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12 Free Big Cartel Alternatives Ranked by Real Users (2026)

Explore 12 alternatives to Big Cartel — vetted by our editors with real user reviews, pricing, and feature comparisons.

12 free Big Cartel alternatives worth comparing

Quick answer

Among free shopping cart software alternatives to Big Cartel, the leaders are SamCart, PayKickstart and Shoplo. SamCart ranks number one with a SpotScore of 9.4 and 4.88★ from real users. All 12 are compared on score, rating, and price below.

Switching away from Big Cartel is easier when you know which tools actually deliver. These 12 shopping cart software free alternatives earned their spots on SpotScore (verified user satisfaction plus market presence), star ratings, and pricing. Our editors vet each one. The table gives you the quick comparison; the sections below give you the why.

ProductSpotScoreRatingPricingBest for
SamCartStreamline your e-commerce experience with SamCart.9.4★★★★★ 4.88(135)Freefrom $39/moteams of all sizes
PayKickstartEffortless ecommerce, zero hidden fees.8.8★★★★★ 5(5)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · Subscriptionsmall & mid-size businesses
ShoploBuild your online store on the go.8★★★★ 3.67(12)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
UltraCartStreamline your online store with Ultracart's powerful tools.7.6Not yet ratedFreeFree Trial · Freemium · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
PrestaShopTransforming your online business with ease.9.8★★★☆☆ 3.36(288)FreeFreemium · Open-sourceteams of all sizes
GumroadEmpowering creators to sell their work directly.9.3★★☆☆☆ 2.3(107)FreeFreemium · Subscriptionsmall & mid-size businesses
X-CartStreamlining your online store, hassle-free.9.3★★★★ 4.29(109)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · One-time licenseteams of all sizes
OpenCartRevolutionize your online store with OpenCart.9★★★★ 4.13(123)FreeFree Trial · Freemium · Open-sourcesmall & mid-size businesses
CS-CartEmpowering your online store for success.8.7★★★★★ 4.6FreeFree Trial · One-time licensesmall & mid-size businesses
Fesh.Stand out, sell more with effortless online retail.8.5★★★★ 4.33(3)FreeFreemium · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
InvotideEmpowering business growth in the cloud and beyond.8.5Not yet ratedFreeFreemium · Subscriptionteams of all sizes
AbanteCartEmpower your business with powerful e-commerce tools.8.3★★★★ 4.25(4)FreeFree Trial · Open-sourcesmall businesses

9.4

SpotScore

SamCart - Shopping Cart Software

SamCart

Streamline your e-commerce experience with SamCart.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

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What is SamCart?

SamCart is fully customizable shopping cart software that's perfect for high volume, product-based businesses. It's integrated with over 1400 eCommerce platforms and includes features like multiple payment gateways, customizable email marketing, and a user-friendly interface. No other shopping ...

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Free TrialTry Free →·

SamCart offers custom pricing plan

8.8

SpotScore

PayKickstart

PayKickstart

Effortless ecommerce, zero hidden fees.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market

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What is PayKickstart?

PayKickstart is a open source shopping cart software that keeps in control of the data. This Internet store software comes with no setup fees, monthly charges or set-up charges and makes it possible for user to create and manage a site that suits the requirements. After the initial purchase, ...

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Free TrialTry Free →

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Reach in-market buyersRank above rivals2M+ buyers a year

8.0

SpotScore

Shoplo

Shoplo

Build your online store on the go.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

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What is Shoplo?

Shoplo is a new mobile shopping cart software, and an all-in-one app that allow users to build online stores on the go. Shoplo have different login modules; Social module logins via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc and then either manual or a single sign-on login. The app has 10 themes from ...

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Free TrialTry Free →

7.6

SpotScore

UltraCart

UltraCart

Streamline your online store with Ultracart's powerful tools.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

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What is UltraCart?

UltraCart is a shopping cart platform for small business owners and individual sellers who need a complete toolkit to launch and manage an online store from a single interface. It covers product listings, shipping configuration, promotions, and order tracking without requiring separate tools ...

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Free TrialTry Free →

9.8

SpotScore

PrestaShop

PrestaShop

Transforming your online business with ease.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Try for Free

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What is PrestaShop?

PrestaShop is shopping cart software that allows to sell online, quickly deploy an e-commerce website, manage a catalog of products, handle payments and orders, generate reports, and more. The open source solution comes packed with a wide array of features that make it one of the most popular ...

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9.3

SpotScore

Gumroad

Gumroad

Empowering creators to sell their work directly.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market

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What is Gumroad?

Gumroad is a global marketplace for creative communities that makes it easy to sell products directly to consumers. Gumroad helps artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and publishers sell their work directly to their audience with a modern shopping cart. Gumroad allows creators to sell ...

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9.3

SpotScore

X-Cart

X-Cart

Streamlining your online store, hassle-free.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

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What is X-Cart?

X-Cart is shopping cart software for small to medium online businesses. It is simple, fast and easy to use. X-Cart is fully customizable ad tailored to e-commerce needs providing 100% reliability, blazing performance and stability, all-time 24/7 support. It has over 14 years of tradition and ...

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Free TrialTry Free →

9.0

SpotScore

OpenCart

OpenCart

Revolutionize your online store with OpenCart.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market

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What is OpenCart?

OpenCart is a complete, open-source shopping cart software solution based on PHP and MySQL. Its intuitive interface enables user to set up the store in minutes. The modular design requires no web design experience. Full, free support is available from the user-friendly web interface or from the ...

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Free TrialTry Free →

8.7

SpotScore

CS-Cart

CS-Cart

Empowering your online store for success.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market

Start Free Trial

4.6

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What is CS-Cart?

CS-Cart is a PHP-based e-commerce platform for small to mid-size online retailers that need built-in SEO tools and advanced inventory management without relying heavily on third-party plugins. It powers over 50,000 stores worldwide and handles catalog management, customer support, and search ...

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Free TrialTry Free →

8.5

SpotScore

Fesh.

Fesh.

Stand out, sell more with effortless online retail.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Try for Free

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What is Fesh.?

Discover Fesh, the cutting-edge Free Online Store Builder that empowers aspiring entrepreneurs to seamlessly dive into the thriving world of online retail. With Fesh, creating a personalized online store is quick and effortless, eliminating the need for complex coding or costly web development ...

Read more about Fesh.

8.5

SpotScore

Invotide - Shopping Cart Software

Invotide

Empowering business growth in the cloud and beyond.

Best for: SMB teams · Mid-market · Enterprise

Try for Free

Add to compare

What is Invotide?

Invotide helps entrepreneurs grow their business - in the cloud and beyond. Get access to an eCommerce website, Point of Sale software, mobile apps, and integrated payment system in one all-inclusive solution. Enable split-payments, schedule and manage appointments with customers for salon and ...

Read more about Invotide

Starts from $12.50/Month when Billed Yearly, also offers free forever plan

8.3

SpotScore

AbanteCart

AbanteCart

Empower your business with powerful e-commerce tools.

Best for: SMB teams

Start Free Trial

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What is AbanteCart?

AbanteCart is a free, open-source shopping cart platform built on PHP and MySQL, designed for small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses that need a self-hosted storefront without licensing costs. It supports English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish, and allows technical teams to ...

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Why each made our Big Cartel alternatives list

SamCart9.4Best for teams of all sizes

User-friendly platform with simple user experience, making it easy for beginners to use.

Watch for: Lack of language support for non-English speakers, especially in the final checkout process.

PayKickstart8.8Best for small & mid-size businesses

No setup or monthly fees

Watch for: Limited customization options

Shoplo8Best for teams of all sizes

Excellent customer support with a small family business feel, providing helpful replies and assistance.

Watch for: Some users faced issues with delayed or incorrect order processing and communication from Shoplo.

UltraCart7.6Best for teams of all sizes

Comprehensive store management tools

Watch for: Limited advanced features

PrestaShop9.8Best for teams of all sizes

Easy to use even for beginners, with practical features and functionality.

Watch for: Limited availability of free modules, with some add-ons being expensive.

Gumroad9.3Best for small & mid-size businesses

Provides a platform for upcoming artists to sell digital products, generating income.

Watch for: Reports of poor customer service, with unhelpful or rude responses from support staff.

X-Cart9.3Best for teams of all sizes

Easy to use and set up, even for non-developers, making it beginner-friendly.

Watch for: Limited selection of shipping methods, requiring custom development for additional options.

OpenCart9Best for small & mid-size businesses

Flexibility and extensive customizability, enabling personalized solutions.

Watch for: Some users find the platform a bit basic compared to other e-commerce options.

CS-Cart8.7Best for small & mid-size businesses

Advanced SEO features

Watch for: Higher learning curve

Fesh.8.5Best for teams of all sizes
Invotide8.5Best for teams of all sizes

All-in-one eCommerce solution

Watch for: Limited customization options

AbanteCart8.3Best for small businesses

Free and open source

Watch for: Limited support options

Why teams look for a Big Cartel alternative

Most Big Cartel alternative searches trace back to a short list of frustrations:

  • Limited customization options for advanced users.
  • Lack of built-in automatic review features.
  • Relies heavily on self-driven marketing efforts for attracting customers.
  • Limited control over website appearance compared to some other platforms.

How to compare Big Cartel alternatives

What sets these 12 free alternatives apart, in the numbers: 12 offer a free tier; paid plans run $39, with SamCart the cheapest entry point; and PayKickstart is the highest rated at 5 across 5 reviews.

How we decide the order.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Stuck on something? We're here to help with all the questions and answers in one place.

The top-rated alternatives to Big Cartel are PayKickstart (5.0★), SamCart (4.9★), CS-Cart (4.6★). Compare all 12 alternatives side-by-side above.

When evaluating alternatives to Big Cartel, prioritize: Tax Management, Predefined Templates, Coupon Management, PCI Compliance, transparent pricing, free trial availability, and integrations with your existing tools. Use the filters above to compare by feature, budget, and team size.

Migration difficulty depends on how deeply Big Cartel is integrated into your workflows. Most alternatives offer data export/import tools and dedicated onboarding support. We recommend shortlisting 2–3 options, running a free trial, and checking each vendor's migration guides before committing.

How to choose a Big Cartel alternative with confidence

  • On a budget / just exploring: start with a free tier — SamCart, PayKickstart and Shoplo let you evaluate without paying upfront.
  • If real-user ratings matter most: PayKickstart has the strongest star rating (5★) among the options with verified reviews.
  • Want the safest pick: SamCart has the highest Spotsaas Score (9.4) in this list — a strong default if you're unsure.

Getting off Big Cartel without the headaches

Before you commit to leaving Big Cartel, validate the fit. Export your data, check the import works, and confirm your essential features carry over. Pilot the switch with a free trial, then go all in, keeping Big Cartel open as a safety net until you're settled.

Disclaimer: This research has been collated from a variety of authoritative sources. We welcome your feedback at [email protected].