With print on demand, your entire margin comes from the gap between the selling and the production price. A few dozen cents on a product therefore decide your profit at volume. We looked at the three most affordable platforms — Printify, Gooten and CustomCat — and compared them where it hurts: on base prices and fees.
But the lowest base price doesn't yet mean the highest profit. Shipping, quality (and thus returns), delivery times and coverage of the markets you sell to all come into play. So in this comparison we go beyond the mere price list and look at each platform's total cost.
The verdict in brief
CustomCat has the lowest prices on a number of items (mugs, apparel) thanks to its proprietary DIGISOFT technology, but only US production and a lower rating (3.9). Printify offers almost as low prices with the best rating (4.6) and the widest catalog. Gooten is fee-free with cheap base prices and strong on home textiles, but with the lowest rating (3.8).
If we had to pick one universal choice, it's Printify — it combines low prices with the highest reliability and the widest selection. CustomCat and Gooten make sense in specific situations where they can undercut Printify on price or offer products that aren't available elsewhere.
Monthly fees
All three can be used for free:
- Gooten — no monthly fees, you pay only for production and shipping.
- Printify — free; optional Premium ($39/mo, $24.99 annually) gives up to 33% off.
- CustomCat — Lite free; PRO ($30/mo, $25 annually) gives 20–40% off the entire catalog.
If you don't want to pay a flat fee, Gooten and the free tiers of Printify/CustomCat are fully usable — discount tiers only pay off at higher volumes.
Work out the break-even point: a flat fee only returns once the monthly product discount exceeds its cost. CustomCat PRO's 20–40% discount pays off sooner than Printify Premium if you sell a lot of units from its cheap catalog. For a small or starting store, though, it's safest to stay on the free tier and consider a flat fee only once you have steady volume.
Product base prices
This is where it breaks. Sample prices (USD):
- Unisex t-shirt: CustomCat $6.80 · Printify $7.90 ($6.30 with Premium) · Gooten $8.00.
- 11oz mug: CustomCat $4.50 (cheapest in the industry) · Printify $5.50 · Gooten $6.00.
- Hoodie: CustomCat $17.50 · Printify $18.40.
- Home textiles (pillow/blanket): CustomCat blanket $18.00 · Gooten decorative pillow $21.50.
CustomCat is the most aggressive on base prices, mainly mugs and apparel. Printify catches up with the Premium tier.
But note the differences are in the order of tens of cents to a few dollars — and those are easily erased by pricier shipping. CustomCat ships from the US, so for a European customer higher postage and duty are added to the low base price. When selling to Europe, the "cheapest" product from CustomCat therefore often ends up dearer than an item a few cents pricier made closer to the customer.
Hidden costs and limits
A low base price isn't yet a cheap product. With CustomCat expect US-only production — for European customers price and shipping time grow. Gooten and CustomCat also have lower ratings (3.8 and 3.9 on Trustpilot), so claims and quality control can cost more time. Gooten moreover has no custom neck labels, which limits branding.
The cost of claims and returns doesn't show in the price list, but it can cut into profit fast — every reprint due to a defect erases the margin from several trouble-free orders. So take Gooten's and CustomCat's lower ratings as a warning that you'll have to pay more attention to quality control with them. Printify's higher base price can thus pay off in the end through a lower problem rate and better support.
Who each is for
- CustomCat — for a US audience and maximally low base prices (especially mugs and apparel).
- Printify — the best compromise: almost the lowest prices, the highest rating and the widest catalog and integrations.
- Gooten — fee-free and strong on home textiles and gifts, if you don't need custom labels.
For most European sellers, Printify comes out as the most sensible base, with specialists deployed deliberately — CustomCat for the US market or cheap mugs, Gooten for home textiles. Before committing to the lowest price, test a real order with a candidate including shipping to your address; only the total cost of the delivered product and its quality show where the saving is real and where it's only on paper.
PODpickr is an independent comparison site. We base our recommendations on score, not on the size of the affiliate commission.
