Merch by Amazon, now officially called Amazon Merch on Demand, is a print-on-demand service that gives sellers access to Amazon’s built-in traffic at zero upfront cost. The catch is control – you need approval to join, new accounts face upload limits, and Amazon owns the customer relationship.
Luckily, you’re spoiled for choice. Below, we compare seven Merch by Amazon alternatives, from marketplaces with their own audiences to print-on-demand platforms that let you set competitive prices and build a branded store.
Why sellers look for Merch by Amazon alternatives
Merch by Amazon handles printing, shipping, and customer service, and your designs get listed where Amazon shoppers already browse. Prime members also get fast shipping on eligible orders.
The trade-off is that Amazon also sets the rules. For sellers who want control over pricing, customers, and branding, these limits add up quickly:
- Approval isn’t guaranteed. The program is invite-only, so you have to apply and wait for a decision before uploading a single design.
- New accounts start small. The tier system caps you at 10 designs at first, and more slots unlock only after you make sales. That means less visibility right when you’re trying to get started.
- Royalties now depend on outside traffic. Since June 2026, sellers who rely on Amazon’s own search traffic earn half the standard royalty. Getting the full rate means driving your own traffic to your listings.
- One policy slip can cost you your account. Amazon rejects designs that use trademarks or logos without permission, and violations can lead to suspension. Your income and brand reputation sit in Amazon’s hands.
- You never meet your buyers. Amazon handles orders and customer service, and you don’t see who bought your designs. Building a repeat customer base isn’t an option.
- There’s no space for your brand. Your designs live on Amazon listings instead of your own storefront, with no custom packing slips or branded touches to shape your brand identity.
Merch by Amazon alternatives at a glance
Unlike Merch by Amazon, none of these platforms are invite-only. Marketplaces bring built-in traffic but set the rules, while POD providers give you control over pricing and branding in exchange for driving your own traffic.
| Platform | Business model | Traffic source | Cost to start | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printify | POD provider | Your store or connected marketplaces | Free plan; Premium $39/mo or $24.99/mo billed annually | Sellers who want pricing control, a huge product selection, and multiple sales channels |
| Printful | POD provider | Your store or connected marketplaces | Free plan; Printful Growth from $24.99/month | Brands that want premium print quality and custom branding |
| Redbubble | Marketplace | Redbubble marketplace | Free; platform fee on earnings for Standard and Premium accounts | Artists who want marketplace exposure without running a store |
| TeePublic | Marketplace | TeePublic marketplace | Free | T-shirt and fan art designers |
| Zazzle | Marketplace | Zazzle marketplace | Free | Designers selling personalized gifts and paper goods |
| Spreadshirt | Marketplace + free storefront | Spreadshirt Marketplace and your own promotion | Free | Sellers who want a marketplace and a branded shop |
| Gelato | POD provider | Your store or connected marketplaces | Free plan; Gelato+ from $19.99/month (billed annually) | Sellers with customers worldwide |
This data was collected in November 2026. Prices may have changed since.” It’s in the draft but not on the page.
7 Best alternatives to Merch by Amazon
Every platform below handles printing and shipping through Print on Demand, so you never hold inventory. Where they differ is control – who sets your prices, who owns the customer relationship, and whether you can build your own brand.
Printify
Best for: Sellers who want to set their own prices and sell across multiple channels.
On Merch by Amazon, your earnings depend on a royalty rate Amazon sets. Printify works the other way around. You pay the base price and shipping, set your own retail price, and keep the difference – no platform fees come out of your profit.
The Catalog includes 2,000+ products, from custom t-shirts and hoodies to wall art and phone cases, printed by 70+ Print Providers across 140+ facilities. Direct integrations with Etsy, Shopify, TikTok Shop, and other platforms let you sell wherever your audience shops.
Printify matches the printing method to the product. DTG printing handles detailed, full-color designs on cotton apparel, and embroidery adds a premium finish to hats and hoodies. Other customization methods include all-over printing, sublimation, DTF, and laser engraving.
There are no upfront fees on the free plan. Printify Premium costs $24.99/month (billed annually) and takes up to 20% off all products, plus up to 33% off new products and custom branding.
Printful
Best for: Brands that want consistent print quality and custom branding.
Merch by Amazon leaves no room to put your brand on an order. Printful adds custom neck labels, custom packing slips, inserts, and branded packaging on eligible orders. Embroidery also works with your own logos and illustrations, which helps apparel labels build a look buyers recognize.
Orders are produced in seven in-house fulfillment centers in the US, Mexico, Canada, the UK, Latvia, and Spain, plus partner facilities in Japan, Australia, and Brazil. Each center follows a three-step quality control process covering artwork assessment, production checks, and a final inspection.
Connect Printful to 22 eCommerce platforms and choose from 600+ products. The free plan covers everything you need to sell, and the optional Growth plan ($24.99/month) adds lower product prices and a 25% discount on samples.
Redbubble
Best for: Independent designers who want marketplace exposure without running their own store.
Much like Merch by Amazon, this marketplace brings shoppers to your designs, but you can open an account without applying first. Redbubble sets the base price for each product, you choose a markup on top, and the platform takes care of the rest.
The catalog covers 70+ products, from t-shirts to phone cases and wall art. Redbubble received 19.83 million visits in September 2026 alone, a strong draw for passive sellers who’d rather not drive traffic through ads or their own storefront.
TeePublic
Best for: Apparel designers working in pop culture, fandom, and humor niches.
Owned by Articore, the same parent company as Redbubble, TeePublic is a marketplace built around graphic tees and apparel. Its catalog leans heavily toward pop culture, fandom, and humor, which gives designers in those niches a ready-made customer base.
New sellers start on the Apprentice tier and can move up to Artisan, where you earn royalties at a higher rate and get more visibility in TeePublic’s on-site search.
Zazzle
Best for: Designers selling personalized gifts, stationery, and party supplies.
Personalization sets this marketplace apart. Zazzle is best known for invitations, cards, and gifts that shoppers can customize before ordering, with custom apparel, home decor, and wall art rounding out the range.
Pricing works differently from Merch by Amazon. Instead of Amazon calculating your royalty after its costs and fees, Zazzle lets you choose your own royalty rate and adds it to the base price to set what customers pay. The platform recommends royalties of 5%-10% on physical products.
Spreadshirt
Best for: Sellers who want marketplace traffic and a free branded shop in one place.
One account covers two ways to sell. The Spreadshirt Marketplace puts your designs in front of shoppers already browsing the site, while Spreadshop gives you a free storefront to brand and promote yourself. You can run both at the same time.
Simply upload a design and apply it to 250+ products, and Spreadshirt prints in-house and ships every order. In your Spreadshop, you set the retail price and your own profit margins.
Gelato
Best for: Sellers who want fast delivery to customers around the world.
Reach is the main draw here. Gelato orders route automatically to the nearest of 250+ production partners across 32 countries, and about 90% of orders are produced locally. Shorter distances mean faster shipping times, which suits sellers building a global audience.
The 400+ product range extends past apparel into wall art, mugs, photobooks, cards, calendars, and stationery. The free plan includes full catalog access but only two store integrations. Gelato+ costs $29.99/month, or $19.99/month billed annually, and cuts product prices by up to 33%.
Royalties vs retail pricing: How your earnings change
Print-on-demand sellers earn in one of two ways. On royalty-based platforms, the marketplace covers production and fulfillment, then pays you a set cut of each sale.
POD providers work on a pay-per-order basis instead. You pay the base cost and shipping when customers buy, set your own retail price, and keep everything above the full cost of the order.
| Royalty model | Retail pricing model | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | Merch by Amazon, Redbubble, TeePublic, Zazzle, Spreadshirt Marketplace | Printify, Printful, Gelato, Spreadshop |
| Retail price | Set by the platform, or by you within its limits | Set entirely by you |
| What you earn | A royalty, markup, or fixed amount per product sold | Retail price minus base cost and shipping |
| Costs you cover | None upfront, since the platform deducts costs and fees before paying you | Base cost, shipping costs, and any sales channel fees |
| Traffic | The platform’s marketplace | Your store or connected marketplaces |
The royalty model is simple, but you have little say in how much of each sale the platform keeps. Retail pricing gives you control, which also means getting the balance right. Price too high and shoppers go elsewhere. Price too low and you’re stuck with lower profit margins.
Keeping prices competitive while covering every cost, including listing fees on channels like Etsy, is what decides your take-home pay.
Volume changes the math, too. High-volume sellers and small businesses can lower their base costs through subscriptions like Printify Premium, which widens the gap between what an order costs and what you earn on it.
Should you quit Merch by Amazon or run both?
For most sellers, running both is a safe choice. A Merch by Amazon account costs nothing to keep, and reapplying later means going through the application process again, which can take weeks. Keeping Amazon as one channel among several also spreads your risk. If your account gets suspended, your other stores keep earning.
Getting your existing designs onto other marketplaces takes little effort. Check each platform’s file requirements, resize where needed, and upload the same kind of designs that already sell on Amazon. Your bestsellers are a ready-made test of what new customers might buy.
Leaving Merch by Amazon entirely makes more sense if:
- You’re stuck at a low tier with few upload slots and slow sales
- Most of your sales come from Amazon’s own search, which now pays the reduced Creator-tier royalty
- You want to own your customer list and build a recognizable brand
Prefer to keep selling on Amazon with your own competitive pricing? Printify’s direct integration with Amazon requires a Professional Amazon seller account, which costs $39.99/month plus referral fees of 5%-17% per sale on clothing and accessories. In return, you set your own retail price instead of earning a royalty.
Your own print-on-demand brand with Printify
Leaving the royalty model behind doesn’t mean taking on production yourself. Printify’s global network of Print Providers handles printing, packing, and shipping. They fulfill orders automatically, leaving you free to focus on designs and marketing. There’s no inventory to buy and no minimum order to meet.
Getting products ready is quick. The free, beginner-friendly Product Creator turns your artwork or new designs into custom products. Once orders come in, Order Routing sends each one to the Print Provider nearest to the buyer. 92% of Printify orders are shipped from a facility in the same region as the customer, which keeps delivery speeds up and shipping costs down.
Planning a larger run for an event or wholesale order? Ordering 20 or more of the same product from one Print Provider unlocks bulk discounts of up to 46% on products and up to 50% on shipping. Support is available 24/7.
Frequently asked questions
Pick the platform that fits your plans
Merch by Amazon offers easy access to shoppers, but approval, upload limits, and shrinking royalties leave you with little control. Merch by Amazon alternatives give some of that control back.
Marketplaces like Redbubble and TeePublic keep things hands-off, while POD providers let you set prices, own your branding, and sell wherever your customers shop.
Ready to keep more of every sale? Join Printify for free and turn your existing designs into your own brand.
