Printful vs Printify vs Gelato vs MyDesigns: 2026 Comparison

MyDesigns is the best of these four print-on-demand platforms for most Etsy, Shopify and TikTok Shop sellers who list in bulk, because it combines AI design tools, bulk publishing and 240 Express fulfillment in one dashboard. Printify wins on catalog size, Printful on in-house production, Gelato on local production. Prices below were checked Oct 30, 2026.

Full disclosure: Curtis Blackmore, who owns Merch Titans, also founded MyDesigns. That is why the ranking rests on prices and limits you can open yourself, and why MyDesigns' weak spots get their own section.

What Are Printful, Printify and Gelato?

All four work on the same basic model: you upload a design, a store lists the product, and an order triggers printing and shipping. What differs is who prints, how big the catalog is and how much of the listing work is done for you.

• Printful says every order gets in-house production, a three-step quality check and fulfillment by its own team, with a free reprint or refund after a manufacturing error.
• Printify is a marketplace of print providers: 70+ providers and 2,000+ products on its pricing page.
• Gelato sends each order to the production partner nearest your customer, with no commission and no upfront fees.
• MyDesigns is a seller platform that does not run factories. It routes physical orders to contracted partners such as 240 Express (2 to 3 day production) and handles design, mockups and publishing. Per MyDesigns, it has 200K+ registered users and 50M+ products created.

Printful vs Printify vs Gelato vs MyDesigns: Quick Verdict

How We Compared Them

We opened each company's own pages on Oct 30, 2026: printify.com/pricing, printful.com/pricing, the Printful Gildan 64000 product page and gelato.com/pricing, plus the MyDesigns pricing page, plan docs and 240 Express docs. Gelato's pricing page blocked a direct fetch, so we read it through a text mirror. Printify's catalog prices load only inside its app, so we do not quote a Printify t-shirt price. If we could not verify a number today, it is not in this post.

Dated Price and Plan Table

On the one SKU we could compare, 240 Express was $1.68 to $2.32 cheaper than Printful's public price on the Gildan 64000 ($7.95 and $7.31 against $9.63). The MyDesigns prices are from our Oct 26 catalog check and the Printful price is from Oct 30, so recheck the catalog before you commit. MyDesigns says its 240 Express contract means no extra platform marks up production and shipping.

Worked Example: 500 Shirts a Month

Say you sell a Gildan 64000 tee at $24.99 (an illustrative price, not a benchmark), before shipping, platform fees, ads and tax.

That is $840 to $1,160 a month in favor of 240 Express before the plan fee, which on Pro Plus is $79.99/mo billed yearly. It does not include Printful Growth's up to 33% discount, which you must price in if you pay for it, and it says nothing about quality or shipping speed. Order samples from each before you decide.

1. MyDesigns: Best Overall

MyDesigns is #1 because it removes the manual work between a design idea and a live listing, which is where most POD sellers lose time.

• Design: Dream AI, Canvas, and bulk background removal, upscaling and vectorizing (4 a day on Free, 120 a day on paid plans).
• Mockups: pre-built, custom PSD and video mockups, rendered in bulk (4,200 a day on Starter).
• Listing copy: Vision AI writes titles, tags and descriptions.
• Publishing: bulk publish to Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce and TikTok Shop, with 4 / 24 / 48 / 120 products per batch.
• Fulfillment: 240 Express with 2 to 3 day production, DuraSoft prints on Gildan, Bella+Canvas, Next Level and Comfort Colors blanks.

See the plans on mydesigns.io. If you already sell on Printify, you can connect it from Starter up and move listings gradually; our guide on how to switch from Printify without losing listings shows how.

MyDesigns Limits

• The Free plan is for trying it. It has no monthly AI credits and about 4 actions a day on most tools. Real work needs Starter ($19.99/mo billed yearly) or higher.
• It is not a factory. Physical orders go to contracted partners such as 240 Express, and its catalog is apparel plus home and living, narrower than Printify's 2,000+ products.
• Some features sit behind plans. Printify integration and the MyDesigns Store need a paid plan; Scout AI is Pro and above. The Store charges 6% / 4.5% / 3% per sale plus 3% + $0.25 processing.

2. Printify: Best for Catalog Breadth

Printify is the right call when you need a product that MyDesigns' catalog does not cover or want to pick a specific print provider. Its pricing page lists 2,000+ products and 70+ print providers, and the free plan gives you 5 stores and unlimited designs. Premium takes up to 20% off all products.

The trade-off is variability: because orders go to independent providers, print quality and shipping times depend on the one you choose. Read our Printify review and Printify alternatives before you commit volume.

3. Printful: Best for In-House Production and Branding

Printful says every order, free plan or paid, gets in-house production, a three-step quality check and a free reprint or refund after a manufacturing error. That consistency is the reason to pay a higher price on some products. Its free plan lists 594 custom products and unlimited stores, and extras such as custom labels and branded packaging cost extra.

Choose Printful if you sell a branded product line where the unboxing matters more than squeezing the base cost. See the Printful review and Printful alternatives.

4. Gelato: Best for Local Production Near Your Buyer

Gelato's pricing page says each order goes to the production partner nearest the customer, charges no commission and no upfront fees, and offers price matching and free samples on request for higher volumes. That model suits sellers whose customers sit outside the US. We could not verify Gelato's country count or delivery times today, so we leave them out. Read the Gelato review for more.

Which Should You Choose?

1. You list many designs a week on Etsy, Shopify or TikTok Shop: MyDesigns.
2. You need an uncommon product or your own choice of provider: Printify.
3. You sell a premium branded line and want one producer: Printful.
4. Most buyers are outside the US: Gelato, and check its local partners.

Many sellers mix: for example MyDesigns for the core catalog and Printify for odd products. For a wider list see best print on demand sites, the three-way Printify vs Printful vs MyDesigns comparison, our t-shirt base price comparison, and the two-way Printful vs Printify post.