Printful
Founded: 2013 by Lauris Liberts and Davis Siksnans.
Printful offers a wide range of customizable products including t-shirts, hoodies, accessories, and more. The platform is known for its user-friendly and streamlined interface so you could easily start a print on demand business today without a bunch of experience at hand.
The product quality is high with Printful but don’t expect it to come without an expensive price tag. You’re looking at a print on demand t-shirt costing $12.71 for a Bella & Canvas 3001, excluding delivery and $8.98 if you opt for the Gildan 4000.
Printful has many facilities worldwide, which makes shipping faster than their competition. They have setups in the USA, UK, Latvia, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Australia and Japan.
As far as integration goes, Printful is at the top of the list. It has more than everyone else in the industry. Here’s a list of what they currently offer:
- Shopify
- Woocommerce
- Amazon
- Etsy
- Ebay
- Squarepace
- And, many more.
Pros:
- Offers a wide range of customizable products, including apparel, accessories, home decor and more.
- High quality products with durable materials, which leads to customer satisfaction.
Cons:
- Pricing structure is higher compared to traditional bulk ordering from wholesale suppliers.
- Shipping rates can vary based on product and destination, which affects the overall cost.
Pricing
- Free Plan – Automatic order fulfillment through free integrations, efficient global fulfillment and shipping, design Maker with built-in visuals and tools, logo maker with 100+ templates.
- Printful Growth Membership – Fixed discounts for Printful Growth members (monthly membership fee), additional branding options for your products (added to the product price), up to 30% lower pricing.
Ratings/Reviews – 4.6/5 stars on Trustpilot with 4,472 reviews.
Printify
Founded: 2015 by James Berdigans, Artis Kehris, and Gatis Dukurs.
Unlike Printful, who have their own facilities, Printify works with various printing partners around the world to produce and deliver the products. They currently are partnered with 65 printing facilities, which offers you a significant amount of products to choose to customize.
The product quality depends on which print provider you choose with Printify but they typically are of good quality. You can get a Bella & Canvas 3001 printed for $8.75, using SwiftPOD, which is around 30% cheaper than what Printful gets you.
Printify does have many integrations, similarly to Printful, however, they are still a little bit behind. Here’s a list of what they are currently offering:
- Shopify
- Woocommerce
- eBay
- Etsy
- Wix
- Walmart
- And, more
Pros:
- Offers a huge product catalog with a diverse selection of customizable items including apparel, accessories, home decor, and more.
- Have a massive global network of partners making it convenient for users to access a wide range of printing and fulfillment options worldwide.
Cons:
- Printing quality varies between partners, so it’s essential to choose the right print provider.
- Limited control over product and shipping since they don’t have everything in-house and rely on third party printing partners.
Pricing
- Free Plan – 5 stores per account, unlimited product design.
- Premium Plan – $24.99 per month, 10 stores per account, unlimited product designs, up to 20% discount on all products.
- Enterprise – Custom pricing, unlimited stores per account, unlimited product designs, additional discounts on all products.
Ratings/Reviews – 4.8/5 stars, 2,870 reviews on Trustpilot.
Sellfy
Founded: 2011 by Maris Dagis.
Sellfy has shown an impressive 22166.7% increase in the first quarter of 2024 which shows a positive trajectory for the platform and I can see why it’s gaining popularity amongst users.
Sellfy’s product quality is high as it uses the direct-to-garment (DTG) technique where ink is sprayed on to the garment, making it soak into the fabric, which means it isn’t susceptible to fading. Sellfy prints and ships orders, charges you for the base item costs, and lets you set the price to earn profits.
There are many print on demand categories you can choose from, like bags, stickers, clothing, phone cases and more. You also have the option to add custom labels and embroidery.
It offers many integrations with popular apps and services, such as:
- Zapier
- Shopify
- Facebook Ads
- WordPress
- And more
Pros
- You own and control your online store completely.
- There are many built-in marketing tools available to you, such as coupons, discounts, upselling, email marketing and a countdown timer.
Cons
- You’ll have to drive the traffic yourself as it doesn’t have an existing audience to tap into.
- Sellfy charges transaction fees on each sale made through their platform, which can add up for high volume sellers.
Pricing
- Starter – $19 per month, up to $10k in sales per year, unlimited products.
- Business – $49 per month, up to $50k in sales per year, product upselling, cart abandonment, affiliate marketing, remove “Sellfy” branding.
- Premium – $99 per month, up to $200k in sales per year, product migration, priority support.
Ratings/ Reviews – 3.6/5 stars, 14 reviews on Trustpilot.
Gelato
Founded: 2012 by Henrik Müller-Hansen.
Gelato is pretty similar to Printify in a sense that they don’t own any printers like with Printful. Gelato partners with over 130 printing facilities located across 32 countries which allows orders to be automatically connected to the customer’s nearest production partner.
Gelato’s product quality is high, similar to Printful and Printify as they have recently added Bella & Canvas t-shirts. You can find a whole range of products, such as posters, calendars, hats, mugs and more.
They give you the option to integrate with many popular services, such as:
- Shopify
- Etsy
- Woocommerce
- Squarespace
- Wix
- Bigcommerce
Pros
- No minimum order requirements
- Cheap prices compared to other providers that are out there.
Cons
- Have to pay a subscription fee to access stock images.
- Shipping discounts also require a paid subscription, which can save you a decent amount in the long run.
Pricing
- Free Plan – Production in 32 countries, integrate with API and Order Desk, intuitive design editor.
- Gelato+ – $24 per month, up to 10% off products, premium mockups and Mockup Studio tool, millions of stock images graphics and fonts.
- Gold – $119 per month, everything in Gelato+, up to 15% off products, 30% off branded labels and packaging inserts, advanced price setting.
- Platinum – Custom pricing, everything in Gold, dedicated implementation services, success manager, expert hours with Gelato’s consulting team.
Ratings/Reviews – 4.7/5 stars, 1,639 reviews on Trustpilot.
Merch By Amazon
Launched: 2015 by Amazon
Merch By Amazon lets you create and sell custom-branded merchandise on Amazon’s platform without the need to manage inventory or shipping. It isn’t a print on demand site as it exists within the Amazon ecosystem but it does have its benefits, such as Prime shipping, which is one of the fastest delivery services in the world.
It does offer high-quality products as the printing process used by Merch By Amazon has long-lasting designs that don’t fade easily after washing. When it comes to global reach, no one compares to Amazon, so this is a big advantage and a major appealing point for users. You earn flexible royalties where you set your own margins.
Standard T-Shirt Examples US– Purchase price ($15.99) – Royalty ($1.93).
Merch by Amazon offers integration with the Amazon platform, which streamlines the process for designers by using its customer base and fulfillment services.
Pros
- Amazon has a huge global reach, which you can take advantage of.
- Prime has one of the fastest shipping worldwide.
Cons
- You can only sign up through an invitation, which means that you can’t start selling right away.
- Branding opportunities are limited due to the platform’s focus on showcasing the designs rather than individual brands.
Pricing – Free to use but it’s invitation only. Amazon takes a fee as part of the base cost when you make a sale.
Zazzle
Founded: 2005 by Robert Beaver, Jeff Beaver, and Bobby Beaver.
This platform offers a wide selection of customizable items, including clothing, accessories, home decor, stationery, and more. It’s been here for quite some time now and still gets traffic.
However, since it’s one of the O.G’s, it’s pretty saturated but there are thousands of products you can select and add your own unique designs to.
Zazzle is known for offering products of good quality that meet industry standards and works with reputable manufacturers. The quality of the final product can also depend on the design and customization choices made by users themselves but you are provided with tools to help you create high-quality designs.
You can integrate with:
- Shopify
- WordPress
- Wix
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- And more
Pros
- Zazzle has over 30 million global shoppers, which means you can gain access to a large customer reach.
- Offers an extensive product catalog where you can choose to add your own designs.
Cons
- The design and upload process is of poor quality.
- Seems to be on the decline as there new and improved platforms taking over the market.
Pricing – Free to use and you get to choose your own royalty rates, between 5% and 99%.
Ratings/Reviews – 4.4/5 stars, 2,087 reviews on Trustpilot.
Redbubble
Founded: 2006 by Martin Hosking, Peter Styles, and Paul Vanzella.
This is a print on demand site that offers artists and designers to sell their work with ease. The platform allows you to upload your artwork, which can then be printed onto products such as clothing, home decor, accessories and more.
Redbubble maintains a reputation for providing products of decent quality that align with industry standards and collaborates with a network of reliable manufacturers. When it comes to clothing, you will find that the majority of t-shirts available on Redbubble are cotton-based.
They don’t currently offer direct integrations with external platforms or services as they are a standalone marketplace for artists and designers to showcase and sell their work. However, they can promote their products through social media platforms, websites, and blogs.
The great thing about Redbubble is that it gets over 30 million monthly visitors with around 10 million of them coming through organic traffic. You’re definitely getting a lot of eyes on your work!
Pros
- Redbubble has a massive customer base with over 30 million monthly visitors.
- There are anti-piracy features set in place to protect your artwork.
Cons
- Product quality is usually decent but you’ll get the odd case of some that are of poor quality.
- There are additional fees that are taken out of your profit if you’re not on a higher-tier plan.
Pricing – Free to start selling, deductions come from your product sales and you get to set your own profit margins.
Ratings/Reviews – 3.8/5 stars, 26,468 reviews on Trustpilot.
Society6
Founded: 2009 by Justin Cooper, Lucas Tirigall-Caste, and Justin Wills.
Society6 is a smaller fish in the pond compared to Redbubble, but they do have a lot to offer. They have a focus on home decor and wall art with less t-shirts compared to others (even though it does have plenty to choose from). So it may not be for you if you like to add designs specifically to apparel.
The product quality is on the lower side compared to other platforms according to online reviews with users complaining about the quality being cheap.
Society6 currently doesn’t offer integrations with external platforms or services.
Pros
- Has branding options available, such as a follow function, bio page, images and headers.
- Their organic reach is at around the 40% mark of their total traffic, which means SEO is good on their end.
Cons
- Upload process is complicated compared to other platforms.
- Has many negative reviews online criticizing the quality of the products.
Pricing
- Lite – Free, Design limit to 10.
- Basic – $4.99 per month, design limit to 100.
- Pro – $12.99 per month, design limit to 10,000, 20% of base price.
Ratings/Reviews – 1.5/5 stars, 1,023 reviews on Trustpilot.
Teepublic
Founded: 2013 by Josh Abramson and Adam Schwartz.
Teepublic is owned by Redubble but it has its own website with separate accounts. As you can already guess, it follows its big brother, Redbubble with its model. It has a very quick upload process compared to the other marketplaces that are out there.
Teepublic is known for offering products of decent quality, especially when it comes to their apparel. They use digital printing techniques to transfer designs onto their products with vibrant colors and detailed designs. The fabrics are usually a blend of cotton and polyester and hold strong after multiple washes.
They currently don’t offer any integrations with external platforms but artists and designers can promote their work on social media or personal websites.
Pros
- Great user interface for uploading as it’s extremely quick.
- Has a great amount of organic traffic which is offers an opportunity to implement print on demand marketing strategies.
Cons
- Teepublic has a fixed royalty payment structure, resulting in limited earning potential.
- Teepublic’s product customization options are limited compared to other print on demand platforms as you have less control over product sizing and placement of designs.
Pricing – Free to use and you are paid through fixed royalties, which are just $4 for t-shirts to $2 during sales times.
Ratings/Reviews – 4.5/5 stars, 387,539 reviews on Trustpilot.
My Final Thoughts
To recap, here’s what I recommend based on the unique features and strengths of each platform:
- Printful – Excellent white labeling options, wide range of products, high-quality prints, easy to navigate, most integration options.
- Printify – Fast shipping speed, large network of print providers, good quality, simple dashboard for easy design uploads, an extensive product catalog.
- Redbubble – Diverse artist community, unique products, artist-set margins, good quality, easy to customize products, massive traffic.
- Gelato – Strong global reach, eco-friendly production, high-quality prints, user-friendly interface.
- Merch by Amazon – Integration with Amazon, prime shipping, Amazon standard quality, massive global reach.
- Teespring – Easy setup, high-quality, quick upload process, huge organic traffic, hundreds of thousands of positive reviews.
- Sellfy – Huge increase in popularity in 2024, high-quality, built-in marketing tools, many integration options.
- Zazzle – Extensive track record, custom printing with good quality, robust design tool, large customer reach.
- Society6 – Artistic community, unique designs, artist-set margins, supports independent artists.
I personally rank Printful as the number 1 choice overall because it offers excellent white-labeling services and is known for its high-quality products, reliable shipping, and user-friendly interface.
I tend to look at reviews online from users as this gives a clear indication of the value it has provided them, and according to accredited sites like Trustpilot, it holds a strong rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars amongst thousands of reviewers, which means there is a large amount of satisfaction amongst customers and clients.
Printful has over 200,000 customers across the globe with fulfilment centers in nearly every continent, which makes way for super fast delivery and reliability. As far as integration is concerned, they have the most options than anyone else on the list!
A close second would be Printify as they do seem to be on the way to catch up with Printful and they do offer a lower price for t-shirts in comparison. Following its tail in third place would be Redbubble due to its massive customer base and a whopping monthly traffic of over 30 million visitors. You’re definitely going to have a lot of eyes on your unique designs with this one!
What Is The #1 Alternative To Print On Demand?
Print on demand is a great way to make money online. I mean, it gives independent artists and designers a creative outlet to add their unique designs to products and make some profits from it. However, it demands a lot of time and sacrifice in profit margins and there isn’t that one platform you can go to that meets all of your expectations.
I personally prefer to make a living online where I am given the freedom and flexibility to spend my days and nights however I please, may it be spending time with my loved ones or pursuing some of my hobbies. Print on demand can’t get you that as you’re always attached to your screen pumping out volume after volume to reach your desired financial targets.
This lack of independence and control is why the Digital Rental Method is number 1 alternative as it offers you the chance to create a single digital asset online, similarly to print on demand but the money you generate isn’t a fixed royalty or a small percentage of a sale, it’s a 90-95% profit margin and all in passive income.
Your time and income are no longer tied together, which gives you the freedom to not constantly be working all time. You are in total control and own everything, giving you the autonomy to shape your creativity into your own business however you like. If this sounds interesting, you might want to take a look at the Digital Rental Method.