Redbubble vs Society6 — Which Platform Pays Artists More in 2026?

The Redbubble vs Society6 debate has been going since both platforms launched. Artists spend weeks agonizing over which one to join, as if choosing one means abandoning the other forever.

Here's the reality: both platforms let you upload the same designs, neither requires exclusivity, and the artists making real money use both simultaneously. The question isn't which platform to pick. It's how to optimize for each platform's strengths.

We've analyzed thousands of artist earnings reports, product quality tests, and traffic data from both platforms. The differences are real but more nuanced than most comparison articles suggest.

What Is the Redbubble vs Society6 Comparison About?

Both platforms handle everything - production, shipping, customer service, and returns. You upload art, set your preferences, and earn royalties when products sell. The key differences lie in how much you earn per sale, what products are available, who's buying, and how much traffic each platform generates.

Earnings: Redbubble Gives You More Control

Redbubble's Markup Model

Redbubble lets artists set their own markup percentage above the base price. The default is 20%, but you can adjust it from 0% to whatever you want.

Practical example on a standard t-shirt:

• Base price: ~$20.00
• Artist markup at 20%: You earn $4.00
• Artist markup at 30%: You earn $6.00
• Artist markup at 15%: You earn $3.00

You control the tradeoff between higher margins and competitive pricing. Most successful Redbubble artists land between 15-25% markup depending on the product category.

Society6's Fixed Royalty Model

Society6 pays a flat 10% royalty on most products, with the notable exception of art prints where artists set their own retail price.

Practical example on a standard t-shirt:

• Retail price: ~$30.00 (Society6 sets this)
• Your royalty at 10%: $3.00
• No ability to adjust pricing on most products

Redbubble pays more per unit on most products because you control the markup. However, Society6's higher retail prices mean the platform attracts buyers who expect to spend more, which affects the overall revenue picture.

Product Range: Redbubble Has More Options

Redbubble Products

Redbubble offers 80+ product types including:

• Apparel (t-shirts, hoodies, dresses, leggings)
• Stickers (their highest-volume category)
• Phone cases
• Home decor (pillows, shower curtains, clocks)
• Wall art (prints, canvas, posters)
• Accessories (tote bags, scarves, masks)
• Stationery (journals, notebooks)

Stickers are Redbubble's secret weapon. They're impulse buys with low price points, and a single design can sell hundreds of stickers while barely selling any t-shirts. Many top Redbubble artists earn more from stickers than any other product type.

Society6 Products

Society6 offers roughly 50 product types with a notable emphasis on home decor:

• Wall art (prints, framed prints, canvas)
• Home decor (throw pillows, blankets, rugs, curtains)
• Tech accessories (phone cases, laptop sleeves)
• Lifestyle (tote bags, water bottles, travel mugs)
• Furniture (stools, credenzas, side tables)
• Outdoor (patio furniture, outdoor pillows)

Society6's home decor and furniture category is genuinely unique in the POD space. No other major marketplace lets artists sell their designs on credenzas, shower curtains, and outdoor furniture. If your art style suits interior design and home staging, Society6 has products that Redbubble simply doesn't offer.

Traffic and Buyer Demographics

Redbubble's Audience

Redbubble attracts a younger, pop-culture-oriented buyer. The typical Redbubble customer is looking for:

• Fandom and pop culture merchandise
• Funny and meme-driven designs
• Stickers and small accessories
• Affordable, casual products

Redbubble's organic traffic is significantly higher than Society6's, driven by strong SEO on product pages and a massive catalog that captures long-tail search queries.

Society6's Audience

Society6 attracts a more design-conscious, home-decor-focused buyer. The typical Society6 customer is looking for:

• Art prints and wall decor
• Coordinated home decor items
• Aesthetic and curated products
• Higher-quality, premium items

Society6 buyers have higher average order values but lower purchase frequency. They're decorating spaces, not impulse-buying stickers.

Print Quality Comparison

We ordered the same design on identical product types from both platforms:

T-shirts: Redbubble's print quality has improved significantly and now matches Society6 on most shirt styles. Both use DTG printing with similar vibrancy and durability.

Wall art/prints: Society6 has a slight edge in paper quality and color accuracy for art prints. Their fine art prints use archival paper with better color reproduction.

Home decor products: Society6 wins here. The construction quality of pillows, blankets, and home items feels more premium, which justifies the higher retail prices.

Stickers: Redbubble wins by default since Society6 doesn't sell stickers. Redbubble's sticker quality is excellent - durable, waterproof, and vibrant.

Why Smart Artists Use Both (Plus More)

The artists earning serious money from print on demand aren't loyal to one platform. They treat each marketplace as a distribution channel and optimize for each one's strengths.

The multi-platform strategy:

1. Redbubble: Upload everything. Enable all products. Let the sticker and apparel sales compound.
2. Society6: Upload art-focused, pattern, and home-decor-suitable designs. Optimize for wall art and premium products.
3. Amazon Merch: Upload your best-selling apparel designs. Largest marketplace, highest potential volume.
4. Etsy: Upload unique, customizable, and niche-specific designs. Different buyer than any of the above.
5. MyDesigns: Your highest-margin channel. Build a branded storefront selling both physical products and digital downloads of your artwork.

Each platform you add doesn't just increase revenue linearly. It compounds. A design that gets 10 sales on Redbubble might get 5 on Society6, 20 on Amazon, 8 on Etsy, and 15 on MyDesigns. That's 58 total sales from the same design versus 10 on a single platform.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Marketplace Dependency

Both Redbubble and Society6 can change their royalty structure, algorithm, or terms of service at any time. And they do.

Redbubble reduced royalties in 2020 and changed its algorithm multiple times since then. Artists who relied solely on Redbubble income saw earnings drop 50%+ overnight. Society6 has made similar changes with less publicity.

The artists who weathered those changes without financial stress had one thing in common: they weren't dependent on any single platform.

Building on MyDesigns gives you a channel that you control. Your pricing, your margins, your customer relationships. Marketplace platforms are distribution channels. Your own storefront is your business.

Quick Decision Guide

Prioritize Redbubble if:

• Your designs are graphic, bold, and pop-culture adjacent
• Stickers and affordable products fit your brand
• You want the largest built-in audience
• Volume and catalog breadth are your strategy

Prioritize Society6 if:

• Your art is fine-art, photography, or pattern-focused
• Home decor and premium products match your style
• You want a curated, design-forward platform
• Higher average order value matters more than volume

Use both, plus MyDesigns, if:

• You're serious about building a sustainable POD income
• You want the highest total earnings from your artwork
• You understand that diversification isn't optional, it's survival

Stop debating Redbubble vs Society6. Upload to both, sell on both, and spend your decision-making energy on what actually moves the needle: creating better art, researching better niches, and building a multi-platform business that no single algorithm change can break.