Big Cartel vs Sellfy Comparison 2026
Big Cartel is a small storefront for artists and bands: a handful of editable themes, a free Gold plan, and paid tiers at $15 and $30 a month that cap how many products you list rather than how much you sell. Sellfy sells downloads, subscriptions and print-on-demand merchandise from one account, starting at $29 a month with no free plan, and its tiers cap annual sales instead of product count. Neither charges a cut of a sale. The choice comes down to what you are selling: a small catalogue of physical or digital items favours Big Cartel, and a mix of files, memberships and merchandise favours Sellfy.
At a glance
- Big Cartel starts cheaper, at $15.
- Only Big Cartel has a free tier.
Side by side
Big Cartel | Sellfy | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $15 | From $29 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial (they differ) | 7 days | 14 days |
Big Cartel
A small shop for people who make things
Big Cartel has sold for artists and bands since before most of this category existed, and the product still reflects that: a handful of themes, a product limit rather than a transaction limit, and no upsell machinery. Setting up a shop takes an evening. The free plan is genuinely usable for a first release, and the paid ones are cheaper than any general storefront. Anybody who wants apps, subscriptions or a hundred variants should look elsewhere.
Our note
Count your products before choosing, because that single limit is the whole pricing model and it is easy to outgrow in a month if you sell variants as separate listings. For a catalogue that stays small this is cheaper than any general storefront in this directory and stays that way as sales grow.
Sellfy
A storefront for downloads and merch
Sellfy sells digital files, subscriptions and print-on-demand merchandise from one storefront, prints and ships the merchandise itself, and takes no cut of a sale. The plans are banded by annual sales instead, which is the trade: a flat fee that steps up as you grow rather than a percentage of everything you ever sell.
Why people weigh these two
- Sellfy instead of Big Cartel
- A storefront for downloads and merch from $29 on a trial; wider product handling than Big Cartel at nearly double the price, with no free plan.
- Big Cartel instead of Sellfy
- Big Cartel keeps a free tier before its $15 plan and stays small and plain, built for somebody who makes a few things rather than runs a full catalogue.
Which one should you pick
Choose Big Cartel if the catalogue is small and stays that way. The free Gold plan is a real shop, not a trial, and Diamond tops out at $30 a month with no fee taken from a sale. It is wrong for anyone selling subscriptions or a wide range of variants, since the model bills by product count and that limit arrives fast.
Choose Sellfy once the shop sells a mix of digital files, memberships and merchandise Sellfy prints itself. Starter is $29 a month for up to $10,000 in yearly sales, rising to $59 and $119 as volume grows, and none of the three tiers takes a percentage. There is no free plan here, only a 14-day trial.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper for a small shop, Big Cartel or Sellfy?
- Big Cartel, if the catalogue is small. Its Gold plan is free and Diamond tops out at $30 a month. Sellfy has no free plan and starts at $29 a month for up to $10,000 in yearly sales, so Big Cartel wins until Sellfy's print-on-demand or subscription tools are actually needed.
- Does either one take a cut of my sales?
- No. Big Cartel's paid plans are $15 and $30 a month with nothing taken from a sale, and Sellfy states the same on every tier from $29 to $119 a month. Both bill a flat fee instead of a percentage, which is unusual among storefronts.
- Can Big Cartel sell subscriptions like Sellfy does?
- No. Big Cartel has no subscription or membership tools, only product listings capped by tier. Sellfy sells recurring products alongside one-off downloads and merchandise from the same account, which is the main reason to pick it over Big Cartel.
- Which one prints and ships merchandise for me?
- Sellfy does. It prints and ships the merchandise itself as part of the plan. Big Cartel lists products and offers discounted shipping labels on paid tiers, but the seller handles their own production and packing.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.