Print-on-demand business is an emerging business model that is simple to start, less risky, cheaper, and more profitable. Therefore, It has been a popular business model and has been chosen by many people. There are multiple print-on-demand platforms in the market, but two popular ones are Printify and Printful.
Even though both platforms are leaders in the print-on-demand market, each has its strengths and weaknesses. I have written a detailed article on Printify vs Printful to help you understand these differences and find the platform that suits your business before choosing the one. This article includes the main differences between Printify and Printful. To understand how these two platforms differ, read the entire article.
Printful vs Printify: Key Differences
Here you can check out some of the key differences between Printify and Printful.
- All the products of Printify are outsourced from third-party suppliers, whereas Printful produces all the products in-house. They don’t rely on any third-party suppliers for their products.
- You can use Printify with platforms like eBay and Etsy, whereas you can embed Printful on platforms like Bonanza, Shopify, and more.
- Printify offers three subscriptions, whereas Printful does not offer any subscriptions, and you will only have to pay for the things you order with shipping as well.
- Printful does not have a lot of printing facilities all over the world, whereas Printify has many facilities all over the world, which allows them to fulfill orders more quickly and efficiently.
- You can choose a printing service provider on Printify and also the location, whereas Printful does not offer such a feature.
Printify vs Printful: In A Nutshell
Although Printify and Printful are powerful print-on-demand platforms, they differ in some features.
Printify has a huge presence of suppliers, product catalogs, and product variants like color and size. Fulfillment processes are managed effectively.
Whereas with Printful, you can find great branding options, a mockup generator for generating custom products, more integrations, etc.
In the following section, I will explain the differences between Printify and Printful in more detail.
Printify Vs Printful: Detailed Comparison
| Factors | Printify | Printful |
| Ease of Use | Easy to use | Easy to use |
| Pricing | Affordable | Affordable |
| Fulfillment | Shipping takes a long time | Fast shipping |
| Branding | Less options | More options |
| Tools | Less tools | More POD tools |
| Customer support | Good support | Good support |
| Integrations | Limited integrations | More integrations |
1. Ease Of Use
In both Printify and Printful, you can easily sign up and set up your account. Connecting the platform to the online store takes only a few steps. Both platforms have easy-to-use interfaces with minimalistic layouts, making it easy to operate print-on-demand operations. You can choose the product of your choice and preview the product with designs. If you want to sell the product, you can easily import the product to the online store.
Apart from that, both platforms have different benefits to make your business operations effortless. When it comes to Printify, it offers a huge collection of product categories, mockup generators, etc.
Whereas Printful offers various digital tools like designer maker, mockup generator, Logo maker branding options, etc., to build the brand to the next level.
Verdict: Printify and Printful platforms offer user-friendly interfaces to make the experience as easy as possible.
2. Pricing
While starting any business, pricing should always be taken into account. Below is a comparison of Printify and Printful’s pricing structures:
Printify: You can choose from three pricing plans with advanced features with the next upgradation of the plan.
- Features in the Free plan include a mockup generator, manual order creation, 24* support, custom order import, five stores per account, and Unlimited product designs.
- Along with the features of the free plan, the premium plan includes additional features such as ten stores per account and a 20% discount on all products.
- The enterprise plan includes integration with unlimited stores per account, Early access to new features, Custom API integration, a Dedicated account manager, and Branded customer support.
| Printify plans | Pricing |
| Free | 0 |
| Premium | $24.99/month |
| Enterprise | custom |
Printful: Printful offers three pricing plans. Features offered in all three plans are mentioned below:
With the Free plan, you can choose products, create designs in the design maker, preview mockups and use 20000+ clipart images.
With Plus plans, along with the above features, you will receive a custom mockup maker, a Background Removal Tool, and market products on social media with a promo maker.
Finally, with the Pro plan, you get access to Keyword Scout for Etsy, embroidery files digitized for free, use premium images at no extra cost, and access to carrier-based shipping.
| Printful plans | Pricing |
| Free | 0 |
| Plus | $9/month |
| Pro | $49/month |
They have separate charges for white-label products, and the charges are mentioned below:
Outside label – 2.49 USD per label
Long sleeve print- 5.95 USD for one side
Short sleeve print- 2.49 USD for one side
Embroidered logo- 2.95 USD per additional placement
Verdict: Printify and Printful both have free plans available. Although Printful appears to be more affordable, they charge extra for white labels, while Printify offers a 20% discount on products when using their premium plan. As a result, both platforms are viewed as equal.
3. Fulfillment
Fulfillment is the most important part of dropshipping business, So choosing the platform that offers fast fulfillment of orders is crucial to growing your business.
Printful takes 2-7 business days to deliver the orders for clothing products and 2-5 business days for non-clothing products. The average shipping time is considered to be 3-4 business days. Some of the shipping carriers that Printful uses are FedEx, DHL, USPS.com, and DPD.
They have a structured approach to creating the shipping charges.
When it comes to Printify, it takes longer to fulfill orders when compared with Printful. They take 4-9 business days to deliver to the USA, 10- 15 business days to Canada, and 11-30 days internationally. Since they have fewer fulfillment centers internationally, it takes more time to deliver international orders.
Verdict: When it comes to shipping information, Printful is more transparent. It also has reasonable shipping costs and durations, which helps your business expand more quickly. Printful thus triumphs in shipping.
4. Branding
Customer trust can be increased through branding. It is, therefore, essential for companies that sell POD products to implement branding.
With Printful, you can sell products with internal and external labels and sleeve prints for clothes. Therefore, it helps to sell products in the name of your own brand. Hats can also be customized to display artwork or a logo on its back, front or any side. Additionally, you can brand the products with customized packaging freebies or goodies that feature your logo in white or black and allow you to showcase your company.
All the white label services come to switch additional charges mentioned below:
| White Label Service | Charges |
| Both outside and Inside label | $2.49/label |
| Small sleeve | $2.49 /sleeve |
| Long sleeve | $5.95 /sleeve |
| Hats | $2.95/placement |
| Back and front | $5.95 |
| Pack-ins | $0.50/order |
| Packaging slips | Free |
In Printify, Print-on-demand vendors offer branding for all of the products. But they only offer printing on the back and front. A few print providers only offer to print on sleeves.
Printify does not provide branding for hats. Adding your eCommerce store name and the address of the store on the shipping label are two branding options for the Package. There is no clear mention of pricing for branding with Printify. Additional placement is estimated to cost between $3 and $6.
Verdict: Considering all the above options and factors about branding, I consider Printful the winner of the branding section.
5. Tools
Tools come in handy to print-on-demand businesses to design and preview products. Let’s deep dive and see which platform offers better tools.
The design and previewing processes work differently between Printful and Printify.
Printify
- With Printify, you choose the product you want to sell 750+ products,
- upload the design on the product with a free mockup generator, and switch between the colors you prefer.
- Order the sample product from the suppliers.
Printful
- With Printful, you can design and preview the product within the platform after choosing the product.
- You can use a Design maker to design the product from scratch.
- You can use the Mockup generator to preview the product after you have designed it.
- You also have access to 2,550+ mockup templates for free.
- Printful has unique designs like DTG printing, Embroidery, and All-over printing.
Verdict: While talking about tools, Printful offers all the necessary tools for designing products without depending on external tools. So Printful comes out on top.
6. Customer Support
One of the essential factors to take into account when choosing a platform is support. Quick assistance ensures that any technical or other issues will continue your business operations.
Both platforms offer great customer support; let’s examine which platform wins in providing support. Printify offers support to your queries through email. They also have technical documentation that includes helpful information about guiding and resolving queries, frequently asked questions, etc.
Printful offers customer support through live chat, email, and a contact form. They also knowledge-based an article section to help customers with how-to guides, documentation, blogs, and frequently asked questions.
Verdict: Printify and Printful offer instant customer support to help you overcome issues. So both platforms are in tie.
7. Integrations
Integrations are an important factor to consider when choosing between Printful and Printify. You can connect your account with an e-commerce platform or online marketplace to sell your print-on-demand products. Both platforms have integration with several platforms.
Printify is integrated with eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Etsy, Walmart, eBay, PrestaShop, BigCommerce, Wix, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and Printify API.
Printful offers integrations with various eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces such as Shopify, Woocommerce, Etsy, Weebly, Wish, 3dcart, Amazon, PrestaShop, Ecwid, Magento, Webflow, etc.
Verdict: When we consider both platforms for integration, Printful is the winner as it integrates with multiple platforms.
Printify vs Printful: Pros & Cons
Here are the pros & cons of using Printify and Printful.
Printify Pros
- It has a variety of printing providers for you to choose from.
- The pricing model is very flexible depending on the suppliers.
- You can get discounts if you order in bulk.
- Printify integrates with all major eCommerce platforms.
- You don’t have to pay any upfront cost for the merchandise.
Printify Cons
- The branding services of Printifiy could be better.
- Profit margins can be low.
Printful Pros
- Printful handles all your shipping, delivering, and dispatching of orders for you.
- There are plenty of unique products available for you to get started with.
- The pricing is already determined, so you don’t have to beat around the bush to know if you can afford it or not.
- There is no limit on the orders.
- Printful offers plenty of helpful resources that you can use whenever you get stuck.
Printful Cons
- The pricing of Printful products is a bit expensive, which doesn’t give you a lot of profit margin as well.
- There are only a few features available in the free plan, so you can understand whether it is the right platform for you.
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Conclusion: Printify vs Printful (2023)
Both are leading platforms for print-on-demand, but they have a variety of differences. So before choosing a print-on-demand platform, conduct in-depth research and check if the platform matches your needs. Printify primarily focuses on providing for large supplier sources and product categories with fast shipping. In comparison, Printful comes with end-to-end functionalities like designing, branding, (white label) shipping, etc. No matter which platform you choose, choose a supplier who offers high-quality products with long-lasting prints because the quality of the product your customer receives counts. I hope this article helped you understand the differences between two popular platforms, Printify and Printful.
