Print on demand is the softest way to start selling without inventory: you upload a design, a partner prints each item when it is ordered and ships it for you. Almost every app here is free to install — you pay per item produced, not per month.
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The print-on-demand apps worth considering
| # | Name | Store rating | Reviews | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Printify The widest print network | 4.7 | 4327 | Free to install; optional Premium $39/mo | |
| 2 | Printful The best-rated of the big two | 4.8 | 3886 | Free to install; optional Growth $24.99/mo | |
| 3 | Gelato Printing close to the customer | 4.8 | 1002 | Free to install and trial; optional Gelato+ $29.99/mo | |
| 4 | ShineOn Jewellery and gifts | 4.6 | 527 | Free to install and trial; paid $27 / $77 / $87 a month | |
| 5 | Apliiq Apparel with custom finishing | 4.8 | 330 | Free to install; optional VIP $39.99/mo |
Ratings, review counts and prices read from the Shopify App Store on 24 September 2026, sorted by review count — a 5.0 from forty merchants is not a 4.9 from four thousand. These are the store’s figures, not our test results: we have not yet run these apps side by side on our development store. Buttons appear only where we have a link, and never change the order.
How you actually pay
The app costs nothing; each order costs the base price of the product plus printing and shipping, and your margin is whatever you charge above that. The optional subscriptions — Printify Premium at $39 a month, Printful Growth at $24.99, Gelato+ at $29.99 — are worth pricing only once you have steady volume. Compare the landed cost of the same product across two apps before committing: that number decides your margin far more than the rating does.
Printify
The largest review base in the category, free to use.
What works
- Free to install
- Largest review base in the category
- Optional Premium subscription
What will annoy you
- Rated 4.7, below Printful and Gelato
Printful
Rated higher than Printify on a similar review base, free to use with an optional plan.
What works
- Free to install
- 4.8 on nearly four thousand reviews
- Optional Growth plan at $24.99 a month
What will annoy you
- Smaller review base than Printify
Gelato
Free to install, rated 4.8, with an optional subscription.
What works
- Free to install, free trial
- Rated 4.8
What will annoy you
- Smaller review base than the big two
Questions we get asked
Printful or Printify?
On the store’s data: Printful rates higher, Printify has more reviews. Order the same product from both, compare the quality and the landed cost, and let that decide.
Is print on demand profitable?
It can be, but margins are thin by design — you are paying someone else to hold stock and do the production. It works best for designs people cannot buy elsewhere.
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