As you know, two popular POD solutions are Gelato and Printify.
While both platforms provide supplier options for POD businesses of all sizes, each has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, making the choice challenging.
We’ve done the hard work for you by creating this comprehensive Gelato vs. Printify comparison to help you make an informed decision.
Let’s dive in!
Gelato vs. Printify: A Quick Comparison
For a quick preview of the main differences between Gelato and Printify, check out the table below.
| Gelato | Printify | |
| Best For | Global fulfillment with local production. | Wide range of suppliers and competitive pricing. |
| Product Range | Limited but high-quality selection. | Extensive variety with many supplier options. |
| Product Catalog | 150+ products | 900+ products |
| Integrations | Integrates with 12 eCommerce platforms. | Integrates with 11 eCommerce platforms. |
| Fulfillment & Shipping | Faster delivery with local production in multiple countries. | Varies by supplier, some have longer shipping times. |
| Mockup Generator | Basic but effective mockup tools. | More advanced mockup options. |
| Pricing | 1 Free Plan and 2 Premium plans starting from $25 per month, and 1 Customizable Plan. | Free and a Premium plan starting at $29 a month and 1 Customizable Plan. |
Gelato: Overview
Gelato is a POD platform that integrates with eCommerce platforms like Etsy, Shopify, eBay, and others, enabling you to offer customized products without handling inventory.
It serves as a link between you and the nearest printing partner to your customer, ensuring faster and more reliable shipping.
Unlike competitors such as Printify, Gelato focuses on local production and ethical practices, making it a top choice for eco-conscious brands aiming to minimize their environmental impact.
Gelato: Key Features
1. Localized Production & Fast Delivery
Gelato provides fast turnaround times, thanks to its extensive partner network, which allows most orders to be processed near your customers’ locations through local print providers.
The algorithm automatically selects the nearest print facility to the customer’s location, ensuring that they produce 95% of orders locally.
This reduces carbon emissions and speeds up delivery.
Also, Gelato emphasizes sustainability certifications (e.g., FSC, GOTS) and uses 100% sustainable paper/wood sources.
Gelato offers three shipping options:
Standard shipping: 3 – 5 business days (domestic).
Expedited shipping: 2-3 business days.
Overnight shipping: 1-2 business days (available in some regions).
For international orders, delivery times vary between 2 to 10 business days, depending on the destination and shipping method.
Additionally, you can monitor Gelato orders via a centralized dashboard, which provides updates from production to delivery.
2. Catalog of POD Products
Gelato’s product catalog is smaller compared to Printify’s, but it still provides a variety of products available for customization.
The catalog includes products such as:
In addition, it lets you create branded merchandise from popular brands like Champion, Under Armour, Independent, Econscious, and more.
3. Design and Customization Tools
Gelato offers a variety of free and paid design and customization features, with a strong emphasis on personalization.
Free design tools let you add names, messages, or photos to products during checkout.
Additionally, you’ll receive email links to modify designs after placing an order or add custom labels or inserts without extra shipping steps.
The personalization studio offers a real-time design preview, allowing you to see text and image edits live, minimizing miscommunication.
Furthermore, it integrates seamlessly with eCommerce platforms such as Etsy, enabling you to personalize directly on the platform and automate order processing.
Mockup studio lets you create custom product mockups by selecting from a range of background scenes.
You can adjust the product’s size and position within the scene, and add multiple layers such as logos, text, and graphics.
4. Price Navigator
Gelato’s Price Navigator is a premium pricing tool, available only to Gelato+ Gold subscribers, designed to help print-on-demand businesses optimize profit margins and simplify bulk pricing adjustments.
With Price Navigator, you can:
- View product and shipping costs in various countries and currencies, although store listings will default to your platform’s currency.
- Track previous price changes and revert to earlier pricing strategies when necessary.
- Use filters to adjust prices for multiple products at once (e.g., increase prices for all apparel by 15%).
- Hover over a product to compare your price with market averages, helping you identify opportunities to undercut competitors.
5. Printing Techniques
Gelato’s printing methods prioritize high-quality, sustainable production for apparel and home goods.
Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printing involves spraying water-based inks directly onto fabric using specialized printers. Heat presses or dryers then set the ink to ensure durability.
This method is not ideal for synthetic fabrics or large bulk orders.
However, it is perfect for small batches of T-shirts, hoodies, or similar apparel, as it allows for greater attention to detail.
Gelato offers Embroidery, allowing you to add personalized stitching to products like hats, sweatshirts, and bags.
The Direct to Film (DTF) printing method is used occasionally, depending on location and availability, for areas like the inner neck, sleeves, and front.
This method helps ensure faster production and delivery times for our customers.
Pricing
Gelato offers 1 Free plan, 2 Paid Plans starting at $25, and 1 Platinum Plan with customizable pricing.
Gelato: Pros & Cons
A worldwide network of production partners.
Responsive customer support.
Seamless integration with Shopify or Etsy.
A more limited product selection compared to other POD providers.
Users have reported defects in mugs, such as blurry prints and inconsistent quality
No sublimation or screen printing options.
Printify: Overview
Printify is a worldwide print-on-demand (POD) platform that links merchants with a network of print providers to create and ship custom products without the need for upfront inventory costs.
Since 2015, it has streamlined the POD process for businesses, emphasizing ease of use, product variety, and scalability.
Printify’s workflow is efficient as users select products, design them using free tools, and sync listings to platforms like Shopify, Etsy, or Amazon.
Orders are automatically routed to the nearest print provider for production and shipping, ensuring quick delivery without any upfront costs.
Printify: Key Features
1. Pop-up Store
Printify Pop-Up lets you swiftly create your online store and share a personalized link to sell print-on-demand products with no commissions and a simple setup process.
With the pop-up store, there’s no need to pay for a domain or have advanced SEO knowledge, as the setup is already taken care of.
2. Product Catalog
Printify’s product catalog is bigger than Gelatos, offering the products in categories such as:
- Apparel
- Kids clothing
- Accessories
- Home decor
All products are customizable, and the latest additions can be found in the Supplement category.
3. Mockup Generator
Printify’s Mockup Generator allows sellers to create and preview mockups on products with customizable backgrounds, boosting the professionalism of listings.
To save time, users can create product templates, such as a reusable t-shirt design with placeholders for names or dates.
With Mockup Generator, you can:
Experiment with over 1000 templates to match your design ideas.
Easily remove image backgrounds with a single click or refine the edges manually using the AI background removal feature.
Preview embroidered designs on hats, bags, or home decor with 3D previews for a more realistic look.
4. AI Image Generator
Printify’s AI Image Generator is designed to transform your creative ideas into professional-quality products.
It uses text prompts to generate entirely unique designs that you can add to your products.
You can enter any prompt you like or try an example, and within seconds, the AI-generated image will be ready for editing.
Additionally, you can select a design style and customize the prompts to match that style.
5. Bulk Discounts
Ideal for high-volume sellers, Printify offers Bulk Discounts, allowing you to save up to 20%. However, these discounts are available only to Premium users.
Discounts apply automatically when ordering multiple units of the same product, such as 10 or more hoodies.
Additionally, a dashboard now highlights discounted products and displays savings per order.
Pricing
Printify offers a Free plan, a Premium plan starting at $29 per month, and a Customizable plan.
Printify: Pros & Cons
Drag-and-drop mockups and pre-built templates simplify workflows.
Largest catalog in POD, including apparel, home decor, and accessories.
Dedicated account managers and custom API integrations for high-volume sellers.
Products may vanish due to supplier changes, forcing relisting.
Free/Premium tiers lack phone assistance.
Limited branding options.
Gelato vs. Printify: The Final Battle
Now that you’re familiar with both POD suppliers, we understand that choosing between them can still be challenging, as each offers unique benefits and specific drawbacks.
If you prioritize eco-friendly production, a network of 140+ printing partners in 32 countries, and competitive pricing, Gelato may be the better option.
However, if a larger product catalog, advanced design tools, and greater flexibility with eCommerce integrations are more important to you, Printify might be the ideal choice.
While both tools strive in the POD business, we cannot forget about the first step in eCommerce sale – mockup creation.
While both Gelato and Printify provide mockup design tools, their primary focus remains on shipping.
However, there is another POD solution that prioritizes mockup design and customization features, along with API functionality.
Enter – Dynamic Mockups!
Why Should You Choose Dynamic Mockups?
Dynamic Mockups is a powerful mockup generator built specifically for POD businesses.
It enables you to create, customize, and personalize mockups in bulk, simplifying tasks that would otherwise be time-consuming and repetitive.
With our features, you can:
Generate mockups in bulk by uploading multiple designs and color variations, enabling you to create 100 mockups in just 10 seconds.
Dynamic Mockups – Free Bulk Mockup Generator with Photoshop Templates
Explore our Free Mockup Template Library, featuring fully customizable mockups for hoodies, home décor, wall art, phone cases, mugs, and other popular POD categories.
Select a mockup from our library and customize your designs with:
- Flexible layouts,
- Unlimited color variations using integrated Printful and Printify color options,
- Photoshop blending modes for enhanced depth and realism
Or apply pixel-perfect placement to your designs in one click.
Use our API to automate the placement and adjustment of designs in Photoshop files with smart objects.
Store your designs in our Design Library and quickly apply them to new mockups whenever needed.
Access advanced features with integrations for WordPress and Etsy, with Shopify integration coming soon.
Take control of the creation process and printing quality with our embeddable iFrame mockup editor.
This feature lets you design your products directly on your site, eliminating the need for third-party tools and offering even more customization options.
Ready to give Dynamic Mockups a try?
Sign up for free and take your POD journey to the next level with Dynamic Mockups unique tools!
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