Printful vs. Printify: What's the best platform for print on demand?

The world of print on demand (POD) has exploded in recent years, offering a fantastic way for entrepreneurs and creatives to turn their ideas into tangible products. However, with so many POD providers available, choosing the right one can feel overwhelming.

Two of the biggest names in the industry are Printful and Printify. Both offer a range of features and services to help you bring your vision to life, but which print on demand partner is the perfect fit for you? 

This comprehensive post will break down the key differences between these print on demand platforms to help you make an informed decision.

• Printify offers over 950 product options and tends to have lower costs due to its diverse supplier base. Printful, on the other hand, manages in-house production for over 300 products, ensuring consistent print quality and faster shipping due to controlled production processes.

• Printify offers tiered pricing plans, including a free entry-level option, which is ideal for beginners. Printful also provides a free base plan but emphasizes a pay-as-you-go model with optional premium services for advanced users.

• Printify’s network allows for broad global coverage, potentially reducing shipping costs and times depending on the location. Printful operates its own facilities in strategic locations around the world, which generally results in quicker and more predictable shipping times.

• Printful offers more advanced design tools and customization options, including extensive branding opportunities such as custom labels and packaging. Printify provides basic design tools and some branding options but with less scope than Printful.

• Both platforms integrate seamlessly with major ecommerce platforms and provide robust customer support. However, Printful's slight advantage comes from additional features like Amazon integration and more extensive branding tools.

• For a comprehensive POD Solution, leverage Gelato's extensive capabilities. It operates through over 100 localized print hubs globally for faster delivery, a high degree of product customization through its Personalization Studio, scalable business solutions, and a streamlined workflow with robust API integration.

Printful is a one-stop shop for all your POD needs. They offer more than 300 customizable products and handle everything from printing and fulfillment to warehousing and shipping. They boast a user-friendly platform and integrate seamlessly with popular ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Shopify, and Etsy. 

Printful also offers a variety of branding and customization options, allowing you to create truly unique products.

Printify takes a different approach. Instead of having an in-house production, they act as a network that connects you with a vast network of independent print providers. This allows you to choose from a wider range of products (over 950) and potentially lower costs. 

Printify manages the printing and shipping process, so you never have to touch a product, freeing you up to focus on creating and marketing your products.

Now that we have a general understanding of Printful and Printify, let's delve into a more detailed comparison of their key features.

Platform fees

• Printify: When it comes to cost efficiency, Printify offers three pricing plans that cater to both beginner and advanced entrepreneurs: the Free plan, the Premium plan ($29/month), and the Enterprise plan (custom pricing). The Free plan is perfect for those just starting out, while the Premium plan provides added benefits such as up to 20% off on all products, making it an ideal choice for growing businesses.

• Printful: With Printful, you're not saddled with monthly or start-up fees. Its pricing model is based simply on the cost of producing a product—you only pay for what you sell. For those looking to scale, the Printful Growth Plan is available at just $24.99/month. This plan offers up to 20% off DTG products, up to 30% off other categories, and a 7% discount on product branding.

Our verdict: This is a close call! While both platforms offer a base free plan, Printful outshines with the option of scaling with no monthly subscription fees, making it a more affordable choice, especially for businesses just entering the print on demand sphere.

Fulfillment locations

• Printify: When it comes to fulfillment locations, Printify takes your business worldwide. With a network of print providers across North America, Canada, the UK, Europe, Asia, and Australia, shipping is quicker and more affordable. This broad reach gives businesses looking to succeed globally a major advantage.

• Printful: Printful gives online stores a worldwide reach. They have facilities in North America, Canada, Europe, and the UK. This helps you to send orders to the closest production center, ensuring fast delivery and lower shipping fees while maintaining a strong global presence.

Our verdict: Printify offers more potential for localization with their entire production process, but Printful's in-house facilities often lead to faster overall shipping.

Shipping costs and times

• Printify: When it comes to shipping costs and times, Printify offers flexibility with economy, standard, priority, and express shipping options. While costs may vary based on the product and destination, Printify generally provides affordable pricing. Plus, they have a notable global network, which aids in quicker fulfillment times, ensuring your customers get their purchase within an acceptable timeframe. 

• Printful: The platform offers clear pricing for shipping options and has tie-ups with all the major ecommerce logistics companies, such as USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, Canada Post, Australia Post, and Royal Mail. Moreover, their in-house fulfillment centers often translate to quicker shipping times than Printify's global network. 

Our verdict: Printful edges out Printify here. Their transparent shipping structure makes it easier to calculate costs and set customer expectations.

Payment processing

• Printify: Printify connects with PayPal and major credit/debit card providers, allowing you to accept a variety of payment methods from your customers.

• Printful: The platform offers integrations with well-known payment processors like Stripe and PayPal and accepts payments in credit cards, debit cards, buy now, pay later programs such as Klarna, and even cryptocurrency.

Our verdict: It's a tie! Both Printify and Printful provide standard payment processing capabilities, allowing you to choose a familiar and trusted solution.

Product catalog

• Printify: The platform boasts a massive catalog exceeding 950 products, including apparel, accessories, homeware, and even phone cases. This variety allows you to cater to a wider range of customer preferences.

• Printful: On the other hand, Printful offers a curated selection of over 300 products, focusing on high-demand apparel and accessories. Their emphasis lies on quality and consistency across their product line.

Our verdict: Printify wins for sheer variety. However, Printful might be ideal if you prioritize a focused selection with guaranteed product quality.

Print quality

• Printify: Print quality can vary depending on the chosen print provider within their network. While some providers offer excellent results, there's a chance of inconsistency across different products or orders. Printify offers quality guidelines for providers, but the final execution might differ.

• Printful: Maintains strict quality control standards across its in-house production facilities. This translates to consistent, high-quality printing across all products and orders. You can expect vibrant colors, sharp details, and a professional finish.

Our verdict: Printful wins hands-down for consistent, high-quality printing!

Integrations

• Printify: This platform connects seamlessly with a wide range of popular ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, including Shopify, Etsy, Walmart, eBay, WooCommerce, and even TikTok (currently limited to the US). They also offer an open API for developers to create custom integrations with other platforms.

• Printful: Offers a similarly impressive list of integrations with major ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Etsy, Wix, BigCommerce, eBay, and WooCommerce. They even hold a slight edge by integrating with Amazon, a valuable option for reaching a wider audience. Printful also provides a well-documented API for developers.

Our verdict: This is a close call. While both platforms offer robust integration options, making it easy to connect your POD store with your preferred selling platform, Printful's slight edge with Amazon integration might be a deciding factor for some businesses.

Custom branding options

• Printify: Printify offers only two options for product branding: neck labels and packaging inserts. You can upload custom designs for printing, but customization features for the actual product itself are scarce.

• Printful: Printful shines in the area of custom branding, allowing you to create a truly unique brand experience. You can add a personalized packing slip, create a branded tracking page for customers, and seal products with your logo tape. Plus, you can add custom labels and branded inserts and even use custom packing slip messages!

Our verdict: Printful is the clear winner for businesses seeking a fully branded customer experience. Their extensive branding options allow you to elevate your brand image and build customer loyalty.

Design tools

• Printify: Printify offers basic design tools that allow you to upload your artwork, place it on product mockups, and adjust its size and position. While helpful for visualizing your designs on products, these tools lack advanced features for editing or manipulating your artwork itself.

• Printful: Printful provides a more sophisticated design tool with features that cater to both beginners and experienced designers. You can upload your artwork, use mockups for product placement, and even design from scratch using clipart and illustrations. Create patterns for all-over print designs and apply vibrant colors of your choice. These extensive design options allow for more precise design control and potential adjustments before sending your products to print.

Our verdict: Printful wins for offering a more robust design toolset. Their features empower you to edit and refine your artwork directly within the platform, ensuring a polished final product.

Customer support

• Printify: This platform offers customer support through email, live chat, and a knowledge base with helpful articles and FAQs. While their response times might vary depending on volume, they strive to assist users with order-related issues, product inquiries, and general platform usage.

• Printful: Printful also provides customer support via email, live chat with helpful agents, and a comprehensive Help Center packed with tutorials, troubleshooting guides, and answers to frequently asked questions. Their support team aims for quick resolutions, focusing on addressing order issues, product concerns, and platform navigation challenges.

Our verdict: A tie! Both Printify and Printful offer multiple support channels and resources to assist users.

Suitability for beginners

• Printify: If you're new to print on demand, Printify is a great place to start. With its user-friendly layout, practical design tools, and helpful online support, it's perfect for selling tailor-made products easily.

• Printful: Printful is also super simple to use. That said, the platform not only provides a straight-to-the-point design process, a broad range of products, and helpful tutorials but also the option to create designs from scratch using the intuitive design features within the Design Maker. These features make it easy for beginners to set up their store, making Printful a great option for those new to print on demand businesses.

Our verdict: Both Printful and Printify offer user-friendly interfaces. However, Printify's straightforward design process might be preferable for absolute beginners.

When it comes to choosing between Printify and Printful, your choice will depend on your business goals and priorities. Here's a quick breakdown to help you decide:

Printify is best for:

• Experimenting with a wide variety of products: Explore over 950 product options, including unique items like phone cases and homeware.

• Starting on a budget: Take advantage of the free plan with unlimited product designs and store creation (be mindful of limitations).

• Greater control over fulfillment: Choose from a network of providers, potentially finding lower costs on specific products.

Printful is best for:

• Prioritizing consistent, high-quality printing: Maintain brand consistency with Printful's in-house production facilities and quality control measures.

• Building a fully branded customer experience: Elevate your brand with extensive options like custom packaging inserts, labels, and branded packaging tape.

• Transparent pricing and faster shipping times: Maximize your profit margins with clear and competitive pricing structures and potentially quicker turnaround times due to in-house fulfillment.

• Advanced design needs: Utilize Printful's design tools with features like layer editing and transparent backgrounds for intricate artwork.

Remember, there's no single "best" choice. The ideal POD partner depends on your specific business goals, budget, and target audience.

While Printful and Printify are two giant print on demand companies, Gelato dominates the field by offering a unique blend of features that can help you sell custom products and propel your POD business to new heights. Here's what sets Gelato apart:

• Global powerhouse: Tap into Gelato's network of 100+ localized print hubs across 33 countries. This ensures faster delivery of custom products, such as t-shirts, hoodies, phone cases, mugs, tote bags, etc., to your customers, reducing your environmental footprint. 

• Unmatched customization: Gelato's Personalization Studio takes personalization to the next level. Personalize every aspect of your product, from custom labels and packaging to variable data printing, for a truly unique customer experience. 

• Scalability made simple: As your business thrives, Gelato scales with you. Our subscription plans offer cost-effective solutions for high-volume POD businesses, allowing you to focus on growth.

• Streamlined workflow: Connect your store effortlessly with Gelato's robust API. This ensures a smooth workflow, freeing you to focus on creating amazing products and growing your brand. 

Ready to transform your POD business? Sign up for Gelato today and discover a world of possibilities!