Both Big Cartel and Wix are powerful eCommerce platforms, but they each serve a different genre of sellers.

Big Cartel is an eCommerce focused website builder for creative artists who sell handmade or vintage products. It’s an affordable option for users with a low budget and the software comes with decent customization and marketing options.

Wix, on the other hand, is an all-around website builder that also allows you to build an eCommerce store. It’s easy to work with and comes with a range of unique marketing and sales tools to help you succeed online.

If you’re trying to decide between the two, you’ve come to the right place. 

I’ve spent over 9 hours researching and reviewing these two platforms so you don’t have to. Read the rest of this guide to discover everything you need to know, including their design and customization features, blogging functionality, eCommerce tools, support, pricing, and more. 

1. Ease of Use

Both website builders are beginner-friendly and offer free plans to get started with your website development. But, how easy is it to create a website using each platform? Let’s take a look.

Big Cartel:

Big Cartel makes it easy for you to build a unique online shop, sell your work, or run a creative business. 

The onboarding process is simple, and there are no intricate processes to contend with. Just choose a plan, log onto your dashboard, and you can access all the different options for website design, product listing, payment setup, and more. 

Even complete beginners will find the process simple and intuitive. Unlike other eCommerce store builders, there aren’t too many features that overwhelm users. 

The drag-and-drop website builder simplifies the entire process from building your store to adding products to putting your logo, adding product titles, descriptions, and payment methods. 

Just follow the Getting Started Checklist on your dashboard, and you’ll be selling your products online in no time.

Summary of Big Cartel’s Ease of Use Features:

• Pre-built eCommerce templates
• Simple interface that is easy to learn for beginners
• The platform supports third-party plugins
• You can access it from a website or  iOS app
• Getting Started Checklist to simplify onboarding

Wix:

Wix has a modern interface that is easy to navigate. All the tools you need to build your website are at your fingertips and you simply have to click on any element, such as text, images, etc. to add it to your page. 

The site builder’s drag-and-drop editor doesn’t require any coding knowledge. Even non-techies will find this feature-rich platform easy to use. It gives you a higher level of creative control over your website, and you can make changes on a pixel-by-pixel basis. 

In addition to the Wix editor, there’s also an AI (artificial intelligence) site building tool, Wix ADI that you can use to customize your website in one go. 

Just input the information about the website you’d like to build, and in a few minutes, Wix’s AI will create a custom site for you. 

Website building doesn’t get any easier than that. 

Summary of Wix’s Ease of Use Features:

• Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) for swift site creation
• Modern interface that’s easy to navigate
• Simple, unstructured editor for pixel-perfect site design
• Drag and drop editor for simplicity and ease
• Quick integration of blog, store, and other features

Winner: Wix

Big Cartel is a specialized professional website builder that exclusively focuses on the development and management of online stores. Wix, on the other hand, is an all-in-one website builder that allows you to create different kinds of web-based projects, including small and medium online stores. 

The system is extremely easy to use and you get three different types of website builders to choose from depending on your skill level. You can even get the AI to create your website for you just by answering a few short questions.

2. Design and Customization

If you are new to the website building space, you might need extra help to know where to start designing your website. Fortunately, both platforms offer a ton of pre-designed templates, as well as a simple drag-and-drop editor and intuitive processes for creating a new website. 

But, there are some distinct differences between them that you need to be aware of. 

Big Cartel:

Big Cartel is a store builder made for creatives. It has dozens of store themes to choose from. You won’t have to build your online store from scratch, but compared to Wix, you may find the design flexibility subpar. 

You don’t have quite as many options for customizing your designs, and some of them look a bit dated. Of course, you can build your store from scratch or, if you have knowledge of CSS, you can make more in-depth changes to the templates.

Unlike Wix, Big Cartel themes do not offer basic visual features, such as the “zoom†feature on product images. And, knowing how much conversion depends on visual stimuli, this is a huge problem for anyone who wants to build an eCommerce store and showcase products in detail.

Summary of Big Cartel’s Design and Customization Features:

• All-in-one eCommerce tool to set up small-to-large online stores
• Built-in marketing tools
• 3rd-party integrations available 
• Well-curated web design tips and prompts
• Deep template customization via CSS editing

Wix:

Wix has over 900 templates available to you in a wide range of categories. You can choose a template that fits your industry and type of website. Use the drag-and-drop editor to customize it by changing different elements, including images, backgrounds, texts, and colors. 

The Wix website editor is among the best you’ll find out there, but one drawback of using Wix is that once you’ve published your new site, it’s difficult to change to a new template without losing your content. 

This can be frustrating for new users who may want to try out different website layouts before making their choice.

As previously mentioned, Wix also has artificial intelligence that simplifies the design process for you. Experienced users can use Wix Code to get into the back end of the website for even more design and customization options.

Summary of Wix’s Design and Customization Features:

• User-friendly designs
• Wix Artificial Design Intelligence for easy site design
• Free tools to create your own logo
• Fully customizable templates for mobile and desktop devices
• Built-in marketing and sales tools

Winner: Wix

Compared to Big Cartel, Wix has significantly more templates to choose from which makes it more likely that you’ll find one that works for your particular business. Also, Wix’s WYSIWYG drag-and-drop page editor gives you the ability to customize every element to create the exact look you want for your website. 

Wix also has a separate mobile editor that you can use to make your store mobile-friendly. And although the sheer number of features and customization options can prove overwhelming to beginners, as you get to know the platform, you will appreciate the creative freedom it gives you to build your website or online store on your terms.

3. eCommerce Capabilities

If you intend to sell products or services online, then you want a website builder with powerful eCommerce capabilities. 

Both Wix and Big Cartel come with built-in features to market, sell, and manage your products, as well as integrations with third-party apps to further extend the functionality of your online store. Let’s see how they compare.

Big Cartel:

Big Cartel has decent eCommerce tools, although not quite as many as you’ll find on Wix. Mostly, the platform relies on third-party app integrations for tools like email marketing, payment processing, blogging functionality, and more. 

You can get all of these features on the free plan, but if you want to integrate advanced marketing, sales, and analytics tools on your platform, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan. 

On Big Cartel, you’re also limited in the types of products you can sell. You can only sell physical products, but you cannot sell services of any kind. 

You can easily manage basic features like product and inventory management, as well as shipping and payment options from your dashboard. But, if you want features like bulk editing, you will have to sign up for a higher-tier plan. 

This platform isn’t ideal for sellers with bigger catalogs of 500 or more products as you are limited to that number on the highest tier plan. 

Unlike many other eCommerce platforms, Big Cartel doesn’t charge fees or take a cut of your sales. You get to keep all your money, which is a huge plus. 

Summary of Big Cartel’s eCommerce Capabilities:

• Multiple payment options, including PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.
• No transaction fees on any of the plans
• Instant checkout when using Stripe on Big Cartel
• Simple management of products and inventory 
• Affordable platform with eCommerce features on the free plan

Wix:

Wix has powerful eCommerce features that continue to improve with time. You get a powerful point-of-sale (POS) tool that allows you to sell online and in physical stores. 

Another great feature of Wix is that it lets you sync your inventory and filter your products easily on your website. 

The platform facilitates drop shipping via built-in integrations to platforms like Sprocket, Syncee, and Modalyst. 

You get all the tools you need to build and manage your online store, but you can also integrate third-party apps from the Wix App Store if you want to further extend your eCommerce store’s functionality.

Summary of Wix’s eCommerce Capabilities:

• Over 80 payment options, including the Wix in-house payments solution
• Bespoke point-of-sale system for selling offline
• Easy billing and shipping management system
• Customizable checkout experience for customers
• Multi-channel selling option available

Winner: Wix

There’s no denying that Wix is the best website builder for creative sellers. It offers better product management, stunning presentation, and easy listing for your products. 

On Wix, you can create an immersive shopping experience thanks to features like built-in product videos, easy product image zoom, and more. Wix also has custom checkout pages that let you put your brand in the best light possible. There’s no limitation as to what types of products you can sell, or how much.

4. Blogging Tools

A blog lets you publish content to get your online business noticed in the SERPs (search engine results pages). You can use it to educate your audience about your product and services. Over time, your content will bring you quality traffic organically, which means you get targeted visitors who are more likely to convert into paying customers.

Big Cartel:

Big Cartel does not have a blogging engine. This is one of the main downsides of this platform, particularly for eCommerce store owners who want to connect a blog to their web store.

Wix:

On Wix, creating a blog is easy. Simply click the “Start Blogging†tab on the left-hand side of your dashboard. Choose a blog layout from the available options and you can start creating your content. 

The Wix blog templates simply determine the layout of your blog and are independent of your main website template. 

Most of the templates allow you to pick a featured image and post header and you can populate your content with different types of elements, including stylish headings, images, embedded videos, audio, and more. 

Organize your posts using relevant categories and tags. You can also enable commenting to increase interaction with your blog visitors. 

All in all, Wix has a blogging engine that is very easy to use. If you have basic blogging needs, it is everything you need to create and publish or schedule your posts.

Summary of Wix’s Blogging Tools:

• Simple and fast blog setup process
• Beautiful blog layouts are available 
• Seamless, no-code content editing experience
• Organize posts with categories and tags
• Activate comments for increased reader engagement

Winner: Wix

5. Search Engine Optimization Tools

Big Cartel:

Although Big Cartel doesn’t offer blogging functionality, the platform does ensure quality SEO for your product pages by default. The website builder has built-in SEO settings designed to help your online store rank high in search engines. 

For example, a sitemap is automatically generated for you when you create your site. You also get unique meta-descriptions for each of your web pages, including meta-keywords for any major categories you have in your online store. 

You can fill in or adjust all the SEO settings on your dashboard with ease.

Summary of Big Cartel’s Search Engine Optimization Tools:

• Built-in SEO features for product pages
• Unique meta descriptions for your pages
• Sitemap is automatically created for each site
• Meta keywords for all major product categories

Wix:

Wix has all the search engine optimization tools we’ve come to expect from a website builder in its league, including structured data markup, server-side rendering (SSR), URL customization, and custom meta-tags

You also get a range of advanced SEO features available to use. If you don’t know how to leverage any of these features, never fear. You get an SEO setup checklist, and there’s also the Wix SEO Wizard to guide you through the entire process of optimizing your website..

Summary of Wix’s SEO Features:

• Built-in basic and advanced SEO tools
• Powerful website analytics for actionable growth insights
• SEO Wiz and tailored SEO checklist to get your site indexed fast
• SEMRush integration to find high-ranking keywords for your website
• SEO API for developers to customize client-side code

Winner: Wix

Having a beautiful website is redundant if you can’t get your content to rank high in the search engines. You want to be able to drive organic traffic to your products and services, so you want a website builder with powerful search engine optimization features that’ll help you rank high on Google.

6. Community and Support

Most website builders are designed for ease of use. However, they also provide multiple channels for you to get assistance whenever you need it during your website-building journey. Let’s see how Wix and Big Cartel compare in this regard.

Big Cartel:

According to many reviews online, Big Cartel customer support is quite slow and disappointing. You can only contact the support team through email, and they will only respond to you Monday to Friday, between 9 AM and 6 PM. 

Of course, there is a help center or knowledge base that is stocked with a range of topics related to building your online website or store. 

However, if you should require additional assistance from an actual human, you will have to make do with email during the times outlined above.

Wix:

Wix has an online help center packed full of articles to answer any questions you might have regarding the software. You can browse through the well-curated library of documents, but if you still require assistance from an actual person, you can get in touch with the support team through live chat, phone, or email. 

It’s important to note that only VIP subscribers get access to 24/7 priority phone support. There’s also a vibrant Facebook community of Wix users with whom you can connect and get guidance and advice along your website-building journey.

Winner: Wix

Many website builders offer a 24/7 email option at the very least. It’s quite disappointing that Big Cartel can’t provide this to its customers. For this reason, I rate its customer service below average. 

Wix, on the other hand, offers premium customer support, including a dedicated support center with every conceivable help topic. You’ll find articles sorted categorically and you can use the easy search feature to find answers quickly. 

If the self-help option isn’t enough and you require further assistance, you can contact Wix support through email, chat, or call back.

7. Pricing

Although price should never be the only consideration when choosing a website builder, it’s still important to make sure that you choose a platform that provides you with all the tools you need at an affordable price. 

The good news is, both Big Cartel and Wix have a range of growth-focused plans that you can choose from depending on your exact requirements.

Big Cartel:

Big Cartel has 3 simple plans to help you create the perfect online store for your business. Each plan comes with an easy store builder, pre-made website themes, and expert customer support. 

Here’s what else you get when you sign up:

• Gold Features: $0/Month: You can sign up for a free plan on Big Cartel with no credit card required. You’ll be able to add up to 5 products with one image per product. You’ll also get free customizable themes and tools to sell online and in person. You can use a custom domain and get access to shipment tracking, sales tax autopilot, and real-time stats for your online store.
• Platinum Features: $9.99/Month: This plan lets you list up to 50 products with no listing fees. You get all the features in the Gold plan, and you can add up to 5 images per product. Other features include theme code editing, integrated Google Analytics, inventory tracking tools, and bulk editing tools.
• Diamond Features: $19.99/Month: This plan is basically the same as the Platinum plan, except that you can add up to 500 products. It’s ideal for you if you’re ready to scale your eCommerce business to the next level.

Wix:

Wix offers a range of plans to suit different needs. Here’s what each premium plan entails:

• Wix Free Plan: Wix has a free forever plan that lets you build a simple website. The plan includes free web hosting and a sub-domain (e.g. YourSite.wixsite.com). This is an ad-supported plan, which means Wix ads will be shown on every page and favicon in the URL. You get up to 500 MB of storage and bend with. Unfortunately, this plan doesn’t include customer support, Google Analytics, or online payments. You’ll have to upgrade to one of the premium plans to unlock these and other features.
• Combo Plan: $15/Month: This plan is ideal for personal use. It comes with a free domain, a free SSL certificate, and 2GB of storage space and you can host up to 30 minutes of video. You can sign up for a free trial on any of the premium plans to get access to the core features before deciding whether or not this SiteBuilder is right for you.
• Unlimited Plan: $22/Month: The Unlimited plan comes with everything in the Combo plan + 5GB of storage space, one hour of video, and a visitor analytics app. This plan is ideal for entrepreneurs and freelancers and comes with a Google Ads budget to help promote your business.
• Pro Plan: $27/Month: The Pro plan is ideal for complete online branding. It comes with all the features in the Unlimited plan, as well as 50GB of storage space, two hours of video, an events calendar app, and over 40 different sizes of your logo ready to use on various social media channels.
• VIP Plan: $45/Month: This plan has everything in the Pro plan, as well as 100GB storage space, 5 video hours, and priority customer care. If you value first-priority support, then this plan is ideal for you. 

Winner: Wix

The winner here is Big Cartel (for beginners, at least). The platform’s free plan offers more features, unlimited bandwidth, and no ads. When you’re ready to upgrade to a paid plan, you’ll still be paying less compared to Wix. However, when it comes time to scale your eCommerce site, Wix offers more value for money for larger eCommerce stores.

Final Thoughts

I hope this Big Cartel vs Wix comparison has helped you determine the unique features of each website builder to make it easier for you to make your choice. 

Big Cartel is an indie business that keeps things simple and affordable. There are no hidden fees, and you can start for free. As your store grows, you can then upgrade to a premium plan to unlock more features and resources.

Wix is a more powerful website builder with advanced functionality and exceptional design tools that let you create any type of website you want. But, because of its many built-in tools and customization options, it comes with a steeper learning curve compared to Big Cartel. 

You might choose one over the other depending on your needs and level of expertise.

Choose Big Cartel if you are an individual or small-scale seller who wants a dedicated eCommerce platform for creators and artists. You can create your online store on the free plan and pay no transaction costs. 

You’ll get automatic SEO, but you’ll have to upgrade to a higher-priced plan to get integrations for analytics, email, and more. In short, Big Cartel is perfect for you if you are a hobbyist or side hustler who wants an online store to sell just a few items in low volumes. 

Choose Wix if you want an easy-to-use platform to launch a professional and functional website with future expansion in mind. You’ll get a platform that merges high-end functionality with simple website creation tools for flexibility and ease. You can use the Wix App Marketplace to add more features and functionality to your site.