Gelato Print on Demand Review 2025: Is This POD Solution Worth Considering?

Gelato has emerged as one of the most popular print-on-demand companies in recent years.

However, there are still some areas where Gelato falls short. For instance, the number of products available isn’t as extensive as some alternatives, and there aren’t too many integrations to choose from. 

Gelato Pros and Cons

There’s a lot of information to give you, so let’s make a start!

What Gelato Print on Demand?

Founded by former Tele2 Norway CEO Henrik Müller-Hansen, Gelato describes itself not as a print on demand business but as a software company.

Gelato hit unicorn status in 2021, raising $240 million, thereby increasing its valuation to $1.05 billion. Its API customers include the likes of smaller Shopify and Etsy stores to more prominent named brands like Canva.com and Mapiful. 

Gelato works with carefully selected print partners chosen for their professionalism and high print production standards.

Gelato is geared towards the needs of entrepreneurs, creators, and enterprises looking to sell POD products closer to home.

This removes the extra bureaucracy (VAT, tax, cross-border issues). The aim is to provide a greener solution with reduced shipping distances and carbon emissions.

Gelato Print on Demand Products

Gelato’s range of print on demand product options is constantly growing to suit a host of business needs. You can browse through the catalog online, or using an Android or Ios app. 

It’s easy to see what products Gelato offers. From its homepage, simply click on ‘products' to populate Gelato's product catalog.

This is split into the following product categories:

• Men’s clothing (including t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, and so on)
• Women’s clothing (as above)
• Kids and baby clothing (as above)
• Wall art
• Mugs
• Photobooks
• Cards
• Calendars
• Stationery and business
• Tote bags
• Phone cases       
• Wallpaper

Once you’ve decided which products you want to sell, you’ll be able to use full video tutorials and guidance to learn how to customize your products according to your needs. The process for creating unique products with SEO ready descriptions is simpler than you’d think. 

As an example, let's say you want to sell a custom men's t-shirt. In this case, simply click on the specific item you wish to customize.

For instance, for a ‘Classic Unisex Crew Neck T-Shirt,' select the color you want to design, and start creating your print. 

Gelato offers a variety of customization options for your ecommerce business, depending on the products you sell.

You can select from a range of fabric options and styles for each item. On T-shirts, for instance, you can choose to print on the front, back, inner neck, or outer neck of each product, and choose from a range of different printing technologies. 

At the time of writing, Gelato only offers front and back printing on garments.

When you select a product, Gelato shows which countries that product can be fulfilled in, its starting price, and its shipping cost (which, of course, depends on the country you’re shipping to). 

In most cases, when you select a product you want to customize and sell, orders are fulfilled at the closest production center to where you're selling from.

Gelato's Features

Now you have a broad overview of what Gelato is and what it offers, let’s take a deeper look at its features:

Gelato's process is split into four main categories:

1. Account and setup
2. Production
3. Order management
4. Payments and billing

Let’s take a look at each in turn:

Account and Setup

It’s free to set up your account. Plus, there's no minimum order or prepayment needed; you just create an account with an email address and password. You can do this via your Google, Facebook, Apple logins, or your email address.

Then you can integrate your Gelato account with your online store. Simply download the Gelato app and follow the instructions to connect.

Gelato integrates with all major ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, Etsy, Wix, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and BigCommerce.

Alternatively, you can integrate your online store with Gelato via Gelato's API if you have some coding know-how, or use Gelato/OrderDesk integration to connect to any other platform. 

Production

Gelato is big on high-quality products, emphasizing its goals surrounding sustainable production, excellent quality, and quick product turnarounds. Gelato also encourages creators to only produce what they sell to reduce waste and overproduction. 

To this end, Gelato works in line with international standards, including its paper products certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.

Once you’ve selected the product(s) you want to design, you can either upload an existing design of yours to place on the product or use Gelato's Design Editor to customize your products. 

Let's say, for example, you want to customize a canvas print. Select this product. Then, you'll be prompted to choose your print size, canvas thickness, and whether you want a vertical or horizontal print.

Then, using Gelato's Design Editor, you can upload images or use Getty and/or Shutterstock Images (more about this later). 

You can preview your design before continuing to overview your shipping options. At this point, you'll be asked for the shipping address, and then the costs for the delivery will be calculated.

Order Management

When you sign up for a Gelato account, you'll see a dropdown menu on the left side of your screen. From here you can manage all your orders. 

More specifically, you can view your orders and billing and connect to more eCommerce stores like Amazon, eBay, etc.

Also included are analytics on order numbers, the numbers of orders sold, your printing costs, orders by country (by day, week, and month), etc. You can also see real-time information about the progress of your orders. 

At this point, it's also worth noting that Gelato works with multiple shipping partners, including DHL, FedEx, Parcelforce, RoyalMail, UPS, etc.

However, Gelato doesn't offer custom branded packaging on shipped items. This may be possible in the future, but at the moment, all packaging is standardized. Unfortunately, this also means you can’t add business cards or thank you notes inside your orders. 

Payment and Billing

You can pay for Gelato's products using VISA, Maestro, Mastercard, and other major credit cards. You can also pay by invoice. In addition, the platform supports a wide range of currencies, including EUR, British Pounds, and US Dollars. 

You can also add a prepaid amount to your account and use that money to pay your balance. You can also set automated top-ups when your balance gets too low. This comes in handy if you're looking to speed up the payment process.

Gelato Print on Demand Product Prices

Signing up is free. On top of that, once you've created an account, you have 72 hours to benefit from a 50% discount on your first order. This offer is limited to one use per customer.

Gelato now offers four pricing tiers:

1. Free – $0 Forever

Includes:

• Sell hundreds of products through your ecommerce store
• Integrations with top platforms like Shopify, Etsy, and more

2. Gelato+ Monthly – $23.99/month (billed monthly)

Includes everything in Free, plus:

• Up to 25% off products
• Unlimited stores per account
• Exclusive tools like Magic Mockups, Instant Collections, and Price Navigator
• Automated Product Migration with Velocity Switch
• Millions of stock images, graphics, and fonts
• Branded labels and packaging inserts

3. Gelato+ Annual – $19.99/month (billed annually at $239.88 – save 17%)

Includes everything in Free, plus:

• Up to 25% off products
• Unlimited stores per account
• Exclusive tools like Magic Mockups, Instant Collections, and Price Navigator
• Automated Product Migration with Velocity Switch
• Millions of stock images, graphics, and fonts
• Branded labels and packaging inserts

Gelato+ comes with a 14-day trial period, giving you two weeks to test all premium features before committing.

4. Platinum – Custom Pricing

Includes:

• Bespoke discounts
• Platinum rewards program
• Platinum concierge
• Dedicated implementation services
• Dedicated Customer Success Manager
• Access to Platinum community events

Gelato+ Gold has been discontinued in 2025. That means Gelato+ is now the main subscription plan, combining the best premium features from previous tiers – like product discounts, automation tools, mockups, and branded packaging – into one, simpler and more affordable option.

With four clear plans (including a Free forever option), Gelato makes it easier than ever to start and scale your print-on-demand store – whether you're just getting started or looking for enterprise-level support.

Integrations

As companies look for new ways to improve their workflows with automation, integrations are becoming increasingly crucial.

The more ecommerce platforms and additional tools your dropshipping technology can work seamlessly with, the easier it is to run an efficient business.

Fortunately, Gelato makes it easy to instantly add print on demand products to your store, thanks to pre-built integrations with a variety of tools.

The print on demand company provides connections with leading tools like Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and BigFommerce.

This means regardless of what kind of ecommerce platform you’re using to generate sales; you shouldn’t have a problem adding Gelato to the mix.

The SaaS company provides step-by-step guidance to help you with setting up and using your integrations too.

For instance, if you’re running a Shopify store, you can find tips and guidance on the Gelato website showing you how to add everything from shipping times to product details to your store automatically.

There are also tutorial options for setting up things like email marketing and social media integrations, so you can boost your chances of standing out online.

Gelato's Customer Support

There's a handy online help center that you can access via Gelato's website. Here you'll find plenty of self-help resources on topics like ‘Getting started,' ‘Products & design,' ‘Integrations,' etc.

If you need something more specific, contact Gelato's customer support team 24/7 via email or live chat. There are also blog posts on various topics, including Getting Started with Shopify, Getting Started with Etsy, etc. 

Best Alternatives to Gelato

When it comes to finding phenomenal print on demand sales hubs, there are no shortage of options available on the web today.

Although Gelato has a lot of great features to offer, including endless options for merch and products for your online store, there’s still a chance you may want to consider other alternatives.

For instance, if you want to sell products on Amazon, you may need to consider partnering with another POD business.

Print on demand service providers competing against Gelato today include apps like Zazzle, Teelaunch, Cafepress, Sellfy or Gooten, but some of the most popular are:

1.  Printful

Easily one of the most popular tools on the market for print on demand selling, Printful has everything you need to run a successful store.

The powerful, all-in-one platform offers access to various printing options, including sublimation and embroidery.

There are various great products to choose from too, including best quality clothing, notebooks, and art prints.

Printful has a dedicated mock-up generator, so you’ll have no trouble seeing what your designs are going to look like before you add them to your store.

There are also various workflow automation options for running your own art or t-shirt business as efficiently as possible. Additionally, there’s no subscription cost to worry about when you sign up.

2.  Printify

Another top solution for POD subscribers, Printify is a state-of-the-art POD company, with access to a huge range of products and solutions for business leaders.

You can sell high-quality products to customers all over the world, with a wide range of customization capabilities. Printify’s options include DTG printing, cut-and-sew, and sublimation printing.

Like Printful, there’s also a mock-up generator to help you create fantastic, engaging images for your product pages.

You can also choose to order products in bulk if you decide you want to go beyond print on demand selling and handle some of your order fulfillment yourself.

The global network of fulfillment centers offered by Printify is very useful for getting items to your customers fast, however.

3.  Redbubble

Redbubble takes a slightly different approach to Print on Demand selling than Gelato and other well-known tools.

It’s a great solution if you want to connect with a wide audience of potential customers as quickly as possible.

Instead of loading products into your store, you can sell items directly through the Redbubble marketplace, which already attracts thousands of buyers worldwide.

Like many leading POD providers, RedBubble has its own mock-up generator for creating fantastic product images.

The technology is straightforward and easy-to-use for beginners. Plus, it makes it simple to create phenomenal customer service, with free exchanges and returns, as well as options for money-back guarantees.

You can even order samples of your products to make sure you’re giving your customers the best possible quality.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We've covered lots of information here, so you might still have some questions. That said, let's answer some of the most frequently asked questions we hear about Gelato:

Gelato Print on Demand Review: Our Final Verdict

So there you have it, that's our take on Gelato. If you’re looking for a cost-effective print on demand solution, that offers access to exceptional high-quality products, fantastic design and mockup tools, and even a free plan for beginners, Gelato is a great choice. 

Although it doesn’t offer quite as many product options as some alternatives, it does take a fantastic approach to making production and fulfillment sustainable and eco-friendly.

Plus, the company’s commitment to quality assurance ensures you get consistently high-tier items. 

We also love how much value the premium plan from Gelato has to offer, giving you access to more premium mock-ups, ready-to-use assets, and even a product personalization tool, so customers can create their own ideal products, increasing your sales potential. 

Plus, while some alternatives like Printful do offer more integration options, you can still connect Gelato to a wide range of sales channels and ecommerce platforms. 

Overall, we’d definitely recommend experimenting with Gelato if you’re building a print on demand store.