Ask a room of artists which website builder they use and you will hear six or seven different answers. Some want a portfolio that looks like a gallery wall. Others need a shop that takes orders while they are packing for the next art fair. The right builder depends on what your website has to do for your business.

This guide compares six platforms artists use most: Brakebee, Shopify, Art Storefronts, Squarespace, Wix and Big Cartel. Every fact comes from what each company publishes on its own website, checked on October 14 and 15, 2026.¹–⁶

Brakebee is the one built around how working artists sell. A single catalog feeds your own website, a curated art marketplace, print-on-demand from a lab in Phoenix, and your sales at art fairs. Brakebee adds marketing tools on that same catalog, with Social Central for social media, email blasts and drips, an included CRM, and a done-for-you program called Managed Lines. Brakebee Custom Sites designs a private website for you, live in about a week.¹,²,³

What to look for in an artist website builder

Brakebee is designed for people who make their work by hand and sell it in more than one place. Everything runs on one catalog, so a piece you add once can appear on your website, in the Brakebee marketplace, at your art fair booth, at the print lab and in your marketing.²

Every free account includes a shop at yourname.brakebee.com with a catalog, product pages, an about page, collections, a blog, cart, checkout and a contact form, along with search titles, meta descriptions and share cards for each page.²,³ A website plan adds your own web address and more room to design the site.³

For artists who want a site designed for them, Brakebee Custom Sites builds a private design around your studio and sets it up on Brakebee with your shop, cart, checkout and catalog. A first draft usually arrives in four to seven days, launch takes about a week, and you approve the site before it goes live.¹ Custom sites add image protection, with right-click disabled and most screenshots showing a blank box, and Brakebee maps your old URLs so you keep the search authority you have already earned.¹ Custom Design is $500/year, and the one-time design fee is quoted per project, so you see the build cost before work begins.⁷

Accepted artists are listed together in the Brakebee marketplace, where buyers browse by category and style and can buy from several artists in one checkout. Acceptance turns on marketplace selling and the Verified Artist badge. The account is free, there is no monthly marketplace fee, and a marketplace sale carries a 15% commission with card processing included.²,³,⁸

Brakebee's lab in Phoenix prints your files. When a collector pays for a print, the lab prints, packs and ships it. When you need a stack for your booth, you can order a print run of the same file and have it shipped to you.³

You can browse events on Brakebee, apply with a reusable jury packet and artist personas, and take payment at the booth with Make a Sale, which accepts card, cash and other payments such as Venmo, Zelle or check.³

The same catalog can reach other places you sell. Square connects free, and add-on connectors cover Etsy, Shopify, Faire, Walmart, Wayfair, eBay and TikTok Shop. If you already run a Shopify store, the Shopify connector sends products from your Brakebee catalog to it, and Shopify orders come back into Brakebee with tracking sent back out.² The Wholesale Market add-on lets stores and galleries buy work you already have in stock, with your own wholesale prices, volume tiers and minimums.³

You can build your own setup from a free account and add only what you need, or choose an artist package that bundles a website, email, Leo AI credits and sales channels. Packages and their prices are listed on the <a href="https://brakebee.com/makers">Brakebee Makers page</a>, and catalog and CRM are included free in every option.⁸

Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform for running an online store, taking payments and selling on social channels and in person from one dashboard. You can start from a template or generate a store from a prompt, and every store includes hosting and a myshopify.com address, or you can connect your own domain.⁴ Plans include selling on social channels, marketplaces and AI chats, point-of-sale tools for pop-ups and events, and thousands of apps, which is how most stores add print-on-demand.⁴ Shopify publishes its plan prices on its pricing page.

Shopify suits artists who want to set up and manage a store themselves. Brakebee's Shopify connector lets you keep a Shopify store and run it from the same catalog as everything else. Our <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/art-storefronts-vs-shopify">Art Storefronts vs Shopify comparison</a> goes deeper on Shopify for artists. If you'd rather have your Shopify store run for you, see <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/shopify-to-managed-lines">why artists are moving from Shopify to Brakebee Managed Lines</a>.

Art Storefronts is a website and marketing service for artists, photographers and print studios, and it says more than 12,000 of them use it.⁵ The first step is a short introductory call, and pricing is shared after that call. Its sites offer editable art-focused designs, one-click design switching and image security with watermarks. Art Storefronts runs its own fine art print fulfillment and adds a 365-day marketing plan, weekly workshops, a member community and an in-house marketing agency.⁵

Art Storefronts suits artists who want coaching and a team guiding their marketing. Brakebee covers the same ground on print fulfillment and done-for-you help through Managed Lines, and adds a curated marketplace and art fair tools on one catalog. See our <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/art-storefronts-vs-shopify">Art Storefronts vs Shopify comparison</a> for more detail.

Squarespace offers designer templates with a drag-and-drop editor, and every paid plan includes ecommerce with unlimited products, gift cards and checkout on your own domain.⁶ It connects to Printful for print-on-demand on any plan, syncs your product catalog to Facebook and Instagram, and supports in-person sales through its mobile app and Square in the US.⁶ Every site starts with a 14-day free trial, there is no free plan, and plan prices are published on its pricing page.⁶ For a full guide, see <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/squarespace-for-artists">Squarespace for artists</a>.

Pick a template with large image layouts, and use the gallery and product blocks to separate your portfolio from your shop. Add a newsletter block so visitors can join your list, and connect Printful if you want prints made on demand. Turn on abandoned cart recovery so buyers who leave checkout get a reminder.⁶

Squarespace suits artists who want a polished portfolio first and a shop alongside it. Brakebee offers the shop, the portfolio pages and a blog as well, and adds marketplace reach, its own print lab and art fair tools on the same catalog.

Wix lets you create a site for free with no credit card, using thousands of templates, a drag-and-drop editor or an AI builder that creates a site from a single prompt.⁹ Free sites use a wixsite.com address, and premium plans add your own domain and remove Wix branding. Ecommerce and payments start on the Core plan and above, each plan includes a marketing suite that grows with the tier, and premium plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 customer care.⁹ Plan prices are published on its site.

Wix suits artists who enjoy designing pages themselves and want a wide choice of templates. Brakebee also starts free, and its free shop includes cart and checkout from day one, along with marketplace, print and art fair tools.

Big Cartel is a shop builder for independent makers. It offers a free plan with limited features and a free trial on its paid plan, with custom domains, physical and digital products, shipping labels, shop design customization and apps for print-on-demand.¹⁰ Its top plan adds abandoned cart recovery, scheduled product drops and password-protected products.¹⁰ Plan prices are published on its pricing page.

Big Cartel suits artists starting with a small catalog who want a simple shop. Brakebee's free shop covers the same starting point and grows into marketplace sales, print-on-demand, art fairs and marketing without moving platforms.

A website sells when people find it and come back. Here is what each platform publishes about its marketing tools.

Social Central. Connect your own social accounts and publish from the Brakebee dashboard. A free amount of posting is included, and the add-on covers more. Leo and Luca, Brakebee's AI helpers, work out when to post and create original content, and you choose what gets published.⁸

Email blasts and drips. A blast sends one email to your own list, written in the dashboard and sent when you choose. A drip sends a series on a schedule you set, which works well for welcoming a new collector or following up after a show.⁸ Your list lives in the CRM, which is included free with every account.⁸

Managed Lines. For artists who would rather hand off the online side completely, Managed Lines is Brakebee's done-for-you program. Brakebee builds your catalog, runs a hosted website, schedules posts through Social Central, lists your work across the Brakebee marketplace, Etsy, Faire, Wayfair, Walmart, eBay and TikTok Shop where it fits, sends regular emails and turns artwork into print-on-demand products when it makes sense.¹¹ Marketing in the program is organic, with social posting, email, marketplace listings and search-friendly product pages. Brakebee states plainly that it cannot promise sales and commits to doing the work consistently. You keep the copyright to your original work and keep selling at your in-person shows. Pricing and terms are shared when you apply.¹¹

If you are still deciding where to sell, our guide on <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/how-to-sell-art-online">how to sell art online</a> walks through every option.

Wix and Big Cartel offer free plans, Shopify and Squarespace start with free trials, and Art Storefronts begins with a call. Brakebee starts with a free account that already includes a shop with cart and checkout.

Getting started

Squarespace and Wix give you templates and editors to shape yourself, and Art Storefronts gives you art-focused designs to edit. Brakebee gives you a free shop, a website plan, or a private custom design built for you in about a week.

Design

Shopify, Squarespace, Wix and Big Cartel sell from your own site. Brakebee sells from your site and a curated art marketplace on the same catalog.

Selling

Shopify, Squarespace and Big Cartel add print-on-demand through apps or integrations, and Art Storefronts runs its own fulfillment. Brakebee prints, packs and ships from its own lab in Phoenix.

Printing

Each platform includes email or marketing tools, and Art Storefronts adds coaching and an agency. Brakebee offers Social Central, email blasts and drips, an included CRM and done-for-you marketing through Managed Lines.

Marketing

Shopify and Squarespace offer point-of-sale tools. Brakebee covers the whole show, from finding events and applying with a saved jury packet to taking payment at the booth.

Art fairs

Shopify, Squarespace, Wix and Big Cartel publish plan prices, and Art Storefronts shares pricing after a call. Brakebee publishes its packages, its marketplace commission and its Custom Design pricing.

Pricing transparency

Every platform here can put your art online. If you want one catalog behind your website, a curated art marketplace, print-on-demand, art fair sales and marketing, Brakebee brings them together, and you can start with a free account today. For more on the print side, see our guide to <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/best-print-on-demand-for-artists">print-on-demand for artists</a>.

¹ Brakebee, Custom Sites page: private design, shop and checkout, timeline, approval before launch, image protection, URL mapping. brakebee.com/custom-sites, confirmed Oct 14, 2026.

² Brakebee, Makers page: one catalog, free shop, marketplace and Verified Artist badge, connectors including Shopify order sync. brakebee.com/makers, confirmed Oct 14, 2026.

³ Brakebee, Features page: shop contents and SEO fields, website plan, marketplace, print-on-demand and print runs, art fair tools and Make a Sale, Wholesale Market. brakebee.com/makers/features, confirmed Oct 14, 2026.

⁴ Shopify, pricing page: platform overview, templates and prompt-built stores, hosting, social, marketplace and AI chat selling, point of sale, apps, email marketing, B2B catalogs, published plan prices. shopify.com, accessed Oct 14, 2026.

⁵ Art Storefronts, homepage and pricing page: member count, introductory call, designs, image security, fulfillment, CRM, email automation, marketing plan, workshops, community, agency. artstorefronts.com, accessed Oct 14, 2026.

⁶ Squarespace, pricing page: templates and editor, ecommerce on paid plans, Printful, point of sale, Facebook and Instagram sync, contacts panel, newsletter blocks, abandoned cart recovery, Mailchimp, free trial, published plan prices. squarespace.com, accessed Oct 15, 2026.

⁷ <a href="https://brakebee.com/custom-sites">Source: Website published prices as of 10/14/2026</a>

⁸ Brakebee, Makers page: free account, 15% marketplace commission with card processing included, no monthly marketplace fee, Social Central, email blasts and drips, CRM included, artist packages. <a href="https://brakebee.com/makers">Source: Website published prices as of 10/14/2026</a>

⁹ Wix, plans page: free plan with no card, templates, AI site builder, wixsite.com address, premium plan features, ecommerce on Core and above, marketing suites, money-back guarantee, customer care, published plan prices. wix.com, accessed Oct 15, 2026.

¹⁰ Big Cartel, pricing page: free limited plan, free trial, custom domains, products, shipping labels, design customization, print-on-demand apps, abandoned carts, product drops, Zapier, published plan prices. bigcartel.com, accessed Oct 15, 2026.

¹¹ Brakebee, Managed Lines page: program scope, marketplaces, organic marketing, no sales guarantee, ownership, pricing at application. brakebee.com/managed-lines, confirmed Oct 14, 2026.

Facts about other platforms reflect their websites on the date accessed and may change.

Artist editing a portfolio website on a laptop next to framed prints

Compare Brakebee, Shopify, Art Storefronts, Squarespace, Wix and Big Cartel for artists: design, selling, print-on-demand, marketing and how each one starts.

Best Website Builder for Artists in 2026: 6 Platforms Compared

If you are ready to sell your art online, two names come up again and again. Art Storefronts is a website and marketing service built for artists and photographers. Shopify is a general commerce platform that powers stores of every kind, including plenty of art shops.

Both can work well for artists, and the right choice depends on how much you want done for you, where you sell and how you handle printing and marketing. This guide compares them side by side, along with Brakebee, using what each company publishes on its own website, checked on October 14, 2026.¹,²

There is also a third option built specifically for working artists. Brakebee runs a curated art marketplace, a print lab in Phoenix and art fair tools on one catalog, and Brakebee Custom Sites adds a website designed for you on top of it. Brakebee also includes marketing tools for social media and email, and a done-for-you program called Managed Lines. We include Brakebee in the comparison below so you can see all three side by side.³,⁵,⁶

Art Storefronts, Shopify and Brakebee at a glance

Art Storefronts says more than 12,000 artists and photographers use its platform.¹ The first step is a five to ten minute introductory call, which the company describes as a chance for both sides to see whether it is a good fit. Pricing is discussed from there, since Art Storefronts does not list plan prices on its website.¹

The website side is built around selling art. You can edit fonts, colors and styles, switch to a new design in one click, and add password-protected pages and custom forms. Image security is a focus, with right-click disabled, watermarks on displayed images and high-resolution files kept off the site.¹

Art Storefronts also runs its own print-on-demand service. It advertises fine art printing on archival paper, canvas, metal and acrylic, along with merchandise such as calendars, mugs and totes, and orders ship with your logo on the packaging. If you own a printer, you can fulfill orders yourself instead.¹

Where Art Storefronts stands apart is the support around the website. Members get a 365-day art marketing plan, weekly live workshops, a private community, trusted seller badges and access to an in-house marketing agency.¹

Art Storefronts tends to suit artists who want coaching, marketing help and printing handled in one membership, and who like working with a team.

Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform for building an online store, taking payments and selling on social channels and in person from one dashboard.² You can start from a template or generate a store from a simple prompt, and every store comes with hosting and a free myshopify.com address, or you can connect your own domain.²

Shopify's plans include selling on social channels, marketplaces and AI chats, and its point-of-sale tools cover casual in-person sales at pop-ups and events.² For artists who do art fairs, that means the same catalog can serve your booth and your website. Shopify also connects to thousands of apps, which is how most stores add features such as print-on-demand.²

Shopify publishes its plan prices on its pricing page. It notes that card rates vary by plan and that third-party transaction fees apply when you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments.²

Shopify tends to suit artists who are comfortable setting up a store themselves, want full control over apps and design, and sell in person as well as online. Artists who want Shopify run for them can read <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/shopify-to-managed-lines">why artists are moving from Shopify to Brakebee Managed Lines</a>.

Brakebee is built for people who make the work themselves, with one catalog that feeds a curated marketplace, your own shop and your sales at art fairs.⁷ The account is free, signup does not ask for a card, and a marketplace sale carries a 15% commission with card processing included and no monthly marketplace fee.⁷

Every account includes a shop at yourname.brakebee.com with a catalog, product pages, an about page, collections, a blog, cart, checkout and a contact form. A website plan adds your own web address and more design room, and Brakebee Custom Sites goes further with a private design built for you.³,⁵

Print-on-demand comes from Brakebee's lab in Phoenix. After a collector pays, the lab prints, packs and ships the order, and you can also order a print run of your own files for show inventory.⁷ For art fairs, you can browse events, apply with a reusable jury packet and take payment at the booth with Make a Sale.⁵

The same catalog can reach other places you sell. Square connects free, and add-on connectors cover Etsy, Shopify, Faire, Walmart, Wayfair, eBay and TikTok Shop. A Wholesale Market add-on lets stores and galleries buy work you already have in stock.⁵ For marketing, Brakebee offers Social Central, email blasts and drips, and an included CRM, which are covered in the marketing section below.⁷

Brakebee tends to suit artists who sell at art fairs as well as online and want one catalog behind every place they sell. Artist packages and their prices are listed on the <a href="https://brakebee.com/makers">Brakebee Makers page</a>.⁷

Shopify is built for any product, so a few choices make a big difference for an art shop.

Head-to-head: how the three compare for artists

Art Storefronts begins with a call and a guided onboarding. Shopify lets you sign up and start building on your own the same day. Brakebee starts with a free account and a shop at yourname.brakebee.com, and Custom Sites begins with a quote or a short call.

Art Storefronts gives you art-focused designs you can edit and swap. Shopify gives you themes, templates and apps you can shape as far as your skills allow. Brakebee offers a block-built shop, a website plan with your own address, or a private custom design built for you.

Art Storefronts offers its own fine art print fulfillment. Shopify relies on apps or your own process. Brakebee prints, packs and ships from its own lab in Phoenix after a sale.

Printing and fulfillment

Art Storefronts pairs the site with a marketing plan and coaching. Shopify gives you social, marketplace and in-person sales channels to set up. Brakebee lists accepted artists in a curated marketplace and connects the same catalog to art fairs and other channels.

Finding buyers

Art Storefronts offers automated email, coaching and an agency. Shopify includes email campaigns and automations. Brakebee offers Social Central, email blasts and drips, an included CRM, and Managed Lines for done-for-you marketing.

Shopify publishes its plans online. Art Storefronts shares pricing after the introductory call. Brakebee publishes its artist packages and Custom Design pricing on its website.

Marketing tools: what each platform includes

A website only sells when people find it, so marketing tools matter as much as design. Here is what each platform says it includes for email, social media and promotion.

Art Storefronts leans hardest into coaching and paid advertising help, and Shopify gives you a broad toolkit to run yourself. Brakebee builds its marketing tools on the same catalog that powers your shop, the marketplace and your art fair sales, so a new piece can go from listing to post to email without being entered twice.¹,²,⁵

Social Central. Connect your own social accounts and publish from the Brakebee dashboard. A free amount of posting is included, and the add-on covers more. Leo and Luca, Brakebee's AI helpers, work together to suggest when to post and to create original content, and you choose what gets published.⁵ On a Brakebee custom site, Social Central can also show your feeds so visitors can follow you.³

Email blasts and drips. Email blasts send one email to your own list, written in the dashboard and sent when you choose. Email drips send a series on a schedule you set, which works well for welcoming a new collector or following up after a show.⁵ Both are add-ons, and the CRM that holds your list is included with every account.⁷

Managed Lines. For artists who would rather hand off the online side completely, Managed Lines is Brakebee's done-for-you program. Brakebee builds your catalog, runs a hosted website, schedules posts through Social Central, lists your work across marketplaces such as the Brakebee marketplace, Etsy, Faire, Wayfair, Walmart, eBay and TikTok Shop where it fits, sends regular emails to people who want to hear from you, and turns artwork into print-on-demand products when it makes sense.⁶ Marketing in the program is organic, with social posting, email, marketplace listings and search-friendly product pages, and paid ads are outside its scope. Brakebee is clear that it cannot promise sales and commits to doing the work consistently. You keep the copyright to your original work and keep selling at your in-person shows. Pricing and terms are shared when you apply, and spots are limited while the program is new.⁶

Some artists want a site designed for them without managing apps or joining a coaching program. Brakebee Custom Sites is built for that.

We design a private site around your studio and set it up on Brakebee, with your shop, cart, checkout and catalog live with the site.³ A first draft usually arrives in four to seven days, launch takes about a week, and you approve the site before it goes live.³ Your images get extra protection, with right-click disabled and most screenshots showing a blank box.³

Your site runs on the same catalog and order desk as the rest of Brakebee, so you can also sell on the Brakebee marketplace with no extra catalog work. If you sell framed art, Brakebee Print on Demand handles printing and fulfillment, so you get paid without touching the order.³ You can read more about the print side in our guide to <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/best-print-on-demand-for-artists">print-on-demand for artists</a>.

Custom Design is $500/year, and the one-time design fee is quoted per project, so you see the build cost before any work begins.⁴

For a wider look at website options, see our guide to the <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/best-website-builder-for-artists">best website builders for artists</a>. If you are just getting started, our guide on <a href="https://brakebee.com/articles/how-to-sell-art-online">how to sell art online</a> covers the basics.

Art Storefronts, Shopify and Brakebee all help artists sell online, and each one takes a different path. If you want one catalog behind a curated marketplace, your own site, art fair sales, print-on-demand and marketing tools, start with a free Brakebee account or take a look at Brakebee Custom Sites.

1. Art Storefronts, homepage and pricing page: CRM, Art Buyer AI, automated email marketing, social media templates, marketing agency and ads management, 12,000+ artists and photographers, introductory call, design editing and one-click design switch, image security, print-on-demand fulfillment and merchandise, self-fulfillment, marketing plan, workshops, community, badges, agency, support. artstorefronts.com, accessed Oct 14, 2026.

2. Shopify, pricing page: email campaigns, segments, automations, abandoned checkout recovery, unlimited contacts, lead capture, Shopify Academy, commerce platform overview, templates and prompt-based store design, hosting and myshopify.com address, selling on social, marketplaces and AI chats, point of sale at pop-ups and events, app integrations, 24/7 live chat, card rates by plan, third-party transaction fees, published plan prices. shopify.com, accessed Oct 14, 2026.

3. Brakebee, Custom Sites page: private design, shop and checkout, timeline, approval before launch, image protection, one catalog and order desk, marketplace access, print-on-demand. Confirmed Oct 14, 2026.

4. <a href="https://brakebee.com/custom-sites">Source: Website published prices as of 10/14/2026</a>

5. Brakebee, Makers and Features pages: Social Central, email blasts and drips, mailing list and contact form, Leo and Luca, add-on pricing in the dashboard. brakebee.com/makers and brakebee.com/makers/features, confirmed Oct 14, 2026.

6. Brakebee, Managed Lines page: done-for-you program scope, marketplaces, organic marketing, no paid ads, no sales guarantee, ownership, pricing at application, limited spots. brakebee.com/managed-lines, confirmed Oct 14, 2026.

7. Brakebee, Makers page: free account with no card, one catalog for marketplace, shop and art fairs, 15% marketplace commission with card processing included and no monthly marketplace fee, Phoenix lab print-on-demand and print runs, CRM included, Social Central, email blasts and drips, artist packages. <a href="https://brakebee.com/makers">Source: Website published prices as of 10/14/2026</a>

Facts about Art Storefronts and Shopify reflect their websites on the date accessed and may change.

Artist reviewing an online art shop on a laptop in the studio

An honest look at Art Storefronts and Shopify for artists: setup, design, print fulfillment, selling channels and pricing, plus a third option to consider.

Art Storefronts vs Shopify for Artists: 2026 Comparison

Art Storefronts is built for artists, and Shopify is built for every kind of store. Here is how the two compare for selling art, and where Brakebee fits.