Best website builders for crafters in 2026: Etsy ($0.20/listing), Big Cartel (free or $15/mo), Square Online, Shopify ($29/mo), Squarespace ($19/mo), and Heya (free or $3/mo)

The short answer

Best free online shop Big Cartel offers a free, limited feature Gold Plan, and its paid Platinum plan costs $15/mo after a 7-day free trial with custom domain support.
Best marketplace with website add-on Etsy charges $0.20 USD per listing and a 6.5% transaction fee on Etsy.com, and offers its Pattern website tool for $15.00 USD per month after a 30-day free trial.
Best for large catalogs Shopify lets you sell unlimited products starting at $29 USD per month billed yearly ($39 USD per month billed monthly), with up to 87% off shipping.
Best for portfolios and stores Squarespace starts at $19 per month on the Basic plan with a free custom domain, portfolio support, and selling functionality (with a 2% online store transaction fee).
Best simple hub linking to Etsy Heya gives you a home page or link page for $0 (up to 5 pages per site) or $3 a month on Pro Lite (up to 20 pages per site) with buttons that link straight to your shop.

Craft website builders compared side by side

Here is how Etsy, Big Cartel, Square Online, Shopify, Squarespace, and Heya compare on price, selling fees, custom domains, and shipping tools.

Platform	Free plan or trial	Starting paid price	Selling and transaction fees	Custom domain	In-person or shipping tools
Etsy	No monthly fee on Standard; 30-day Pattern trial	Pattern $15.00 USD/mo; Etsy Plus $10 USD/mo	$0.20 USD listing; 6.5% transaction fee + processing	Via Tucows on Pattern for additional fee	Syncs listings with Square reader for in-person sales
Big Cartel	Free Gold Plan; 7-day trial on Platinum	Platinum $15/mo; Diamond $30/MO	Not stated	Included on Platinum ($15/mo)	Sell in person via phone; up to 90% off shipping
Square Online	Included in any Square plan	Not stated (Hardware from $59; Payroll $35/mo)	Not stated	Not stated	Orders and fulfillment; offline payments included
Shopify	3-day free trial; Agentic plan $0/mo	Basic $29 USD/mo billed yearly ($39 USD/mo monthly)	Basic online cards 2.9% + 30¢; 2% third-party fee	Included with Shopify Hosting	In-person cards from 2.6% + 10¢; up to 87% off shipping
Squarespace	14-day free trial (no credit card required)	Basic $19/mo; Core $29/mo	Basic: 2% fee + 2.9% + $0.30; Core: no store fee	Free custom domain on Basic	Manage orders and shipping; automated shipping on Core
Heya	Free plan ($0, no time limit, up to 3 sites)	Pro Lite $3/mo	Link buttons to your Etsy or checkout page	Pro Standard ($6/mo) includes 1 custom domain per account	Link out to your shop

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

"Not stated" means the pricing or feature detail was not provided in the source facts we checked.

Closer look at each website builder for crafters

Etsy

Standard: no monthly fee ($0.20 USD/listing + 6.5% fee); Pattern $15.00 USD/mo

Etsy charges a $0.20 USD listing fee per item and a 6.5% transaction fee on price, shipping, and gift wrapping. For a personalized site, Pattern costs $15.00 USD per month after a 30-day free trial, with no listing fees on Pattern-only items.

Better at: No monthly fee on Etsy Standard, Pattern-only items with no listing fees, and Square reader syncing for in-person craft markets.
Watch out: 6.5% transaction fees, $0.20 USD listing fees, and 15% Offsite Ads fees.

Big Cartel

Free Gold Plan; Platinum $15/mo; Diamond $30/MO

Big Cartel starts with a free Gold Plan for independent sellers. Platinum is $15/mo after a 7-day free trial for custom domains and digital products, while Diamond is $30/MO for scheduled drops and abandoned cart recovery. You can also import Etsy products.

Better at: Free plan to start, Etsy product imports, and scheduled product drops on Diamond.
Watch out: Automatic discounts and abandoned cart recovery require the $30/MO Diamond plan.

Square Online

Online store features included in any Square plan; Hardware from $59

Square Online includes a website, cart, checkout, and bookings in any Square plan. You get next day transfers and offline payments, though your device must reconnect within 24 hours of the first offline payment at a craft fair. Hardware starts at $59.

Better at: Online store features and next day transfers included with any Square plan.
Watch out: Offline payments are declined if not reconnected to the internet within 24 hours.

Shopify

Basic $29 USD/mo billed yearly ($39 USD/mo monthly); Agentic $0/mo

Shopify has a 3-day free trial, then $1 per month for 3 months. Full stores start on Basic at $29 USD per month billed yearly ($39 USD per month billed monthly) with unlimited products, a custom domain, and up to 87% off shipping.

Better at: Unlimited products, 10 inventory locations, and 50 free synced marketplace orders per month.
Watch out: Higher monthly cost after the initial $1 per month for 3 months intro period.

Squarespace

14-day trial; Basic $19/mo; Core $29/mo; Plus $49/mo; Advanced $99/mo

Squarespace gives you a 14-day free trial, a Fluid Engine editor, portfolios, and blogs, plus selling functionality on all plans. Basic costs $19 per month with a 2% online store transaction fee, while Core at $29 per month drops that 2% fee and adds automated taxes.

Better at: Designer templates, portfolios, and Acuity Scheduling for custom craft consultations or workshops.
Watch out: No free plan after the 14-day trial, and Basic charges a 2% online store transaction fee.

Heya

Free ($0); Pro Lite $3/mo; Pro Standard $6/mo

Heya is our no-code builder for one-page and small sites, with 68 templates (12 designs plus 56 use-specific templates). Heya Free is $0, and Pro Lite is $3 a month. There is no store, so crafters show up to 200 images and link to Etsy.

Better at: Free with no time limit or starts at $3 a month on Pro Lite, phone editing, and a countdown block to a date you pick.
Watch out: Free sites show a small "Made with Heya" badge and allow up to 5 pages per site, and custom domains require Pro Standard ($6 a month).

What a website for crafters and makers needs

First, decide if you want to take payments on your site or send buyers to Etsy. Selling directly means you need tools to sell products, accept payments, and handle orders and shipping, which you'll find on Big Cartel, Shopify, Square Online, and Squarespace (with label printing on Big Cartel Platinum and Shopify, and automated tax tools on Big Cartel, Shopify, and Squarespace Core).

If you sell at craft fairs, you can sync Etsy with a Square reader to skip Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee, take phone payments on Big Cartel, or use offline payments on any Square Online plan. For limited batches, Big Cartel's Diamond plan ($30/MO) schedules drops and password-protects products, Squarespace Plus ($49 per month) has a reserved cart and countdown timer, and Heya includes a countdown block on all plans.

When a dedicated ecommerce platform is worth paying for

Etsy Standard has no monthly fee, but you pay $0.20 USD to list each item for four months, a 6.5% transaction fee, payment processing fees, and a 15% Offsite Ads fee on attributed orders. Etsy's Pattern builder costs $15.00 USD per month after a 30-day free trial. For the same $15/mo, Big Cartel's Platinum plan gives you an independent store, a custom domain, up to 90% off shipping, and an Etsy importer.

If you want a portfolio too, Squarespace Basic is $19 per month with a 2% online store transaction fee, and Core is $29 per month with no transaction fees. For a large catalog, Shopify Basic ($29 USD per month billed yearly) includes unlimited products and 50 free synced marketplace orders per month.

Free vs paid craft websites

You can put your crafts online for $0. Big Cartel has a free Gold Plan, Square Online comes in any Square plan, and Shopify has a $0 per month Agentic plan for AI channels (online card rates from 2.9% + 30¢ USD). If you already sell on Etsy or at local markets and just need a home page, our Heya Free plan is $0 for up to 3 sites and up to 5 pages per site at yourname.heya.bio.

Heya Pro Lite costs $3 a month to remove the "Made with Heya" badge and get up to 20 pages per site. For a custom domain and to sell products online, look at Big Cartel Platinum ($15/mo), Squarespace Basic ($19 per month), or Shopify Basic ($29 USD per month billed yearly).

How to set up a craft home page on Heya with the template

If you want a simple home page that points buyers to your Etsy shop, you can start on Heya without an account and your draft stays in your browser until you publish. Pick from our 68 templates (or start blank) on your computer or phone, and upload up to 200 images per site up to 20 MB each, which Heya resizes to 2048 pixels and converts to WebP.

Add up to 6 buttons or 50 links for your Etsy listings, link up to 29 social networks plus email, phone, and website, or embed a YouTube or Vimeo video, a Google Maps pin for your next market, and a countdown block. When you're ready, sign in with Google to publish at yourname.heya.bio, with sitemap.xml and robots.txt generated automatically.

Open the crafters and makers template in the editor or see what it includes.

How we checked

We compared Etsy, Big Cartel, Square Online, Shopify, Squarespace, and Heya using their published plan prices, transaction fees, custom domain policies, and selling or showcase features for crafters and makers. The facts come from bigcartel.com/product/pricing, etsy.com/legal/fees, shopify.com/pricing, squareup.com/us/en/online-store/plans, squarespace.com/pricing, squarespace.com/websites, heya.page/pricing, heya.page/docs.

Plans change often. If a number here is out of date, email hello@heya.page and we'll fix it.

FAQ

Can I sell my crafts directly on a Heya website?

You can link a button or links block directly to your Etsy shop, checkout page, or online store so shoppers can buy your work. Heya lets you upload up to 200 images per site (up to 20 MB each, automatically converted to WebP) to showcase your crafts before sending visitors to checkout.

What is the cheapest way to build an online store for crafts?

Big Cartel has a free, limited feature Gold Plan, Square Online comes with any Square plan, and Shopify has a $0 per month Agentic plan for AI channels (card rates from 2.9% + 30¢ USD). For a full store with a custom domain, Big Cartel Platinum starts at $15/mo and Squarespace Basic is $19 per month.

How much does Etsy charge for a craft website?

Standard Etsy shops have no monthly fee, while a personalized website built with Etsy's Pattern tool costs $15.00 USD per month after a 30-day free trial. On Etsy.com, you pay $0.20 USD per listing, payment processing fees, and a 6.5% transaction fee on the listing price, shipping, and gift wrapping.

Can I move my Etsy listings to another website builder?

Yes, Big Cartel lets you import your products straight from Etsy, Squarespace, and Shopify. Shopify also gives you 50 synced marketplace orders per month for free, and charges 1% up to $99 per month once you go over 50 synced orders.

Which craft website builders work best for in-person craft fairs?

Etsy sellers can use a Square reader in person to sync listings and skip Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee and Etsy payment processing fees. Square Online includes offline payments on all plans if your device reconnects within 24 hours, Big Cartel takes in-person payments from your phone, and Shopify Basic has in-person card rates of 2.6% + 10¢.

Does Heya support custom domains for my craft site?

Yes, the Heya Pro Standard plan ($6 a month) includes up to 5 sites and 1 custom domain per account. Heya Free sites are published at yourname.heya.bio.

Best website builders for crafters and makers in 2026