Printful vs Spocket: Which is Best for Ecommerce?

Dropshipping is undoubtedly a booming industry that allows for easy product access without the hassle of purchasing and storing inventory. So if you're looking to jump on the dropshipping gravy train, you might be in the market for a dropshipping platform. 

Here we're considering two such options: Spocket and Printful.

Are you curious to know which is better for your business? If so, stick with us as we put both platforms in this Spocket vs Printful comparison under the microscope!

What is Printful?

In a nutshell, Printful is a user-friendly print-on-demand (POD) dropshipping service that allows you to customize and sell over 200 products via your eCommerce and social media stores. In fact, Printful syncs with 28 eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, Etsy, and WooCommerce, for seamless integration. You also have access to Printful’s API, allowing you to implement your own custom integrations.  

On top of that, Printful also provides independent order fulfillment and warehousing services for a monthly storage fee. Printful has warehouses in the US and Europe. Just send them your inventory, and sync them with Printful’s online store management system. Once someone places an order, Printful automatically fulfills it and charges you for fulfillment and shipping accordingly. 

What is Spocket?

Spocket is a dropshipping supplier platform that allows users to access high-quality products across various niches from thousands of dropshipping suppliers worldwide. 

Spocket is well-renowned for its strict vetting process. For instance, for a vendor to work with Spocket, it has to:

• Produce high-quality products
• Not use third-party warehouses.
• Offer discounts on their regular retail price so Spocket dropshippers can profit.
• Offer fast order processing and shipping (these vary according to supplier location, order processing time, delivery service used, and what Spocket terms “other external factors.”) 

How Does Printful Work?

It’s super simple to sign up for Printful. It’s also free. Just type in your email address and create a password. Alternatively, you can sign in with your Gmail or Facebook accounts. 

Once you’ve signed up, you’re taken to your Printful activity dashboard. From here, you can manage your Printful account and sales. From here, you can also browse through Printful’s products and choose a product you want to POD. Then, when you find an item you like the look of, simply click it, pick its color and size, and choose which printing method you want to use. I.e., opting either for embroidery (not available on all products) or DTG printing (direct to garment).

Then, click on the “Start Designing” button. From here, you can use Printful’s Design Maker. This, too, is free to use. You can add text, upload your design, clip art, and images from a library of Premium Getty images to your product.

Once you’ve completed your design, you can use Printful’s mockup generator to better understand what your end product will look like. Printful’s printing and fulfillment services ensure your order is sent to the nearest Printful fulfillment center in the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Brazil, or Japan.

However, to start selling Printful products, you’ll need your own online or social store. Fortunately, you can integrate Printful with your sales platform of choice. Don't worry; this is very easy. You can connect Printful to 20+ integrations, including eCommerce platforms and social channels. Then, when a customer places an order, it’s automatically forwarded to Printful for fulfillment. At this point, they’ll print, pack, and send the order directly to your customers. 

Pro Tip: For more info on getting started with Printful, we have helpful step-by-step guide worth reading.

How Does Spocket Work?

Spocket is simple to sign up for. Just click the “Get Started” button on Spocket’s home page. Then, complete your full name and email address, or sign up with your Gmail or Facebook account. You’re then automatically taken to your Spocket dashboard, where you can browse products, integrate your store, and more. This includes being able to connect to AliExpress for free. Doing so unlocks access to thousands of AliExpress dropshipping products.

Returning to selecting products on Spocket, Spocket categorizes its products to make finding what you’re looking for easier. 

For example:

• Bath and beauty
• Jewelry and watches
• Women’s clothing
• Tech accessories
• Toys

…and much more. 

Spocket also allows customers to order product samples with just a few clicks. First, head to your dashboard, go to Spocket’s product catalog, and select the product you’re interested in. Then, on that product’s page, click “order samples.” You can choose between one and five of each product. In each case, the price of the sample is shown before you head to the payment page. 

Once you’ve chosen which products you want to sell and added them to your dashboard, you can edit the product details. For example, you can edit the product title, tags, category, description, prices, and shipping costs and select or unselect any product images. 

However, before you can start selling Spocket products, you need to integrate Spocket with your store. Head to your Spocket dashboard. On the left-hand panel, you’ll see “Your Store.” Click on this to see a range of integrations; just find the one you want and type in your store name.

Like Printful, you can seamlessly sync your chosen eCommerce platform with Spocket, including BigCommerce, Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and Ecwid.

You'll benefit from one-click order fulfillment by syncing your eCommerce store with Spocket. Spocket also offers process automation, so once a customer places an order on your store, the order automatically syncs with Spocket. So, on your Spocket dashboard, you’ll see all the order details, including customer information and order status. 

When customers purchase goods from your online store, you must pay the Spocket supplier for that product. The supplier will then ship the product directly to the customer. 

Real-time order tracking is also available. Once a Spocket order’s placed, you can track it via an email link or your ‘Orders’ tab.

Printful Pricing

The good news is that it’s free to sign up and use Printful, including its logo creator and design maker, which includes a mockup generator. 

However, be prepared to pay for additional Printful features and services like branding options, picture and video shoots, and warehousing services. Examples of these costs include $2.49 per inside branded label. Video shoot and image shoot prices are unlisted. To receive a quote, you’ll need to complete a form on Printful’s website outlining your requirements, and they’ll get back to you. 

Where paying for Printful’s products are concerned, you only part with your cash after your customer has made a purchase. In which instance, be prepared to pay for the base product price listed in the catalog and the shipping price. The latter is determined by the order volume and shipping destination. 

Spocket Pricing

Spocket has five pricing plans with a 14-day trial period on all its premium packages. If you pay yearly, you get up to eight months free. Prices below are based on monthly billing: 

• Free Plan: This plan is best for entrepreneurs wanting to browse Spocket's product catalog and includes 24/7 chat support and AliExpress dropshipping.
• Starter Plan: For $29.99 a month, you get everything in the freemium package. Plus, you can sell 25 products and access 24/7 premium chat assistance.
• Pro Plan: For $49.99 monthly, you receive all the Starter plan features plus 250 unique products and 25 premium products that fall under Spocket’s “Premium” range. The latter is identified by a crown logo. You also get branded invoicing, image search (where you can search Spocket products by image), and chat directly with suppliers for order-related queries.
• Empire Plan: For $99.99 a month, you get all the features mentioned above, plus 10,000 unique products and 10,000 premium products
• Unicorn plan: $299.99 monthly includes everything above plus product request and bulk checkout. The product request feature lets you add your logo to orders from suppliers offering branded invoicing. Bulk checkout is when you can complete multiple orders simultaneously from the Orders page on your dashboard. 

What Are the Main Differences Between Printful and Spocket?

Hopefully, from reading this review, you’ll have realized there are a few differences between Printful and Spocket. Most notably:

Printful is a print-on-demand platform that operates using the dropshipping model. It allows you to customize products with your design(s) from its catalog to sell. In contrast, Spocket is a dropshipping platform full of vetted suppliers who provide ready-made products for you to sell. 

The majority of Printful’s core features are free. In contrast, although Spocket offers a free option, it’s very limited. 

Spocket offers a wider range of product categories, such as tech accessories, beauty, and toys.

Printful Best-Selling Products

Printful has various stocks of men’s, women’s, and children's clothing and accessories. Some of these include bestsellers like:

• All-Over Print Unisex Bomber Jacket
• Men's Garment-Dyed Heavyweight T-Shirt
• Unisex Premium Hoodie
• Classic Dad Hat
• Classic Snapback
• All-Over Print Yoga Leggings
• All-Over Print One-Piece Swimsuit
• All-Over Print Unisex Sweatshirt
• Unisex Staple T-Shirt
• Unisex Heavy Blend Hoodie
• All-Over Print Sports Bra
• Embroidered Champion Packable Jacket

As you browse the product catalog, best-selling items have a red “bestseller” badge in the top right-hand corner. 

Spocket Best-Selling Products

Spocket has a wide range of products, from jewelry and watches to tech accessories, toys, footwear, home and garden, bath, beauty, etc.

 Some of Spocket’s best-selling products include:

• Couple Rings Black and White Personalized Couple Gift, Stainless Steel
• Lexi Sunglasses
• TWO TONE BOMBER
• Doughnuts Mug
• Passion Flower Shampoo Bar
• Lovespell Body Lotion

It’s simple to see which Spocket products are selling well. Just filter for ‘best seller.'

Printful vs Spocket: Final Thoughts

Hopefully, my Printful vs Spocket comparison has provided some food for thought. But ultimately, it’s your decision that (if either) meets your business needs. Ultimately, it comes down to whether you want to add your own designs to products or if you’re happier heading to a platform that offers stock ready to go. 

However, in either case, I advise taking advantage of their free option before diving in. 

In the case of Printful, if you want to go down the POD route, it’s wise to familiarize yourself with its design tool and the types of products Printful offers. For Spocket, I’d equally advise you to familiarize yourself fully with how it works and the types of products it sells before diving in. 

That said, both enable you to launch a new eCommerce venture without investing in tons of inventory upfront. Plus, both fulfill orders for you, freeing up your time to focus on other aspects of your business – like marketing. 

Are you ready to try Printful or Spocket? Let us know in the comments box below! For more comparisons and articles, please check our print on demand hub and our dropshipping hub.