Etsy remains one of the easiest places to reach shoppers looking for handmade, vintage and creative products, but it is not the only way to sell. The alternatives fall into two distinct groups: marketplaces that provide some built-in discovery, and independent store platforms that give you more control but require you to attract visitors yourself.
Our top choice for a growing brand is Shopify. Big Cartel is the most economical fit for a tiny catalog, Squarespace is strongest for visual presentation, and Amazon Handmade offers the broadest marketplace reach among the alternatives listed here. None automatically reproduces Etsy’s traffic, so the right choice depends on your products, audience, margins and appetite for marketing.
What counts as an Etsy alternative?
An Etsy alternative can be another handmade marketplace, a general marketplace, a standalone online store, an artist portfolio with commerce, or a tool that adds shopping to a website you already own.
Etsy supplies marketplace search and shopper intent. Shopify, Big Cartel, Squarespace, Wix and similar services supply storefront infrastructure instead; they do not automatically deliver Etsy-level organic traffic. Bonanza and Amazon Handmade sit between those models because they retain marketplace discovery while keeping marketplace rules and fees.
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Why sellers look beyond Etsy
- Transaction, listing, payment-processing and advertising fees can reduce margins. Etsy lists a 6.5% transaction fee on the total order amount in the listing currency, with other fees potentially applying: Etsy’s fee documentation.
- Marketplace search, policies and account decisions remain outside the seller’s control.
- Product pages appear beside competing listings, limiting brand differentiation.
- A custom domain, email list, wholesale operation or multichannel inventory system may require an owned store.
- Etsy controls the marketplace relationship and limits how buyer information may be used under its policies; an owned store generally gives you more direct control, subject to privacy law and customer consent.
Our comparison criteria
We weigh audience and discovery, total cost, brand control, customer and order-data portability, product support, operations, ease of use, scalability and policy risk. A lower subscription is not automatically cheaper if it removes sales or requires expensive apps and advertising.
Quick comparison
| Platform | Type | Built-in discovery | Store and brand control | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy | Handmade marketplace | High relative to independent sites | Limited | Existing handmade demand |
| Shopify | Independent commerce | Low by itself | High | Building a durable brand |
| Big Cartel | Lightweight independent store | Low | High | Very small catalogs |
| Squarespace | Website plus ecommerce | Low | High | Design-led brands |
| Wix | Website builder plus ecommerce | Low | High | Flexible beginner sites |
| Ecwid | Embedded ecommerce | Low | High | Adding commerce to an existing presence |
| IndieMade | Artist-focused site and store | Low to limited | High relative to a marketplace | Artist portfolios |
| Bonanza | Marketplace with optional store | Moderate or limited | Partial to high, depending on setup | Marketplace selling with Etsy import |
| Amazon Handmade | Large marketplace | High potential reach | Limited | Repeatable products suited to Amazon |
Discovery labels describe each model, not a sales guarantee. Category demand, ranking, photography, reviews, price, shipping and promotion still determine results.
Our eight picks
1. Shopify — best for long-term growth and ownership
Shopify provides a custom-domain storefront, checkout, analytics, marketing tools, multichannel selling and a large app ecosystem. Its US Basic plan is listed at $39 per month when paid monthly or $29 per month when paid yearly. Online card rates start at 2.9% + 30¢, and third-party transaction fees can apply when Shopify Payments is not used: Shopify pricing.
Products are unlimited on the listed Basic plan, making Shopify suitable for a growing catalog, retail expansion or wholesale. The trade-off is responsibility: you must generate traffic through search, social, email, advertising or partnerships. Themes, apps, domain registration and migration can increase the real cost.
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2. Big Cartel — best budget choice for a tiny catalog
Big Cartel’s Gold plan is free for up to five physical products. Platinum is listed at $15 per month for up to 50 physical products, and Diamond at $30 per month for up to 500. Big Cartel lists no Big Cartel transaction fee; payment processing still applies. Paid plans add features such as custom domains, digital goods, discount codes, shipping labels and abandoned-cart recovery. Imports from Etsy, Squarespace and Shopify are supported: Big Cartel pricing.
The five-product free limit can be restrictive when variants, seasonal releases or separate listings count toward your catalog. Complex inventory, teams, wholesale and advanced automation are better served elsewhere.
Choose it if: you sell a handful of products and want a low-risk owned shop. Avoid it if: you expect hundreds of listings or sophisticated operations.
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3. Squarespace — best for presentation-led brands
Squarespace combines polished templates, portfolio pages, editorial content and ecommerce. It offers a 14-day trial, and annual billing can save up to 36%. Current plans use different online-store transaction-fee structures, including a 2% fee on one plan and 0% on higher commerce plans; payment-processing fees remain separate. Check the selected plan before subscribing: Squarespace pricing and Squarespace selling-plan details.
It is compelling when photography, story and visual identity drive sales. It is less compelling for marketplace discovery, complex inventory or deep operational automation.
Choose it if: your portfolio and brand presentation matter as much as checkout. Avoid it if: you need Etsy-like browsing demand or a highly specialized commerce back end.
4. Wix — best flexible website builder
Wix lets you combine ecommerce with blogs, galleries, bookings and other content through a drag-and-drop site builder. Plan availability and pricing vary by country, currency, billing term and promotion, so confirm that the selected plan supports ecommerce on Wix’s plans page.
Wix is adaptable for a beginner building a broad website, but you supply the traffic and may outgrow it as inventory, staff, wholesale and automation needs become more demanding.
5. Ecwid — best for adding a shop to an existing presence
Ecwid is designed to add commerce to an existing website, blog, WordPress site, Wix or Squarespace site, or social presence. Its plans provide different selling features and can support online and in-person selling; see Ecwid pricing.
This avoids rebuilding an established domain and audience. It is not a marketplace, and advanced needs may require integrations. Verify payment-processing charges separately from the Ecwid subscription.
Choose it if: you already have content, a domain or a social audience. Avoid it if: you are starting from zero and need buyer discovery.
6. IndieMade — artist-focused, but verify before committing
IndieMade is positioned around artist websites with galleries, events and shop functionality. Current plan pricing, commerce capabilities, export options and support details need confirmation directly at IndieMade before purchase.
Confirm support for physical and digital products, variants, shipping, taxes, payments, downloads and modern integrations. Its likely strength is portfolio presentation; its risks are a smaller ecosystem, limited discovery and possible migration constraints.
7. Bonanza — marketplace selling with additional flexibility
Bonanza is closer to Etsy than a pure store builder. Comparison coverage describes Etsy imports, optional standalone-store functionality, buyer-seller negotiation and distribution to additional shopping channels: Shopify’s comparison. Verify current seller fees and membership terms at Bonanza’s seller page before listing.
Its audience is smaller than the major marketplaces, and negotiation can create pricing pressure. It suits sellers who want another marketplace, not those seeking strict price control or a predictable large audience.
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Amazon Handmade requires approval and provides access to Amazon shoppers, handmade-specific positioning, analytics and sponsored advertising. The program may also support Fulfillment by Amazon, although fulfillment is often unsuitable for personalized, one-off, fragile or slow-to-produce goods. Start with Amazon Handmade’s official program page.
Current comparison coverage reports no monthly fee after approval and a 15% referral fee with a $0.30 minimum per transaction, but confirm those figures with Amazon before relying on them. Amazon controls the customer relationship and marketplace environment, so bespoke products built around personal communication or premium storytelling may fit poorly.
Choose it if: your products are repeatable, searchable and operationally compatible with Amazon. Avoid it if: production times vary or customization is central.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Marketplace or owned store?
Use a marketplace when you need shoppers who are already browsing and accept platform rules, fees and limited branding. Use an owned store when you want a custom domain, stronger control of merchandising, direct repeat-purchase marketing and more portable customer and order records—but are prepared to create demand.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallA common low-risk strategy is marketplace plus owned store: keep Etsy or add Amazon Handmade for discovery while directing repeat customers, with permission, toward your branded site. Do not close a profitable Etsy shop until the replacement channel has produced reliable sales.
Illustrative cost scenarios
Low volume: 10 orders a month
Assume 10 orders monthly at a $35 average product price, little existing traffic, no paid advertising and shipping charged separately. At this volume, a fixed monthly store cost is spread over few orders, while marketplace discovery may be worth more than a lower platform fee. Big Cartel’s free tier can be attractive if five products are enough. Etsy may still be worthwhile as a discovery channel alongside a small owned store. These are illustrative comparisons; payment processing, taxes, apps, advertising and labor are excluded.
Higher volume: 100 orders a month
Assume 100 orders monthly at a $50 average order, an existing social or email audience and more than five products. Subscription economics improve as volume rises, and Etsy’s percentage and listing fees can become material. Shopify’s recurring and payment costs may be easier to forecast, but marketing and app expenses remain. A reported 15% Amazon Handmade referral fee can be expensive at scale even when Amazon supplies demand. Lower fees do not create savings if the independent store produces no incremental orders.
Choose the platform that matches your situation
- Shopify: serious brand, growing catalog, custom domain, multichannel or wholesale.
- Big Cartel: five or fewer products or a very simple low-cost shop.
- Squarespace: visual presentation and portfolio storytelling are central.
- Wix: you need a general-purpose website with flexible content and commerce.
- Ecwid: you already have a website, blog or social audience.
- IndieMade: you are an artist and its verified current features meet your gallery and shop needs.
- Bonanza: you want another marketplace and accept a smaller, negotiation-oriented environment.
- Amazon Handmade: products are repeatable, searchable and easy to fulfill consistently.
- Stay on Etsy: it remains profitable and supplies meaningful discovery.
- Use Etsy plus another platform: you want diversification rather than an immediate replacement.
Migration checklist
- Export product titles, descriptions, images, variants, SKUs, prices and inventory.
- Confirm whether the destination has native Etsy import or requires a third-party tool; Big Cartel explicitly lists imports from Etsy, Squarespace and Shopify.
- Secure your domain and plan redirects so existing links do not break.
- Review customer permissions, email-list portability, reviews and order-history retention.
- Recreate shipping profiles, tax settings, payment methods, returns and digital-download delivery.
- Test checkout, personalization fields, confirmation emails, inventory decrements and mobile display with representative products.
- Keep backups and preserve Etsy records; every hosted platform has verification, prohibited-product, payment-hold and suspension procedures.
Important product and geography checks
Digital sellers should verify native downloads, file-size limits, automatic delivery, VAT or sales-tax handling and license controls. Sellers of personalized or made-to-order goods should examine production-time settings, buyer messaging and fulfillment workflows before choosing an automated marketplace. International sellers must check currencies, local payment methods, VAT/GST, duties, shipping zones and returns. The prices cited above are US-focused and can differ elsewhere.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
