sell on wareby 3

big cartel alternatives

big cartel is simple and made for artists, but its free plan stops at 5 products. here are the alternatives.

by · 3 min read
a clay potter tying a price tag onto a handmade blue mug
in this post1why look elsewhere2the alternatives3questions4sources
the short answer

big cartel’s free plan covers 5 products with no transaction fee, just stripe or paypal processing; more products cost $15 or $30 a month. if you’ve outgrown it, square online’s free plan has no product limit (3.3% + 30¢ a sale), shopify gives you a full store from $39 a month, and etsy brings buyers for about $3.78 on a $35 sale. wareby is free to open and lists you for shoppers within 25 miles.

why look beyond big cartel?

  • product limits on every plan, starting at 5 on the free one.
  • your own domain needs a paid plan.
  • no buyers included: it’s your own site.

the best big cartel alternatives, compared

in no particular order. we make wareby, so weigh our take on it with that in mind.

  1. square online

    best for: market vendors and cafes who already use a square card reader

    what it costs
    free plan: 3.3% + 30¢ a sale. plus: $49 a month
    who finds you
    people you send to your site
    what’s good
    • a real free plan, with pickup and local delivery
    • online and in-person sales in one account
    watch out for
    • the free plan shows square’s branding and can’t use your own domain
    • retail preorders need plus, at $49 a month
    wareby vs square online

  2. shopify

    best for: sellers with their own audience who want full control

    what it costs
    $39 a month ($29 billed yearly) + 2.9% + 30¢ a sale
    who finds you
    people you send to your site
    what’s good
    • your own brand, design and web address
    • low per-sale fees as you grow
    • local pickup, local delivery and in-person selling included
    watch out for
    • you bring every visitor
    • a monthly fee from the start, plus paid themes and apps if you want them
    wareby vs shopify

  3. squarespace

    best for: a polished site with a small store

    what it costs
    $19 a month billed yearly + a 2% transaction fee, or $29 with none
    who finds you
    people you send to your site
    what’s good
    • clean templates that look good with little work
    • a free domain for the first year on yearly plans
    watch out for
    • the basic plan adds a 2% fee to every sale
    • you bring every visitor

  4. etsy

    best for: handmade that ships, to buyers anywhere

    what it costs
    20¢ a listing + 6.5% + 3% + 25¢ a sale
    who finds you
    86.5 million active buyers
    what’s good
    • the biggest handmade audience
    watch out for
    • 15% offsite ad fee on sales its ads bring
    • no links that lead buyers off etsy
    wareby vs etsy

  5. wareby

    best for: makers whose buyers live nearby

    what it costs
    free to open, no listing or ad fees. 10% + 3% + 30¢ a sale
    who finds you
    shoppers within 25 miles, plus your own link
    what’s good
    • no listing fees and no ad fees
    • your shop link and qr code are part of your shop. on loved, orders through them have no sale fee
    • pickup and local delivery, so no boxes or postage for local buyers
    watch out for
    • local reach only: shoppers within 25 miles
    • on an ordinary $35 sale, the free plan’s fees are about a dollar more than etsy’s
    wareby vs etsy

questions people ask

is big cartel free?

its gold plan is free for up to 5 products, with no big cartel transaction fee. paid plans are $15 or $30 a month.

what’s like big cartel but free for more products?

square online’s free plan has no product limit: $0 a month and 3.3% + 30¢ a sale.

sources

  1. big cartel: pricing
  2. big cartel: the gold plan
  3. big cartel help: processing fees explained
  4. square: online store plans
  5. shopify: pricing
  6. squarespace: pricing
  7. etsy: fees & payments policy
  8. wareby: seller plans

we checked every fee and fact about other companies on october 12, 2026, on their own pages. fees change, so check theirs before you decide. spot something out of date? email hello@shopwareby.com and we’ll fix it.

etsy, amazon handmade, ebay, shopify, square online, wix, squarespace, big cartel, hotplate, bakesy, castiron, instagram, facebook marketplace, nextdoor, doordash, uber eats and grubhub are trademarks of their owners. wareby isn’t affiliated with any of them, and we make wareby, so weigh our opinions with that in mind.

tommy and omar at their farmers market booth
written by tommy + omar

we started tandoco, a small bakery in minneapolis, and sold under a blue tent at farmers markets before we built wareby. our story

sell on wareby.

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