AddTheShop vs Big Cartel

Big Cartel is loved by artists and makers for being simple and honest. It is a hosted storefront though: your shop is a Big Cartel site with your branding, not your own site with a shop in it. If you already made a site you are proud of, AddTheShop lets you sell from that one.

Big CartelAddTheShop
Monthly feeFree for 5 products; $15 and $30 plansNone
Transaction feeNone from Big Cartel; Stripe or PayPal fees2% + Stripe's fee
Where the shop livesA Big Cartel storefront (custom domain on paid plans)Inside your existing site
DesignBig Cartel themesYour site's design; grid inherits your font
AI managementAdmin UIOAuth MCP server, REST API

Your site, not a storefront

Big Cartel's themes are nice, but they are Big Cartel's. With AddTheShop the shop is a section of the site you already built, in Lovable, Framer, Webflow or plain HTML, and it inherits your design.

Pricing

Big Cartel's free plan covers five products; after that it is $15 or $30 a month. AddTheShop has no product limit and no monthly fee; we take 2% per sale.

For makers who use AI

Describe a new piece to Claude or ChatGPT connected to AddTheShop and it is in the shop with a price and stock count. That is a different relationship with your store than logging in to an admin.

Questions

Can I accept PayPal like on Big Cartel?

Checkout runs on Stripe. PayPal through Stripe depends on availability in your country.

I don't have a site yet. Which is better?

If you have no site at all, Big Cartel's hosted storefront gets you online fastest. If you can prompt one in Lovable or Bolt in an hour, AddTheShop gives you a site that is yours plus a shop.

Does AddTheShop handle shipping rates?

It collects the shipping address. Shipping fees are coming; today you price shipping into the product or charge separately.

Keep your site. Add the shop.

Products, cart and Stripe checkout from one script tag. Free to start, 2% per sale. Your AI installs it and runs it.

Add the shop

See the live demo

Other comparisons

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