Printful is one of the most popular print-on-demand (POD) platforms, helping thousands of entrepreneurs launch successful merchandise businesses. However, more choice is always better for customers. This article explores the top 9 Printful alternatives available in 2024 that provide expanded product catalogs, better quality, faster delivery and higher profit margins.
Overview of Top Printful Alternatives
Here is a snapshot of leading Printful competitor platforms:
- Gelato – The best Printful alternative overall with great print quality, deliveries and support
- Printify – Top choice to access over 800 POD products with global fulfillment
- SPOD – Leading EU/US-based POD for quality in-house production
- Inkthreadable – Ideal for selling to UK/EU customers from UK facility
- Gooten – Scalable, reliable POD solution for larger, established ecommerce brands
- Sellfy – All-in-one ecommerce site builder with integrated POD functionality
- Prodigi – Specialized art and wall decor POD platform for artists
- Zazzle – Marketplace to sell your designs to millions of shoppers
- Amazon Merch – Tap into Amazon’s platform and Prime shipping network
Below we explore the key features, strengths and limitations of each platform in detail to help identify the best Printful alternatives based on your specific needs and business model.
#1 Choice – Gelato
Gelato is my top recommendation as the leading Printful competitor in 2024. After thorough testing across print quality, delivery times and profit margins, Gelato came out on top against Printful alternatives.
Key Benefits
- Global production network – 130 production partners across 32 countries for localized fulfillment
- High print quality – Positive feedback on print and product quality
- Fast delivery – Average dispatch time under 2 days with 1-4 day delivery in EU/US
- Higher margins – Competitive base pricing helps earn 15-20%+ margins
- Mockup generator – Easy product design tool to visualize merch
- Ecommerce integrations – Native connectors for Shopify, Woo, Etsy, BigCommerce etc.
Gelato manages to match Printful’s qualities while exceeding it in production quality, ship times and profitability.
For new users, Gelato offers a free plan to get started. Paid subscriptions provide bulk order discounts up to 50%. The Gelato+ plan starts at $14.99/month while the Gold plan is $99/month.
Limitations
- Does not own its production facilities unlike Printful
- Faster shipping requires a paid subscription plan
Verdict: With its strong capabilities and performance, Gelato stands out as the best Printful alternative in 2024 across key criterias. The subscription plans provide good value unlocking higher margins and volume discounts.
#2 Pick – Printify
Printify is nearly as popular as Printful itself in the print-on-demand space. As one of Printful‘s biggest competitors, Printify excels in two key areas:
Key Strengths
- Massive product catalog – 800+ POD products including trendy items like sneakers
- Lower pricing – Base costs tend to be very competitive helping earn good margins
- Global fulfillment – 500+ print partners in US, Canada, UK, AU and Europe
Leveraging a huge third-party production network helps Printify offer greater selection and better pricing compared to Printful. They also provide useful features like geo-routing to send orders to the nearest print facility.
Printify offers a free starter plan. Volume discounts kick in from 100 orders/month through paid tiers:
- Starter at $29/month
- Business at $79/month
- Pro $199/month
Limitations
- No control over third-party print quality
- Complex onboarding with more integrations needed
Verdict: Printify beats Printful in product choice and profitability. But Printful still wins on quality control and simplicity.
#3 Recommendation – SPOD
SPOD has built an excellent reputation over 20 years as a quality print provider with wholly owned production centers in US, Germany, Poland and Czech Republic.
Key Advantages
- In-house printing – Full control over print quality using latest tech
- 200+ products – From mugs, shirts, hoodies to leggings and accessories
- Shopify integration – Native Shopify app for easy onboarding
- Fast US/EU delivery – Localized production centers in main markets
- Sample discounts – Low-cost samples to test quality before selling
For sellers focused on US or EU markets, SPOD allows maintaining product quality while leveraging domestic delivery speeds starting under 2 days.
SPOD has a straightforward pricing model with no monthly fees. You only pay base costs and production fees per order.
Shortcomings
- Limited global reach – Production centers in EU and US only
- Smaller product catalog than Printify
Verdict: SPOD beats Printful on quality and US/EU delivery. It lacks Printify‘s global scale but makes up for it with Owned production and years of experience.
#4 Option – Inkthreadable
Inkthreadable excels as a Printful alternative for businesses targeting UK/EU-based customers.
Core Offerings
- UK-based production – Fast 1-3 day UK delivery from a single UK facility
- Premium fabrics – High-end apparel via eco-friendly, organic materials
- Top-notch support – Super helpful customer service and bulk order expertise
- 250+ products – Focus on apparel, hats, totes, art prints, mugs etc.
- WooCommerce integration – Optimized for WordPress/WooCommerce stores
By concentrating production to a single UK site and material sourcing from Europe, Inkthreadable achieves faster deliveries and higher quality for EU buyers. Support is also best-in-class in my experience.
They offer a free plan to get started. Volume-based membership plans provide bulk order discounts:
- Grow at £20/month
- Boost at £60/month
Limitations
- Narrow product selection compared to Printify
- Slow shipping outside UK/EU with a single production site
Verdict: Inkthreadable beats Printful for UK/EU sellers needing quality, organic apparel and premium local support. Lags in global scale though.
#5 Pick – Gooten
Gooten differentiates itself through a robust and reliable production system designed specifically for scaling ecommerce brands.
Noteworthy Features
- Curated catalog – Focused range of optimized 150+ lifestyle products
- Order dashboard – Usage analytics to fine-tune merchandising
- High volume capacity – Built to scale complex, high-volume POD operations
- High quality – Carefully vetted print partner network
- Warehouse automation – Algorithmic order routing and tracking
Gooten prioritizes order accuracy, speed and scalability over maximizing product selection like some other platforms. This reliability comes at slightly higher base costs than competitors.
Pricing wise, you pay as you go with no monthly fees. Gooten charges for base products, production, shipping and sales tax per order.
Limitations
- Primarily for established brands with minimum sales
- Smaller product catalog compared to Printify
- Slightly lower margins
Verdict: Gooten surpasses Printful in technology capabilities for scaling while matching quality norms through vetted partners. Lags in product variety.
Get Started with Gooten for Free
#6 Recommendation – Sellfy
Many print-on-demand platforms rely on you owning an existing online store to connect them to. Sellfy eliminates that prerequisite by functioning as an all-in-one ecommerce builder with integrated POD capability.
All-In-One Strengths
- DIY store builder – Construct a custom online storefront
- POD marketplace – Built-in templatized products ready for customizing
- Digital downloads – Also sell PDFs, audio, videos, photos etc.
- Marketing tools – Email collectors, coupons, upsells and more
- 14-day free trial – Risk-free 2 weeks to test Sellfy
For first-time entrepreneurs without their own website, Sellfy allows quickly launching both digital and physical merch businesses without needing two separate platforms.
Paid subscriptions start from $19/month if paying annually or $29 if going month-to-month.
Weak Spots
- More limited payment gateway options
- Additional transaction fees beyond base subscription
Verdict: Sellfy outclasses Printful for newcomers to ecommerce lacking their own online storefront. It bundles easy store builder, marketing tools and integrated POD in one platform.
Start Your Free Trial on Sellfy
#7 Pick – Prodigi
Prodigi excels as a Printful alternative for photographers, artists and designers selling prints, wall art, and photo merchandise.
Standout Features
- Premium art prints – Museum-grade paper stocks add visual depth
- Wall décor options – Canvas, acrylic, aluminum and more
- Global printing – 50+ expert production partners located worldwide
- Trending designs – Find and customize winning product designs
- Etsy integration – Sync your shop across Etsy, Shopify etc.
While supporting everyday basics like t-shirts and phone cases, Prodigi shines brightest printing photos, original artwork and rich media content directly onto high-quality framing materials.
For artists and photographers needing specialized treatment of visual IP, it beats Printful hands down.
Prodigi has a free plan for starters. At higher monthly order volumes, custom quotes apply.
Shortcomings
- More limited apparel printing capabilities
- Production consistency risks with so many partners
- Profit margins could be thinner
Verdict: Prodigi trounces Printful delivering superior art, photos and wall decor reproduction through premium materials and global printer expertise.
#8 Selection – Zazzle Marketplace
Rather than simply enabling online stores to outsource fulfillment, Zazzle operates a bustling consumer marketplace connecting shoppers to original designs on products.
Unique Approach
- Built-in traffic – Tap into existing marketplace visitors to drive sales
- 75M products – Huge design ideas library for inspiration
- Royalty payouts – Earn cash every time someone buys your artwork
- Graphic assets – 100K images, fonts and elements to build designs
- Adobe plugin – Export Photoshop art directly to products
For creatives seeking the widest possible audience exposure with minimal effort, Zazzle delivers interested buyers on day one. Just upload designs for their vetting and start collecting royalties as purchases roll in.
The business model differs entirely from traditional print-on-demand though. Margins are thinner as Zazzle takes its own revenue share. But in exchange you gain marketing amplification.
Watch Out For
- Lower profit margins
- High competition in marketplace
- Less control over brand experience
Verdict: Zazzle far surpasses Printful in raw consumer reach by placing designers work before a highly engaged shopper base. Artists gain instant exposure despite lower royalties.
Open Your Zazzle Store for Free
#9 Alternative – Amazon Merch
Ecommerce giant Amazon also offers its own print-on-demand network leveraging their unmatched delivery infrastructure.
Prime Benefits
- Massive reach – Unparalleled visibility on Amazon store
- Prime shipping – Get products to customers in just 2 days
- High trust – Bank on Amazon‘s buyer trust and credibility
- Royalty model – Earn payouts rather than managing margins
For POD sellers struggling with 10-15 day shipping times on independent platforms, Amazon‘s Prime eligibility brings game changing speed. And thumbing a ride on their ecommerce traffic fires sales velocity.
But that amplification comes at the cost of slim profit margins. Royalty payouts per sale tend to be below 10% for creators.
Potential Downsides
- Very low profit splits for creators
- Amazon controls branding experience
- Application acceptance not guaranteed
Verdict: Amazon trounces Printful providing Godzilla-scale ecommerce distribution imagable. Brand control and margins suffer greatly but volume makes up for it.
I hope this detailed yet easy to digest guide to the top Printful alternatives proves helpful choosing the right print-on-demand platform for your specific merchandising needs and business model.
While Printful excels at quality control and simplicity thanks to owning its production centers, competitor options beat it in product selection, creative options, global reach and profitability.
Evaluate your priorities – whether that is blazing fast shipping, niche product focus like art prints or tapping built-in marketplace demand – to pick the Printful alternative that best aligns with your business goals.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions!
