Printify Competitors: 7 Alternatives Worth Considering

Printify is one of the biggest names in print-on-demand, but it's not perfect. The quality can be inconsistent because they rely on a network of third-party print providers, and their premium plan pricing at $29/month might not make sense for everyone. If you're shopping around, here's a breakdown of the best Printify competitors and what makes each one worth considering.

Already know you want Printify? Check out our Printify pricing breakdown or read our full Printify review.

Quick Comparison: Printify vs Top Competitors

Understanding Print-on-Demand Business Models

Before diving into specific Printify alternatives, it's worth understanding the fundamental difference in how POD companies operate-because this affects everything from quality to pricing.

The Marketplace Model (Printify, Gooten)

Marketplace platforms connect you with multiple third-party print providers. You choose which supplier to use based on location, price, and ratings. This gives you flexibility and often lower base costs, but quality can vary between providers. You're essentially comparison shopping for each product type.

The In-House Model (Printful, SPOD)

These companies own or directly control their printing facilities. This means more consistent quality across all products, faster communication when issues arise, and streamlined fulfillment-but often at slightly higher base prices. Think of it as the difference between buying from multiple vendors versus one controlled source.

The Hybrid Approach

Some platforms like Printful use primarily in-house production but partner with select third-party suppliers in specific regions (like Japan, Brazil, and Australia) to extend their reach while maintaining quality standards.

1. Printful - Best for Quality Control and Branding

Printful is probably the closest like-for-like alternative to Printify. The biggest difference? Printful controls most of its own fulfillment centers rather than relying entirely on third-party providers. This means more consistent quality, but often slightly higher base prices.

Founded in 2013, Printful has built a reputation as one of the most reliable POD providers in the industry. They've fulfilled over 79 million items and maintain a reported return rate of just 0.24% due to quality issues-a number they openly share to demonstrate their commitment to consistency.

Printful Pricing

Printful offers a free plan with all core features included. Their Growth plan costs $24.99/month (or free if you hit $12K in annual sales) and unlocks up to 30% off products, premium branding options, and additional tools.

For reference, a basic t-shirt on Printful starts around $8-10 depending on the blank, with shipping to the US starting at $3.99. The Growth plan can make Printful competitive with Printify's pricing, especially on direct-to-garment products. Printful also offers bulk discounts of up to 55% for larger orders, making it viable for sellers who occasionally need inventory runs.

What Printful Does Better Than Printify

• Quality consistency: In-house production means fewer surprises with print quality. Printful uses standardized equipment and processes across all facilities, so a shirt printed in California looks identical to one printed in North Carolina.
• Branding options: Custom labels, pack-ins, and packaging available. You can add tear-away tags to garments for $2.49 per label, packaging inserts for $0.75 per order, and custom packing slips with your branding. This level of customization helps you build a professional brand image.
• Mockup generator: Generally better design tools and mockup quality. Printful's mockup generator offers multiple angles and lifestyle settings, and you can download high-resolution images for marketing purposes.
• Fulfillment time: Often faster turnaround than some Printify providers. Most Printful orders are fulfilled in 2-5 business days, with many products shipping within 3 days.
• Sample orders: Printful offers 20% off sample orders for up to 3 products per month, with additional sample discounts unlocking as you hit sales milestones. Printify charges full price for samples.
• Branding throughout: Custom tracking pages where customers can see their logo and branding even during shipment tracking, creating a cohesive experience.

What Printful Does Worse

• Base prices: Can be higher than Printify's cheapest providers. A Gildan 5000 tee might be $9.50 on Printful versus $7.68 with Printify Premium on the cheapest provider.
• Product selection: Around 380-400 products vs Printify's 1,300+. If you're looking for niche items like pet accessories or specific home decor, Printify's variety wins.
• Provider flexibility: You can't choose between multiple suppliers per product. This is by design-Printful controls quality-but it means less ability to optimize for location or cost.
• Design interface: Some users find Printful's design tool less intuitive than Printify's, though this is subjective.

Printful's Global Reach

Printful operates fulfillment centers across the United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Japan, Latvia, and Brazil. This global network enables them to produce around 85% of orders locally to the end customer, reducing shipping times and costs while lowering carbon emissions.

For a deeper dive, check out our Printify vs Printful comparison.

2. Gelato - Best for Global Fulfillment

If you sell internationally and want fast shipping to customers worldwide, Gelato is worth a serious look. They operate 140+ production hubs in 32 countries, meaning products get printed locally to customers regardless of where they're ordering from.

Gelato's approach is fundamentally different from both Printify and Printful. Instead of routing all orders through a few centralized hubs, they intelligently route each order to the facility closest to the end customer. This "hyperlocal" production model means a customer in Germany gets their order printed in Germany, while a customer in Australia gets theirs printed locally-all from the same design you uploaded once.

Gelato Pricing

Gelato's free plan includes access to their global production network and basic design tools. Gelato+ costs $24/month (or $19.99/month billed annually) and includes product discounts, AI-powered tools like Magic Mockups and Instant Collections, and premium features.

There's also Gelato+ Gold at $99/month for high-volume sellers, which includes free standard shipping worldwide, advanced automation, and priority support-making it worthwhile if you're doing significant volume.

Base product costs are competitive-their Gildan 5000 Heavyweight starts at around $10.12. Shipping ranges from $4-10 depending on destination and speed, though local production often makes shipping faster and cheaper than competitors who ship internationally.

What Gelato Does Better Than Printify

• Local production: Faster delivery and lower shipping costs for international orders. If you have customers across Europe, Asia, and North America, Gelato can deliver to all of them in 3-5 days versus 1-2 weeks from a single location.
• Sustainability: Local production reduces carbon footprint significantly. Over 85% of Gelato orders are fulfilled locally, meaning shorter shipping distances and lower environmental impact.
• AI tools: Velocity Switch for easy product migration from other platforms, Magic Mockups that generate professional product photos automatically, and AI-powered design tools. These features are more advanced than what Printify offers.
• European market: Particularly strong for EU/UK sellers with extensive production facilities across Europe, making VAT and customs clearance simpler.
• Personalization tools: Gelato offers sophisticated personalization options where customers can customize products with text or images at checkout-a feature that typically increases average order values by 2-3x.
• Design resources: Integration with over 100 million royalty-free Shutterstock and Getty images for Gelato+ members, plus premium fonts.

What Gelato Does Worse

• Provider transparency: You can't see or choose which facility produces your order. Gelato's system automatically routes to the best available facility, which is efficient but means less control.
• Product variety: Smaller catalog than Printify-around 100+ core products focused on high-margin items like apparel, wall art, and accessories. You won't find as many niche products.
• Price fluctuations: Some users report unexpected price increases on materials or regional pricing variations. Prices can differ by destination country, which makes margin planning more complex.
• Limited integrations: Fewer platform integrations compared to Printful or Printify, though they cover the major ones (Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce).

Who Should Choose Gelato?

Gelato makes the most sense if you have or plan to have a significant international customer base. If 30%+ of your orders ship outside your home country, the local production model can save you substantially on shipping costs and delivery times. It's also ideal for eco-conscious brands who want to legitimately claim sustainability benefits.

3. SPOD - Best for Speed

SPOD (Spreadshirt Print On Demand) has one killer feature: they produce 95% of orders within 48 hours, with about half shipping within 24 hours. If fulfillment speed is your priority, SPOD is hard to beat.

SPOD is owned by Spread Group, a German company with over 20 years in the print industry and annual revenue exceeding $180 million. They're not a startup-they're an established printing company that built a POD platform on top of their existing infrastructure.

SPOD Pricing

SPOD is completely free to use-no subscription tiers, no hidden fees. You only pay the base product cost plus shipping when you make a sale. A basic t-shirt runs around $7-8, and a standard hoodie is about $18-20. Shipping is calculated based on order value rather than per-item, which can work in your favor for larger orders.

For example, shipping a single t-shirt to the US costs around $4.99, but adding a second item might only add $1-2 to shipping rather than another full shipping charge. This makes SPOD attractive for multi-item orders.

What SPOD Does Better Than Printify

• Production speed: Fastest in the industry at 48hr turnaround for 95% of orders. This is unmatched-most competitors take 3-7 days for production alone.
• No subscription: Zero monthly fees, pay only when you sell. This is ideal for beginners or seasonal sellers who don't want recurring costs.
• EU fulfillment: Great for European customers with facilities in both US and EU. SPOD has production facilities in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and the United States.
• Simplicity: Straightforward pricing with no complicated tiers. What you see is what you pay.
• Order value shipping: Shipping based on order total rather than per-item can significantly reduce costs for multi-product orders.
• Quality brands: Uses well-known blanks including Gildan, Bella+Canvas, Fruit of the Loom, and American Apparel.

What SPOD Does Worse

• Product catalog: Around 200-250 products-much smaller than Printify's 1,300+. The selection focuses heavily on apparel with fewer accessories and home goods.
• No all-over-print: Limited options for sublimation and AOP products, which are popular sellers on platforms like Etsy.
• Stock issues: Popular items can sell out with unclear restock timelines. Because SPOD uses specific blank suppliers, when those suppliers have shortages, SPOD does too.
• Platform integrations: Fewer integrations than major competitors. SPOD works with Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, and Amazon, but lacks connections to platforms like BigCommerce or Wix.
• Design tools: More basic than Printful or Printify. The interface is functional but not as polished.

SPOD's Turnaround Time Advantage

SPOD's 48-hour production window is a genuine competitive advantage. Over 50% of orders ship within 24 hours, meaning customers receive products days faster than with most alternatives. For time-sensitive products-holiday items, trending designs, event merchandise-this speed can be the difference between making a sale and losing a customer to a competitor.

4. Gooten - Best for Scaling Sellers

Gooten flies under the radar compared to Printful and Printify, but it's a solid choice for sellers who want low prices, strong automation, and don't need hand-holding. Their API and order routing features make it particularly good for high-volume sellers.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York City, Gooten has built a global network of manufacturing partners with a focus on automation and scalability. They're less about flashy features and more about reliable, efficient fulfillment for sellers who know what they're doing.

Gooten Pricing

No subscription fees at all. You pay base product costs plus shipping, and that's it. Gooten's base costs are often among the lowest in the industry, especially competitive with Printify in many categories. They also offer volume discounts for larger orders and don't charge setup fees.

The catch? You won't get the hand-holding that Printful provides. Gooten assumes you know how to run a POD business and gives you the tools to do it efficiently.

What Gooten Does Better Than Printify

• No fees: Zero subscription costs, no premium tier needed. This simplicity appeals to sellers who want to maximize margins without calculating whether a subscription pays for itself.
• Order routing: Advanced controls to blacklist suppliers or set routing rules. If you have a bad experience with a particular printing partner, you can exclude them from future orders.
• API: Robust API for custom integrations and automation. This is valuable for developers or sellers with custom storefronts who need more control than standard integrations provide.
• Unique products: 200+ exclusive products like candles, fleece blankets, and other items not commonly found on other platforms.
• Analytics: Detailed reporting and analytics to track performance, identify top sellers, and optimize your product mix.
• Smart routing: Gooten automatically routes orders to optimal suppliers based on location, inventory, and performance, but you can override these decisions.

What Gooten Does Worse

• Branding: Very limited-just a basic packing slip with your name. No custom packaging, labels, or inserts like Printful offers.
• Design tools: Basic compared to Printful or Printify. You'll likely design products externally and upload finished files.
• Beginner-friendly: Less intuitive, steeper learning curve. The interface assumes familiarity with POD operations.
• Quality consistency: Mixed reviews on certain products like blankets. Because Gooten uses multiple suppliers, quality can vary-similar to Printify's challenge.
• Mockups: Functional but not as polished as Printful's mockup generator. You may want to create custom mockups for marketing.

Who Should Use Gooten?

Gooten is best for experienced sellers who prioritize efficiency and margins over support and branding. If you're doing 100+ orders per month, comfortable with APIs, and want maximum control over your fulfillment network, Gooten offers tools that competitors don't. It's less ideal for absolute beginners who want guidance.

5. Teelaunch - Best for Budget-Conscious Beginners

Teelaunch has been around for 75+ years in the printing industry and offers a no-frills POD solution. No subscription fees, and you only pay when you sell.

The company is family-owned and based in Chicago, with decades of experience in commercial printing before launching their POD platform in 2014. This deep industry experience shows in their print quality, even if their platform features aren't as flashy as newer competitors.

Teelaunch Pricing

Free to sign up with no monthly fees-you pay the product cost plus a small fulfillment fee per order. They have production facilities in the US, UK, Europe, and Australia for global coverage.

Product pricing is competitive with Printify's lower-cost providers, making it a good option for sellers who want to maximize margins without paying subscription fees.

What Teelaunch Does Better

• No subscription: Zero monthly costs, making it risk-free to test products and designs.
• Profit calculator: Automated tool to calculate margins built into the platform, helping you price products correctly.
• Global production: Facilities across four continents (North America, Europe, Australia, Asia) enable reasonably fast worldwide shipping.
• Unique items: Products like power banks, dog bandanas, and other niche items not available everywhere.
• Personalization: Offers customization tools that work with Shopify, allowing customers to add text or images to your designs at checkout.
• Experience: 75+ years of printing experience means solid understanding of quality control and production processes.

What Teelaunch Does Worse

• Smaller catalog: Around 180 products-smaller than most major competitors.
• Less polish: Design tools and mockups aren't as refined as Printful or Printify. The interface feels more dated.
• Limited integrations: Works with Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, TikTok Shop, but lacks connections to other platforms like eBay or Amazon.
• Slower updates: As a smaller, family-owned company, new features and product additions happen less frequently.
• Customer support: Good but not 24/7 like larger competitors offer.

Teelaunch's Sweet Spot

Teelaunch makes sense if you're testing POD for the first time and don't want to commit to monthly fees. The profit calculator is genuinely helpful for beginners learning to price products, and the global fulfillment network is more extensive than you'd expect from a smaller platform.

6. Sellfy - Best All-in-One Solution

Unlike pure POD platforms, Sellfy is an ecommerce platform with built-in print-on-demand. If you don't have an existing store and don't want to deal with Shopify or Etsy, Sellfy lets you launch everything from one place.

Sellfy combines the functionality of an ecommerce platform (like Shopify) with POD fulfillment, digital product sales, subscription management, and email marketing-all in one package. This makes it unique among the platforms discussed here.

Sellfy Pricing and Features

Paid plans start at $19/month for the Starter plan (with a 14-day free trial), $59/month for Business, and $119/month for Premium. All plans include the online store, POD integration, digital product sales, and marketing tools. The main differences are in features like email marketing automation, upsells, and cart abandonment recovery.

Unlike platforms that just charge for POD products, Sellfy's pricing includes everything you need to run a complete online business-store, marketing, analytics, and fulfillment.

What Makes Sellfy Different

• Store included: Build your store directly on Sellfy-no Shopify subscription needed. Your domain, your branding, hosted by Sellfy.
• Marketing tools: Built-in email marketing, upsells, and discount codes. You don't need to integrate Klaviyo or Mailchimp separately.
• Digital products: Also sell downloads, subscriptions, and other digital goods alongside POD merchandise. This makes Sellfy ideal for creators who want to sell courses, ebooks, or templates alongside physical products.
• Social integration: Easy connection to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram with embedded buy buttons and product links.
• Simplicity: One dashboard for everything-products, orders, customers, marketing, analytics.
• Subscriptions: Offer subscription boxes or memberships directly through your Sellfy store.

What Makes Sellfy Challenging

The downside? Sellfy's paid plans start around $19-29/month for the store platform itself, which is on top of product costs. It makes sense if you'd be paying for Shopify anyway, but not if you already have a store.

Additionally, Sellfy's POD catalog is smaller than dedicated POD platforms-around 50 core products focused on apparel and accessories. If you need a massive product variety, you'll need to use Sellfy plus another POD integration.

Who Should Choose Sellfy?

Sellfy is perfect for content creators, educators, or digital entrepreneurs who want to sell a mix of digital and physical products without managing multiple platforms. If you're a course creator who also wants to sell branded merchandise, or an artist selling both prints and digital downloads, Sellfy's all-in-one approach saves time and complexity.

7. Spring (Formerly Teespring) - Best for Creators

Spring is built specifically for content creators with YouTube and TikTok integration. If you're an influencer or creator looking to sell merch to your audience, Spring handles everything from store to fulfillment.

What sets Spring apart is that it's not really designed for traditional ecommerce. It's designed for creators who have audiences on social platforms and want a simple way to monetize that audience through merchandise-without building a full store or learning ecommerce.

Spring's Creator-First Approach

Spring offers a built-in marketplace where browsers can discover your products, giving you potential sales from people who find you through Spring itself-not just your existing audience. This passive discovery is unique among the platforms discussed here.

What Spring Does Better

• Creator integrations: Native YouTube and TikTok Shop connections make it easy to promote merchandise directly from your content.
• Marketplace traffic: Built-in audience from Spring's marketplace means potential sales beyond your own followers.
• Simplicity: Launch campaigns without building a full store. Create a design, set your price, share the link-done.
• No upfront costs: Completely free to set up and launch campaigns.
• Campaign-based selling: Perfect for limited edition drops, event merchandise, or testing designs before committing to inventory.

What Spring Does Worse

• Pricing flexibility: Less control than traditional POD platforms. Spring sets base prices and you choose your markup, but you can't shop between providers for better rates.
• Professional sellers: Not designed for serious ecommerce operations. No inventory management, limited analytics, fewer business features.
• Product selection: More limited than Printify-focused on apparel and standard merchandise items.
• Branding: Your store is on Spring's domain (unless you pay extra), and the experience is branded as Spring, not fully white-labeled.
• Migration: Difficult to move to another platform if you outgrow Spring since your store lives on their platform.

When Spring Makes Sense

If you're a YouTuber with 50K+ subscribers, a TikToker with an engaged following, or any creator who wants the simplest possible path to selling merch, Spring removes almost all friction. The tradeoff is less control and professionalism compared to running your own store with dedicated POD.

Comparing Quality Across Platforms

Quality is subjective, but there are clear differences in how these platforms approach it:

Most Consistent Quality

Printful tops this list with its in-house production and 0.24% return rate. When you order a Printful product, you know what you're getting. SPOD is a close second with their controlled facilities and 20+ years of printing experience.

Variable Quality

Printify and Gooten offer variable quality because they connect you with multiple suppliers. Some suppliers are excellent, others mediocre. The key is using their rating systems to identify top performers and sticking with them. Both platforms have "Print Provider Performance Scores" to help you choose.

Regional Variations

Gelato's quality can vary slightly by region since different facilities handle different areas, though they maintain standards across their network. Most users report consistently good quality, but occasional outliers occur.

Pricing Breakdown: Real Numbers

Let's compare actual costs for common products across platforms (prices as of recent data, may vary):

Basic T-Shirt (Gildan 5000 or similar)

• Printify Premium: $7.68 (cheapest provider)
• Printful: $9.50
• Gelato: $10.12
• SPOD: $7-8
• Gooten: $7.50

Hoodie (Standard Pullover)

• Printify: $18-22 (varies by provider)
• Printful: $22-26
• SPOD: $18-20
• Gooten: $20-24

11oz Ceramic Mug

• Printify: $6-8
• Printful: $8.50
• Gelato: $7.49
• Teelaunch: $7-9

Remember that shipping costs significantly impact total cost. A platform with slightly higher product prices but cheaper shipping to your target market may ultimately be more profitable.

Shipping Speed Comparison

Fulfillment and shipping speed varies dramatically between platforms:

Fastest Production

SPOD: 95% of orders produced within 48 hours, 50%+ shipped within 24 hours. This is unbeatable.

Printful: 2-5 business days for most products, averaging around 3 days. Reliable and predictable.

Standard Speed

Printify: Varies by provider-anywhere from 2-7 business days. You need to check each provider's average fulfillment time.

Gelato: 2-5 business days locally, but because orders are produced close to customers, total delivery time (production + shipping) is often faster than competitors.

Gooten: 3-5 business days for most products.

Shipping Time

After production, shipping adds 2-8 business days domestically and 7-14 days internationally for standard shipping. Express options are available across all platforms at higher costs.

Integration and Platform Support

All major Printify competitors integrate with popular ecommerce platforms, but coverage varies:

Best Integration Support

Printful and Printify both integrate with virtually every major platform: Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, eBay, Amazon, and more. They also offer robust APIs for custom integrations.

Good Integration Support

Gelato covers the major platforms (Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce) but has fewer total integrations than Printful/Printify.

Gooten integrates with main ecommerce platforms and offers a strong API, though marketplace coverage is more limited.

Limited Integration Support

SPOD works with Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, and Amazon-covering most needs but lacking connections to platforms like Wix or Squarespace.

Teelaunch supports Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, and TikTok Shop-adequate for most users but not comprehensive.

Evaluating Customer Support

When things go wrong-and occasionally they will-customer support quality matters:

Top-Tier Support

Printful offers 24/7 support via email and live chat, with generally fast response times and helpful agents. Their extensive help center and tutorials are also valuable.

Good Support

Printify offers 24/7 support via email and live chat for Premium members, though free plan users may experience longer wait times.

Gelato provides solid support during business hours across multiple time zones, with helpful documentation.

Adequate Support

Smaller platforms like SPOD, Gooten, and Teelaunch offer good support but typically during business hours only. Response times may be 24-48 hours rather than instant.

Sustainability and Ethical Considerations

For eco-conscious sellers, sustainability matters:

Most Sustainable

Gelato leads here with 85%+ local fulfillment, dramatically reducing shipping distances and carbon emissions. They're transparent about their environmental impact.

Printful also performs well with around 84% local fulfillment from their global network. They offer 50+ eco-friendly products made from organic or recycled materials.

Sustainable Options

Printify offers eco-friendly products from various suppliers, though sustainability varies by provider. You can filter for organic cotton and recycled materials.

SPOD offers sustainable product options and their fast fulfillment reduces waste from returns.

When to Use Multiple POD Platforms

Here's a secret: many successful POD sellers don't limit themselves to one platform. You can use multiple POD partners simultaneously, each integrated with the same store.

Strategic Multi-Platform Use

• Premium products on Printful: Use Printful for your signature items where quality is paramount.
• Budget items on Printify/Gooten: Use lower-cost providers for entry-level products with lower price points.
• International orders on Gelato: Route international orders to Gelato for faster local production.
• Rush orders on SPOD: When customers need fast delivery, SPOD's 48-hour turnaround shines.

Most ecommerce platforms allow you to connect multiple POD apps, and you can assign different products to different suppliers. This optimization strategy maximizes both quality and profit margins.

Hidden Costs to Consider

When comparing POD platforms, look beyond base product prices:

Subscription Costs

Printify Premium ($29/month) and Printful Growth ($24.99/month) both require minimum monthly sales to justify the subscription. Calculate your break-even point-typically around 15-30 products per month depending on average order value.

Sample Costs

Printful offers 20% off samples (3 per month), while others charge full price. If you test many products, this adds up.

Failed Payment Fees

Some platforms charge fees for failed payment attempts or insufficient balance. Read the fine print.

Return Shipping

Who pays for return shipping on defective items? Policies vary-some platforms cover it, others don't.

Which Printify Competitor Should You Choose?

Here's my take based on different scenarios:

• Prioritize quality and branding: Go with Printful. The extra cost is worth it for consistent quality and professional branding options. Best for sellers building premium brands.
• Sell internationally: Gelato's local production means faster shipping worldwide and happy international customers. Best for global businesses.
• Need speed: SPOD's 48-hour turnaround is unmatched. Best for trending products, event merchandise, or impatient customers.
• High-volume scaling: Gooten's no-fee model and automation features shine at scale. Best for experienced sellers doing 100+ orders/month.
• Total beginner with no store: Sellfy if you want all-in-one, or stick with Printify's free plan. Best for testing POD with minimal risk.
• Content creator: Spring if your audience is on YouTube/TikTok. Best for influencers monetizing their following.
• Maximum product variety: Stick with Printify-1,300+ products beats everyone else. Best for niche products or testing many categories.
• Sustainable business: Gelato for the lowest environmental impact. Best for eco-conscious brands.

Testing Your Chosen Platform

Before committing fully to any Printify alternative, test intelligently:

Order Samples

Order 3-5 samples of your most important products. Evaluate print quality, colors, material feel, and packaging. Wash apparel items multiple times to test durability.

Test Customer Experience

Place a test order as if you were a customer. How long does it take? What does the packaging look like? How's the tracking experience?

Compare Fulfillment Times

Place identical orders across platforms and track actual fulfillment and delivery times. Published times are averages-your experience may vary.

Evaluate Support

Contact customer support with a question before you need help. Response time and helpfulness during non-emergency inquiries indicate what you'll experience during actual problems.

Common Mistakes When Switching from Printify

If you're leaving Printify for an alternative, avoid these pitfalls:

Not Updating Prices

Base costs differ between platforms. Don't assume your current pricing works with your new provider-recalculate margins for every product.

Ignoring Shipping Differences

Shipping costs and speeds vary significantly. Your $25 t-shirt might become unprofitable if shipping costs are $3 higher on the new platform.

Overlooking Integration Gaps

Verify that your specific ecommerce platform integrates with your chosen alternative. Not all platforms support all integrations equally well.

Assuming Quality Equivalence

A Gildan 5000 from different suppliers isn't identical. Print quality, color accuracy, and finishing vary. Order samples before launching.

Future Trends in Print-on-Demand

The POD industry continues evolving rapidly:

AI-Powered Design

Platforms increasingly offer AI design tools. Printify has AI image generation, Gelato offers AI mockups, and this trend will accelerate. Expect AI to help with trend prediction, design optimization, and personalization.

Faster Fulfillment

SPOD's 48-hour standard is pushing competitors to speed up. Expect more platforms to offer 2-3 day production as table stakes.

Sustainability Requirements

As consumers demand sustainable options, POD platforms are expanding eco-friendly products and local production. This will continue growing.

Direct-to-Consumer Features

More POD platforms are adding DTC features like subscription boxes, personalization tools, and membership options-blurring the line between POD supplier and ecommerce platform.

Final Thoughts

Printify's biggest advantage is product variety-1,300+ products and the ability to compare prices across multiple providers. But if quality consistency, branding, or fulfillment speed matter more to you than having the biggest catalog, one of these alternatives might be a better fit.

My recommendation? Most serious POD sellers actually use multiple platforms. Start with one, but don't be afraid to use Printful for your premium products and SPOD for your bread-and-butter items that need fast shipping. The platforms all integrate with the same stores, so there's no reason to limit yourself to just one.

The best Printify competitor for you depends on your specific business model, target market, and priorities. Use this guide to narrow down your options, then test your top 2-3 choices with sample orders before fully committing. The few dollars spent on samples will save you from choosing the wrong platform and dealing with customer complaints later.

Want to stick with Printify but save money? Check out our Printify coupon codes page.

Try Printify Free →