LotsCommerce and Big Cartel both take 0% of your sales and pay you through your own payment account. The difference is room to grow: LotsCommerce has unlimited products on every plan and covers 3 or 10 stores in one account, while Big Cartel caps products at 5, 50 or 500 and runs one shop per account.
If you sell a small range and want to start for free, Big Cartel is a good place to begin. If you build stores for clients, run more than one brand, or have more than 500 products, LotsCommerce is the better fit. I built LotsCommerce, and I checked every Big Cartel fact below on its own pricing and help pages on 19 October 2026.
LotsCommerce vs Big Cartel at a glance
Checked on 19 October 2026. US dollars before tax; monthly price first, then the price when billed yearly.
| LotsCommerce | Big Cartel | |
|---|---|---|
| Cut of your sales | 0% | 0% ("we never take a cut") |
| Plans | Starter $12 a month ($120 a year), Pro $29 ($290), Business $79 ($790) | Gold free; Platinum $15 a month ($144 a year); Diamond $30 ($288 a year) |
| Stores per plan | 1, 3 or 10 stores, all in one account | One shop per account |
| Product limit | Unlimited on every plan | 5 (Gold), 50 (Platinum), 500 (Diamond) |
| Features by plan | Every feature on every plan | More features on higher plans (abandoned cart recovery, product drops and Zapier on Diamond) |
| Team | Owner, admin, manager, staff and viewer roles, invite by email | "Created with one shop owner in mind": admin access goes to the shop's email |
| Getting paid | Your own Stripe account (in the countries Stripe supports) or Razorpay account (businesses registered in India), plus UPI and WhatsApp orders | Your own Stripe or PayPal account |
| Who holds the money | You do; LotsCommerce never holds it | You do; Big Cartel "does not hold your funds" |
| Custom domain | Every plan, with HTTPS | Platinum and Diamond |
| Shipping | Your own zones and rates; ship with any carrier, with tracking | Label printing with up to 90% off shipping, shipment tracking |
| Free start | 15,000 free credits, valid 90 days, no card | Free Gold plan; Platinum has 7 days free |
| Manage from ChatGPT or Claude | Yes, plus a REST API | Public API |
Where LotsCommerce is the better choice
Several stores in one account
Big Cartel prices one shop at a time, and its help center says you can only be logged in to one account at a time: "if you manage more than one shop, you'll need to log out of one shop to sign in to another."
LotsCommerce prices by store, and every store sits in one account. Starter covers 1 store for $12 a month, Pro 3 stores for $29 and Business 10 stores for $79. Billed yearly, that's $120, $290 or $790, two months free. For an agency building stores for clients, or a founder running two or three brands, that means one login, one bill and one dashboard. Each store stays separate, with its own products, orders, customers and payment account.
No product caps
Big Cartel's plans are sized by product count: up to 5 products on Gold, 50 on Platinum and 500 on Diamond. Its import guide notes that listings beyond your plan's limit won't be imported.
LotsCommerce has no product caps. Products, variants, orders, customers and teammates are unlimited on every plan, so the $12 store carries the same catalog as the $79 plan. A growing range never pushes you up a tier.
Every feature on every plan
On Big Cartel, abandoned cart recovery, scheduled product drops, password-protected products, Zapier and priority support are on Diamond. On LotsCommerce, plans differ only by how many stores they cover. Every store gets a fast storefront on your own domain, products with variants, categories and collections, CSV import and export, stock per variant with a low-stock view, discount codes, shipping zones and rates, shopper accounts with wishlists and reviews you approve, and analytics with a visit-to-order funnel.
A team on every store
Big Cartel says a shop "was created with one shop owner in mind", and admin access goes to the shop's email address. LotsCommerce has five roles: owner, admin, manager, staff and viewer. Invite people by email and give each one the access they need. An agency can give a client a role on their own store, and a brand can let a packer see orders without touching payments.
More ways to get paid, straight to you
Both platforms send the money to your own account, and neither takes a cut. Big Cartel works with Stripe and PayPal. LotsCommerce works with your own Stripe account (in the countries Stripe supports) and your own Razorpay account (cards, UPI, netbanking and wallets for businesses registered in India). You can also take UPI to your own UPI ID or orders on WhatsApp, settled with you directly. Your provider charges its own processing fee; LotsCommerce adds nothing. Setup guides: connect Stripe and connect Razorpay.
You accept each order
On LotsCommerce, you accept each order before it goes ahead, then fulfil, ship with any carrier (with a tracking number and link) and refund from the dashboard. Rejecting an order paid online queues its refund. Nothing slips through when you're out of stock or can't ship somewhere.
Nothing deleted if a payment lapses
If a LotsCommerce store isn't funded, nothing is deleted. The storefront stays readable, new orders pause and the dashboard turns read-only until it's funded again. Orders already placed can still be fulfilled and refunded.
What Big Cartel offers
Big Cartel is an independent company built for artists, makers and musicians, and it's a genuinely good start for a small shop.
- A free plan. Gold is free with no credit card, for up to 5 products, with sales tax autopilot and real-time stats.
- Low paid prices. Platinum is $15 a month ($144 a year) and Diamond $30 ($288 a year), 20% less when paid yearly.
- Shipping labels. Platinum and Diamond include label printing with up to 90% off shipping, and shipment tracking.
- Sales tax autopilot. If you sell in US dollars, Big Cartel calculates, collects and sends off sales tax on US orders.
- Sell in person. Take payments from your phone with the Big Cartel app, including tap to pay.
- Easy imports. Bring products over from Etsy, Squarespace or Shopify.
- Buy now, pay later. Afterpay, Klarna and Affirm through Stripe on paid plans.
Which one should you choose?
- Choose LotsCommerce if you build stores for clients, run more than one brand, sell more than 50 (or 500) products, want a team on the store with proper roles, or need Razorpay, UPI or WhatsApp orders. You pay per store, with every feature included, and 0% of your sales.
- Choose Big Cartel if you sell a handful of products, want to start on a free plan, need shipping labels, US sales tax handled for you, or in-person sales from your phone.
LotsCommerce plans are on the pricing page. New accounts get 15,000 free credits, valid 90 days, no card: about a month of one store.
How to move from Big Cartel to LotsCommerce
- Create your store. Sign up, create a store on a free yourstore.lotscommerce.com address and add your logo, colours, pages and policies.
- Add your products. Import them from a spreadsheet (CSV), or add them one by one with their variants, prices, stock and images.
- Connect your payment account. Connect your own Stripe or Razorpay account, or turn on UPI or WhatsApp orders.
- Set shipping and test. Add your shipping zones and rates, then place a test order.
- Connect your domain. Point your own domain at the store; HTTPS is set up for you. Keep your Big Cartel shop open until the new store is live.
You can also do the busy work from ChatGPT, Claude or another assistant. It works with the AI agent you already use: connect it from the setup page, then ask in plain words. For example:
Create a new store called Night Owl Prints. Add the 60 products in this spreadsheet as drafts, with their sizes, prices and stock, sorted into the categories in column B. Then show me what's missing before I publish.
Every change shows up in your dashboard, where you can review it and publish.
FAQ
Is LotsCommerce a Big Cartel alternative?
Yes. Both take 0% of your sales and pay you through your own payment account. LotsCommerce adds unlimited products on every plan, several stores in one account (3 on Pro, 10 on Business), team roles, and Razorpay, UPI and WhatsApp orders alongside Stripe.
Does Big Cartel take a cut of sales?
No. Big Cartel says "we never take a cut", and its help center says it doesn't charge transaction fees on orders. Stripe or PayPal charge their own processing fees (checked on 19 October 2026). LotsCommerce also takes 0% of your sales.
How much does Big Cartel cost?
Gold is free for up to 5 products. Platinum is $15 a month or $144 a year, for up to 50 products. Diamond is $30 a month or $288 a year, for up to 500 products (checked on 19 October 2026). LotsCommerce is $12 a month for 1 store, $29 for 3 and $79 for 10, with unlimited products.
How many products can I sell on Big Cartel?
Up to 5 on the free Gold plan, 50 on Platinum and 500 on Diamond, according to Big Cartel's plans help page (checked on 19 October 2026). LotsCommerce has no product limit on any plan.
Can I run several shops on Big Cartel?
Each Big Cartel shop is its own account, and you log out of one shop to sign in to another. LotsCommerce keeps every store in one account: Pro covers 3 stores for $29 a month and Business 10 stores for $79.
Does LotsCommerce hold my money?
No. Shoppers' payments go straight into your own Stripe or Razorpay account, or to you directly for UPI and WhatsApp orders. LotsCommerce never holds the money and takes 0% of your sales.
Sources
Checked on 19 October 2026: LotsCommerce pricing, Big Cartel pricing, Big Cartel Gold plan, Big Cartel premium plans, Big Cartel plans and features, Big Cartel: log out, Big Cartel: account ownership, Big Cartel: importing products, Big Cartel: processing fees explained, Big Cartel: accept online payments.