Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Big Cartel VS React Engine

Compare Big Cartel VS React Engine and see what are their differences

Big Cartel logo Big Cartel

Big Cartel is home to hundreds of thousands of clothing designers, bands, record labels, jewelry makers, crafters, and other artists.

React Engine logo React Engine

A react render engine for Universal (previously Isomorphic) JavaScript apps written with express, by PayPal
  • Big Cartel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-17
  • React Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-02

Big Cartel features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Big Cartel has a user-friendly interface that is intuitive and easy for beginners to navigate.
  • Affordability
    It offers cost-effective plans, including a free version, making it accessible for small businesses and independent artists.
  • Customization
    Provides customizable templates that allow users to personalize their online stores to align with their brand.
  • No Listing Fees
    Big Cartel does not charge listing fees, which enables sellers to keep more of their profits.
  • Mobile App
    Offers a mobile app that allows users to manage their stores and track sales on-the-go.
  • Support for Creatives
    Caters specifically to artists, makers, and small business owners, with features that suit their needs.

Possible disadvantages of Big Cartel

  • Limited Features
    Compared to other eCommerce platforms, Big Cartel offers fewer advanced features, which might limit business expansion.
  • Inventory Management
    Inventory management tools are basic and may not be sufficient for stores with a large number of products.
  • Customization Limitations
    While it offers customization, the options are more limited compared to other platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce.
  • Payment Gateways
    Big Cartel supports fewer payment gateways, potentially limiting payment options for customers.
  • Scalability
    May not scale well for larger businesses due to the lack of advanced features and integrations.

React Engine features and specs

  • Isomorphic rendering
    React Engine enables both server-side and client-side rendering of React components, providing a seamless isomorphic/universal JavaScript experience. This allows for faster initial page loads and better SEO while maintaining rich client-side interactivity.
  • Express.js integration
    React Engine is designed as a view engine for Express.js, making it easy to integrate React into existing Express-based applications with minimal configuration. It follows familiar Express conventions for setting up view engines.
  • Built-in React Router support
    The library comes with built-in support for React Router, enabling developers to easily set up server-side and client-side routing without complex manual configuration.
  • PayPal backing
    React Engine was developed and maintained by PayPal, which provided credibility and ensured it was battle-tested in a large-scale production environment before being open-sourced.
  • Simplified setup
    The library abstracts away much of the complexity involved in setting up server-side rendering with React, reducing boilerplate code and allowing developers to get a universal React application running quickly.

Possible disadvantages of React Engine

  • Abandoned project
    The repository appears to be no longer actively maintained, with no recent commits or updates. This makes it risky to use in production as bugs and security vulnerabilities may go unpatched.
  • Outdated dependencies
    React Engine was built for older versions of React and React Router. It may not be compatible with modern versions of React (16+, 17, 18) or React Router (v5, v6), limiting its usefulness in current projects.
  • Limited ecosystem support
    The library is tightly coupled to Express.js, meaning it cannot be easily used with other Node.js frameworks like Koa, Hapi, or Fastify, reducing its flexibility.
  • Better modern alternatives
    Modern tools like Next.js, Remix, and Vite with SSR plugins provide far more comprehensive and well-maintained solutions for server-side rendering with React, making React Engine largely obsolete.
  • Limited documentation and community
    The project has relatively sparse documentation and a small community, making it difficult for new developers to troubleshoot issues or find examples and best practices for advanced use cases.

Analysis of Big Cartel

Overall verdict

  • Big Cartel is a good choice for small businesses, artists, and creators looking for a simple and budget-friendly ecommerce platform. While it may lack some advanced features present in larger platforms, its ease of use and affordability make it an attractive option for those who want to focus on selling unique products online with minimal technical hurdles.

Why this product is good

  • Big Cartel is a popular ecommerce platform known for its simplicity and ease of use, especially for artists and small businesses. It offers a range of customizable themes and a straightforward setup process. The platform is well-suited for those who want to quickly launch an online store without dealing with the complexities of larger platforms. It's also cost-effective, with free and affordable paid plans, making it accessible to independent creators.

Recommended for

  • Artists and creators who want an easy way to sell their work online
  • Small businesses with a limited budget
  • Independent sellers looking for a straightforward ecommerce solution
  • Those who prioritize simplicity and ease of use over extensive features

Analysis of React Engine

Overall verdict

  • Unable to verify a project specifically named 'React Engine' on GitHub with confidence, as this does not correspond to a widely recognized or well-documented open-source project that I have reliable information about. There may be multiple small or niche repositories using this name, and quality would vary significantly between them.

Why this product is good

  • React Engine is not a commonly recognized name in the mainstream React ecosystem
  • No verifiable consensus data on stars, maintenance status, documentation quality, or community adoption is available
  • Could refer to a personal project, a boilerplate, a rendering engine, or a niche tool - without more context, its quality cannot be assessed
  • Names like this are sometimes used for student projects, abandoned repos, or experimental tools that lack production readiness

Recommended for

  • Not recommended without further verification
  • Developers should search GitHub directly, check star count, last commit date, open issues, and documentation before adopting
  • Best suited for evaluation on a case-by-case basis rather than a blanket recommendation
  • If you have a specific repository URL, sharing it would allow for a more accurate assessment

Big Cartel videos

How I Package & Ship Orders | Big Cartel vs Shopify pt 1

React Engine videos

No React Engine videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Big Cartel and React Engine)
eCommerce
100 100%
0% 0
eCommerce Tools
89 89%
11% 11
eCommerce Platform
100 100%
0% 0
Customer Experience Management

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Big Cartel and React Engine

Big Cartel Reviews

Shopify Self-Hosted Alternatives for Your E-Commerce Success
Big Cartel stands out from many other e-commerce platforms due to its niche focus. Itโ€™s designed for artists, artisans, and small-scale entrepreneurs who want a straightforward platform to sell their creative work. Big Cartel is an ideal choice for those who value artistic expression and simplicity in their online store.
Source: cyberpanel.net
Top Platforms to build Ecommerce Website without Coding in 2023
Nevertheless, Big Cartel offers a wealth of helpful guides on how to use the platform and get the most out of it. Affordable plans starting at $9.99 and $19.99 are available from Big Cartel. There are three plans available on the platform: Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.
Source: qpe.co.in
Best Wix alternatives if You are not Satisfied with Wix (2023)
Big Cartel is a simple platform that is simple to use for non-programmers. It provides every tool required to open your store. You may also construct a custom shop on the website where you can display a selection of items. Big cartel provides excellent capabilities for tracking shipments, simple-to-use tools for analyzing data, and highly comprehensive websites. Big Cartel...
Source: qpe.co.in
How to Sell Art Online and Make Money From Home
Big Cartel has pricing ranging from free to $29.99 per month. The cool thing is that itโ€™s a flat fee, and they donโ€™t take a percentage of your sales. This one is definitely worth checking out if youโ€™re looking to make money from your art.
The best Etsy alternatives for selling your crafts
Big Cartel is geared specifically toward creatives and even has a limited but usable free plan. It doesnโ€™t offer a central marketplace like Etsy does, but it does provide services to help crafters develop an online store on their own site. Note that it doesnโ€™t include arrangements for credit card or other payments; that you will have to arrange yourself via Stripe, PayPal or...

React Engine Reviews

We have no reviews of React Engine yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Big Cartel should be more popular than React Engine. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Big Cartel mentions (7)

  • A man offers you $10,000 USD if you deliver fake cocaine to the cartel and promises lifetime protection if you succeed. Do you take this offer?
    Yep. I would get a bag of flour, put a sticky note on it that says โ€œCocaineโ€ w/ a QR code to this video. Then deliver it to big cartelโ€™s offices. Source: about 3 years ago
  • GoDaddy VS Squarespace
    If you only sell a handful of products I can recommend using the free version of bigcartel.com. It's specifically made for selling arts and crafts, trinklets, etc. You can even set up a free custom domain on the free plan. Source: over 3 years ago
  • my shop is on strike, but I've been thinking of leaving Etsy for awhile. Anyone have any alternatives?
    I don't think there's any marketplaces for handmade products (apart from Amazon Handmade) but if you want to have a shopping cart I recommend Big Cartel. It's remotely hosted (not self hosted) and it's designed for unsigned and independent creators (rather than department stores with thousands of products and categories). Yhey are targeting the lower-tier merchants rather than the middle tier and upper tier. It's... Source: over 4 years ago
  • Looking for website suggestions for a boutique.
    If you haven't already I recommend you check out bigcartel.com (not affiliated in any way). They're pretty easy to setup in my experience and their target audience is exactly those selling shirts, arts, and crafts etc. Source: over 4 years ago
  • What's an easy to use website builder that would let me start selling prints?
    You might look into Saatchiart.com and bigcartel.com; both sites where you can sell prints, but don't need to build your own web page. Source: about 5 years ago
View more

React Engine mentions (1)

  • react-engine vs other template engines
    I was wondering to use paypal's React Engine (https://github.com/paypal/react-engine), but I have some doubts:. Source: over 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Big Cartel and React Engine, you can also consider the following products

Shopify - Shopify is a powerful ecommerce platform that includes everything you need to create an online store and sell online. Try it free for 14 days.

WooCommerce - A freely available eCommerce plugin that enables shop facilities on your WordPress website. Functionality enabling extensions & beautiful themes available.

OpenCart - A free shopping cart system. OpenCart is an open source PHP-based online e-commerce solution.s

PrestaShop - Create your online store with PrestaShop's free shopping cart software. Build an ecommerce website for free and start selling online with hundreds of powerful features.

Magento - Magento is the eCommerce software and platform trusted by the world's leading brands. Grow your online business with Magento.

SquareSpace - Squarespace is the easiest way for anyone to create an exceptional website. Pages, galleries, blogs, e-commerce, domains, hosting, analytics, 24/7 support - all included.