Printful is a popular print-on-demand platform and a force to be reckoned with. However, that doesn’t mean it solves every merchant’s needs or provides the best options in the market.
When it comes to pricing, for instance, Printful is recognized as one of the most expensive options, reducing profit margins and making the print-on-demand industry unattractive for entrepreneurs starting an online business.
We’ve created accounts and painstakingly analyzed the ten best Printful alternatives. Here we share the pros and cons of each one.
Why look for Printful alternatives?
Printful’s in-house production model often creates issues that include increased production costs, out-of-stock, and delays, especially during holidays.
In addition, there are two other reasons why you should consider alternatives to Printful for your print-on-demand business.
High costs and low profit margins
Printful charges more than competitors for the same products, narrowing the end user’s profit margin.
Here are some numbers from real life – Cassiy Johnson made $91,991.68 with Printify in 2021, selling 13,067 items. The same items sold with Printful would have made $83,628.80 – $8,362.88 less.
Check the products, quality comparison, and costs here.
Below, we researched the prices of two of the most popular print-on-demand products offered by Printful and other print-on-demand competitors.
Price comparison – Bella+Canvas 3001 and Gildan 5000
(Data from Q1 2023)
| Bella+Canvas 3001 | Gildan 5000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Printful | $12.50 | $10.95 |
| Printify | $9.38 | $7.46 |
| Gelato | $12.22 (US) | $10.41 (US) |
| Gooten | $10.40 | $8.40 |
| AOP+ | Not available | Not available |
| CustomCat | $12.90 | $10.37 |
| Teemill | Not available – only proprietary organic tees | Not available – only proprietary organic tees |
| Teelaunch | $11.50 (“Canvas unisex shirt,” 4.2 oz) | $9.00 (“Gildan men’s shirt,” 5.3 oz) |
| Print Aura | $16.00 | $13.00 |
| Teespring | No info on manufacturers. Cheapest tee from $15.34 | No info on manufacturers. Cheapest tee from $15.34 |
| JetPrint | $21.00 | $17.00 |
Finally, the Printful Pro plan is expensive – $49 monthly. It adds functions like free embroidery digitizing and additional graphic assets with stock integration.
Free embroidery digitizing is standard in the free plans of Printify and JetPrint. In contrast, Printify Shutterstock integration (adding cents per image to the retail price) and Gelato (from $14.99) or Teemill’s (£10) paid plans are far more affordable.
Variety of products
Printful offers a catalog with over 430 products. They are concentrated in limited categories, mainly apparel, and may only suffice for some merchants.
Under “tech products,” for instance, Printful offers only mouse pads and a few smartphone and AirPods cases. At the same time, their shoe category has only three varieties of shoes for women and men, plus slippers.
Merchants looking to stand out with unique merch will have to look for Printful alternatives.
Make it happen today!
Top 10 Printful alternatives
There are affordable and multiple options to create unique print-on-demand sites. Let’s go over the best Printful alternatives, selected to provide merchants with broader and more affordable options and considering the needs of several niches.
1. Printify
Printify is the top Printful alternative, and that’s not bragging.
- Printify works with a network of Print Providers at over 100 facilities. Order Routing and Geographical Routing are tools for redirecting production to fulfillment centers and providers closer to the final consumer, reducing time and costs, increasing profits, and avoiding out-of-stock issues.
- Printify quality promise – Printify continuously improves quality checks to make sure product quality meets your standards. All Print Providers have rigorous quality control and fulfillment time requirements, receiving a ranking visible to every user. Print Providers that don’t meet Printify standards are removed from our partnership.
The quality team is constantly ordering samples, performing tests, and personally visiting print providers’ facilities worldwide to make sure all production stages are executed responsibly.
- Largest catalog in POD – The Printify Catalog has over 850 products. Besides its selection of apparel and best-sellers, the catalog has a dedicated eco-friendly section, and a good assortment of shoes, accessories, home decor, kitchen, bathroom, pet, car, and tech accessories, to mention a few. Sections include unique products from Christmas Tree Skirts and scented candles, to Lite Cube Lamps and pet bowls.
- Customer support and customer-centric approach – Our 24/7 customer support is committed to finding solutions for our merchants. Our social network channels are constantly in touch with merchants, receiving and acting on feedback.
- Easy integrations with Etsy, eBay, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, PrestaShop, or via a custom API.
Pros:
- Higher profit margins
- Ample POD network and larger catalog
- Excellent customer service
Cons:
- Highly addictive
- Please tell us about any problems via support, live chat, or the Facebook group, and we’ll address it at once
Available product amount: 900+
- Free – up to five stores, unlimited products, free mockup generator, custom order import.
- Premium– $29 (paid monthly) or $24.99 per month (paid yearly), up to ten stores, and up to a 20% discount on all products.
- Enterprise – for merchants with more than 10,000 daily orders. Unlimited stores, custom pricing, plus up to a 20% discount on all products.
Best for individuals and businesses looking for higher profits, high-quality products, the largest and most diverse POD catalog, premium customer support, and flexibility.
For a more detailed comparison, check out our guide on Printify vs Printful
2. Gelato
Gelato is one of the strongest Printful competitors. It operates in a model similar to Printify.
The print-on-demand network allocates production in 33 countries with the promise of 72-hour fulfillment. However, the company works only with automatic routing and doesn’t allow merchants to pick a provider themselves.
Gelato’s automated system occasionally replaces a product for a similar or better-quality product without warning, when it runs out of stock.
Gelato’s founders started with Optimalprint, focusing on photo products.
Their catalog is well-supplied with essential print-on-demand products, including clothing, mugs, bags, wall art, cards, photo books, and brochures. They notably lack products available in other alternatives to Printful, such as shoes, pet products, lamps, electronics, home accessories, or decor.
However, regarding posters, canvas, and photo-related products, Gelato offers a larger variety than most print-on-demand alternatives.
Gelato’s interface is user-friendly and streamlined. With the free plan, merchants can access many features, including a basic analytics tool. However, the mockup generator in the free plan offers only one small product picture.
Gelato integrates with Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, eBay, Amazon, Platform, Ecwid, 3dcart, Weebly, via API, and Order Desk.
Pros:
- Good quality products overall
- Edge on photo-related products
Cons:
- Mockups with one small product picture. Premium mockups require subscription
- Out-of-stock issues and replacement of merch without warning
Available product amount: not disclosed
- Free – up to two online stores
- Gelato+ – $14.99/month or $139/year. Up to ten online stores. 30% on standard shipping, Premium apparel and wall art mockups, graphic assets.
- Gelato+ Gold – $299/month or $1499/year. Up to 25 online stores. 30% off shipping for the first 49 orders and 50% off shipping for over 50 orders (both per month).
Best for merchants looking for an easy-to-use, automated alternative to Printful, with an edge on posters and canvas, an essential catalog, and easy integrations.
Related: Gelato vs Printify
3. Gooten
Gooten is a great Printful alternative for US-focused merchants. It works with in-house printing but also offers a third-party network of print providers. Unlike Printify, however, it doesn’t let users choose print providers, adopting a multi-routing system.
The platform doesn’t charge subscriptions or require adding a payment method at the beginning.
Their catalog benefits from several sources and includes categories from apparel to home decor, which can be searched through filters. Gooten’s catalog offers unique merchandise such as metal prints and woven blankets.
Gooten’s shipping prices can be very high when selling outside the US.
Gooten doesn’t hold a proprietary storefront but integrates easily with Shopify, BigCommerce, Etsy, and WooCommerce, and a custom API that lets merchants connect with Amazon, eBay, or a stand-alone site.
Pros:
- 40 print facilities
- Affordable pricing
Cons:
- No choice of print providers
- High shipping prices outside the US
Available product amount: 150+
Pricing: Free
Best for merchants in the US in search of unique, affordable, and customizable products at the expense of some diversity.
4. Podbase
Podbase is an excellent alternative to Printful, offering high-quality products and the highest profit margins in the market.
Specializing in print-on-demand tech accessories, drinkware, and wall art, Podbase stands out as one of the most promising young POD companies.
Their in-house manufacturing allows Podbase to ensure top-notch product quality, achieving an impressive success rate of 98.6%.
Podbase offers an extensive selection of more than 100 phone case models, with great cross-sell options like AirPod cases, MacBook cases, and unique products like vegan leather iPad cases to help increase the average order value (AOV).
Podbase integrates with Shopify, Etsy and intends to integrate with WooCommerce, Amazon, BigCommerce and via API.
Pros:
- Premium-quality products, tested by global brands
- High possible profit margins for merchants
- Fast fulfillment
Cons:
- Manufactured in Europe, longer AU shipping times
- Limited product selectione
Available product amount: 100+
Pricing: Free
Best for merchants in the EU in search of the highest profit margins and fast fulfillment in the tech-accessories category.
5. CustomCat
CustomCat has been in the market for over 20 years. It is a popular print-on-demand alternative to Printful among Shopify store owners in the US.
The print on demand company has its own printing facilities, takes charge of production and shipping, and stands out due to its fast delivery times – usually in two-three days within the US.
CustomCat boasts a catalog of more than 375 products with a focus on T-shirts and athletic apparel and some original merch not found elsewhere, such as pack coolers, but with a better profit margin compared to Printful.
CustomCat’s shipping pricing has been quoted as confusing by some reviewers, divided into four tiers according to weight – lightweight, heavyweight, lightweight drinkware, and heavyweight drinkware. T-shirts, for instance, are located within the lightweight tier.
It integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, BigCommerce, and via API.
CustomCat is free but offers a discount plan for a $30 monthly fee. This plan is accessible at the Shopify App store and is not referred to on the CustomCat website.
Pros:
- Competitive prices
- Solid range of athletic apparel and t-shirts
Cons:
- Few integrations
- Only US fulfillment centers and long international shipping times
- No branding options
Available product amount: 375+
Pricing:
- Free
- CustomCat Lite (via Shopify) – Free
- CustomCat plan (via Shopify) – $30 per month. Discounted prices.
Best for Shopify merchants targeting the US market, looking for an in-house solution with fast delivery times and athletic merch.
6. Teemill
Teemill is owned and run in the Isle of Wight, England, together with Rapanui – the sustainable apparel manufacturer.
Eco-friendliness and sustainability are at the company’s core, and Teemill only sells products designed to be sent back and remade.
Selling at Teemill requires total immersion in their ecosystem – the company gives a Teemill subdomain for creating an online store, and the catalog contains only proprietary merch. Getting a custom URL requires upgrading.
Teemill has easy integrations with social networks, Google analytics, and ads. Changing localization settings, including currency and language, requires upgrading.
Finding the Teemill catalog is tricky, as there is no direct link on the main Teemill homepage. Their products can be accessed while creating and adding a product for a store at Teemill – as we did – or on a different website with a completely different domain – discovering that required contacting Teemill’s support, which answered 24 hours later.
Teemill’s products include men, women, and children’s apparel, including tees, shorts, and joggers; there are also tote bags, jigsaws, and art prints. Upgrading to a paid plan unlocks more products, mockups, and marketing features.
Pros:
- Coherent sustainable approach and strong USP implementation
- Integrated storefront
Cons:
- Available only in the UK without upgrading
- Restricted product options and a hard-to-find catalog
Available product amount: Up to 999 with an upgrade
Pricing:
- Free plan
- Teemill pro – £10 per month. Gives additional graphic assets, localization (currency cannot be changed before upgrading), custom URL, and SEO tools.
Best for businesses committed to investing in sustainable and circular products, especially those focused on the UK market.
7. Teelaunch
Teelaunch is an app and print provider created for Shopify. It also offers an Etsy integration and apps in WooCommerce and BigCommerce app stores.
Besides the Shopify plan subscription, merchants who sell products online with Teelaunch have to pay a commission on each sale, but no additional monthly subscription exists.
The platform offers over 120 products besides t-shirts, including unique products like power banks, cork coasters, dog bandanas, and jewelry.
Teelaunch’s entire process is streamlined and integrated seamlessly with Shopify. The platform’s app is user-friendly, and the provider handles inventory management, orders, printing, and local and international shipping.
The provider’s facilities are located in the US, UK, and Australia.
When it comes to customized branding of the merch, Teelaunch offers shipping-label and brand logos. However, the mockup gives few editing options.
Instead of changing image sizes and re-positioning them freely, the app provides options to change the proportion and relative location of the picture over the merchandise.
Finding the right product could be improved, as there are no filters. The products are organized into large categories such as accessories, apparel, or drinkware.
That means T-shirts will appear listed along with other clothing. Also, essential information on the specific product is quite short, and it may be hard to know precisely which product is being listed.
Pros:
- Unique products
- Easy and convenient for Shopify users
Cons:
- Restricted integrations and dependency of a Shopify store
- Limited product customization options
Available product amount: Over 120
Pricing: Free, but requires an active Shopify store.
Best for consolidated Shopify users with an existing store looking to quickly adding unique POD products for a lesser cost than Printful.
8. Print Aura
Print Aura is one of the pioneer print-on-demand platforms. This is reflected in its reliability and broad product selection of more than 360 items, but also in the interface, which may look a bit outdated and could be more intuitive.
The company adds many branding options, including custom packaging, hang tags or neck label removal. It also receives customers’ special requests and materials for packaging.
Print Aura costs increase with the addition of unique customizations.
The POD service offers a pricing wizard to calculate prices and determine profit margins.
It operates in one facility but manages a sizable amount of daily orders, maintaining high quality. Print Aura integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Storenvy, Etsy, and Opencart.
Pros:
- No paid subscriptions
- Ample options for custom branding
- No minimum order
Cons:
- Unresponsive customer support
- Outdated and non-intuitive interface
- Only US-based fulfillment centers
Available product amount: 360+
Pricing: Free
Best for merchants in the US looking for an experienced and more affordable alternative to Printful with a wide catalog and extensive branding options like hang tags and custom packaging.
9. Teespring
Teespring focuses on providing customized merch for content creators and creatives with existing customers and followers. They started offering only tees, but expanded their catalog to include more diverse merchandise such as home decor and mugs.
According to their niche, Teespring collaborates with platforms like Discord, Instagram, Youtube, Twitch, Tik Tok, and Streamlabs.
Teespring offers tools for designing and customizing products (the Teespring Launcher), marketing (Teesprings Boosted Network), and Partnership Integrations. The platform handles fulfillment and logistics and offers customer support, but the last could be available more often.
It integrates with Amazon, Facebook, Google, Walmart, eBay, YouTube, and Etsy.
Teespring is subscription-free and lets users keep all the sales profits, discounting the production and shipping costs. Their products are pricier, but merchants can make an extra profit as there are no additional fees.
Oddly, though, the platform requires merchants to inform it beforehand how long each product will be for sale, and sellers should make a specific amount of profits and minimum sales during that time.
Pros:
- Collaboration with Discord, Instagram, Youtube, Twitch, Tik Tok, and Streamlabs
- No subscription fees
- Ample visitor base
Cons:
- Requires to determine sales period for selling online, and to inform of expected profits
- Customer support lacks availability
Available product amount: Not disclosed
Pricing: No subscription fees. Minimums required.
Best for content creators and influencers with an existing customer base willing to sell print-on-demand merch.
10. AOP+
AOP+ is one of the best alternatives to Printful for merchants interested in expanding to the UK.
One of the youngest print-on-demand companies, AOP+ works with in-house production in London, emphasizing sustainable fulfillment services.
As indicated by its name, the company specializes in AOP and delivers great print quality.
AOP+ catalog is supplied with good filters, but in some cases, it needs to be more consistent and present complete information. Their Premium Jersey Men’s T-Shirt, referred to as Bella+ Canvas, according to the filter, is described as “tubular” without information on the specific model. However, Bella+Canvas does not manufacture tubular T-shirts.
AOP+ integrates with BigCommerce, Shopify, and Etsy, and intends to integrate with other major eCommerce platforms, such as Wix, Amazon, Squarespace, and Magento.
Pros:
- Outstanding AOP print quality
- Branding options
Cons:
- Slow customer support
- Some quirks in the website and inconsistent or incomplete product information
Available product amount: 140+
Pricing:
- Start-up member – Free. Unlimited products, basic branding.
- Super member – $11.99 monthly – 5% discount on prices, additional branding options, priority support.
- Hero Member – $19.99 monthly. Dedicated support (“under 24-hour response time”).
Best for merchants from the UK or with a UK target audience focusing on AOP products and organic merch.
Select what’s best for you
Your POD journey can be profitable and enjoyable, but you should pick the right partners. At this point, you should be well informed on Printful competitors, the peculiarities of every fulfillment process, and each catalog’s strengths.
Make an informed decision on which POD platform best meets your dropshipping business needs. We hope, of course, that you stick with Printify. Count on us to make your POD journey as rewarding as possible.
Start your POD business with Printify!
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