Comparison

Big Cartel vs Shiply

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

Shiply

Manage your parcel delivery process from adding to tracking. Update parcel information, initiate returns, and search for deliveries by name or phone number. Order and review detailed invoices for your cash transactions.

Highlights
  • Add and track parcel deliveries
  • Check balance, pending, delivered, and returned parcels
  • Change parcel info during delivery
  • Return and resend parcels
  • Search and filter parcels by status
  • Order and review invoices
Features
Read full description

By using Shiply app you can add and track whole Parcel delivery process. In addition, it contains the following features: - Once you log in, you can check your balance, Pending, delivered and returned parcels. - You can change parcel info during delivery process (like phone number, price ..etc) - Return and resend parcel. - Search by phone or name and filter parcels by status. - Also you can order an invoice in order to send the cash to you. - You can review your invoices with all parcels in fine details. And a lot of features that help you finishing your job in the best performance, so you are welcome to join us and hopefully enjoy these features.

Screenshots

Big Cartel4 screens
Shiply4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Big Cartel at 4.7 against Shiply's 3.9. Big Cartel also leads on ratings volume (6.8K vs 33) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). Shiply's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, review sentiment, 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 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Big Cartel has 6.8K ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 28% of Big Cartel's written reviews are positive against 33% of Shiply'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, Shiply monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Big Cartel versus Shiply: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBig CartelShiply
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.8K ratings) — better3.9 (33 ratings)
Positive reviews28.4% of reviews33.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.8K — better33
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size170 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBig CartelShiply Logistics

Customer experience

Big Cartel

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

Shiply

All ratings33 ratings
Positive72.7%
Neutral3.0%
Negative24.2%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

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)

Shiply

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Big Cartel

No in-app purchases

None

Shiply

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Big Cartel free?
Big Cartel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shiply free?
Shiply is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Big Cartel or Shiply?
Big Cartel is rated higher. Big Cartel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.8K ratings, while Shiply averages 3.9 from 33 ratings.
Do Big Cartel or Shiply have ads?
Neither Big Cartel nor Shiply shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Big Cartel or Shiply?
Big Cartel ships an update fortnightly, and Shiply monthly. Most recently, Big Cartel was updated on November 1, 2026 and Shiply on November 3, 2026.

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