Prodigi or Printful: Which option is better for your print on demand business? If you want a quick answer, I honestly think Printful is one of the best POD platforms available for anyone.
It’s the more scalable, versatile, and powerful option, with better design tools and more integration options for various sales channels.
However, if you’re looking for a very straightforward platform, with very low product costs, Prodigi is still a great choice.
I examined the core features and benefits of both platforms in depth, to bring you this simple comparison guide that should help you make the right choice.
Quick Verdict, Pros and Cons
Overall, I recommend using Printful if you want a highly scalable, flexible, and intuitive platform with lots of high-quality products to choose from, and fantastic design tools. It even gives you more ways to sell your print on demand creations online.
I’d only really recommend Prodigi to those who want a simplistic platform, heavily focused on eco-conscious printing, and fulfillment.
Prodigi Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Over 500,000 customizable products
- Local printing and eco-friendly shipping
- Integrations with platforms like Shopify and Etsy
- Straightforward design tools
- Free to use with reasonable product costs
- Fast production times
Cons:
- Fewer integrations than Printful
- Not as many customization options
- Variations in print quality
Printful Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Fantastic customization options
- Exceptional mockup generator and design tools
- Brilliant range of integration options
- Consistent product quality
- Add-on services and premium plan options
- Better interface for business leaders
Cons:
- Customer support can be a little slow
- Potentially fewer product choices
Prodigi vs Printful: The Features Side-by-Side
Both Prodigi and Printful are easy-to-use print on demand platforms that offer access to various high-quality, customizable products you can sell through a range of channels.
They have a lot in common, such as eco-friendly printing options, global fulfillment support, and free plans for beginners.
However, there are some major differences between these platforms that stand out when you put them to the test for yourself (like I did).
Product Variety and Customization
First, Prodigi definitely looks like it has more products to choose from than Printful (more than 500,000). However, I did notice that most of the items available are variations of the same product.
For instance, there are dozens of different types of t-shirt to choose from. Although, there are some unique options to choose from, like games, photo tiles, wooden prints, and so on.
Prodigi also specializes in eco-conscious and sustainable products, which is great if you’re worried about the planet.
The company even partners with global suppliers to ensure “local” production of products, reducing the supply chain when it comes to getting products to your customers.
That doesn’t mean that Printful isn’t eco-friendly, however. There are plenty of sustainable products available from this platform too.
However, Printful has fewer products overall (over 350). The platform does, however, give you more ways to customize your products with things like embroidery, and all-over print.
What really stood out to me when I was testing these two platforms, however, is that Printful’s design tools are a lot more intuitive.
Although Prodigi’s design maker is fine, Printful gives you more free assets you can add to products, and a better mockup generator for creating lifestyle images.
Prodigi vs Printful: Product Quality
It’s hard to get a clear view of the product quality you’ll get from any print on demand platform. Even if you order samples, quality can vary based on your design files, the items you choose to create, and more.
The good news is that Printful has an excellent reputation for consistently excellent quality.
Most customers say the items they create with Printful always feature crisp, clean prints, excellent materials, and very few mistakes or issues.
This is probably because Printful invests in cutting-edge machinery, and a comprehensive “quality assurance” process.
Prodigi also promises exceptional quality, but I have noticed a few reviews online saying that the print quality can vary between items.
Some people also suggest certain products, like t-shirts, can be a little flimsy and transparent compared to what you get from Printful.
That being said, Prodigi’s base product costs are a little cheaper than Printful’s, particularly if you buy items in bulk.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to achieve higher profits – particularly if you can’t rely on consistent quality, so keep that in mind.
Plus, it’s worth noting that Printful has recently reduced the base cost of its items, making them a lot more affordable.
Integrations and Fulfillment
Both Prodigi and Printful offer worldwide fulfillment options, with distribution centers worldwide to ensure items can reach your customers as quickly as possible.
Prodigi does promise slightly faster fulfillment for some products, saying some options can be shipped to customers within two days.
However, it’s worth noting Printful offers some specific “fast delivery” products too.
Additionally, Printful gives you a lot more options for where you can sell your products.
While Prodigi offers easy integrations with Squarespace, Etsy, Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, Printful provides dozens of platforms to choose from.
Alongside all the channels that Prodigi supports, Printful also integrations with options like TikTok Shop, Webflow, Square Online, Storenvy, Ecwid, and Amazon.
If you’re based in the US, you can even use Printful’s “Quick Store” option to create a simple online store and start selling without the need for any integrations or additional platforms.
More sales channels means more options to potentially reach and convert customers, making Printful the more profitable choice.
Ease of Use and Customer Support
The truth is that most print on demand platforms are easy to use. You don’t need any business knowledge or expertise to get started with either Prodigi or Printful.
The process is as simple as creating an account, choosing a product, adding a design, and adding it to your store.
Prodigi might be a little faster to set up than Printful, because it gives you fewer tools for things like tracking analytics, branding, and creating lifestyle mockups.
However, for me, Printful is the more intuitive platform overall. The design tools are more flexible, and even give you options like an AI upscaler so you can enhance the quality of your images with a single click.
Printful’s platform also comes with more in-built support in the platform. There’s an onboarding checklist, and tooltips for every feature you might want to use.
If you need extra support, both companies offer plenty of self-help resources like videos, guides, tutorials, and FAQs.
Printful’s resources are a bit more comprehensive, with more screenshots and in-depth insights to help beginners, but both companies excel in this area.
For direct support from a customer support team, Printful gives you 24/7 chat and email, whereas Prodigi only offers email support. This means Printful can generally respond quicker to any questions you might have.
Prodigi vs Printful: Plans and Pricing
So, how much does it cost to use both of these platforms? Well, first of all, both are available to access for free – you don’t need to pay a monthly subscription fee to use either Prodigi or Printful. However, both come with extra costs to consider.
For instance, you’ll need to think about the price of paying for the ecommerce platform you’re going to integrate with the tool.
Plus, there are the base costs of products to consider too. Printful’s products – though more affordable these days – are a little more expensive.
That’s because generally, they’re higher in quality than what you’ll get from Prodigi.
Both companies offer extra services you can pay for too. However, Printful is the only platform (of these two), that has a paid plan available.
The “Growth” plan costs $24.99 per month in general, but it becomes free to use when you’re earning at least $12k per year.
I think this plan is extremely valuable for growing businesses, thanks to extra discounts it offers on products, and branding options.
It even gives you free digitization for your embroidered products, and other bonuses that you simply can’t get with Prodigi.
Prodigi vs Printful: The Verdict
So, which platform should you choose? In my opinion, the answer is easy.
Prodigi might be great if you’re looking for thousands of cost-effective products and ease of use.
However, Printful outperforms Prodigi in almost every other area.
It gives you more customization options, higher quality products, better design tools, more features (like an ad creator), and more sales channels to choose from.
You can even create a simple store with Printful if you’re in the US. Plus, Printful provides customers with better support too.
If you’re looking for the most scalable and robust print on demand platform, Printful is the best choice hands-down.
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