Comparison

Big Cartel vs BigCommerce

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Big Cartel

Build and manage your online store from your phone. This platform provides all the tools needed to start selling your creations, from adding products and managing inventory to processing orders and running promotions. It's designed for creators to easily turn their passion into profit.

Highlights
  • Add and edit products
  • Manage inventory and photos
  • Real-time order notifications
  • Shipment management
  • Offer discounts
  • In-person payments
Features
Read full description

Big Cartel is an easy-to-use ecommerce platform where do-it-yourselfers turn their passion into profit with all the tools you need to start and scale your online store, right in one place. Don’t have a Big Cartel shop yet? Download the app and start your online store for free, no credit card required. The Big Cartel app gives you full control of your ecommerce shop, wherever you are. Your online store doesn’t stop, and now you don’t have to either. Add products. Manage orders. Track inventory. Run promos. Sell on the go. All from your phone. Whether you’re packing orders in your studio, selling at a market, or updating your shop from the couch, this app makes it easy to stay on top of it all. What you can do: Add and edit products on the fly Upload photos, set prices, update inventory Get real-time order notifications Manage shipments and mark orders as sent Offer discounts to boost sales Collect payments in person—no extra gear needed Why sellers love it: Everything in one place—online and IRL Built for speed and simplicity No tech skills needed Works seamlessly with your Big Cartel store You create. You sell. This app keeps up.

About

BigCommerce

Manage your online store from anywhere with this mobile app. Create and process orders, update product listings, view customer information, and monitor key business performance metrics on the go. It's a powerful tool for growing brands to run their e-commerce operations from their mobile device.

Highlights
  • Live store performance metrics
  • Order creation and management
  • Catalog updates and product management
  • Customer details and history
  • Payment processing and refunds
  • Product image uploads
Features
Read full description

Wherever you are, take your online store with you. The BigCommerce app lets you create and manage orders, update your catalog, view customer details and access key performance metrics for running your business on-the-go. BigCommerce is the most versatile ecommerce platform for growing brands and is now accessible from your mobile device. STORE PERFORMANCE - Access live store performance metrics such as revenue, orders, visitors, and conversion rates - Track trends over the course of day, week, month, or year - Compare previous time period trends right from the store performance dashboard ORDER MANAGEMENT - Get notified for orders as they are placed - View order details to stay on top of fulfillment - Accept payments for orders, and perform refunds - Create new orders for your customers - View and print order invoices CATALOG MANAGEMENT - View and search products - Adjust product details such as price, description, and inventory - Upload new product images using your device camera or camera roll CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT - Keep track of customer details and their order history - Contact customers easily by tapping to call or email

Screenshots

Big Cartel4 screens
BigCommerce4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: BigCommerce at free against Big Cartel's free with in-app purchases. BigCommerce also leads on review sentiment (40% vs 28%). Big Cartel's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (6.8K vs 640). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Big Cartel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Big Cartel has 6.8K ratings behind it against 640, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 28% of Big Cartel's written reviews are positive against 40% of BigCommerce's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Big Cartel ships an update fortnightly, BigCommerce every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Big Cartel versus BigCommerce: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBig CartelBigCommerce
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.8K ratings) — better4.5 (640 ratings)
Positive reviews28.4% of reviews40.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.8K — better640
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size170 MB38 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperBig CartelBigCommerce

Customer experience

Big Cartel

All ratings6,834 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews320 reviews
Positive28.4%
Neutral12.5%
Negative59.1%

BigCommerce

All ratings638 ratings
Positive87.0%
Neutral3.4%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive40.3%
Neutral9.4%
Negative50.4%

User reviews

Big Cartel

From 6.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Affordable
  • 🚀 Great for small businesses
  • 🚀 Customizable store
  • 🚀 Good customer service

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Constant crashing/glitching
  • 🐛 Slow loading times
  • 🐛 Buggy app
  • 🐛 Logging out issues
  • 🐛 Limited features compared to competitors

BigCommerce

From 640 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Awesome app
  • 👍 Great for managing store on the go
  • 🚀 Intuitive and well-designed
  • 🚀 Reliable and functional
  • 👍 Convenient and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
  • 🔒 Requires constant login
  • ⚠️ Limited functionality compared to website
  • ⚠️ Missing key features like order editing
  • 🐛 Unreliable product search and inventory management

Bugs and requests

Big Cartel

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on startup
  • Products/orders not loading
  • Inability to save changes
  • Constant 'error' messages
  • Black screen issues after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to add more product images
  • Integrated shipping tracking
  • Discount code management
  • Abandoned cart emails
  • More payment options (e.g. Afterpay)

BigCommerce

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on launch or during use
  • Login issues and inability to stay logged in
  • Inaccurate or missing data in analytics and reporting
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS/Android versions
  • Inconsistent performance and frequent bugs

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to edit orders and product details
  • Improve search functionality and inventory management
  • Implement push notifications for orders and updates
  • Allow more customization and control over the app
  • Provide better integration with the main BigCommerce platform

In-app purchases

None

Big Cartel

No in-app purchases

None

BigCommerce

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Big Cartel free?
Big Cartel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BigCommerce free?
BigCommerce is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Big Cartel or BigCommerce?
Big Cartel is rated higher. Big Cartel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.8K ratings, while BigCommerce averages 4.5 from 640 ratings.
Do Big Cartel or BigCommerce have ads?
Neither Big Cartel nor BigCommerce shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Big Cartel or BigCommerce?
Big Cartel ships an update fortnightly, and BigCommerce every 2 weeks. Most recently, Big Cartel was updated on November 1, 2026 and BigCommerce on November 2, 2026.

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