Selling designs on demand is a fantastic side hustle for artists and creatives. However, the vast array of print-on-demand platforms makes deciding which to use overwhelming.
There are numerous websites available connecting designers with potential customers, and each has different strengths and weaknesses.
Here are some of the most popular print-on-demand websites you can use.
Best Platforms for Selling Merchandise with Print on Demand
To help you decide, we examined popular print-on-demand websites to highlight their strengths and weaknesses for sellers. We considered customer base, ease of upload, cost to sellers, variety of products available, and special features.
These platforms aren’t ranked in any particular order, as different sellers may have different needs, and there’s no overall “best” platform that is indeed best for everyone.
Here are five great platforms to explore if you’re an artist who wants to sell unique products to an engaged audience with print-on-demand.
Amazon Merch
Amazon Merch is the best platform for making money with print-on-demand. If you’re only interested in profits, you should explore Amazon first.
Sellers have access to Amazon’s massive customer base, meaning getting your designs in front of millions of eyeballs is far easier.
However, the wide range of users comes with tradeoffs. Sellers need Amazon far more than Amazon needs sellers. The platform has a stringent and confusing application process, and if your initial application gets rejected, it’s nearly impossible to get a second chance.
Amazon Mech rejected my application, so I can’t speak to its ease of use.
Some people earn full-time income with Amazon Merch, while others earn decent side hustle cash. Work Pajama published an in-depth article highlighting success stories and earnings from various sellers, which is worth reading if you want to use the platform.
TeePublic
TeePublic is my favorite POD platform.
It has an easy uploading process that allows you to automatically transfer your design to various items (cups, pillows, bags, journals, t-shirts, etc.). I love the easy user interface.
TeePublic also allows users to create their own storefronts, whether they design items or not. If you feature other people’s items, you can make a small commission from sales. I haven’t updated mine in years, but you can get an idea of how it works!
The platform is well-known and widely used, but it doesn’t have nearly the same user base as Amazon Merch. However, according to Moz, the brand receives about 100K monthly searches.
RedBubble
RedBubble is the most well-known Print-on-Demand platform, garnering over 275 thousand monthly brand searches, and it’s my second favorite.
Objectively, RedBubble is better than Teepublic. It offers far more customization options, allowing users to create more products and set their own prices. However, when I began exploring print-on-demand platforms, I found the endless customization tedious.
Upon reviewing the interface, it seems like RedBubble improved the uploading process. Rather than clicking each item to customize it before offering it for sale, you can simply click “enable.” However, you can also edit each product if the design doesn’t fit how you want it to.
One more RedBubble bonus is the community vibe. Fans can follow their favorite designers, who can post activity updates on a built-in feed. It’s a unique way to connect artists and fans on the platform.
Spring (Formerly Teespring)
Teespring rebranded to Spring but remains an easy-to-use platform for designing products. The old brand name, Teespring, receives about 55 thousand branded searches each month, so it’s in the middle of the road for popularity. Searches for “spring” are too varied to include in the results.
Spring’s most significant advantage is that it allows you to add text directly on the platform without uploading photos, making it easy to design t-shirts with slogans. You can create them right on the platform. Unfortunately, it has no word art options, so you can only customize font, color, and size.
Spring also allows users to design both the front and back of t-shirts, offering a more comprehensive range of design options.
Spring’s upload process is a little confusing for first-timers. It looks like you’re limited to creating one product, but after you click the “create” button and continue to “styles,” you can add your creation to any of their product offerings.
Zazzle
Zazzle is on par with RedBubble for popularity, receiving 236K branded searches each month. The company excels at branding, with a presence all over social media. Like RedBubble, it also leans into the community aspect, allowing users to follow their favorite creators on the platform.
Zazzle allows users to create items for personal use. You can make all sorts of things, from invitations to t-shirts, and then purchase them on the platform. However, you can also sell these creations to the public by creating a store.
The biggest limitation of Zazzle for people who want to build a business selling merchandise is that there is no way to bulk-create products with the same design. You must create and edit each individually, which reduces efficiency.
5 Dropshipping Platforms with Print-on-Demand Features
Some folks don’t want to sell on a print-on-demand platform. They have their own websites and businesses and must host products to sell directly to customers.
These five websites combine print-on-demand with dropshipping. Business owners can customize products on the POD platform and then integrate the listing with their own sales platform.
Customers don’t shop on these platforms. The designer is responsible for all aspects of the business except fulfillment. They design, host, market, sell, manage finances, and pay for the product. Only after receiving that payment do these platforms start working on fulfillment.
These are ideal for drop shippers who want a little product customization.
Many of these websites rank high if you search for “Print on Demand Websites,” and they top all the listicles of “best print on demand platforms.” They also all offer excellent affiliate commissions to website owners who promote them. I am not a member of any of these affiliate programs. I can’t help but wonder if the affiliate commission is part of the reason they rank so high.
Gelato
The word gelato receives nearly 270 thousand searches per month, but the vast majority of users are searching for the tasty ice cream treat. “Gelato POD” only receives 17 monthly searches.
However, if you search for “POD” or “Print-on-Demand” websites, you’ll likely see Gelato. The company invests in Google ads to ensure people find it. It also tops the list of many articles on the “best print-on-demand websites.”
Why does Gelato rank so highly when no one knows about it?
The brand offers various tiers of subscription services. If you pay to play, you can access stock photos, premium fonts, and other tools that make designing products within the platform easier. Gelato offers an affiliate program, offering website owners a massive incentive to list them.
Of course, anyone can sign up for the free tier and design products, but they’ll be limited in what they can do unless they pay.
SPOD
SPOD, like Gelato, is for designers. It’s also more of a design platform, allowing users to create and host products but not offering a platform for buyers.
SPOD makes designing products easy. In some ways, it’s more like a dropshipping website that lets you customize the items you sell. When a customer buys something, the website owner must buy it from SPOD, who fulfills the order.
Although you can upload your own design, the platform offers abundant stock graphics, eliminating creativity from the entire POD concept.
The website has 4K branded searches per month, so it’s not very popular, but it’s good for what it is.
Printful
Printful is similar to Gelato and SPOD in that it allows you to easily create merchandise using clip art, which you can sell on your own website.
It has 75K monthly branded searches and tops many lists of “best POD sites.” Of course, it also offers a premium service, allowing subscribers to pay extra upfront for reduced shipping costs later. It also provides an affiliate program, meaning website owners make money if their users sign up.
The payment process is similar to SPOD (and other dropshipping websites). You handle the sale on your website, then pay Printful to fulfill it.
Printify
Printify is very similar to the previous three platforms. It offers a free tier but also provides a subscription service that gives sellers discounts on merchandise.
It’s a dropshipping platform that allows you to customize products with their own creative tools or by uploading your own design. You can’t sell any products directly on Printify; you must host them in your own store.
Sellfly
Sellfly doesn’t even pretend it isn’t after your money. It offers a 14-day free trial, but you must pay to use its platform afterward.
Although Sellfly offers print-on-demand services, it’s definitely more of a dropshipping platform than a creative one.
Sellfly only has 196 branded searches each month, and it’s not really print-on-demand, so why does it constantly top “best of” lists?
Sellfly has a fantastic affiliate program. If you click a link on one of those review websites and purchase a subscription plan, Sellfly will get a sweet 25% commission each month! You have to wonder if they are really sending you to the best POD website or the platform that pays them the most.
Print-on-Demand Art
The websites featured here allow customers to purchase all sorts of products with your unique art on them. However, there are many other platforms focused solely on art.
If you don’t want your work commercialized on T-shirts, mugs, and journals, consider posting it to websites like Artpal, Fine Art America, or any others designed specifically to market artwork.
Print on Demand Can Be a Great Business
Whether you’re an artist looking to connect with a community or a business owner looking for exciting designs to sell, print-on-demand can work for you.
People can make a full-time income selling products via print-on-demand services, and the low cost of entry makes it easy to get started.
Have you had any success selling merchandise with print-on-demand? Which platform is your favorite, and why?