Big Cartel and Trustd are both built for small sellers who do not need the complexity or cost of Shopify. Beyond that, they serve different types of sellers. Choosing the wrong one is not a disaster — but choosing the right one from the start saves you the hassle of moving everything later.
Here is how the two platforms compare, and which one fits which situation.
Big Cartel at a Glance
Big Cartel was founded in 2005 by a musician who wanted to sell band merchandise online. That origin shapes everything about the platform today: it’s minimal by design, priced for independent creators, and deliberately avoids the feature complexity of larger ecommerce platforms.
What Big Cartel does well:
- Free plan supports up to 5 products with no monthly fee and no platform transaction fees
- Paid plans start at $9.99/month (Platinum, up to 50 products) and $15/month (Diamond, up to 500 products) — significantly cheaper than Shopify
- Clean, minimal themes suited to art, prints, and handmade goods
- No transaction fees on any plan — you keep everything minus payment processor costs
- Simple setup — a basic store can be live in under 15 minutes
Where Big Cartel falls short:
- No WhatsApp ordering or social selling tools — no way to connect your Instagram or WhatsApp audience directly to your store
- No customer reviews — there is no built-in review system on any plan. One seller on Reddit put it plainly: “A shop can literally be on Big Cartel for years and never deliver a single thing” — with no reviews, new buyers have no way to tell a trusted seller from an unresponsive one
- Very limited integrations — “very little in terms of scaling up with BC. What you see is really what you get, very little integrations/ecommerce tools to work with”
- Mobile checkout shows its age — the platform’s design has not evolved as quickly as competitors and feels dated on mobile compared to more recent platforms
- No categories or collections on the free plan — organisation requires an upgrade
- Customer support is email-only, Monday to Friday — weekend issues wait until Monday
- Free plan URL is yourname.bigcartel.com — no custom domain without upgrading
Trustd at a Glance
Trustd is built specifically for boutique owners and social sellers — people who have been selling through Instagram DMs and WhatsApp and need a proper storefront that works the way they already operate.
What Trustd offers:
- Free plan — unlimited products, a premium shop page, WhatsApp ordering, and review management. No product cap, no time limit.
- Pro plan — $25/year internationally (around $2/month) or ₹999/year in India — online payments via Razorpay, Stripe, or Direct UPI, order management dashboard, categories and collections, coupons, analytics, and a Trustd Verified badge.
- WhatsApp ordering built in — customers tap a button on your storefront and a pre-filled WhatsApp message with their cart opens automatically. Works on the free plan.
- Verified reviews — customers verify their review via email, earning a Verified badge. Your Trust Score (based on rating, verification rate, and review volume) displays publicly on your store, directly addressing the trust gap that boutique sellers face with new customers.
- Razorpay integration — Indian sellers connect their own Razorpay account to accept cards, UPI, netbanking, and wallets in one checkout.
- Instagram + WhatsApp compatible — your Trustd store link (trustd.shop/yourname) works as both your Instagram bio link and your WhatsApp catalog external link, so customers land directly on your product pages from either channel.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Trustd | Big Cartel | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes — unlimited products | Yes — 5 products only |
| Paid plan price | $25/year (~$2/month) | $9.99/month (50 products) |
| Platform transaction fee | None | None |
| WhatsApp ordering | Yes — free plan | No |
| Customer reviews | Yes — verified, with Trust Score | No |
| Instagram/WhatsApp compatible | Yes | No |
| Razorpay / UPI payments | Yes (Pro) | No |
| Stripe payments | Yes (Pro) | Yes (Platinum+) |
| Order management | Yes (Pro) | Yes (all plans) |
| Categories and collections | Yes (Pro) | Yes (all plans) |
| Custom domain | Yes (Pro) | Yes (Platinum+) |
| Weekend support | Yes | No |
Big Cartel Is the Better Fit If…
You are a US-based artist, maker, or creator with a small, stable catalog — under 50 products, no social selling, and customers who find you through galleries, markets, or word of mouth rather than Instagram or WhatsApp. The platform’s simplicity and low cost are genuine advantages at that scale and for that selling model.
Trustd Is the Better Fit If…
You sell through Instagram and WhatsApp and need your storefront to connect to those channels. Or you want verified reviews that build trust with new buyers. Or you are an Indian seller who needs Razorpay and UPI payment support. Trustd’s free plan gives you more out of the box than Big Cartel’s free tier — unlimited products, WhatsApp ordering, and reviews — and the Pro plan costs less per year than two months of Big Cartel’s paid plan.
It is also worth considering if you expect your order volume to grow. Big Cartel is easy to outgrow quickly once orders pick up, and moving a store after you have built customer history, product pages, and links shared across your Instagram and WhatsApp takes time and risks losing things you have already earned. Choosing a platform that fits your current stage and has room for the next one avoids that problem entirely.
Start your free Trustd store — no credit card required, unlimited products from day one.