Anticode vs Big Cartel: a simple store for makers, or a designed site with a small shop
Big Cartel is a straightforward store for artists, musicians and makers: pick a template, add products, connect Stripe or PayPal, and print shipping labels as orders come in. Anticode builds a whole designed site from a description, with a small shop section whose buy buttons open a payment link. If selling the work is the job, Big Cartel is the closer fit; if the shop is one part of a wider site, Anticode is.
The short answer
Choose Big Cartel if you sell prints, records, zines or merch and need a cart, stock tracking, shipping labels and sales tax handled for you. Choose Anticode if your site has to explain who you are and what you offer across several pages, take enquiries or bookings, and sell a small number of things through one checkout link, with the design and security checked before anything is published.
What each one makes
Big Cartel's product page describes a platform built for independent creators, artists and brands: pick a template, add products and connect Stripe or PayPal, with 0% transaction fees, real-time inventory tracking, discounted shipping labels, discount codes, sales insights, in-person selling and apps for things like print on demand. Its templates page offers free, customisable templates where you choose preset colour and font combinations or go fully custom.
Anticode starts from a sentence about the business. The Architect asks up to three questions where the answer would change the build, shows a plan, and the design engine lays out the site in one of seven design systems: a portfolio with a Work page, say, plus Shop, About and Contact. A shop on Anticode is a designed product page whose buttons all open your payment link from Stripe Payment Links, PayPal, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify or Whop.
Side by side
| Anticode | Big Cartel | |
|---|---|---|
| Design approach | Seven design systems, nineteen design checks and a publishing gate | Free templates with preset colour and font combinations or custom styling |
| How you build | Describe the site, answer up to three questions, then edit | Pick a template, add products, connect Stripe or PayPal |
| Selling | One payment link per account; no cart, stock or shipping | Cart, inventory tracking, shipping labels, sales tax and discounts |
| Code ownership and export | One HTML file or a Next.js project; push to GitHub | No export described on the pages we read |
| Hosting and custom domains | anticode.dev address free; your own domain on paid plans | Hosted by Big Cartel; custom domains from Platinum |
| Security checks | Twelve checks on the shipped HTML; failing pages can't be published | No pre-publish security scan described on the pages we read |
| Pricing model | Daily and weekly build allowance, a quote before each build | Free Gold plan; Platinum and Diamond monthly plans |
| Best for | Portfolios and service sites with a few things for sale | Artists and makers whose site is mainly a shop |
Plans
As of 24 October 2026, Big Cartel's pricing page shows prices with a dollar sign and no named currency, in its monthly view. Platinum is $0 to start with a seven-day free trial, then $15 a month, and includes custom domains, physical and digital products, shipping labels with order tracking, a customisable shop design and apps. Diamond is $30 a month and adds abandoned-cart recovery, scheduled product drops, password-protected products, Zapier connections and priority support. The Gold plan is free, with five product listings, one template (Cosmos), card and PayPal payments, automatic sales tax and product variants.
Anticode's plans aren't priced by products. Each has a daily and a weekly building allowance, a quote before every build and nothing counted for builds that fail. Free sites carry a small badge and use an anticode.dev address. Current amounts are on the pricing page.
Taking money
On Big Cartel, a customer adds items to a cart and checks out through Stripe or PayPal, and you see the order, print a label and track the shipment. On Anticode there is one payment link per account, so every buy button on every site opens the same checkout. For several products, link to a product list at your provider, such as a Gumroad profile or a Shopify collection, and let the provider handle the order, delivery and tax. It works for a commission slot or a single print run; it isn't a store system.
Where Big Cartel is the better choice
- A catalogue with variants. Sizes, colours and stock counts per product.
- Shipping. Label printing, discounted postage and shipment tracking.
- Sales tax. Big Cartel lists sales tax automation even on the free plan; Anticode doesn't handle tax.
- Selling at markets. In-person sales from your phone sit in the same shop.
- Moving from another store. Product import from Etsy, Squarespace and Shopify on paid plans.
Where Anticode is the better choice
- A site, not just a shop. Separate Work, Services, About, FAQ and Contact pages, written to your description.
- Commissions and enquiries. Contact and booking forms whose submissions are saved, emailed and sent to Slack, Notion, Google Sheets or a webhook.
- Checks before going live. Alt text, keyboard focus and a page language are required, and twelve security checks run on every page.
- Code you own. Export to one HTML file or a Next.js project.
Who should pick which
A screen printer shipping fifty orders a week should use Big Cartel. An illustrator who mostly needs a portfolio, a commissions form and one page selling a print edition through a payment link can do that on Anticode. Big Cartel alternatives covers other options, and payment links explains how Anticode's checkout works.
Anticode's limits
No cart, inventory, shipping or tax handling; one payment link per account; no product variants; fixed fields on built-in forms with no file uploads; no video or embeds on design-engine pages; and an English-only builder. Big Cartel details come from its own pages on 24 October 2026. If they've changed, tell us through the contact page.
Questions people ask
Does Big Cartel charge transaction fees?
Big Cartel's product page advertises 0% transaction fees. Your payment processor, Stripe or PayPal, still charges its own fees.
Can I sell on Anticode without a cart?
Yes, through a payment link from Stripe, PayPal, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify or Whop. Every buy button opens that one checkout.
Does Anticode work out shipping or sales tax?
No. Anticode has no shipping, stock or tax handling. Whatever your payment provider's checkout does for those is what your customers get.
Sources
- Big Cartel product overview, checked
- Big Cartel pricing, checked
- Big Cartel Gold plan, checked
- Big Cartel templates, checked