Printful Vs Printify: Similarities, Differences, and Which Is Best

When looking to start an eCommerce business or looking to scale your current one, you’ll probably need to print out inventory.

Printing can be expensive, time-consuming, and difficult if you aren’t familiar with printing techniques and resources.

Fortunately, some companies specialize in printing services, such as Printful and Printify.

Both of these companies allow for custom designs and offer similar products.

However, each has unique features that set it apart from its competitor.

To determine which is the best service to use, we have a Printful vs Printify review highlighting the similarities and differences between the two companies, so you can figure out which one will work best for your online business needs.

What Is Print-on-Demand?

Print on demand (POD) refers to a business model in which items are printed only after placing an order.

A print-on-demand company relies on a network of printing facilities and fulfillment centers.

POD also avoids inventory costs and storage space while giving your customers more customization options.

You can find POD services in many industries, including e-commerce and retail clothing.

If you’re looking for a way to get started with eCommerce but don’t want all of the hassles of running a traditional online store, print-on-demand may be your answer.

What Is Printful, and How Does It Work?

Printful is a print-on-demand company that lets you create your store and sell printed products like t-shirts, phone cases, mugs, pillows, etc.

It’s an easy way to sell on your online store or marketplace.

You create an account with Printful and upload your designs.

You can customize each product, set your prices, and use Printful’s tools to design products and manage inventory.

Then when someone orders something from your shop, Printful will print out that item on-demand and ship it directly to them for you.

You pay a fee per item sold, covering shipping costs to get it printed and shipped to your customer.

What Is Printify, and How Does It Work?

Printify is a print-on-demand (POD) platform that helps eCommerce stores sell customizable products. Printify works with various third-party order fulfillment centers and print providers to provide customers with high print quality, on-demand service products at competitive prices.

The process starts when you pick from over 500 products on the platform, such as t-shirts, socks, and mugs ready for you to customize.

You can acquire samples from your selected print providers to ensure that the final items are what you envision.

Once you upload your design, set up your product options for sale in your store by adding it to an existing category or creating a new one based on your specific needs.

You will then sync your inventory between your store and Printify’s so customers can purchase.

Printful vs Printify: An In-Depth Comparison

Many factors come into play when choosing a POD platform.

It may take some research, but ultimately you’ll want to find an online print provider that ticks all your boxes in terms of price, print quality, speed, and customer service.  

To help you decide which of these two is better for your needs, we’ve put together a comprehensive comparison of their features below.

Integrations

A great print-on-demand company should be able to integrate with your preferred eCommerce platform.

You’ll be able to manage inventory, fulfill orders, and more without jumping back and forth between different platforms.

Printful Integrations

Printful allows you to integrate with many popular e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Webflow, Amazon, and eBay.

Printify Integrations

You can connect Printify to the sales channels of your choice, including Squarespace, PrestaShop, Wix, BigCommerce, and eBay.

Once you’ve connected a channel, you can manage orders from that channel in Printify’s dashboard.

For example, if you have an order placed through eBay, it will show up in your dashboard as an eBay order.

This is great for streamlining order fulfillment and inventory management across multiple sales channels.

Product Designs and Quality

It’s essential to find a print service with high print quality products.

You want your designs to look their best in whatever format you choose.

It’s also crucial to understand how much leeway your provider gives you regarding art direction and approvals.

Printful’s Design and Quality

You can choose from a catalog of print quality items available for customization, such as accessories.

They also have pre-made product templates so you can use their products without having to hire a designer or purchasing expensive software.

What Are Printful’s Branding Options?

Printful lets you brand your products however you want.

This includes adding a custom packing slip message, customizing your order tracking page, placing inside or outside labels on your clothing merchandise, and packaging inserts like flyers.

Does Printful Have Good Print Quality?

Many user reviews indicate that Printful has the excellent print quality and their products are of high standards, which is one of their most significant selling points.

You want to be sure that your products will turn out to look professional and not pixelated or blurry in any way.

Printify’s Designs and Quality

Printify has a wide variety of products, including hats, stickers, hoodies, t-shirts, etc.

You can also choose from various colors and finishes to match your brand or product perfectly.

What Are Printify’s Branding Options?

Customized items are available for most products in various sizes and colors, so you’ll be able to create unique merchandise for your customers.

These include printed neck labels for clothing items provided by Stakes Manufacturing and Textildruck Europa and sleeve prints done by OPT OnDemand.

Printify also offers custom return address branding for your products.

Does Printify Have Good Print Quality?

Printify considers print quality as their number one priority, and they work hard to make sure your products look as good in real life as they do in your designs.

The platform partners with trusted manufacturers who have years of experience creating great products for your brand.

Ease of Use

Before choosing a print provider, ensure that it’s easy to use.

The last thing you want is to be stuck at your computer trying to figure out how to send orders and waste valuable time.

Is Printful Easy to Use?

Printful is intuitive, so you can concentrate more on creating than designing your products.

They have a simple interface that takes no time to get used to and will have you creating and fulfilling orders in no time at all.

However, if you want to take full advantage of everything Printful offers, familiarize yourself with some of its terminology and features.

Is Printify Easy to Use?

Anyone with basic computer literacy should be able to use Printify without any issues at all.

You don’t need any special training or expertise in e-commerce or graphic design to get started.

You can quickly begin uploading your designs and products for sale in minutes.

The process is intuitive, from adding images and descriptions to selecting your shipping options.

Fulfillment and Shipping costs

The cost of shipping your items and storing them in a warehouse could eat up a significant portion of your revenue.

So whether you use a third-party shipping company or handle order fulfillment yourself, consider which method will be best for your customer and your business.

Printful Shipping

Printful classifies products into shipping categories based on their size, weight, and packing.

They compute standard shipping costs based on the average shipping time and rates for each product category.

The company delivers to nearly every nation around the globe, with a few omissions owing to government constraints or freight provider restraints.

Printful does not currently ship to Cuba, Iran, Crimea, Syria, or North Korea.

Where Does Printful Ship From?

Printful has warehouses for order fulfillment purposes in Charlotte, NC, Los Angeles, CA, in the US, and Toronto, Ontario, in Canada.

The Barcelona, Spain fulfillment center serves the European market and close regions.

How Long Does Printful Take To Ship, and What Are the Shipping Rates?

The shipping time it takes Printful to develop your product and execute the order is around two to five business days.

The Printful shipping cost for common products include:

Shirts (T-shirts, tops, 3/4 sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, polo shirts):

• USA: $3.99
• Canada: $6.29        
• Europe: $4.59                        
• Australia/New Zealand: $7.19

Hoodies, sweatshirts/pants, jackets:

• USA: $7.99
• Canada: $9.29
• Europe: $6.99                        
• Australia/New Zealand: $11.29

Printify Shipping

As mentioned, Printify outsources printing services to third-party providers.

The shipping cost depends on your preferred print provider and where your customers want the packages shipped.

With Printify’s shipping time, you’ll be able to track shipments from start to finish using a unique tracking number and link that will also be available in your dashboard.

Where Does Printify Ship From?

Printify ships its products from multiple warehouses around the world.

They have the best print providers across North America, Europe, and Asia to fulfill your order as quickly as possible.

ArtsAdd, for example, ships out of China while AVMM ships from Latvia.

How Long Does Printify Take To Ship, and What Are the Shipping Rates?

Again, the timeline depends on your selected best print service and customer location.

Local express shipping time is about 2-3 business days, while international shipping time is 3-5 business days.

Pricing

Naturally, you’ll want to seek out an online print service that charges competitive pricing for its services.

To ensure you get a fair price, compare quotes from various providers.

Print Pricing

The Printful pro version costs $49 per month or $539 per year.

You get extra features, including exclusive clipart images, a custom mockup maker, a background removal tool, and a carrier-based shipping option.

Do Printful Charge Commission or Membership Fee?

Printful’s Pro package option isn’t mandatory.

They don’t impose a membership payment or a one-time setup fee.

Instead, they make money when your clients buy something from your store.

Printify Pricing

Printful offers various pricing packages that allow you to customize your offerings, each with different features.

They include:

• Free Plan: $0 per month. Suitable for new retailers. Supports up to five stores and Unlimited product options.
• Printify Premium: $24.99 per month. Printify Premium fits the bill for merchants seeing a surge in demand for their products. Supports ten stores on your account and unlimited product options. You also get up to a 20% discount on all products.
• Enterprise: A custom-priced solution Designed for sellers with more than 10,000 orders daily. You get unlimited stores and unlimited product options with significant discounts.

Do Printify Charge Commission or Membership Fee?

Printify offers you the listed packages above, but they are not compulsory.

Their platform is completely free to use, and you may link your preferred sales channel to your business.

You will, however, have to pay standard costs for the products each time you make a purchase.

Earning Potential

Consider what your work is worth and select a platform that allows you to bring in maximum profits.

For example, choosing a service that offers discounts on high volume or bulk orders makes sense.

Printful Earning Potential

Your earning performance depends on the things you sell.

Every product has a different profit margin, and it’s up to you to decide which products are worth selling in your store.

Hoodies and Sweatshirts, for example, can get you better margins compared to T-Shirts.

To determine how much to charge for your products and generate a profit, keep track of Printful’s product options, pricing, design, and delivery expenses, whatever taxes that may apply, and additional fees.

Printful recommends setting a 30% profit margin to the equation.

Can You Make Money With Printful?

Print enables you to sell your products through various marketplaces and make money.

The company ensures never to link your capital to inventory and that you don’t have to spend money on warehousing or storage expenses.

What Percentage Does Printful Take?

Printful will not charge you any minimums.

However, they will charge you for production and delivery after placing an order.

Printify Earning Potential

Printify’s online business model allows you to make decent profits depending on your sales and marketing efforts.

The company sets a price for product options containing your custom designs.

Then, based on your calculation, you can list it for a price above the original cost.

When s customer purchases, Printify receives the order, and your preferred print provider fulfills it.

You get to keep any surplus funds above Printify’s cost.

Can You Make Money With Printify?

With Printify, you can make money by having a big enough audience who buy your merchandise.

The more people who see your products, the more likely they will buy them.

If you have an established social media following, you’re already in a great position to start making some cash with Printify.

What Percentage Does Printify Take?

Printify does not take a percentage of your profits.

Instead, they charge you for each item sold.

However, there are additional costs when using Printify, such as design and shipping costs which they can add to each order.

Customer Support

If you’re ordering prints in bulk, you may as well look for a company that can scale with your needs and offers support for as long as you need it.

You must find a company that provides 24/7 customer service and has polite staff who can answer questions accurately and promptly.

That way, you can focus on other business areas, knowing that professionals are handling your products.

Printful Customer Support

Printful provides learning resources such as marketing guides and the Printful Academy, which offers eCommerce lessons and courses.

The company aims to provide 24/7 customer support, so if you have any questions or issues with your order, they are available to help.

They have a live chat function and a contact form on their website.

You can contact the company via email, and they will get back with an update.

Alternatively, on the Printful app, navigate Settings, select Customer support and click on Support chat.

Printify Customer Support

Printify offers a vast library of featured articles and tutorials that are easily accessible.

In addition to these, they also have an extensive knowledge base that answers all questions about shipping and order fulfillment.

The site also has a help center where customers can ask questions, get support, or share feedback.

For more direct assistance, there’s a live chat option on every page of their website.

Customers can also contact customer service by email.

Similarities Between Printful and Printify

For both companies, getting started with your online business is free and easy.

Designing and uploading your products onto their print-on-demand company takes only a few minutes.

Once you’re up and running, it’s easy to earn money as an online seller by either selling pre-made designs or creating your custom designs on each site.

With Printful, you can sell shirts, posters, phone cases, and other in-house accessories.

With Printify, you can sell t-shirts that are screen printed by third-party suppliers worldwide.

Each platform offers multiple shipping options for customers, including international express shipping.

Both Printful and Printify include APIs that allow merchants to connect to popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce, so you don’t have to worry about building your storefront from scratch.

The two platforms have excellent customer service departments if you ever need help along the way.

And finally, both companies offer referral programs for existing sellers who want to invite friends into their businesses.

What Type of Products Do Printify and Printful Offer?

Both Printify and Printful offer a variety of products to print on, such as posters, t-shirts, hoodies, hats, phone cases, mugs, and more.

Pros and Cons of Printify and Printful

The print-on-demand service has advantages and disadvantages.

It’s essential to understand them to decide which is best for you.

To help you make an informed decision, we’ve outlined some of their pros and cons below.

Pros

Let’s see what benefits each platform has to offer.

What To Like About Printful

• User-friendly interface: Prinful’s platform is intuitive and easy to use, benefiting new users.
• Experiment with designs: The platform will allow you to upload your images and play around with designs.
• No equipment needed: The company handles all your bulk printing needs after ordering. You do not need to purchase any expensive equipment.
• No monthly fees: The platform is free to use without mandatory monthly packages.

What To Like About Printify

• Save time: Redirect valuable time and effort towards creativity as Printify takes care of your orders.
• No minimum order purchase: The organization has no set rules on a minimum order amount. Your customers can order their preferred amount of products at any time.
• Dropshipping business model: Printify’s print-on-demand service policy lowers the risk on customers’ capital. You also benefit from not paying storage fees.
• Customer support: The company offers several customer support channels, such as live chat and email.

Cons

We review the potential drawbacks of using each platform.

What Not to Like About Printful

• Refund policy: The company only provides refunds for damaged or mislabeled goods.

What Not to Like About Printify

• Few branding options: We’d like to see Printify expand its product line from the current offering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s look at frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding print-on-demand platforms.

Wrapping Up

Printing on demand is a great way to avoid inventory and shipping costs.

Print and Printify are two of the best print-on-demand companies available today.

They both offer great products and competitive pricing.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you need from your POD provider to decide which one is right for you.