Printful and Gelato are two popular print-on-demand (POD) platforms that empower entrepreneurs to sell custom products without holding inventory. Both services handle printing and shipping for you, but they have some key differences. This comparison is for online sellers (beginners and experienced alike) deciding "Printful or Gelato – which is better for my business?" We'll break down their pricing structures, fulfillment speeds, product range, integrations, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right platform for your needs.
| Aspect | Best Option (Why) |
|---|---|
| Best for Beginners | Printful – Very user-friendly interface, robust design tools, and extensive tutorials/support make it easy for newcomers. Printful's all-in-one in-house fulfillment offers a straightforward experience for starting a POD business. |
| Best for Global Shipping | Gelato - Local production in 32+ countries enables faster delivery worldwide and often lower international shipping costs. Ideal if you have a global customer base. |
| Cheapest Base Prices | Gelato – Generally lower base product costs. For example, a standard t-shirt can cost a couple dollars less on Gelato than on Printful, and local fulfillment can save on shipping. |
| Widest Product Catalog | Printful - Offers ~350-400 products (as of 2025) including many apparel styles and unique items like embroidered hats, jewelry, and all-over print swimwear. Gelato's catalog is growing but more limited to core categories. |
| Best for Branding | Printful – Provides custom labels, pack-ins, branded packing slips, and more for a fully white-label experience. Gelato has some branding options (e.g. inserts with poster orders) but is more limited. |
| Best for Low Margins | Gelato - With its lower prices and Gelato+ subscription discounts, Gelato is excellent for cost-focused sellers looking to maximize profit per sale. |
(Above are general verdicts – details may vary based on specific products and plans.)
Now, let's dive into the detailed comparison of Printful vs Gelato across pricing, fulfillment, products, integrations, and more.
Platform Fees: Both Printful and Gelato are free to use with no upfront costs or monthly fees on their basic plans. You only pay the base price of the product + shipping when an order comes in. Neither platform charges setup fees, listing fees, or royalties for using their service. They profit when you make a sale.
Paid Plans & Discounts: Each platform offers an optional subscription for sellers who want discounted pricing:
On the free plan, Gelato often has slightly lower base prices than Printful for comparable items. For example, a classic Gildan 64000 cotton t-shirt fulfilled to a U.S. customer costs about $6.96 base + $4.54 shipping with Gelato, whereas Printful charges about $8.95 base + $4.59 shipping for a similar shirt. Likewise, a hoodie might be ~$16.75 base on Gelato vs $20.75 on Printful (shipping costs being roughly similar). These are just sample prices, but they illustrate that Gelato's default pricing is very competitive.
Why is Gelato often cheaper? Gelato partners with local print providers, so a shirt might be produced domestically (saving on certain costs and shipping). Printful, on the other hand, produces in-house and tends to use premium materials and printing tech, which can mean higher base costs. However, Printful's Growth discounts (up to 20-33% off) can narrow the gap or even undercut Gelato's prices for subscribers in some cases. High-volume sellers might actually get better effective pricing on Printful if they leverage the Growth plan (which, as noted, can become free after hitting a sales threshold).
Shipping Fees: Both platforms charge shipping per order (usually paid by the customer or factored into your pricing). Printful's shipping rates vary by product and destination - e.g. a t-shirt to the US is around $3.99–$4.50, to Europe around $4.39-$6, etc., with discounts on additional items in the same order. Gelato's shipping fees are similarly priced for common products (the t-shirt example was $4.54 US shipping). One key difference is international shipping: Printful ships from its nearest facility, but if that's overseas, delivery can incur higher shipping costs (and potential customs fees). Gelato's model of producing within the buyer's region often means shorter shipping distances and potentially lower shipping costs internationally. For instance, a customer in Germany ordering from a US seller can get their item printed in Germany via Gelato, avoiding transatlantic shipping fees – a cost-saving for you or your customer.
Other Fees: Neither platform charges any additional transaction fees beyond product and shipping. Printful does have a one-time digitization fee (~$6.50) for new embroidery designs (converting your logo to an embroidery file), whereas Gelato currently does not focus on embroidery products. Both platforms offer discounted sample orders (Printful gives ~25% off samples for testing, Gelato+ includes some sample benefits too). There are no hidden fees – you don't pay until you actually get an order, and you can use all their integrations and design tools on the free plan.
Bottom Line - Pricing: If lowest cost per item is your priority, Gelato tends to have the edge on base prices and global shipping efficiency, especially if you opt for Gelato+ for 20% off. Printful is a bit pricier by default, but it delivers premium quality and has ways to reduce costs (the Growth plan). For a hobby seller doing low volume, both can be used free - you might pay a bit more per product with Printful but get other benefits (as we'll see). For a high-volume seller, it's worth crunching the numbers: with subscriptions, the per-item price gap narrows. Many sellers find Gelato slightly better for margins, but Printful's reliability and discounts (plus no costs until an item sells) mean pricing alone shouldn't be the only deciding factor. Consider the next sections – fulfillment and product quality – alongside cost.
Delivering orders quickly and reliably is crucial for customer satisfaction. Both Printful and Gelato excel in fulfillment, but they achieve it in different ways:
Production Times: Printful handles production in-house at its own facilities. This streamlined process gives Printful an average production time of about 1-3 business days for most items. In fact, simple orders (like a single T-shirt) are often printed and ready to ship within 48 hours, and sometimes within 24 hours during off-peak times. Printful's operations are optimized – orders are automatically routed to the closest facility that has the product, then printed, quality-checked, and shipped out efficiently. During peak seasons (holidays), fulfillment might extend to ~3-5 days, but Printful has scaled up multiple centers to maintain speed.
Gelato, by contrast, outsources production to a network of 130+ print partners around the world. When an order comes in, Gelato's system automatically routes it to a local production facility in or near the destination country. Production time is typically 2-4 business days on average, comparable to Printful's timeline. Each partner follows Gelato's standards to produce the item and then ships it out. The decentralized approach means there can be slight variability (some partners might be faster than others), but generally Gelato's fulfillment speed is on par with industry norms. For common products, they often produce just as fast as Printful; for specialized items, it may take a day or so longer depending on the partner's capacity.
Shipping Speed & Global Reach: Printful has fulfillment centers on multiple continents - currently in the USA (several locations), Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Europe (Spain and Latvia, plus partner facility in the UK), Japan, and Australia. This coverage means many orders can ship from within the same region as the customer. For example, orders to EU countries usually ship from Latvia or Spain; orders to Brazil ship from Printful's facility in Brazil, etc. Printful reports typical shipping transit times of ~2-7 days for most destinations. Domestic US orders often arrive in 3-5 days, European orders in a similar range, and other regions vary. Thanks to its network, Printful can reach customers in over 50 countries fairly quickly. However, there are gaps - for instance, Printful doesn't have its own factory in Asia (aside from Japan) or Africa, so orders to those continents might ship from the nearest hub (which could be slower and incur customs).
Gelato's entire model is about local fulfillment. It boasts production in 32 countries and 140+ facilities worldwide. Essentially, Gelato has a larger global footprint because it partners with many print labs. An order from a customer in, say, India or South Africa can potentially be produced in that country or a neighboring one, which means faster delivery with domestic shipping methods. Gelato advertises that local production leads to reliable, often quicker delivery and also reduces import hassles. In practice, if you have a very globally dispersed customer base, Gelato can be a game-changer – your Australian customers get their items from Australia, your European customers get theirs from within Europe, etc., all without you doing anything extra. Shipping options with Gelato typically include standard and express services via local carriers. Because distances are shorter, a domestic shipment might arrive in 2-4 days, while a cross-border shipment (if needed for a certain item) could be a bit longer. The bottom line is Gelato excels at consistently fast international shipping due to distributed fulfillment.
To illustrate: that Gildan shirt example earlier - Gelato can print it in 11 different countries depending on where the order is going, which “means quicker delivery times and cheaper shipping" for the customer. Printful might print that same shirt in the USA and send it overseas if the order came from a country without a Printful facility, taking longer and costing more in postage.
Reliability & Quality Control: Both companies are known for solid quality and accuracy in fulfillment, but their approaches differ. Printful's in-house production gives it tight quality control – each item goes through Printful's own QA process. They use industrial-grade equipment (e.g. Kornit DTG printers) and have trained staff, so print quality is consistently excellent. Misprints or defects are relatively rare, and Printful's error resolution (free reprints, etc.) is well-regarded. Their packaging is uniform and unbranded (white-label), and they include a branded packing slip with your store name on it by default. Overall, Printful's fulfillment reliability is one of its strong suits – you know what you're getting in terms of quality and packaging every time.
Gelato relies on partner facilities, and it strives for consistent quality across its network. In practice, Gelato has vetted its partners and sets standards for print quality and materials. Many sellers report that Gelato's print quality for core products (shirts, posters, etc.) is on par with other top POD providers. Gelato even specializes in certain product types (we'll discuss in product range) like wall art and paper prints, where their quality is excellent. However, because multiple print providers are involved, there is a tiny chance of variability – one print partner's equipment might produce a slightly different result than another's. Gelato mitigates this by automatic routing and by having backup producers; if one facility is overloaded or not meeting standards, orders can be routed elsewhere. They also operate a robust support system - if a customer receives a misprint or damage, Gelato will typically reprint it quickly at no charge. Shipping reliability is generally very good; using local carriers like Royal Mail, USPS, DHL, etc., Gelato shipments are trackable and arrive without customs delays in most cases (since they originate within the region).
TL;DR - Fulfillment: Speed-wise, Printful and Gelato are both fast, with Printful's in-house efficiency and Gelato's local production model each ensuring orders go out in a few days. For predominantly domestic orders (e.g. a U.S.-based store selling mostly to U.S. customers), both will perform similarly well. For international orders, Gelato has the advantage – it's designed to print as close to your customer as possible, which means faster delivery worldwide and no import fees for the buyer in many cases. Quality-wise, Printful has a slight edge in consistency due to direct oversight and years of experience in fulfillment, plus more robust branding options (discussed later). Gelato's quality is still high and they're trusted by many sellers, especially for prints and apparel, but you are relying on third parties (albeit managed by Gelato). Both are reliable - you can count on either platform to fulfill orders accurately - but if we're nitpicking, Printful's hands-on control and QA process give it a reputation for top-notch quality control. In contrast, Gelato's claim to fame is speed and reach - getting your product to any corner of the globe quickly and efficiently.
When it comes to product catalogs, Printful and Gelato have significant overlap in the core offerings, but each also has some unique items. Let's compare their product ranges and standout products:
Core Product Categories: Both platforms cover the essentials for a print-on-demand business. You'll find apparel (t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, tank tops, etc.), accessories (tote bags, phone cases, mugs), and wall art (posters, canvas prints) on both Printful and Gelato. They also both offer stationery to some extent (cards or notebooks) and home decor items like pillows. If you're just looking to sell standard merch (tees, mugs, art prints, etc.), both platforms have you covered.
Printful's Catalog: Printful has a larger number of distinct products – roughly 380+ products as of 2025. These are organized into dozens of categories on their site (menswear, womenswear, home living, etc.). Printful is known for a curated, high-quality selection. Rather than listing every possible variant from every supplier, Printful chooses specific popular brands/models for each product type. For example, for t-shirts, Printful offers about 15-20 different shirt models (from premium Bella+Canvas 3001 to budget Gildan options), each vetted for print quality. They cover most apparel categories: t-shirts, long sleeves, hoodies, sweatpants, leggings, hats and caps (embroidered), jackets, dresses, swimwear, sports bras, socks, etc. Printful also has all-over-print clothing like leggings, yoga pants, swimsuits, and even skirts that they cut and sew in-house from printed fabric.
Printful's unique items include things you won't find on all POD platforms: for example, they offer embroidered hats and beanies, embroidery on apparel, engraved jewelry (like pendant necklaces and bracelets), bean bag chairs, throw blankets, pet products, and more. They even introduced some custom footwear (like print-all-over high-top and slip-on shoes) and luggage recently. As noted in their 2025 catalog, Printful carries niche products such as all-over print swimwear, premium athletic wear, and embroidered jewelry that not every competitor has. They also have a line of eco-friendly garments (organic tees, etc.) and do direct-to-film (DTF) printing for durable prints on certain fabrics. In summary, Printful's catalog is very broad - essentially any mainstream product you'd want to sell, and some specialty items too. The only things you won't find on Printful are those outside the typical merch/apparel/home goods scope (they don't print books or large paper documents, for instance).
Gelato's Catalog: Gelato's product range is slightly smaller in breadth, but it still covers hundreds of products. They focus on the most popular categories and have been expanding gradually. Gelato offers all the major apparel staples: multiple t-shirt styles (including popular Gildan and Bella+Canvas models), hoodies (like Gildan 18500 etc.), sweatshirts, tank tops, including options for men, women, and kids. They have mugs (both standard and some unique ones like color-changing mugs or a 17oz latte mug), phone cases (several types for iPhone/Samsung), tote bags, and posters/canvas prints. Gelato is actually very strong in wall art and print media – they started with a background in printing paper products, so they offer posters, canvas prints, framed prints, and even wood prints (where your design is printed on wood for a natural grain effect). Uniquely, Gelato even offers print on demand wallpaper - yes, custom wallpaper by the roll - which is quite a rare product in POD and can set your store apart.
Another area Gelato shines is paper and stationery products. Because Gelato has roots in a company called Optimalprint, they include products like greeting cards (you can sell cards in packs), calendars (wall calendars, etc.), photo books (both softcover and hardcover) and even various marketing materials. Under a "stationery & business" category, Gelato offers things like flyers, brochures (single-fold, multi-fold, roll-fold, etc.), business cards, presentation folders, and even roll-up banners.
These business printing items are not common on platforms like Printful, so if you wanted to provide business clients with printed collateral, Gelato is uniquely positioned for that.
Unique Gelato offerings: In summary, Gelato's standout products include the photo books, calendars, greeting cards, and business stationery mentioned above, as well as the wall art range and even wallpaper. Gelato is also constantly adding new items, but as of 2025 it does not offer some items Printful does – for example, Gelato does not currently offer embroidered hats or beanies, because it does not have an embroidery fulfillment in its network yet. It also doesn't offer things like jewelry or all-over cut & sew clothing. Gelato's focus has been on printed surfaces (fabric prints, paper prints, etc.), so anything that requires embroidery or specialty fabrication is likely missing. If your brand needs embroidered caps or patches, or cut-and-sew pattern apparel, you'd lean toward Printful. On the flip side, if you want to sell custom printed calendars, photobooks or brochures, those are available on Gelato but not on Printful.
Print Quality & Methods: Both Printful and Gelato support high-quality printing methods. They both primarily use Direct-to-Garment (DTG) for apparel (full-color prints directly on shirts, hoodies, etc.) and dye-sublimation for items like mugs and phone cases (and all-over designs on apparel/polyester items). Printful additionally does embroidery, as noted, and has recently added Direct-to-Film (DTF) printing for some products (DTF allows printing on a film then transferring to fabric, often used for more vibrant or durable prints on certain materials). Gelato's listed methods include screen printing as well – likely for bulk orders or certain providers that might do screen prints on large runs of shirts. In general, print quality is excellent on both platforms. Printful's in-house team uses premium Kornit DTG printers and calibrates colors carefully, resulting in very consistent prints wash after wash. Gelato's network also uses professional equipment, and because they specialize in things like photo prints, their color reproduction is very good, especially for art prints and posters. It's worth noting: Gelato "eats its own dog food", meaning they have a consumer brand (Optimalprint) that uses the same network - so they are invested in keeping that print quality high.
For apparel, expect similar DTG print quality from both. For paper goods (posters, cards), Gelato has a lot of experience and might have a slight edge in variety (different paper stock options, etc.), whereas Printful's poster prints are also high quality but with fewer paper options. Both deliver durable prints if cared for properly. If quality is your sole concern, Printful's track record is impeccable and every product is tested; Gelato is also reliable, and any quality issues can usually be resolved quickly via their support.
Bottom Line - Product Range: If you need the widest selection of products, Printful offers more total product types (especially in apparel and accessories) and covers almost all the "standard" POD merchandise plus some unique extras. Printful is great for fashion and lifestyle brands that want to offer everything from shirts and hats to leggings and jewelry under one roof. Gelato has a slightly narrower focus but with some categories where it outshines Printful, particularly in printed paper goods (art, cards, calendars) and global versatility of those products. Gelato's catalog will meet the needs of most sellers (they have all the common items), and if you're an artist or photographer selling prints worldwide, Gelato is fantastic. But if your business plans include a lot of branded apparel, embroidered merch, or uniquely customized items, Printful might be the better fit due to those specific product offerings. Many sellers actually use both: for instance, using Printful for hats and certain all-over print apparel, and Gelato for posters and art prints, capitalizing on each platform's strengths.
A key consideration is whether the POD service will easily connect with your online store or marketplace. Printful and Gelato both integrate with major e-commerce platforms, but Printful supports a longer list of integrations.
Printful Integrations: Printful is known for its extensive integrations – over 20+ e-commerce platforms and marketplaces are supported. This includes all the big names: Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Amazon, eBay, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Ecwid, Magento (Adobe Commerce), and more. Printful even has integrations with smaller or regional platforms like Big Cartel, Launch Cart, Nuvemshop (Latin America), and others, as well as marketplaces like Walmart. In short, whatever platform you're using to sell - be it your own website, a marketplace, or even custom solutions – Printful likely has a direct app or plugin. They also offer a robust API for developers, so if you have a custom website or app, you can build a Printful integration fairly easily. Additionally, Printful provides a mobile app (iOS and Android) that allows you to manage orders, create products, and get push notifications on the go. This is a big plus for sellers who want to keep an eye on their business from their phone.
Setting up Printful with a store (say Shopify or Etsy) is typically very smooth – you install the Printful app, connect your account, and you can push products to your store with automated sync for orders. Printful's integration quality is often praised; for example, on Shopify it's highly rated (and even offers features like live shipping rate calculation at checkout for Printful products).
Gelato Integrations: Gelato covers the major selling channels but has fewer total integrations than Printful. Currently, Gelato has native integration for Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Amazon, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, and TikTok Shop, plus an API. That list hits most of the big ones. Notably, Gelato added TikTok Shop integration, which is something Printful also has now – a reflection of social commerce growth. Where Gelato falls short is some marketplaces: for instance, Gelato doesn't have a direct integration for eBay or Walmart at the moment (whereas Printful does). If you wanted to sell on eBay with Gelato, you'd have to fulfill orders manually or through a third-party automation tool. Gelato also might not support certain niche site builders that Printful does (e.g., Printful has a Weebly/Webflow plugin; Gelato does not list those, though you could possibly use Order Desk or API to connect).
However, Gelato's core integrations (Shopify/Etsy/Amazon/etc.) are more than sufficient for most POD sellers. The setup process is similarly easy: install Gelato's app or plugin, connect, and then you can publish products. Gelato's dashboard also allows manual orders (so you can fulfill orders outside of integrations by inputting addresses, useful for custom deals or if you sell via an unintegrated channel).
Ease of Use & Apps: Both platforms have a web-based design tool for creating your product listings. Printful's design maker is very polished - you can upload designs or create text-based graphics, choose product variants, generate mockups, etc., all in one flow. Gelato's design interface is also user-friendly and even offers a built-in design editor with graphics, text, and shapes which can allow some basic designing without external software. Gelato additionally has a feature for customer personalization - if you use certain integrations, your customers can personalize products through Gelato's editor (for example, adding their name or image to a product on your storefront). This is a nifty feature if you want to offer customizable products. Printful does not currently have a customer-facing personalization tool built-in (you'd have to use a third-party app for that), so Gelato has an edge there for personalized product sellers.
Both Printful and Gelato offer order management, tracking, and notification features in their dashboards. They will automatically push tracking info to your store and mark orders as fulfilled. Both also handle things like multi-store management (Printful lets you connect multiple stores to one Printful account; Gelato similarly can connect to multiple Etsy shops or Shopify stores under one login).
Customer Support: It's worth noting under "platform use" that Printful provides 24/7 customer support via live chat and email, and even offers phone support during business hours for certain regions. They are known for responsive support (average chat wait time is short, and they have a large help center). Gelato offers email support and chat support, though chat might not be 24/7 for all users (it's responsive during European and U.S. business hours). Gelato Gold plan members get priority support. Overall, both companies have helpful support teams, but Printful's support is often cited as slightly more accessible around the clock.
Bottom Line - Integrations: Printful wins on breadth of integrations. If you plan to sell on multiple channels or a less common platform, Printful likely has a direct plugin for it. This can save a ton of hassle. Printful also has the convenience of a mobile app and very mature integration features (like automatic shipping profile syncing, product templates, etc.). Gelato covers all the major e-commerce platforms, which will be enough for a vast majority of sellers – connecting to Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, etc. is straightforward with Gelato. Unless you specifically need an integration that Gelato lacks (e.g. eBay or a certain website builder), this shouldn't be a deal-breaker.
One strategy some sellers use is: If you want to expand to a platform that Gelato doesn't integrate with (say, eBay), you might fulfill those particular orders through Printful, while continuing to use Gelato for your main store. It's possible to mix and match in that way. But if you prefer to keep everything in one system, consider where you plan to sell: for a Shopify or Etsy store, both Printful and Gelato will work great. For a more complex multi-channel setup, Printful's larger integration ecosystem might be beneficial.
Ultimately, the "better" platform depends on your specific priorities and what you'll be selling. Both Printful and Gelato are high-quality POD providers, and many successful merchants use either (or even both). Here are some guidelines based on different types of sellers and needs:
It's worth mentioning that you don't necessarily have to choose strictly one. Some entrepreneurs use Printful and Gelato in combination – for example, using Printful for all apparel and using Gelato for all poster prints, taking advantage of each platform's strengths. This does require managing two dashboards, but both can integrate to the same store (you simply pick which platform to fulfill each product when setting it up). As your business grows, you might find that one platform suits one product line and the other platform suits another.
So, Printful or Gelato? Both are excellent POD platforms, and neither will be a "bad" choice. That said, if we must declare a general winner, Printful edges out as the more robust all-around solution for most sellers, especially new entrepreneurs or those building a distinct brand. Printful's reliability, broader product selection, and emphasis on quality and branding give it a slight advantage for anyone who wants a one-stop, premium POD partner. It's a platform that can grow with you from a small shop to a large-scale business, all while maintaining consistency.
Gelato, on the other hand, is a close runner-up and the better choice in specific scenarios – notably for cost-sensitive or globally-focused businesses. If your priority is maximizing profit margins on each item or ensuring speedy delivery to customers around the world, Gelato might actually be the better fit. Gelato also makes sense if your product mix overlaps with its unique offerings (like if you plan to sell a lot of custom printed posters or corporate print materials internationally).
In the end, the "best" platform is the one that aligns with your business's priorities. Printful will let you build a brand with confidence in quality and provide a very smooth experience end-to-end. Gelato will enable you to scale globally and cost-effectively, keeping both you and your international customers happy with quicker deliveries.
Many successful sellers start with one platform and later incorporate the other as they expand. You truly can't go terribly wrong with either - both companies are leaders in POD and will handle printing and shipping so you can focus on designing and marketing your products.
Ready to dive in deeper or get started? Check out our in-depth Printful profile and Gelato profile pages for more details on each company. If you've made your decision, you can sign up with Printful here or try Gelato here and kickstart your print-on-demand business. Whichever you choose, you'll be leveraging a powerful platform to turn your creativity into profit. Good luck with your POD journey!
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