Starting a Print on Demand (POD) business can be one of the best ways to build an eCommerce store with low overhead costs and minimal risk. With the POD business model, you can create and sell custom-designed products without the need to stock inventory or manage fulfillment. Shopify, a leading eCommerce platform, integrates seamlessly with numerous POD apps that make it easy to manage the entire process from product creation to shipping.
In this article, we'll explore the top 10 best POD apps for Shopify, detailing each app's features, benefits, and what makes it stand out. We'll delve into other apps that offer unique features and capabilities. Let’s get started!
What is Print on Demand (POD)?
Print on Demand (POD) is a retail fulfillment method where products are printed or produced only when an order is placed. Unlike traditional inventory models, where you need to purchase stock upfront, POD allows you to sell custom-designed products, such as t-shirts, mugs, or phone cases, without maintaining an inventory. When an order is made, the POD provider prints and ships the product directly to the customer.
This model helps entrepreneurs to start an eCommerce business with minimal upfront investment and no need to manage logistics. Shopify offers powerful integrations with various POD apps, which can handle everything from printing custom designs to shipping the final product to your customer.
Why Choose a POD App for Shopify?
Choosing the right POD app for Shopify can save you time, reduce overhead costs, and offer scalable growth for your business. These apps automate key processes like inventory management, order fulfillment, and tracking, allowing you to focus on marketing and growing your brand. The apps also offer customization options, such as adding logos, custom packaging, and labels, which help enhance your brand identity.
Let’s dive into the top 10 best POD apps for Shopify, with Spocket and other great options to help you start or scale your business.
Top 10 Print-on-Demand Apps for Shopify
Here is the list of the top ten print on demand apps that you can integrate into your Shopify store to source custom-printed clothes.
1. Spocket – The Best POD App for Shopify
Spocket is one of the top-rated POD apps for Shopify, offering a streamlined experience for store owners. What sets Spocket apart is its focus on high-quality, fast-shipping products from US and EU-based suppliers. This means you can offer faster delivery times to customers, particularly in the US and Europe, making it a great option if you want to ensure excellent customer satisfaction.
Key Features of Spocket
- Fast Shipping: With suppliers based in the US and EU, Spocket offers fast shipping times, typically within 1-3 days for US-based orders.
- Wide Product Selection: Spocket offers an extensive catalog of products, including apparel, accessories, home goods, and health & beauty products.
- High-Quality Products: Spocket partners with trusted suppliers, ensuring you get premium products with high-quality prints.
- Custom Branding: You can add your logo to packaging and include branded packing slips, which helps you enhance your brand identity.
- Seamless Shopify Integration: Spocket integrates directly with your Shopify store, allowing for automated order fulfillment, inventory syncing, and real-time order tracking.
- Customizable Markup: You can set your product pricing, allowing for complete control over your profit margins.
Why Spocket is the Best: Spocket offers a premium selection of POD products, especially for US and EU-based entrepreneurs, and it ensures faster delivery times, making it ideal for merchants targeting North American and European markets.
2. Printful
Printful is a well-known and highly popular POD app for Shopify that allows you to sell custom products without the hassle of inventory management. It integrates seamlessly with Shopify, offering a vast range of customizable products, including clothing, accessories, and home decor.
Key Features of Printful
- Large Product Catalog: Printful offers over 300 customizable products, including apparel, mugs, totes, posters, and more.
- Multiple Print Methods: You can choose from a variety of printing methods, such as direct-to-garment (DTG), embroidery, and sublimation printing, ensuring high-quality results.
- Global Fulfillment Centers: Printful has fulfillment centers in the US, EU, Mexico, and other regions, which helps speed up shipping and reduces international shipping costs.
- White-Label Shipping: Printful ships products in plain packaging, meaning your customers won’t see any Printful branding, making it a more professional experience.
- Integration with Shopify: Effortlessly connect Printful to your Shopify store for easy product creation, order fulfillment, and real-time tracking.
- Mockup Generator: Printful provides an easy-to-use mockup generator to create realistic product images for your store.
Why Choose Printful: Printful stands out for its high-quality printing options, large product variety, and reliable international shipping. It's a great choice if you're looking for professional-quality products and want to offer a diverse product selection.
3. Printify
Printify is another leading POD app for Shopify that is widely used due to its vast supplier network and affordable pricing. Printify works with a large number of print providers across the globe, providing a diverse range of products and fulfillment locations.
Key Features of Printify
- Diverse Supplier Network: Printify connects you with over 250 print providers from different regions, including the US, EU, and Asia, allowing you to choose the best suppliers based on price, quality, and shipping speed.
- Wide Product Range: Offers over 250 customizable products, including apparel, accessories, home goods, and more.
- Affordable Pricing: Printify’s low cost per product enables you to maintain competitive prices while maximizing your profit margins.
- Custom Branding: Add your logo to products and packing slips to enhance your branding.
- Shopify Integration: Seamlessly sync Printify with your Shopify store for automatic order fulfillment and real-time updates.
- Mockup Generator: Use Printify’s mockup generator to create professional product images that match your store’s branding.
Why Choose Printify: Printify’s global supplier network and affordable pricing make it ideal for entrepreneurs looking to offer a variety of products without spending too much on fulfillment. Its broad supplier selection allows you to optimize product quality and shipping times.
4. TeeLaunch
TeeLaunch specializes in custom apparel and lifestyle products. If your business is focused on fashion or niche products, TeeLaunch might be the perfect POD app for your Shopify store. It’s easy to use and integrates smoothly with Shopify.
Key Features of TeeLaunch
- Apparel-Focused: Specializes in customizable t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and other clothing items.
- Custom Accessories: Also offers customizable phone cases, mugs, pillows, and more.
- Simple Interface: TeeLaunch is user-friendly and designed to quickly set up your POD products.
- Affordable Pricing: Known for its low-cost products, TeeLaunch is great for entrepreneurs just starting out or working with smaller budgets.
- Shopify Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Shopify for easy product import, order fulfillment, and inventory management.
Why Choose TeeLaunch: TeeLaunch is perfect if you're focused primarily on apparel and want an easy-to-use, budget-friendly POD app for Shopify.
5. Gooten
Gooten is a highly customizable POD app with a wide range of products that can be customized and shipped globally. It’s known for its reliability and is an excellent choice for entrepreneurs looking for automation and flexibility.
Key Features of Gooten
- Large Product Range: Offers a variety of customizable products, including apparel, accessories, home decor, and stationery.
- Global Network of Suppliers: Gooten works with a network of trusted suppliers worldwide, ensuring competitive pricing and reliable fulfillment.
- Automated Order Fulfillment: The integration with Shopify allows for automated order processing, reducing the time and effort required to manage your business.
- Easy Integration: Simple integration with your Shopify store to synchronize products, orders, and inventory.
- Affordable: Gooten is known for its affordable pricing, especially for bulk orders.
Why Choose Gooten: Gooten offers a good balance of product variety, automation, and reliable fulfillment, making it a great option for those looking to run a smooth and scalable POD business.
6. T-Pop
T-Pop is an eco-conscious POD app that emphasizes sustainability, ethical sourcing, and environmentally friendly products and packaging. It's a great option for store owners who are looking to align their POD business with sustainable practices. T-Pop goes beyond just printing products; it offers a fully eco-friendly approach to running your business.
Key Features of T-Pop
- Eco-Friendly Products: T-Pop specializes in sustainable products and packaging, making it a great choice for store owners who want to minimize their environmental impact. The products are made with materials that are recyclable, biodegradable, or sourced from ethical suppliers.
- Sustainable Packaging: T-Pop focuses on green packaging, offering recyclable and compostable packing materials. You can even include eco-friendly branding such as custom stickers and inserts made from recycled paper.
- Custom Branding: You can add your brand logo to the products and packaging, ensuring that each order arrives in a fully branded, eco-conscious package.
- Shopify Integration: T-Pop integrates seamlessly with Shopify, allowing for automatic order fulfillment and easy product management. It also provides real-time tracking and updates for your orders.
Why Choose T-Pop: If sustainability is a core part of your brand’s values and you want to offer eco-friendly products, packaging, and shipping, T-Pop is the perfect solution. It’s ideal for Shopify store owners who are targeting an eco-conscious audience and want to reduce their environmental impact while running their POD business.
7. AOP+
AOP+ (Art of Print) is a UK-based POD app that focuses on high-quality and ethically sourced products, making it a great option for entrepreneurs who want to provide their customers with premium, sustainable items. It’s especially popular among creators looking to offer customized fashion and home goods, and it’s a great fit for merchants targeting the European market.
Key Features of AOP+
- Ethically Sourced Products: AOP+ is committed to sustainability and ethical sourcing. They work closely with suppliers to ensure that products are made under fair labor conditions and with sustainable materials. AOP+ offers a variety of eco-friendly options like organic cotton t-shirts and fair-trade certified items.
- Wide Product Selection: AOP+ offers a broad range of customizable products, including apparel (t-shirts, hoodies, leggings), home decor (blankets, cushions, towels), and accessories (tote bags, hats). Their high-quality products ensure a premium experience for your customers.
- Customizable Print Methods: AOP+ provides multiple print options, including screen printing and sublimation printing, which allows for vibrant colors and long-lasting designs on fabrics and other materials.
- UK and EU Fulfillment Centers: AOP+ has fulfillment centers in the UK and EU, ensuring fast shipping times for customers in these regions. This is a significant advantage for merchants targeting the European market, as it helps to minimize shipping delays and international shipping fees.
Why Choose AOP+: If you're focusing on premium, ethically sourced, and eco-friendly products, AOP+ is an excellent option. It’s especially beneficial if your target market is in Europe, and you want a reliable POD app with ethical sourcing and high-quality print options.
8. Lulu xPress
Lulu xPress is a POD app specifically designed for creators, authors, and artists who want to sell books, journals, planners, and art prints without having to manage inventory or fulfillment themselves. It’s perfect for individuals or small businesses in the self-publishing, art, or niche book industry.
Key Features of Lulu xPress
- Customizable Books: Lulu xPress specializes in print-on-demand books, offering a wide variety of sizes, formats, and paper types for self-publishers, authors, and creators. Whether you want to print hardcovers, paperbacks, or photo books, Lulu xPress provides top-notch printing and binding services.
- Global Distribution: Lulu xPress isn’t just a POD service—it also provides global distribution for your books, allowing you to sell your work through multiple channels, including major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Ingram. This can help expand your reach and generate additional revenue.
- Custom Journals and Planners: Lulu xPress also allows you to create custom journals, planners, and other printed materials, making it ideal for entrepreneurs looking to offer niche products.
- Professional Print Quality: Lulu xPress is known for its high-quality print output, ensuring your designs look vibrant and professional, whether for books or art prints.
Why Choose Lulu xPress: If you're an author, artist, or self-publisher looking to sell your books, journals, or artwork online, Lulu xPress provides a specialized POD service for creators. Its integration with Shopify allows for seamless order management and product creation, making it perfect for niche markets.
9. Scalable Press
Scalable Press is designed for high-volume print-on-demand businesses that need to produce a large number of custom products at an affordable price. It’s an ideal solution for entrepreneurs and brands looking to scale quickly without sacrificing quality.
Key Features of Scalable Press
- High-Volume Printing: Scalable Press is known for its bulk printing capabilities, especially in screen printing. If you plan to fulfill hundreds or thousands of orders, this app offers competitive pricing and efficiency at scale.
- Wide Range of Products: Scalable Press offers apparel (t-shirts, hoodies), accessories (hats, bags), and home goods (towels, blankets) that can be easily customized. It’s perfect for entrepreneurs with a broad product catalog.
- Affordable Pricing: Scalable Press focuses on affordable pricing for large orders, making it a great choice for businesses that want to produce in bulk while keeping costs low. It also offers discounted rates for large-scale orders, making it ideal for merchants who want to scale up quickly.
- Shopify Integration: Scalable Press integrates smoothly with Shopify, offering automatic order fulfillment, inventory management, and real-time tracking. This integration saves you time and effort, especially when dealing with large volumes of orders.
- Multiple Fulfillment Centers: Scalable Press operates several fulfillment centers across the US, ensuring fast and efficient shipping to customers located within North America. This also helps lower international shipping costs for US-based merchants.
Why Choose Scalable Press: If you are looking to produce a high volume of orders while keeping costs low, Scalable Press is an ideal option. Its focus on bulk production and affordable pricing makes it great for scaling up your business.
10. CustomCat
CustomCat is a powerful and affordable POD app that allows Shopify store owners to create and sell custom products, such as t-shirts, mugs, and hats, at scale. Known for its fast order processing and 24/7 customer support, CustomCat is perfect for entrepreneurs who need an easy-to-use platform and efficient fulfillment.
Key Features of CustomCat
- Wide Product Catalog: CustomCat offers a vast selection of customizable products, from clothing to accessories. With more than 200 products available, you can diversify your store offerings with various categories and styles.
- Affordable Pricing: One of CustomCat’s standout features is its affordable pricing, which makes it a popular choice for store owners who want to offer custom products without breaking the bank. The low product cost enables you to maintain competitive prices and higher profit margins.
- 24/7 Customer Support: CustomCat is known for providing exceptional customer support, available around the clock to resolve any issues you may encounter. Whether you need help with orders, product customization, or account management, their support team is ready to assist.
- Quick Fulfillment: CustomCat prides itself on its fast fulfillment times. Orders are typically processed within 24-48 hours, ensuring quick turnaround times and fast shipping to customers.
- Shopify Integration: CustomCat integrates directly with Shopify, allowing you to automate order processing, product management, and fulfillment. This integration streamlines your business operations and ensures a seamless workflow.
Why Choose CustomCat: CustomCat is perfect for entrepreneurs who want a cost-effective POD solution with fast fulfillment and solid customer support. Its large product catalog and easy integration with Shopify make it an excellent choice for startups and growing businesses.
Conclusion
Choosing the best POD app for Shopify depends on factors like product selection, shipping speed, and brand customization. Spocket stands out as a top choice for Shopify users, offering fast shipping and high-quality products sourced from the US and EU, which ensures quick delivery and premium quality. While apps like Printful and Printify provide global reach and flexibility, Spocket’s focus on quality and speed makes it an ideal choice for sellers looking to offer premium products globally.