but come packed with additional features.
Customer Support
BigCartel
BigCartel offers email-based customer support. Given its smaller user base, the support is personalized, ensuring issues are resolved in a timely manner. However, the absence of live chat or phone support can be a limitation for some users.
Shopify
Shopify's customer support is one of its highlights. Users can access 24/7 support via email, live chat, or phone. Additionally, Shopify's extensive knowledge base and active community forums mean that answers to common queries are just a search away.
Loyalty Program Capabilities
BigCartel
For businesses, especially those in the creative domain, fostering customer loyalty is paramount. BigCartel, while simple in its core features, offers third-party integrations that allow businesses to introduce loyalty programs. With tools like MoonClerk or Zapier, you can set up reward systems or subscription-based models. However, this requires some technical know-how, as BigCartel doesn't have built-in loyalty tools.
Shopify
On the flip side, Shopify offers a multitude of in-house and third-party apps specifically for loyalty program capabilities. Apps like Smile.io or LoyaltyLion integrate seamlessly with Shopify stores, enabling businesses to offer points-based systems, referral bonuses, and VIP perks. With Shopify, establishing and managing a loyalty program becomes incredibly streamlined, providing an edge, especially for businesses aiming to scale and foster a dedicated customer base.
Integration Capabilities
BigCartel
Integration is where BigCartel takes a minimalist approach. The platform doesn't overwhelm users with a vast ecosystem of apps or plugins. Instead, it focuses on essential integrations that can help artists and small business owners run their operations smoothly.
This includes integration with platforms like Stripe and PayPal for payments, ShipRobot and ShipStation for shipping, and Zapier for automating tasks. While this might suffice for smaller operations, businesses aiming for expansive growth might find the options somewhat restrictive.
Shopify
Shopify, in contrast, is known for its vast ecosystem. The Shopify App Store is filled with thousands of apps catering to nearly every conceivable need. Whether it's advanced inventory management, augmented reality product previews, or integration with popular email marketing platforms – Shopify has it all. This wide range of integration capabilities ensures that as your business grows, Shopify grows with you, always ready to meet changing demands.
Company Footprint
BigCartel
BigCartel has always positioned itself as the underdog, focusing on supporting indie artists, makers, and musicians. Over the years, it has garnered a dedicated user base that appreciates its no-frills approach. However, its market share in the ecommerce space remains limited, mainly because of its niche focus. The company promotes itself as a champion for creators, often featuring artist stories and hosting events that align with its brand ethos.
Shopify
Since its inception, Shopify has been on an upward trajectory, solidifying its place as one of the most popular ecommerce platforms globally. With over a million businesses across 175 countries using Shopify, its footprint is undeniable. The company regularly updates its features, invests in research and development, and ensures that it remains at the forefront of ecommerce innovations. Shopify's conferences, known as Shopify Unite, bring together developers and business owners, emphasizing the platform's commitment to community and growth.
With both BigCartel and Shopify offering unique strengths, choosing between them largely depends on your business goals, size, and personal preferences. The next section, our comparative overview, will provide a side-by-side analysis, helping you make an informed decision.
Comparative Overview: BigCartel vs. Shopify
When comparing BigCartel and Shopify, it's clear that each platform offers distinct advantages tailored to different business needs:
Target Audience: BigCartel is designed for independent artists, musicians, and small-scale sellers who want a straightforward platform to showcase and sell a limited number of products. Shopify, however, is built for a broader audience, ranging from solo entrepreneurs to large enterprises, making it suitable for businesses with ambitions to grow and expand.
User Experience & Interface: BigCartel offers a simplistic, easy-to-use interface with a shorter learning curve, perfect for those who are not tech-savvy. Shopify provides a more extensive set of tools and features but maintains a user-friendly interface. Its intuitive dashboard makes management and analytics easy for both beginners and seasoned entrepreneurs.
Features: BigCartel focuses on essential e-commerce features, catering to smaller inventories with a cap of 300 products on its premium plan. Shopify offers a comprehensive suite of tools, including advanced inventory management, marketing tools, and an expansive app ecosystem. Shopify supports unlimited products and provides robust analytics, multi-channel selling, and a seamless checkout process.
Integration Capabilities: BigCartel provides limited but efficient integration options tailored for artists' needs, including payment processing and shipping integrations. Shopify boasts a vast array of integrations through its app store, catering to extensive business requirements, from advanced inventory management to marketing automation.
Pricing: BigCartel offers a free plan for up to 5 products, with paid plans starting at $9.99 per month and going up to $19.99 per month for 500 products. Its pricing is transparent and budget-friendly for small businesses. Shopify provides a 14-day free trial, with the basic plan starting at $29 per month. Advanced plans are available for larger businesses, offering additional features at higher prices.
Customer Support: BigCartel offers email-based customer support, providing personalized assistance but lacking live chat or phone support. Shopify excels with 24/7 customer support via email, live chat, and phone. It also has an extensive knowledge base and active community forums.
Loyalty Program Capabilities & Integrations: BigCartel relies on third-party tools to establish loyalty programs, requiring some technical know-how to implement. Shopify offers numerous apps dedicated to loyalty program capabilities, allowing for seamless integration and robust management of customer loyalty programs.
Hardware Compatibility: BigCartel integrates with third-party card readers and other hardware, suitable for occasional physical sales. Shopify, however, offers a dedicated Point of Sale (POS) system that integrates online and offline sales, with a range of proprietary hardware devices like card readers, barcode scanners, and receipt printers.
Conclusion
In the world of ecommerce, the battle between platforms is fierce, with each one aiming to cater to specific business needs. In the "BigCartel vs Shopify" debate, the choice boils down to individual requirements and growth aspirations.
For indie artists and creators who require a simple, no-frills platform to showcase a handful of products, BigCartel is a fantastic choice. Its simplicity, combined with its affordability, makes it an attractive option for those just dipping their toes into the ecommerce world. If you're a musician, artist, or craftsperson looking to share your creations without the complexities of a broader platform, BigCartel shines.
On the other hand, Shopify is a juggernaut in the ecommerce domain for a reason. It's versatile, scalable, and equipped with features that cater to both small startups and large enterprises. The platform's extensive integrations, marketing tools, and top-notch support make it a worthy investment for businesses serious about ecommerce and with plans for growth.
In the end, it's not about which platform is universally better—it's about which platform aligns most closely with your goals, budget, and technical prowess. Both BigCartel and Shopify offer compelling advantages; it's up to you to determine which one lights the way for your ecommerce journey.
