9 Etsy Alternatives for Selling Your Crafts (2024) - Shopify (2024)

If you create crafts, curate collectibles, or sell handmade items, you know the marketplace Etsy.

With more than 96 million buyers, Etsy is a popular website for entrepreneurs who want to start an ecommerce business.

As a discoverability tool for brand awareness, Etsy is a great place to start, but as a centralized marketplace that owns your customers’ data, an Etsy shop can only take your business so far. With restrictive store design, a cut of your profits, and limited options for customer interaction, many sellers eventually search for Etsy alternatives.

For those looking for a new ecommerce platform or selling site, here’s a list of Etsy alternatives that allow you to sell items on other marketplaces or on your own website.

9 best Etsy alternatives

1. Shopify
2. Big Cartel
3. Squarespace
4. Wix
5. Ecwid by Lightspeed
6. IndieMade
7. Bonanza
8. Amazon Handmade
9. Goimagine

Sellers who explore alternatives to Etsy often do so because of its restrictive rules. For example, Etsy owns all your customer data, which makes it hard to create personalized emails or targeted ads. Except for vintage items and craft supplies, it also prohibits reselling.

Faced with these constraints, many makers with crafts to sell decide to build online stores.

1. Shopify

Shopify is the best alternative for makers who want more flexibility than Etsy can offer. As a Shopify user, you can sell directly to customers through your own online store, while also selling on Etsy from your Shopify dashboard.

Many current Shopify merchants began their businesses on Etsy before migrating to Shopify when they were ready to grow. As Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform, moving from Etsy to Shopify is seamless—whether you want to sell online, in a retail store or pop-up shop, or through social media.

Shopify is user-friendly, with hundreds of templates for easy customization and branding. Unlike seller marketplaces, Shopify stores have a full suite of tools and resources, including merchant loans through Shopify Capital, a point-of-sale solution with Shopify POS, and even local delivery and fulfillment—all while you keep full control of your online store and customer list.

2. Big Cartel

Big Cartel is a store-builder made for handmade craft sellers, entrepreneurs, and creatives who want to sell art online. Big Cartel users can list up to five products on its free plan. That makes the platform a solid option among Etsy alternatives for budget-conscious sellers who have just a few products and want to avoid Etsy’s listing fees.

It includes website templates that you can customize to match your branding. You can use your own domain name, and also access a number of marketing tools. Shoppers buy directly from your store and can communicate with you through a contact form.

3. Squarespace

Squarespace is a website builder known for its drag-and-drop interface. Like the other website builders on this Etsy alternatives list, Squarespace’s main advantage over Etsy is that it allows you to sell to customers from your own site. That helps you avoid Etsy’s seller fees and gives you access to your customers’ data, which makes it easier for you to interact with your audience through owned media channels like email.

Like Shopify, Squarespace allows you to import Etsy listings using a third-party migration app and sell to customers both directly through your custom ecommerce site and through third-party marketplaces. Since Squarespace isn’t purpose-built for ecommerce, some sellers may find the platform doesn’t have all the features they need to grow their business.

4. Wix

Wix is a website-builder that allows you to sell products directly to your customers, bypassing Etsy’s fees and providing a custom branded experience. Like other builders on this list of Etsy alternatives, Wix offers editable website templates, custom domains, site hosting, and some marketing features.

Wix lets you track orders, accept PayPal and credit card payments, create promotional coupons, and set tax and shipping rules for different locations. There’s a tiered monthly pricing plan, plus a community knowledge hub.

5. Ecwid by Lightspeed

Ecwid by Lightspeed isn’t a website builder—it’s a tool that allows you to add ecommerce functionality to your existing website, social media, and other sales channels. Ecwid’s advantage over Etsy is that it allows customers to shop and purchase products from the places where they interact with you online.

For example, if you’re an artist with an existing portfolio on a compatible platform, you can use Ecwid’s Buy button to add shopping features to that portfolio site. This makes Ecwid a unique option among this list of the best Etsy alternatives.

If you don’t already have your own website, you’ll need to use a separate website builder in order to use Ecwid. And, if you want to sell on Etsy and Ecwid, you’ll need to choose a paid plan with a product limit that suits your business’s needs.

6. IndieMade

IndieMade is an Etsy alternative with features specific to artists and art dealers. In addition to a (limited) online store-builder, you can create a calendar of events, an image gallery, your own blog, and a news section—giving you a lot more features than Etsy for a more well-rounded brand experience.

IndieMade’s inventory management feature will sync your website with your Etsy store. Like Etsy, however, there are limited options for product variants, making it difficult for merchants with growing product offerings. If offering a broad range of product variants is important to your business model, then one of the other Etsy alternatives on this list may be a better fit.

7. Bonanza

Bonanza is a marketplace like Etsy, meaning you can sell unique items such as arts, crafts, and collectibles alongside other vendors. Its main advantage over Etsy is that Bonzanza also gives you the option to create a standalone website for your online store.

It’s free to list items on Bonanza, but the site charges final value fees like Etsy. You can import items directly from Etsy and create automated listings on Google Shopping, eBay, and Nextag.

One unusual thing about Bonanza is that it lets buyers and sellers negotiate on price, so bear this in mind when pricing your products.

8. Amazon Handmade

Amazon is not generally associated with handmade or unique products, but it does have a marketplace branch of its brand for selling craft and artisan goods. Amazon Handmade offers makers an Amazon storefront to showcase their products. Amazon Handmade’s advantages over Etsy include shipping through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), no listing expiration, analytics, and Amazon-sponsored ads.

Selling your creations on Amazon Handmade could be a good way to get your products in front of loyal Amazon customers. But keep in mind that costs are higher than other marketplace platforms, with Amazon taking a 15% commission per transaction as well as a monthly membership fee. Plus, like Etsy, Amazon owns your customer relationships, which can make it difficult to harness the power of other sales channels.

9. Goimagine

Goimagine is an online marketplace similar to Etsy. Unlike Etsy, Goimagine also offers users the option of creating their own online stores. Plus, you get access toGoimagine’s social network for makers and a training academy. To list on Goimagine, products must meet guidelines that require them to be made by the seller using hand tools or light machinery.

Once accepted, some sellers have found Goimagine’s interface clunky, but you can use the built-in dashboard to view sales statistics, track orders, and manage inventory. New users can import products from Etsy by emailing a CSV file to Goimagine’s support team. (That process is a bit more cumbersome than the integrations offered by other options on this list.)