Printful vs Printify vs Gelato (2024): Let The POD Battle Commence!

Are you interested in running a print on demand business but overwhelmed by the choice of POD services? You’re not alone. 

Print on demand business ventures are popular because they basically adopt the dropshipping model, i.e., you don’t have to spend tons on inventory and warehousing.

Instead, your chosen POD platform handles printing, order fulfillment, and shipping. You only have to pay for the product once you make a sale. This means all you have to do is focus on growing your business and making sales. 

The difference with print-on-demand is that you can customize products with your own designs. 

Neat, right?

Today, we’re looking at three POD platforms: Printful, Printify, and Gelato. We’ll give you the lowdown on how each works, pricing, integrations, and fulfillment and shipping costs.

However, if you don't have time to read my entire Printful vs Printify vs Gelato review, here's the bottom line up front:

The Bottom Line Upfront

Firstly, I want to stress that all three platforms are worth a second glance! I like that their pricing and order fulfillment information is pretty transparent. Also worth mentioning is that all three are relatively user-friendly, making each a suitable choice for newbies! 

On top of that, all three boast a decent selection of POD products. However, we have to crown Printful the winner here, given it has a catalog with some of the highest quality items!

However, suppose eco-friendliness is core to your brand. In that case, Gelato is well worth considering, given its commitment to reducing shipping distances and, thereby, carbon emissions. 

Alternatively, if you’re after an intuitive mockup design tool, Printify could be your preferred option. That said, all three product design editors are relatively straightforward to use. 

With the headlines covered, let’s jump into the nitty-gritty of this Printful vs Printify vs Gelato comparison:

How Printful Works?

Printful’s POD product catalog has 347 products organized into various categories, including apparel, shoes, accessories, and home and living. 

It’s free to sign up. Account creation is as easy as providing an email address and password. You'll then be asked to answer a few questions about what you'll use Printful for. 

Next, you need to confirm your email address. Then you can access your Printful dashboard, where you can integrate Printful with your online store (more on Printful's integrations below). 

You can also explore its catalog and start customizing products using the mockup generator. You can add text, upload images, and access Printful’s clipart and graphic designs. 

Once you’ve created your design, you can import it to your store and start selling. 

When you make a sale, Printful handles order fulfillment and shipping. 

At this point, it's worth mentioning that each product page lists the type of printing available. For example, in the case of apparel: DTG (direct-to-garment), and/or embroidery. Or mugs: sublimation. You can also view details about the products:

• Colors
• Sizes
• Customization options
• Style and fit
• Material
• Estimated shipping times and prices

How Printify Works?

Like Printful, Printify’s POD catalog offers a range of categories, including apparel for men, women, and children, accessories such as hats and phone cases, and home and living items. In this instance, you can choose from a whopping 800+ wares to customize. 

It’s simple to sign up; just input an email address and password. You’re then prompted to answer some questions about yourself and your objectives. After that, you're presented with the following options:

• Order a sample product
• Connect your store
• Design a custom product
• Browse products 

You can browse POD products and even customize them without signing up. 

But to start selling, you need to register with Printify and integrate your sales channel (more on Printful's integrations below).

When you click on a product you wish to customize, the product page provides details like the item's key features (fit, fabric, material composition, etc.), a size guide, and which Printify print partners can fulfill and ship the order. 

On each product page, Printify’s print partners list product costs, the average production time, shipping prices, and which product colors they offer. You can also see each print partner’s ranking. This score is based on their performance and customer feedback. 

Sometimes, there's only one print partner to choose from. This is typical with accessories, whereas, with apparel, there are more print partner choices.

How Gelato Works

Gelato's website doesn't specify how many products are in its catalog. However, we know it offers POD products organized into categories, including apparel for women, men, and children, tote bags, wall art, and phone cases. 

To reduce shipping distances and carbon emissions, Gelato partners with 100 printers across 32 countries to offer more local production.

Like Printfy and Printful, it’s free to sign up. Simply add an email address and password, and then verify your email. 

You're then prompted to answer some questions about your goals. Afterward, you’re taken to your Gelato dashboard, where you can browse the catalog and start designing. That said, you can also browse the catalog without signing up. 

From Gelato's product pages, you can see:

• Which countries orders are fulfilled in
• Product colors and sizes
• product prices
• Shipping prices
• Product details – e.g., fit, care instructions, and more

From your dashboard, you can design your chosen product by adding text, graphics, shapes, and Shutterstock and Getty images. Basic images are free, and paid ones are discounted if you’ve purchased a Gelato paid account. 

You can save designs as templates if you want to use them again. 

Once you’re happy with your design, preview it before proceeding.

Like Printful and Printify, Gelato integrates with a range of eCommerce platforms, which we'll explore in greater depth a bit lower down in our review. 

Printful Pricing

Printful is free! It doesn't offer monthly subscription plans. However, bigger businesses can sign up for its Enterprise offer. But, at the time of writing, you had to contact Printful’s sales team for prices and details. 

Below are a few examples of Printful's base product costs:

• Unisex Organic Cotton T-shirt: $13.75
• Women’s Cropped Hoodie: $39.50
• Men’s Classic Tee: $7.25
• Snap Case for iPhone: $16.25
• Stainless Steel Water Bottle: $19.25

To determine the profit you might make, Printful has a guide on how to price your print-on-demand products. There's also an Etsy profit calculator you can utilize. 

Printify Pricing

Printify is also free to sign up to. 

But, unlike Printful, Printify has a paid subscription offer called Printify Premium. 

For $29.00/month or $24.99/month billed annually, you receive:

• The ability to connect ten stores per account
• Unlimited product designs
• Up to 20% discount on all products
• Order management with Printify Connect (Printify handles product reprints and refund requests)

There's also an Enterprise package available. However, you'll have to contact Printofy directly for a quote.

As for product prices, here are a few examples. But bear in mind it’s Printify’s print partners who set these prices:

• Unisex Garment dyed T-shirt: $16.25-$22.39
• Women’s Favorite Tee: $10.25-19.85
• Men’s Cotton Crew Tee: $10.40-$19.60
• Canvas Tote Bag: $7.39
• White Coined Paper Napkins: from $22.30

These prices don't include shipping. 

Gelato Pricing

It’s free to sign up for a Gelato account. However, unlike Printful and Printify, Gelato offers four subscription plans:

Free Forever

This includes:

• Production in 32 countries
• You can sell on Shopify, Etsy, and WooCommerce
• Integrate with API and Order Desk
• Access to an intuitive design editor

Gelato+ $14.99/month or $139 a year

This includes everything in the Free plan and:

• Up to 30% off standard shipping*
• Premium mockups and access to the Mockup Studio tool (you seem to have more background options to suit different use cases/contexts with the premium mockups, plus the images are higher resolution than the free ones).
• Millions of stock images, graphics, and font options
• You can purchase and add branded labels and packaging inserts (starting at $0.49 each). Please note labels and inserts are limited to the following products: posters, framed posters, and posters with hangers.
• Access to Gelato’s product expansion feature (this enables you to quickly transfer designs to new products and is available for Shopify and Etsy users).

*Gelato+ subscribers enjoy 15% off Standard shipping for all orders and 30% off orders over €25. However, these shipping discounts are only available in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Singapore, and Japan.

Gelato Gold: $99/month or $999 a year

This includes everything in Gelato+ and:

• Up to 50% off standard shipping*
• 30% off branded labels and packaging inserts
• A Dedicated Customer Success Manager

*Like Gelato+, Gold subscribers receive shipping discounts. However, it’s 25% off standard shipping (applicable to all orders) and 50% off orders over €25. Discounts are limited to the countries mentioned above. 

Platinum: Bespoke Pricing Model

This includes everything in the Gold plan, plus:

• Fixed-rate shipping on orders where Gelato produces locally
• Access to dedicated implementation services (unique solutions and individual support for high-volume customers with hundreds of products).
• Expert hours with Gelato's team.

Moving onto Gelato’s product prices, here are a few examples (prices don’t include shipping and are based on US delivery):

• Heavyweight Unisex Crew T-shirt: $8.14 excl. VAT
• Performance Women's Tank Top: $20.38 excl. VAT
• Classic Unisex Pullover Hoodie: $18.55 excl. VAT
• Classic Tote Bag: $11.36 excl. VAT
• White 15oz Stainless Steel Travel Mug: $16.91 excl. VAT

Printful vs Printify vs Gelato: Integrations

Printful Integrations

On top of access to Printful API, Printful offers the following integrations:  

• Shopify
• Etsy
• WooCommerce
• Wix
• Squarespace
• Adobe Commerce
• BigCommerce
• Ecwid
• Weebly
• Prestashop
• Shipstation
• Big Cartel
• Gumroad
• Square
• LaunchCart
• Webflow
• Shift4 Shop
• TikTok Shop
• Amazon
• eBay
• Launchcart
• Nuvemshop
• BASE
• Storenvy

Printify Integrations

Printify also integrates with several sales channels and provides access to Printify API:

• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• eBay US
• Etsy
• BigCommerce
• PrestaShop
• Wix
• Squarespace
• Walmart US
• Printify popup store (this is in beta)

Gelato Integrations

Like Printful and Printify, Gelato offers access to Gelato API, and a range of integrations, albeit their list is somewhat smaller:

• Etsy
• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• Wix
• Squarespace
• BigCommerce

Printful vs Printify vs Gelato: Fulfillment and Shipping

Printful 

When someone buys one of your Printful products, you’re charged for the manufacturing and shipping of the order.

Your order is automatically sent to one of Printful’s fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, Australia, South America, Japan, the UK, or the EU. 

Typically, it takes between two to five days for Printful to print your products, with the average being three days. 

As for shipping, each product page contains information about shipping times and prices. But please note that shipping times are just estimates and don’t include the time it takes to print a product. Costs naturally depend on where you’re shipping from and to. 

Printful offers either flat or live shipping rates. For the uninitiated, live rates are when you receive prices from carriers based on how much your product weighs and where it’s going. There are eligibility criteria for live rates, so it’s important to see if you qualify. 

You can read more information about Printful’s shipping in its blog and guide. 

When your order is ready for shipping, Printful hands it over to the carrier. You’ll then receive an email shipping confirmation with a tracking number. To monitor your shipment’s whereabouts, just click the tracking number.

Printify 

Printify charges your linked credit card or Printify balance when an order comes in. Then your order is sent to production. 

As mentioned, each product page lists the available print partners and their average production times (based on the last 30 days). 

Where shipping is concerned, you can see a ship-by-date estimate in your “Orders” tab. This calculation is based on shipped orders over the last 14 days and is revealed after an order’s submitted for production.

When it’s time to ship the product, order tracking is synced to your sales channel. 

If you set up automatic shipping notifications, customers will automatically receive tracking details.

As for shipping prices, these depend on the following:

• Where you’re shipping from
• Where you’re shipping to
• Which print partner you’ve selected

Again, this info is visible on each product page. 

Gelato 

Like the two POD services above, you're only charged for the product and shipping costs when an order's placed.

When you look at a Gelato product page, you can see the countries the product is fulfilled in and where the production hubs for that product are. 

In most instances, products are fulfilled at the production center closest to your customer’s location. However, this may vary if, for example, that center doesn’t have the relevant stock. 

Once a product is placed in the cart and a shipping address and method are selected, Gelato shows the production and anticipated delivery times.

Once a customer places an order, it’s checked, and if everything is OK with the artwork, it goes into production. Most Gelato products have a 1-2 day production time. 

Like Printful and Printify, you can view a shipping price list on each product page, including the discounted prices for Gelato + and Gold customers. Gelato works with 40+ global shipping partners, including DHL, FedEx, and UPS.

Estimated shipping times vary depending on your customer’s location and whether you’ve opted for Standard or Express shipping. 

Let’s take the Classic Crewneck T-shirt being shipped to the UK as an example. In this instance, Standard shipping is estimated to take between six and 11 days, and Express shipping is calculated to take between five and eight days. 

Lastly, Gelato also provides live order tracking, which you can access from within your Gelato dashboard.

Printful vs Printify vs Gelato: Customer Support

Printful 

Printful’s online resource center is plentiful. Here you’ll find a blog, guides, podcasts, the Printful Academy (which is brimming with online courses), a Printiful set-up checklist, and a Help Center with information on getting started, shipping, and much more.

If you want to contact Printful’s customer service team, log in to your account and navigate to the ‘Help’ tab on the left-hand menu. This gives you the option of heading to the help center or sending a message via live chat or email. 

Printify

Printify support comes in the form of a blog and an online help center. The blog has articles on various topics, including eCommerce, design trends, and marketing hints and tricks. 

The help center is the place to go if you want self-help materials on specific issues. Articles are categorized, including topics like getting started, designing, and creating and managing products and orders. There’s also a search bar where you can type in your question, which will (hopefully) provide you with the info you need. 

If you want to contact Printify directly, you can do this online by answering a series of multiple-choice questions and then typing a message into an online form. You can also get in touch via live chat for 1:1 support with one of Printify’s support agents. 

Gelato

Gelato also has an online resource center where you’ll find guides and blogs on a range of eCommerce and dropshipping-related topics. There’s also the Gelato Academy, where you can access videos on various subjects, including getting started with specific ecommerce platforms and marketplaces. 

The Gelato Help Center is where you’ll find specific information about getting started and FAQs. 

If you want to contact Gelato, you can do this via live chat. 

Printful vs Printify vs Gelato: My Final Verdict

So that’s the end of my Printful vs Printify vs Gelato review. Hopefully, I’ve given you enough food for thought! 

All three boast transparent pricing and information about order fulfillment and shipping prices. They’re also all pretty intuitive to navigate, so it’s a tough call! 

On balance, all three offer a good selection of products. However, Printify has the largest number of products, given its catalog runs to 800+ items.

However, if sustainability and reducing your carbon footprint are important to you and your customers, you may want to partner with Gelato, given its commitment to that principle and way of doing business. 

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a simple-to-use and understand mockup design tool, Printful could be your go-to. Although, in fairness, all three are easy to use. 

As with all my reviews, I suggest making the most out of any free trials and plans to get a feel for the platforms yourself. This is the best way to get an insight into whether the service is the right fit for your business. 

Are you ready to try Printful, Printify, or Gelato? Let us know what you think in the comments box below. Good luck!