Quick answer
- Custom apparel and merch with one production company managing quality: Printful.
- Lowest unit cost by choosing among many print providers: Printify.
- Orders routed to a print partner near the customer: Gelato.
- Fashion-style apparel on Shopify: Tapstitch.
- Reselling existing products from a supplier marketplace: Spocket or AliDrop. These are dropshipping tools, not POD.
- A creator who wants a store and POD in one, without Shopify: Sellfy.
All seven pages are independent editorial overviews based on first-party sources; none has been tested hands-on, and none is ranked.
Start here
Three different models
- Own-production POD. The company prints in facilities it runs or manages. Printful describes itself this way. You get more consistent quality and less choice of producer.
- Provider-network POD. You pick a print provider from a marketplace (Printify) or the platform routes the order to a partner (Gelato). Prices, stock, production times and quality vary by provider.
- Dropshipping marketplaces. You import ready-made products from suppliers (Spocket; AliDrop sources from AliExpress, Alibaba and Temu). You don't design the product, so differentiation comes from branding, curation and service.
Unit cost
Same shirt, three providers (verified Oct 7, 2026)
To compare like with like, we priced the same blank, a Bella+Canvas 3001 unisex tee in size M with a front print only, shipped to the US. These are list prices seen on each provider's public catalog on Oct 7, 2026, before tax.
| Provider (route) | Base cost, free plan | Base cost with membership | US shipping, first shirt | Each additional shirt | Shipping method shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printful | $11.92 | Growth price for this item not shown publicly | $4.95 | +$2.20 | Standard flat rate |
| Printify — SwiftPOD (US) | $11.75 | $9.40 with Premium | $4.95 | +$2.40 | Standard, 2–5 business days (Economy also offered: $4.49 + $2.09, 4–8 days) |
| Gelato | $10.69 | $8.55 with Gelato+ | $4.99 | +$0.99 | Economy, 4–6 business days (only method shown) |
Printify prices vary by print provider. SwiftPOD is the lowest-priced US provider we found with all colors and sizes in stock; Printify's lowest listed provider was Stakes Manufacturing at $11.43 ($8.95 with Premium), but white and black were discontinued in size M and its standard shipping estimate was 10–30 business days. Gelato's only listed US method is Economy, so its shipping is not identical to the others' Standard service.
What's left from a $28 sale (editorial calculation)
| Provider | 1 shirt: landed cost | 1 shirt: left from $28 | 3-shirt order: landed cost | 3-shirt order: left from $84 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printful (Free) | $16.87 | $11.13 | $45.11 | $38.89 |
| Printify SwiftPOD (Free) | $16.70 | $11.30 | $45.00 | $39.00 |
| Printify SwiftPOD (Premium) | $14.35 | $13.65 | $37.95 | $46.05 |
| Gelato (Free) | $15.68 | $12.32 | $39.04 | $44.96 |
| Gelato (Gelato+) | $13.54 | $14.46 | $32.62 | $51.38 |
Landed cost = base cost + merchant-paid shipping. “Left” is before card fees (about $1.11 on a $28 sale at 2.9% + 30¢), your store subscription, membership fees, taxes, returns and ads. Prices change often and vary by color, size, provider and destination.
- On a single shirt, the three free plans land within about $1.20 of each other.
- Shipping on multi-item orders matters more than the base price. Gelato's +$0.99 per additional shirt against +$2.20 to +$2.40 elsewhere makes the 3-shirt order about $6 cheaper.
- Memberships change the picture once you sell enough units (next section).
Break-even
When does a membership pay for itself?
- Printify Premium costs $39/month (or from $24.99/month billed yearly) and lowered this shirt from $11.75 to $9.40, a $2.35 saving. It pays for itself at about 17 shirts a month on monthly billing, or about 11 on yearly billing. Printify's pricing page lists up to 20% off all products and up to 33% off new products on Premium.
- Gelato+ costs $29.99/month (or $19.99/month billed annually, $239.88 a year paid upfront) and lowered this shirt from $10.69 to $8.55, a $2.14 saving. It pays for itself at about 14 shirts a month on monthly billing, or about 9 on annual billing.
- Printful Growth costs $24.99/month (14-day trial) and is free for a year once you reach $12,000 in annual sales. Printful advertises “up to 33% off product pricing”, but the Growth price for this shirt was not shown publicly, so we can't calculate its break-even.
These are per-product calculations; your break-even depends on your product mix.
Commercial terms
Pricing at a glance (checked Oct 7, 2026)
| Product | Model | Free option | Paid plans | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printful | Own-production POD | Free plan | Growth $24.99/month (only paid plan); Enterprise via sales | Labels and premium images extra |
| Printify | Provider-network POD | Free (5 stores) | Premium from $39/month or from $24.99/month billed yearly (10 stores); Enterprise custom | Costs vary by provider |
| Gelato | Routed-network POD | Free | Gelato+ $29.99/month or $19.99/month billed annually; Platinum custom | Gelato's pages disagree on Gelato+ store and user limits, so we don't quote them |
| Tapstitch | Apparel POD (Shopify app) | Free to install | Pay per product; products listed from $4.50 to $37.60 | Shopify App Store rating 4.9 (128 reviews) |
| Spocket | Dropshipping marketplace | Free Basic plan per help center | Starter $39.99, Professional $59.99, Empire $99.99, Unicorn $299.99 per month; 7-day trial | 0% transaction fee on every plan; each store needs its own subscription |
| AliDrop | Dropshipping (AliExpress, Alibaba, Temu) | Free plan on Shopify listing | Starter $39, Professional $59, Empire $99, Unicorn $299 per month; annual: $288 / $684 / $948 per year (Pro / Empire / Unicorn) | 7-day trial for $1 |
| Sellfy | Creator store with POD | 14-day trial | Starter $29 ($22 billed yearly), Business $79 ($59), Premium $159 ($119) | POD included on every plan; annual sales caps $10K / $50K / $200K |
USD. Monthly prices unless stated.
Overviews: Printful · Printify · Gelato · Tapstitch · Spocket · AliDrop · Sellfy
Supplier risk
Dropshipping: what the vendors claim and what to check
- Shipping times are product-specific. Spocket's help center says shipping time “varies from product to product” and shows processing plus shipping time on each product. AliDrop markets “2-5 day” delivery for its US and EU supplier program only; it gives no first-party time for standard AliExpress sourcing. Treat both as vendor claims, and order samples to your own address before listing.
- Public review signals (Shopify App Store, Oct 7, 2026): Spocket 3.5 (621 reviews), AliDrop 3.4 (170 reviews), Tapstitch 4.9 (128 reviews). Ratings are a starting signal, not a test.
- Product caps differ by plan. Spocket Starter allows 25 unique products and AliDrop Starter 50. Check how many products you can import on each plan before you commit.
Framework
How to choose a supplier
Unit economics
Base price for your exact product, size and print placement, plus per-item shipping for multi-item orders.
Production location and time
Where the order is made, the production SLA, and the shipping method you will actually offer customers.
Quality control
Consistent producer (own production) versus variable producers (networks); order samples.
Catalog fit
Apparel, home, wall art or accessories; whether your best-selling items are in stock in the sizes and colors you need.
Branding
Inside labels, packing inserts and branded invoices, and what they cost per order.
Platform integration
Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce or others; order and tracking sync.
Returns and reprints
Who pays for misprints, damage and lost parcels.
Membership math
Use the break-even approach above with your own monthly unit volume.
Decision desk
Compare and continue
- Printful vs Printify: own production versus a provider network.
- Printful vs Gelato: own production versus routed production.
- Printify vs Gelato: choosing your provider versus automatic routing.
- Ecommerce software directory: filter “Print on demand & dropshipping”.
- Related desks: Storefronts for where you'll sell; Payments for card fees.
Decision support
Frequently asked questions
Is Printful or Printify cheaper?
For a Bella+Canvas 3001 in size M on Oct 7, 2026, Printify's SwiftPOD provider listed $11.75 and Printful $11.92, with the same $4.95 first-shirt shipping. With Premium, Printify's price fell to $9.40. Prices vary by product and, on Printify, by provider.
Which print-on-demand company has the cheapest shipping for multiple items?
In our comparison, Gelato charged +$0.99 for each additional shirt to the US, against +$2.20 at Printful and +$2.40 at Printify's SwiftPOD, but Gelato's listed method was Economy.
How much profit can you make on a print-on-demand t-shirt?
In our example, a $28 shirt left about $11 to $14.50 after product and shipping costs, before card fees, subscriptions, taxes and advertising. Your result depends on price, provider, membership and order size.
Is Printify Premium worth it?
For the shirt we priced, Premium saved $2.35 a unit, so it covered its $39 monthly price at about 17 shirts a month (about 11 on yearly billing).
What's the difference between print on demand and dropshipping?
POD makes your own design on a blank product after each order. Dropshipping resells an existing supplier product that you don't design.
Have you tested these suppliers?
Not yet. These are independent editorial overviews based on first-party pricing and catalog pages, and hands-on sample testing is pending.
Documentation