How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Printful is free to start with an optional Growth plan at $24.99 a month; it owns its factories, which means the most consistent quality and the best branding options.
- Printify is also free to start, with Premium at $39 a month ($24.99 a month billed annually); it is a broker network, so you shop 70+ print providers for the lowest base cost.
- CustomCat's Lite plan is free and its Pro plan is $30 a month ($25 a month billed annually) for 20 to 40% off products, making it the value pick for US-only sellers.
- Gelato is free to start and prints through 250+ partners in 32 countries, which keeps international shipping fast and cheap.
- Order samples from any service before you sell; a $15 sample beats a wave of returns.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Printful | Brand-focused sellers who want consistent quality | Free ($0/month); Growth plan $24.99/month | Yes |
 Printify | Bargain hunters comparing many print providers | Free ($0/month); Premium $39/month ($24.99/month billed annually) | Yes |
 CustomCat | US sellers who want the lowest domestic costs | Free (Lite plan); Pro $30/month ($25/month billed annually) | Yes |
 Gooten | Sellers who want a managed fulfillment network | See website | Yes |
 Print Aura | Simple no-minimum printing with oversized prints | See website | No |
 Apliiq | Clothing brands that need premium branding | See website | Yes |
 Gelato | International sellers who need local production | See website | Yes |
 Spreadshirt | Beginners who want a built-in marketplace | See website | Yes |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best print on demand software
Starting priceFree ($0/month); Growth plan $24.99/month
Free planYes
Printful is the service most serious sellers graduate to once branding starts to matter. Because it prints in its own facilities rather than routing orders to third parties, the shirt a customer gets in March matches the one they get in November, and the company backs that with a three-step quality check. The free plan costs nothing and includes the full catalog of 500+ products, the design maker, and integrations with every major sales channel, so you can run a real store without a subscription.
The honest catch is the base cost. Printful's products typically cost a dollar or two more than the cheapest Printify provider, which eats margin on low-priced items. The $24.99-a-month Growth plan answers that with up to 33% off products and 9% off branding, and it becomes free for a year once you pass $12,000 in annual sales. If your average order value is healthy and you care what the unboxing looks like, Printful earns its premium. If you compete purely on price, the math favors a broker model.
What we like- Owns its fulfillment centers, so quality is the most consistent in the category
- Strong branding options including inside labels and packaging inserts
- Free plan includes the full product catalog and integrations
Watch out for- Base product costs run $1 to $2 higher than broker-network competitors
- The Growth plan only pays for itself at real volume
Starting priceFree ($0/month); Premium $39/month ($24.99/month billed annually)
Free planYes
Printify works differently from Printful: it does not own factories. It is a marketplace of print providers, and you pick which one fulfills each product. That competition drives base costs down, with basic tees starting around $7, and the catalog of 2,000+ products is the largest here. The free plan is fully usable, no card required, and the Premium plan at $39 a month ($24.99 a month on annual billing) adds up to 33% off products plus branding features like neck labels.
The tradeoff is consistency. One provider's prints look great and ship in three days; another's run dark and take two weeks. Printify gives you the ratings and the choice, but the vetting work is yours, and switching providers midstream means re-checking quality. Order samples from every provider you plan to use, not just one. For sellers who watch every cent of margin and are willing to manage providers, Printify is the strongest value in POD.
What we like- Choose from 70+ print providers per product to chase the lowest base cost
- 2,000+ product catalog
- Genuinely free plan with no credit card required
Watch out for- Quality and speed vary by provider, so vetting is mandatory
- The cheapest provider is not always the most reliable one
Starting priceFree (Lite plan); Pro $30/month ($25/month billed annually)
Free planYes
CustomCat is the budget pick for sellers focused on the US market. The Lite plan is completely free with unlimited product creation at standard wholesale prices, and the Pro plan at $30 a month ($25 a month billed annually) opens up 20 to 40% discounts across the catalog. Because CustomCat prints in its own Detroit facility with its proprietary DIGISOFT process, production takes 2 to 3 business days and quality stays consistent, a combination broker networks struggle to match at this price.
The limits are geographic and cosmetic. Everything ships from the US, so international orders crawl at 1 to 4 weeks, and there is no private-label branding, manufacturer tags stay in the garments. If your customers are American and your brand lives in the designs rather than the packaging, CustomCat's math is hard to beat. If you sell worldwide or the unboxing experience matters, look at Printful or Gelato instead.
What we like- Free Lite plan with unlimited product creation
- Pro plan cuts 20 to 40% off wholesale prices
- In-house Detroit production with 2 to 3 day turnaround
Watch out for- US-only fulfillment, so international shipping runs 1 to 4 weeks
- No private-label branding on the Lite tier
- Interface feels dated
#4
Gooten
Best for: Sellers who want a managed fulfillment network
Visit gooten.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Gooten sits between the factory owners and the broker networks: it runs a managed network of vetted print partners through its OrderMesh platform, routing each order to the best facility rather than letting you pick. The company claims 99% order accuracy with under 3-day production, and the catalog of 525+ products includes items most POD services skip, like candles, fleece blankets, and glass cans. Integrations cover Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and TikTok Shop.
What Gooten does not give you is pricing transparency. There are no published plans; you pay per order, and forecasting margin means working through product and shipping tables rather than reading a pricing page. The service was acquired by Taylor Corporation in 2025, which adds corporate stability but also means the roadmap now answers to a print conglomerate. Gooten fits sellers who want network breadth without managing providers themselves and are comfortable with quote-style economics.
What we like- Managed network of vetted print partners with 99% order accuracy claimed
- 525+ product catalog including unusual items like candles and blankets
- Strong Shopify and Etsy integrations
Watch out for- No published pricing tiers, so costs are per-order and harder to forecast
- Less brand recognition than Printful or Printify
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Print Aura is one of the older independent POD services, founded in 2012, and it keeps the model simple: upload designs, connect your store, and pay per item with no minimums and no setup fees. Its standout spec is print size. Standard prints run 12 by 16 inches with oversized options up to 14 by 18, which matters if your designs are meant to fill a shirt rather than sit on the chest. The catalog covers the essentials across apparel, mugs, bags, phone cases, and hats.
The tradeoff is scale. Print Aura is a much smaller operation than Printful or Printify, the product range is narrower, and the site does not publish pricing, so you have to create an account to see real numbers. Seller reports on support quality are mixed. It is a reasonable choice for a small shop that wants big prints and simple terms, but verify current pricing and order a sample before committing any volume.
What we like- No minimum orders and no setup costs
- Oversized printing up to 14 by 18 inches, larger than most competitors
- Straightforward Shopify and Etsy integrations
Watch out for- Smaller operation with a narrower product range
- Pricing is not published on the site
- Support responsiveness gets mixed reports
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Apliiq is built for sellers who want their products to look like a real clothing line, not merch. Where most POD services stop at the print, Apliiq adds the details that make garments feel retail: woven labels, private neck labels, hem tags, patches, and embroidery, produced in its Los Angeles and Philadelphia factories. The blank catalog leans premium, with names like Bella + Canvas and Independent Trading Co, and a paid membership knocks 20% off printing and embroidery.
That positioning costs money. Base prices run higher than budget competitors, and the site does not publish plan pricing, so you will be working from product tables. Apliiq is also apparel-first; if your catalog is mugs, posters, and phone cases, other services cover more ground. For streetwear labels, creator brands, and anyone whose selling point is the garment itself, Apliiq is the strongest branding play in this list.
What we like- Retail-grade branding with woven labels, hem tags, patches, and embroidery
- Premium blanks from known brands
- Two US factories with fast domestic shipping
Watch out for- No published plan pricing
- Premium positioning means higher base costs
- Best suited to apparel rather than general merchandise
#7
Gelato
Best for: International sellers who need local production
Visit gelato.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Gelato's pitch is geography. With more than 250 print partners in 32 countries, it routes each order to a facility near the buyer, which means a customer in Berlin gets a locally printed shirt in days instead of waiting on a transatlantic shipment. The company says 90% of orders are produced locally and 90% arrive within 5 days. Getting started is free with no setup fees; you pay only when an order comes in.
The catalog leans toward print products, wall art, photo books, stationery, and drinkware, alongside apparel, so it suits creators whose designs live on paper and canvas as much as cotton. The apparel depth does not match Printful or CustomCat, and plan details beyond the free tier are not on the homepage. If a meaningful share of your buyers are outside the US, Gelato's local-production model will beat every domestic printer on shipping time and cost.
What we like- 250+ print partners across 32 countries, so orders produce near the customer
- Free to start with no setup fees
- Strong for wall art, photo products, and stationery as well as apparel
Watch out for- Plan pricing is not published on the homepage
- Apparel range is thinner than the US-focused specialists
- Support is geared toward self-serve
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Spreadshirt has been doing print on demand since 2002, which makes it the veteran of this list. It offers two paths: run your own storefront through its shop system, or list designs on its marketplace where Spreadshirt's own traffic can find them. Both are free to join; you earn per sale with no monthly fee. For a designer who wants to upload art and collect earnings without building a store, the marketplace path is the lowest-effort entry in POD.
The catch is control. Marketplace sales happen on Spreadshirt's terms, with Spreadshirt owning the customer relationship, and the branding options are thinner than white-label services like Printful. Note that Spreadshirt's site blocked our automated check with a 403 response, so treat the pricing and terms here as starting points and confirm the current details on the site yourself before committing.
What we like- One of the longest-running POD platforms with nearly 20 years of operation
- Built-in marketplace brings its own buyer traffic
- Free to join with per-order pricing
Watch out for- Marketplace model means less control over branding and customer data
- Site blocked automated access during our check, so verify current terms yourself
What to compare before you commit
Do not pick on base price alone. Build a simple spreadsheet for your top two or three services with four columns: base product cost, shipping cost to your main customer region, branding options, and the sample you ordered. Add the base and shipping together, subtract from your planned retail price, and that is your real margin. A service that looks $2 cheaper per shirt can easily be $1 more expensive per delivered order.
Next, check the integrations. If you sell on Shopify or Etsy, every service here connects, but the depth varies: inventory sync, automatic order routing, and tracking number pushback save hours weekly at volume. Then look at production geography. US-only sellers should favor US production for speed; international sellers should favor Gelato-style local networks. Finally, order samples. Every service on this list will happily take your sample order, and the $15 to $40 you spend is the cheapest market research in ecommerce. Check print sharpness, color accuracy, fabric feel, and packaging before a single customer sees your products.
How we chose
We did not place test orders or run stores on these platforms. We compared eight established print-on-demand services on the factors that decide seller outcomes: pricing transparency, base and shipping cost structure, production model and geography, branding options, integration depth, and track record. Pricing figures come from each vendor's own website or official pricing pages, checked in October 2026; where a vendor publishes no plan prices, we say so instead of guessing. Services that had shut down, such as Spring (formerly Teespring, dissolved in September 2026), were excluded.
Order samples before you sell a single unit
The most expensive mistake in print on demand is skipping the sample order. Screens lie about color, mockup generators lie about scale, and product photos lie about fabric. Order one of each product you plan to sell, in the exact variant your customers will buy, and inspect it like a picky customer would. Wash the shirt twice. Check whether the print cracks. Compare the colors to your design file under daylight.
Samples also reveal the operational details no pricing page shows: how long production actually takes, what the packaging looks like, whether tracking numbers arrive promptly, and how the packing slip reads. If you plan to sell internationally, order a sample shipped to that region and time it. Keep one sample of each product as your quality reference, and re-order samples once a year or whenever you switch providers. Your return rate will thank you.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start a print-on-demand business?
The platforms themselves are free to join: Printful, Printify, CustomCat, Gooten, Gelato, and Apliiq all let you create an account and list products without a subscription. Your real startup costs are samples ($15 to $40 per product), your storefront (Shopify starts at $39 a month, Etsy charges listing fees), and marketing. Budget $200 to $500 to launch properly.
Which print-on-demand service is the cheapest?
There is no single answer because the cheapest base price rarely means the cheapest delivered order. CustomCat Pro and Printify's cheapest providers usually win on US apparel costs, while Gelato wins for international orders. Build the spreadsheet described above with your actual products and shipping destinations instead of trusting a headline number.
Do I need my own website to sell print on demand?
No. Spreadshirt's marketplace and Etsy let you sell without a website, and Printful and Printify both offer simple hosted storefronts. A Shopify store gives you the most control over branding, pricing, and customer data, but it adds a monthly fee. Start on a marketplace to validate designs, then move winners to your own store.
Who handles returns and customer service?
You do, at least the customer-facing part. The POD service reprints or refunds defective items under its own policy, but the buyer bought from your store, so complaints come to you. Pick a provider with a clear reprint policy and fast support, because every day a return sits unresolved is a review you do not want.
Can I add my own labels and branding?
It depends on the service. Printful and Apliiq offer the deepest branding: inside labels, hang tags, packaging inserts, and patches. Printify offers branding through select providers and its Premium plan. CustomCat and most budget options ship with manufacturer tags. If unboxing matters to your brand, this feature alone can decide the pick.
Printful vs Printify: which should I choose?
Choose Printful if consistent quality and branding matter more than squeezing the last dollar of margin, and you are fine paying slightly higher base costs or $24.99 a month for Growth discounts. Choose Printify if you want the lowest possible base costs, do not mind vetting providers, and will order samples to verify quality yourself.
Sources we checked (11)
- https://www.printful.com/
- https://www.printful.com/pricing-updates
- https://printify.com/
- https://printify.com/printify-vs-tapstitch/
- https://www.customcat.com/
- https://cc.customcat.com/g-423/
- https://gooten.com/
- https://printaura.com/
- https://apliiq.com/
- https://www.gelato.com/
- https://www.spreadshirt.com/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.