When comparing the best eCommerce platforms on the market, it seems like Shopify has been outperforming all other website builders since its launch. Known for its user-friendly interface, customization capabilities, responsive templates, and robustness, the benefits of Shopify are countless. But how does it compare to Printify?
Unlike Shopify, a print-on-demand dropshipping platform designed specifically to sell custom and personalized products, Printify is a popular eCommerce platform that allows entrepreneurs to sell products without bothering about inventory. The core strength of Printify is its seamless integration of design and production, enabling store owners to focus on marketing and operations, leaving the inventory intricacies to experts.
Eager to know which eCommerce platform has the best features and functionalities? Want to see who offers the best security features for your store? Don’t worry, this blog helps you discover whether Shopify vs Printify is the best platform for your online store in our honest review blog.
Shopify- Best for upscaling your online store over time
Printify- Best for selling custom print-on-demand products with minimal upfront investment
Shopify vs Printify: A 2 Minutes Summary
Shopify and Printify are two of the leading eCommerce platforms used by brands across the world. According to BuiltWith, amongst the top million eCommerce stores, Shopify holds more than 24% of those compared with 3% powered by Printify.
Both eCommerce platforms offer a wide range of features and functionalities that you will need to start, flourish, and scale an online store.
What is Shopify?
Founded in 2006, Shopify is one of the most well-known eCommerce platforms that helps entrepreneurs and businesses create, manage, and scale their online stores easily. It has a very simple interface for a platform where everyone from startups to MNCs can use it.
Source: Kinsta
Shopify offers diverse pricing plans catering to all businesses, with Shopify Plus offering advanced customization and enterprise-level features for high-volume merchants.
For example, Gymshark, a fitness apparel line that began as a bootstrapped startup in the UK, scaled to a global brand using the Shopify platform. As their online presence grew, the platform made it easy for them to manage inventory, payments, and order fulfillment — ultimately allowing them to reach millions of customers around the world.
What is Printify?
Printify is a print-on-demand (POD) service that allows businesses and entrepreneurs to create and sell custom products without carrying any inventory.
Launched in 2015, Printify offers easy integration with eCommerce platforms like Shopify, so users can design products ranging from t-shirts to mugs, phone cases, and more.
For example, Printify works with The Inspired Owl, an online shop that sells custom-designed products for book lovers, including mugs, t-shirts, and tote bags, all of which are produced and shipped via Printify. By using Printify’s print-on-demand service, they don’t have to store inventory, and they can provide unique designs without the fear of production or logistic issues.
Shopify vs Printify: A Quick Verdict
After we discuss both Shopify and Printify, we move on to the exciting part: comparing each platform to the others. This post will examine several criteria that we believe are important for online stores to consider when choosing between the two.
The platforms’ features, hosting, security, usability, support, shipping, logistics, inventory, customizations, support, plugins and apps, and, lastly, the content management system (CMS) will all be covered. We’ll also examine each platform’s pricing structure.
Below is a brief on the key differences between Shopify and Printify.
| Aspect | Shopify | Printify |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Live Websites | 4,900,000+ | 63,183 eCommerce stores in the USA alone |
| Apps & Add-ons | 8,000+ | 900+ Products ready to customize |
| Prices | Free, paid starts from $450 | Free |
| Marketing Features and Sales Tools |
Built-in Shopify email tool Multiple selling options Comes with basic SEO functions |
Multi-channel selling options Advanced and flexible SEO options |
| Reports and Analytics | Advanced Shopify analytics tools | Flexible Analytics Capabilities |
| Support |
Top-notch customer support available via: Community Forum, Email, Phone, Live Support, Documentation, Video Tutorials, etc. |
Email support Knowledge base Partnerships Integration guides |
Thinking of setting up a Shopify store but unsure where to start?
Our expert Shopify developers can help you build a high-converting store.
Shopify vs Printify: Head-to-Head Comparison
When it comes to starting and growing an online business, Shopify and Printify are two standout platforms that offer different yet complementary services. Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce solution, while Printify is a print-on-demand service that helps you create and sell custom products.
But how do these platforms stack up against each other in the most crucial aspects of running an online store? Let’s dive into a detailed comparison across key areas to help you make an informed decision.
Easy to Use
Shopify
- Shopify makes it easy to set up an online store. Using the platform is easy and suited for users at all levels of experience, with a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to build and customize your store’s design without much fuss.
- From running your very 1st store to managing several stores, the Shopify interface is user-friendly in navigation.
- Many businesses, such as Allbirds, rely on Shopify for its simplicity and ability to scale seamlessly for a growing operation.
Printify
- On the other hand, Printify is also very user-friendly, but it specializes in one main task—custom product creation and fulfillment.
- For existing Shopify users, Printify integrates seamlessly, so you can create products and add them right to your Shopify store in a matter of clicks.
- Printify has a very small learning curve, and it’s designed to work alongside platforms such as Shopify, making the process even easier.
Building an Online Store
Shopify
- Shopify is a real heavyweight when it comes to creating an eCommerce shop.
- With 70+ professional themes, hundreds of customization options, and a dedicated site builder, it’s simple to create a beautiful, high-functioning eCommerce store.
- Shopify’s structure is designed to sell both physical products and digital downloads. However, brands such as Kylie Cosmetics rely on Shopify to manage their entire web presence, proving they’re just as good for small businesses as they are for big ones.
Printify
- Printify, on the other hand, isn’t an eCommerce builder — it exists to help you design and sell products to your existing Shopify store (or to Etsy, WooCommerce, and so on).
- You will need a separate website builder to create your storefront, but once that’s done, Printify’s tools integrate easily into your site and provide a seamless way to manage products and orders.
Winner: Shopify
Sourcing Products
Shopify
- While Shopify doesn’t impose heavy restrictions on the types of products you sell, you’ll have to source them on your own or through third-party suppliers.
- That gives you more control over your inventory, but it requires a big investment in stock.
- Apps like Oberlo allow you to import products from suppliers (such as AliExpress) with just a couple of clicks so you can save time and hassle. A perfect illustration is Fashion Nova, a popular clothing line that uses Shopify to obtain merchandise from different suppliers.
Printify
- Whereas with Printify, you have no inventory at all.
- Printify’s print-on-demand approach lets you design unique custom products like t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases without ever handling the inventory.
- With a worldwide network of print providers, Printify allows you to concentrate on designing and marketing while they take care of production and shipping.
Winner: Printify
Pricing
Shopify
- Shopify has several plans for different business needs from a pricing perspective.
- Their Basic Plan is priced from $25/month, the Shopify Plan from $65/month, and Shopify Plus from $2,300+/month for high-volume enterprises.
- Some may include features like an online store, unlimited products, 24/7 support, and more advanced tools like more detailed reporting and custom shipping options.
Printify
- Printify is freemium, so it’s free to sign up and use but you can go for one of their Premium accounts for $24.99 a month.
- However, premium members do get access to some product (up to 20%) discounts and a larger selection of print providers.
- This makes Printify especially appealing to entrepreneurs wanting to scale without the significant upfront inventory expense.
Winner: Printify
Apps & Integration
Shopify
- Apps and Integrations Shopify shines here – with over 8, 000 apps available in the App Store.
- This sprawling ecosystem encompasses anything from email marketing and SEO tools to accounting and social integrations.
- Some, for example, have enabled the automation of email marketing (Klaviyo) and management of customer reviews (Yotpo).
Printify
- Printify integrates seamlessly with Shopify, but its app ecosystem is mostly geared toward the print-on-demand process.
- You can integrate your Shopify store with Printify’s app to develop custom products, schedule automated order fulfillment, and follow different shipments.
- Shopify does have a more extensive list when it comes to integrations, but Printify complements Shopify by taking care of the specialized field of product design and fulfillment.
Winner: Shopify
SEO Features
Shopify
- Shopify offers a good set of built-in SEO tools that can help to improve the ranking of your online store in search engines.
- It means you can set up meta tags, create alt text for images, and edit URLs so you have control over how your site appears in search results.
- One such business is Allbirds, which uses Shopify’s SEO features to enhance its product pages and attract natural visitors to its website.
Printify
- Printify does not directly impact SEO for your store, but it helps lead to sales with high-quality custom products that can draw in customers.
- When to use this combo: If you want to build a store that will rise to the top of search engines, you will want to use Shopify’s SEO tools along with Printify’s product offerings to create successful products in your stores.
Winner: Shopify
Shipping
Shopify
- Shopify has inbuilt shipping features that let you integrate with FedEx, UPS, or DHL and provide shipping rates automatically on checkout.
- What to consider: Shopify is best for businesses that need flexible shipping methods, as it enables dropshipping and integrates with third-party fulfillment services.
- Brands like Blenders Eyewear use the streamlined shipping process enabled by Shopify to give their customers real-time shipping rates and quick delivery times.
Printify
- But as a print-on-demand service, Printify takes care of the shipping for you once the order has been placed.
- Once a customer buys a product, Printify routes the order to one of its worldwide print partners for fulfillment. This increases efficiency and saves time and energy on logistics, but shipping times may vary based on the location of the print provider.
- For instance, Printify’s suppliers based in Europe can deliver to customers in Europe faster than providers based in the United States, which could ideally delay the delivery of international customers.
Winner: Tie
Customer Support
Shopify
- 24/7 phone, live chat, and email support. That level of accessibility is priceless for businesses that may require help at the drop of a hat.
- Moreover, there is a lot of information in Shopify’s extensive help center and community forums that lets users troubleshoot issues themselves.
- For example, Petco goes to Shopify for all of their eCommerce support, and Shopify handles their needs 24/7.
Printify
- They also have solid customer support options via email and live chat. Because their service is more specialized though, the support is centered around product fulfillment and order management issues.
- While Printify’s support is responsive, Shopify’s extensive support ecosystem gives it a slight edge for companies requiring wide-ranging assistance.
Winner: Shopify
Shopify or Printify: Top Tips to Help You Choose
Choose Shopify if you want:
- An all-in-one eCommerce platform that allows you full control of your store design and functionality.
- Perfect for businesses that want to scale, providing such advanced features as custom domains, payment gateways, and marketing tools.
- End-to-end eCommerce development with solutions that cover everything from inventory to analytics.
Choose Printify if you want:
- An easy, low-investment way to kickstart a print-on-demand business. No inventory, no shipping headaches.
- That is instant access to a massive catalog of custom-made products that you can have designed and implemented with very little upfront cost.
- Flexible as your business grows — seamlessly integrate with Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, etc.
- You don’t have to pay for the stock in advance – if you don’t have your printing facilities, Printify will print and fulfill products for you while you concentrate on marketing.
If you want to create a strong eCommerce store you can customize and control, go with an experienced Shopify development company that help you set up and maintain the store. If you are looking for a fast and risk-free way to get into creating print-on-demand products, however, Printify is a fantastic option for simple setup with low maintenance.
FAQs
What’s the main difference between Shopify and Printify?
Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce platform for building and managing an online store, while Printify is a print-on-demand service integrated with eCommerce platforms.
Can I use Printify with Shopify?
Yes, Printify seamlessly integrates with Shopify, allowing you to add print-on-demand products to your Shopify store.
Which platform is better for scaling my eCommerce business?
Shopify is better for scaling due to its extensive features, customizable designs, and full control over your online store.
Do I need technical skills to use Shopify or Printify?
No, both platforms are user-friendly, though Shopify may require a bit of setup for advanced customizations, while Printify is easy to use with minimal effort.
Can I make money using Printify with Shopify?
Yes, you can use Printify with other platforms like Etsy or WooCommerce, but Shopify offers more robust eCommerce features for long-term growth.
