When you are starting your POD business, there are many aspects you need to manage and streamline.
Choosing the right tool is paramount in facilitating your POD processes, leaving you more time to focus on other key business parameters.
The large number of POD tools available can make it hard to know where to start and what to choose.
That’s why we’ve curated our list of 12 POD solutions spanning all the major categories so you can choose the best platform for print-on-demand.
Let’s dive in!
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12 Best Platforms for Print-on-Demand Businesses
Our list of best platforms for POD businesses comprises tools covering all major print-on-demand aspects, providing a great starting point.
Here’s a quick overview of what awaits you.
1. Best Mockup Generator Platforms
1.1. Dynamic Mockups
Dynamic Mockups is a robust automated mockup generator tool for POD businesses. One of its strongest suits is that it allows you to create a large number of high-quality mockups.
Other noteworthy features include:
- Bulk Create
It lets you upload multiple designs and color combinations, so you don’t have to create them manually. Instead, you can make 100 mockup variations in 10 seconds.
- API feature that allows you to create and customize Mockups from Photoshop templates at scale.
Whether you want to create your own mockup or find a Photoshop mockup, you can:
- Customize them to reflect your brand,
- Upload it to our platform, and
- Automate the mockup creation.
- Integration with Etsy that allows you to upload images on your eCommerce store directly from our app and eliminate tedious manual upload.
- Design Library
It provides a great storage place for all your designs in a single location so you can easily find them and apply any uploaded designs to new mockups.
Additional Major Features
✨ Free Mockup Library— A constantly growing free library with mockups spanning T-shirts, Hoodies, Wall art, Pillows, Blankets, Tote Bags, Phone Cases, etc.
✨ Advanced Editing Tools — Provide numerous options to edit and change your designs, including
- Countless color edits thanks to the color picker and integrated Printful and Printify color combinations.
- More realistic designs due to various Photoshop blending modes.
- Flexible layout so you can perfectly place your assets, move and resize them, automate fitting modes, do post-adjustments, etc., in your designs.
Pricing
Dynamic Mockups is currently free to use, but we will soon launch a paid version.
1.2. Placeit
Placeit is a design platform that enables you to create mockups, logos, videos, etc., for marketing, branding, and eCommerce purposes.
Its stellar feature is a vast and versatile Template Library with customizable templates and design assets.
Key Features
✨ Template Library — A rich library with thousands of templates spanning multiple categories and subcategories and covering mockups, logos, designs, etc.
✨ My Placeit — A place where you can store and organize your designs, create multiple folders, move designs from one folder to another, etc.
✨ Image Editing Tools — Comprise tools such as BG remover, image resizer, video cropper, brand kit assets, etc.
✨ Blank Canvas – Allows you to create your designs from scratch.
Pricing
Placeit’s pricing starts at $3.99 per month.
You can access all of Placeit’s mockups, design templates, videos, and logos for $5.99 per month or $47.99 per year.
2. Best eCommerce Platforms
2.1. Shopify
Shopify is an eCommerce platform that provides the tools and services to create, customize, and manage online stores.
It is user-friendly, easy to set up, and allows you to sell on social media.
Shopify automatically updates listings when products are out of stock.
Key Features
✨ Online Store Creation — Allows you to create and design your online stores with customizable templates, themes, and drag-and-drop tools.
✨ eCommerce Features — Includes product listings, inventory management, order processing, secure payment gateways, and shipping integration.
✨ Multi-Channel Selling — Enables you to sell products across multiple sales channels, including your online store, social media platforms, and marketplaces.
✨ Analytics and Reporting — Provides sales reports and performance metrics to track key eCommerce metrics, monitor sales trends, analyze customer behavior, etc.
Pricing
Shopify has 4 Premium plans starting at $32 monthly, with a 3-day Free Trial.
2.2. Wix
Wix is a platform for small businesses that enables them to build an online store with a drag-and-drop editor.
It also allows you to sell your products on your website and marketplaces, as well as in-store.
Wix provides fully customizable website templates spanning Fashion, Electronics, Home&Decor and other categories.
Key Features
✨ Abandoned Cart Recovery — Send automated emails to remind visitors they left items in the cart.
✨ Wix Multilingual — Currency converter with more than 80 payment providers.
✨ Pre-orders — Let customers pre-order products before you launch them or when they’re out of stock.
✨ Back-in-stock Notifications — Notify customers when a product is back in stock.
✨ Product Reviews — Collects and displays customer feedback and reviews.
Pricing
Wix has 4 Premium Plans starting at $17 monthly with a 14-day Free Trial.
3. Best eCommerce Marketplaces
3.1. Etsy
Etsy is a popular eCommerce marketplace for handmade, vintage, and artisanal products.
Thus, it is a good choice for small businesses and PODs focusing on distinctive or niche-specific designs.
Key Features
✨ Customization — Enables you to customize your store layout and banner, incorporate storytelling elements, etc.
✨ Seller Tools — Various tools for managing listings, inventory, orders, shipping, and promotions.
✨ Reviews and Ratings — A review and rating system that allows buyers to provide feedback on their purchases, share their experiences, and rate sellers.
✨ Payment Processing —Includes various payment methods, including credit cards, PayPal, and Etsy’s payment system
Pricing
Etsy has a flat fee of $0.20 and various transaction fees.
3.2. Amazon
Amazon is a go-to platform if you look for a wide range of products for a large customer base.
To sell your POD products, you should create an account, list your products, and upload your designs.
Key Features
✨ Merch on Demand — Allows you to create and sell custom products while Amazon handles production, shipping, and customer service.
✨ Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) — Amazon handles storage, packing, shipping, and customer service for orders placed on the platform.
✨ Seller Central — A centralized platform to manage listings, track sales, monitor performance metrics, and access marketing, inventory management, and other tools.
✨ Sponsored Products & Sponsored Brands — Help promote your POD products to reach a broader audience.
Pricing
Amazon’s Individual plan starts at $0.99 per item sold, and the Professional Plan is $39.99 monthly.
4. Best POD Supplier Platforms
4.1. Printful
Printful is a POD dropshipping and fulfillment service that offers a wide range of features to help you create, sell, and fulfill custom-designed products.
It also integrates with popular eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, etc., allowing you to sync your online stores with Printful.
Key Features
✨ Product Catalog — A diverse catalog of customizable products, including apparel, accessories, home decor, etc.
✨ White-Label Branding — Allows you to label products with custom logos, labels, and packaging.
✨ Automatic Order Fulfillment — Automates order processing, production, and shipping with no minimum order quantities.
✨ Product Customization — Offers a variety of customization options, such as embroidery, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, sublimation printing, etc.
Pricing
There are no monthly or membership fees — Printful charges for ordered products.
4.2. Gelato
Gelato is a print-on-demand fulfillment platform that allows you to design and sell custom products via different partner fulfillment centers.
It has API integration possibilities to connect eCommerce platforms, apps, or websites with Gelato.
Key Features
✨ Product Catalog — Offers various customizable products, including apparel, accessories, home decor, stationery, etc. you can personalize.
✨ Automatic Order Processing — Automates the order processing, production, and fulfillment process.
✨ Real-Time Tracking — Provides real-time tracking and monitoring of orders, production status, shipping updates, and delivery notifications.
✨ Analytics tools — Enable you to get valuable insights into your customer behavior, sales trends, and business performance.
Pricing
Gelato has 1 Free and 3 Premium Plans, starting from $24 per month.
5. Best Automation Platforms for POD
5.1. Customily
Customily is a product customization tool that allows your customers to personalize your products and modify parameters like text, styles, colors, etc.
It offers integrations with eCommerce sites like Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.
Key Features
✨ Automatic fulfillment — Automatically sends orders to fulfill with Customily’s POD partners or exports orders on a CSV file for you to work with any POD supplier.
✨ Ready-to-print files — Allows you to select the desired format and download all of your production files, ready to print, laser cut, engrave, or embroider.
✨ Design Studio — Provides text and map personalization, image and vector upload, etc., to further create and personalize your products.
✨ Social Shopping — Enables your customers to share their personalized creations on social media platforms.
Pricing
The pricing depends on the eCommerce platform you use. It starts from $49 monthly, with a 9-day Free Trial.
5.2. Flying Upload
Flying Upload is a POD business solution that allows you to upload your listings on multiple platforms, such as Amazon, Redbubble, Zazzle, Spreadshirt, Printful, etc.
It offers more than automatic upload tools, so it hosts features to help you find profitable niches or best sellers, get keyword suggestions, comply with trademarks, etc.
Key Features
✨ Stock Uploader — Lets you upload your designs and AI-generated images to various stock platforms.
✨ Automatic Upload — Enables you to upload listings to multiple platforms.
✨ Central Storage — Allows you to manage all your designs in one place.
✨ Reuse Listing — Enables you to apply existing listings to new files or platforms.
Pricing
Flying Upload has 1 Free and multiple Premium Plans, whose prices depend on features and functionalities.
The plans start from $13.70 monthly.
6. Best Design Platforms
6.1. Canva
Canva is a graphic design tool that offers many customizable templates for creating versatile designs.
It is easy to use, making it beginner-friendly, and it integrates with various design and graphic apps, such as Magic Media, Magic Morph, ColorMix, etc.
Key Features
✨ Asset Management — Allows you to centralize all your content and brand assets with different access permissions.
✨ Design Elements — Cover various tools, such as Photo effects, Image enhancer, Cropping tools, multiple fonts and styles, icons, etc.
✨ Template Library — A large collection of pre-designed templates and stock images, including logos, infographics, prints, photo collages, etc.
✨ Brand Kits — Lets you create, upload, and apply your brand or campaign’s colors, fonts, and logos to your design.
Pricing
Canva offers 1 Free and 2 Premium Plans, starting from $10 monthly.
6.2. Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a design tool for creating and editing complex and more advanced designs and videos.
Therefore, it suits professional designers or people with more advanced design skills.
With Adobe Photoshop, you can create raster graphics and edit and manipulate photos and visuals.
Key Features
✨ Retouch — Replace image elements, refine blurry objects and edges, blur areas, etc.
✨ Filters — Access more than 30 Adjustment Presets to change images.
✨ Image Adjustments — Offers various tools to combine images, add and remove content from images, edit colors and tone, etc.
✨ Text to Image — Enables you to produce custom creations featuring anything from people to places.
Pricing
Adobe Photoshop has 2 Business Plans, starting from $37.99 per month.
Which Platform Should You Opt For?
When you start your POD business it is very easy to get overwhelmed with so many options out there.
In addition, you want to propel your business and include all the available options and tools to streamline your operations.
However, when you are starting, it is paramount to prioritize and go for tools that are really essential in the beginning.
Which tools are those? Mockup generators.
Mockups are the basis of any POD business, allowing your customers to get to know your brand and products.
Furthermore, more robust mockup generators enable eCommerce integrations, making them invaluable assets in expanding your POD business.
Our solution, Dynamic Mockups, can help you do just that — Easily create high-quality mockups and display them on eCommerce platforms.
It provides robust and advanced solutions to cut costs and time and eliminate lengthy manual design edits and uploads.
With high customization options and bulk creations, our tool can help you stand out in the crowded market and create product designs that resonate better with your target audience.
Ready to give it a try?
Join Dynamic Mockups for free to take your POD business to a new level.
Start creating for Free!
Showcase your E-commerce products like big brands, without costing a fortune
Keep Learning:
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