Best Shopify print-on-demand apps

Starting a print on demand (POD) business is no easy task and the Shopify app you choose will largely determine your success. That’s why you need to understand all the ins and outs of Shopify POD apps before you commit to one.

Let us help you by presenting 9 best Shopify print on demand apps. We’ll look over their areas of specialty, advantages, shortcomings, interfaces and more. At the end, you’ll be confident you know what’s the right Shopify POD app for you.

What is a print on demand app on Shopify?

A Shopify print on demand app allows you to design your products, then prints and ships them when your customers place an order. It’s been one of the most popular ways to launch a clothing line, jewelry brand or sell your art prints for a while.

A good Shopify POD app allows you to start a print-on-demand business with minimal investment. Moving forward, it’s good if you don’t remember you have it, meaning it takes care of all the manufacturing and logistics without your intervention.

The print on demand app you choose for your Shopify store will largely serve as a foundation of your business, so the margin of error during the selection process is quite small.

That’s why we reviewed all the POD apps available on Shopify app store extra carefully and presented you only with the truly reliable ones.

Let’s get straight to it.

Top 9 Shopify apps for print on demand: reviews

First, we want to highlight a shortlist of 5 Shopify POD apps that truly stand out in the crowd:

1. Printful - top overall Shopify print on demand app
2. AOP+ - Shopify POD app that does all the printing in house
3. ShineOn - an app designed to for high POD product profit margins
4. Printify - globally-recognized POD service you can easily run on multiple Shopify stores
5. Apliiq - top Shopify print on demand app for clothing lines

Now let’s take a look at all 9 top Shopify print on demand apps in more detail:

1. Printful - best overall Shopify POD app

While the most Shopify app reviews don’t automatically mean the best service, Printful lives up to the hype. Industry leader since 2013, Printful has been keeping up with all the newly-emerged competition and is the most well-rounded Shopify POD app.

Who should use Printful?

Anyone who wants a globally-recognized app with a variety of reliable features as their POD provider.

Why Printful is great:

• Outstanding mockup generator
• Sufficient product selection (anything from phone cases to leggings)
• Product personalization available for the customers (uploading images, adding initials)
• Many custom branding options (branded stickers, pack-ins and more)
• 3200+ 5-star reviews on Shopify app store
• Big bonus: provides warehouse storing services for non-Printful products in the USA and Europe

Printful areas for improvement:

• Does not have a good selection of niche products, such as coasters, pet supplies, yoga mats
• Higher prices than in other fulfillment companies, can be difficult to calculate profit margins due to their pricing model
• Products aren’t always up to eco-friendly standards (e.g. paraffin candles)
• Premium mockup generator and stock images available only with paid plans

What does working with Printful look like?

This could be your all-over-print duffle bag product page if you decide to go with Printful:

2. AOP+ - best for in-house printing

Most of the POD companies don’t actually make the prints but rather contract external manufacturers. And whenever something goes wrong with your order, that’s exactly whom they blame.

This would never happen with AOP+ because they are one of the very few Shopify apps that manufacture your POD orders in house. So while it is not the most popular POD app and yes, their interface could certainly use a facelift, it comes in second because they take full accountability for the end product.

Who should use AOP+?

Shopify sellers who prioritize reliability over everything else and want their entire POD process handled by one and the same company.

Why AOP+ is great:

• In-house printing
• Dropships worldwide
• Unique product options (e.g. coasters, wall tiles)
• Outstanding branding options for products and packaging (e.g. a branded heat-pressed neck label)
• Additional pre-shipping quality assurance check
• No minimum order volume requirements
• Product discount tiers included with monthly paid subscriptions
• No negative reviews in the past year

AOP+ areas for improvement:

• Needs a better order tracking system
• Slightly outdated mockup interface and website design

What does working with AOP+ look like?

This is how you design a product with AOP+:

3. ShineOn - best for POD products with high profit margins

ShineOn picked their niche and they excel at it. It’s a Shopify POD app that limits their product selection to jewelry and watches, but provides customization opportunities to turn them into works of art. Plus, they have unmatched customer support reviews and a training program to help you succeed with this unique POD angle.

Who should use ShineOn?

ShineOn is great if you’re just starting out with POD or want to increase the product variety of an existing store. Running a POD business with big profit margins saves a lot of logistics headache plus ShineOn training is invaluable for new sellers.

Why ShineOn is great:

• Allows running high profit margin POD business
• 7 business day delivery in USA and Europe
• High-resolution product mockup tool
• Comprehensive analytics (revenue, conversion rate, upsell and more)
• Provides engravings
• Individual training on app’s interface and product marketing

ShineOn areas for improvement:

• Limited jewelry styles and varieties

What does the final result with ShineOn look like?

Here is a ShineOn necklace product page example (these gift boxes add to the charm!):

4. Printify - best app to run multiple Shopify POD stores

Printify is essentially an alternative to Printful. It’s a huge and respected POD service provider globally and it’s a safe option for pretty much any Shopify seller.

Who should use Printify?

Shopify sellers that run multiple POD stores and are interested in the most cost-effective alternative.

Why Printify is great:

• Depending on the plan, you can run Printify on 5 or 10 Shopify stores
• Some of the best product prices out there
• Global printing partners (faster and more eco-friendly shipping)
• Realistic mockup generator
• You can pick your preferred print provider
• Constantly increasing eco-friendly product range

Printify areas for improvement:

• No product personalization for customers
• Reported delays on technical issue resolution
• Reported recent issues with manufacturing quality
• Raised their prices twice over the last year, so no guarantee their pricing will stay as their main advantage for long

What does working with Printify look like?

With Printify, you can design everything in perfect detail and then preview a realistic mockup:

5. Apliiq - best for streetwear Shopify stores

Apliiq is the leader of POD clothing providers. An unseen variety of clothes at lower and stable costs, extensive branding opportunities and solid customer support bring this app high on the list.

Who should use Apliiq?

Anyone who has or is looking to start a stylish clothing line on Shopify.

Why Apliiq is great:

• Very wide printing options (includes embroidery and stitching)
• Eco-friendly brand (puts emphasis on sustainable processes, all techniques are vegan-friendly)
• Powerful brand customization (branded clothing tags, boxes, packaging paper)
• Worldwide shipping (150+ countries using UPS)
• Adds one new product every week
• Only updated pricing once in two years

Apliiq areas for improvement:

• Quite long shipping times (ships from USA only)
• Interface could be more user-friendly
• Apliiq website is quite buggy and loads very slowly

What does the final result with Apliiq look like?

Here is how you would design a POD hoodie with Apliiq:

6. Gelato - Shopify POD app with largest production hub network

Gelato positions themselves as a POD service provider that supports local business, and rightfully so. They have production hubs in 33 countries, contracting local suppliers and ensuring the shipping distances are minimal.

Who should use Gelato?

Stores that have an international customer base and care a lot about carbon footprint related to shipping.

Why Gelato is great:

• 100+ local production hubs in 33 countries
• Mockup, design and personalization tools (with premium plans only)
• Shipping discount tiers on monthly paid plans
• Easily apply the same design to many products

Gelato areas for improvement:

• Some issues reported with shipment locations (did not ship from the closest location)
• Only offers printing on front and back of the garments
• Not too many products available (around 100)
• Not evident what justifies $299/mo fee for the Gold plan

What does the final result with Gelato look like?

Here is a POD mug product page taken out of Gelato demo store:

7. TPOP - best fully eco-friendly Shopify POD option

Now more than ever customers want to know where their products come from, how they were produced and what impact that has on the environment. With TPOP as your Shopify POD app, you can answer all of these questions proudly.

TPOP has everything you would expect from a great POD provider. On top of that, they put product quality and ethical production processes as their utmost priority.

Who should use TPOP?

Every seller that cares about our planet over everything else and wants to position themselves as an eco-friendly brand.

Why TPOP is great:

• Rigorous compliance with eco-friendly standards on products, ink, packaging and shipping
• No minimum order requirement
• Branded packaging (multilingual packaging slips, pack-ins, gift stickers)
• Very intuitive app interface
• Bulk product creation functionality

TPOP areas for improvement:

• Limited garment customization (e.g. issues printing on the front and back of the same piece of clothing)
• Print longevity (reported cases of prints washing away rather quickly)
• Product mockup tool isn’t always precise

What does the final result with TPOP look like?

Take a look at a baby bodysuit product page from TPOP POD demo store:

8. Creativehub - top Shopify POD app for art prints

Specializing in art prints, creativehub knows what creatives need and delivers on all bases.

Who should use creativehub?

Visual artists looking to monetize their artwork with a Shopify print on demand solution.

Why creativehub is great:

• Flat rate global shipping (£7/8€/$9)
• 11 gallery-quality types of paper
• Provides giclée for the most high-end art prints
• White-label service
• 24-hour order fulfillment
• Limited edition control
• Can add certificates of authenticity to the shipment

creativehub areas for improvement:

• Minor app bugs

What does the final result with creativehub look like?

Exclusive print collections created with creativehub:

9. Prodigi - Shopify POD app that deserves more spotlight

Prodigi seems like an incredible Shopify POD alternative to all the bigger apps. Their features live up to the expectations and then some more, plus it’s completely free. If Prodigi steps up their customer support game, they could easily compete with our top entries. For now, we’re recommending it as a strong alternative if Printify or Printful don’t meet your expectations.

Who should use Prodigi?

Anyone who wants a well-rounded global POD service, massive product selection and appreciates free samples.

Why Prodigi is great:

• Very slick app interface and mockup generator
• 500k product variations
• 50+ printing facilities in 10 different countries
• Has in-house printing facilities
• Highly regarded art and photography prints
• Free store setup for sellers with 20+ designs

Prodigi areas for improvement:

• Customer support responsiveness
• Promotion and marketing

What does the final result with Prodigi look like?

An example of a laptop case you could design with Prodigi:

How to choose a print on demand app for Shopify

If you’re still struggling to pick the one and only Shopify POD app for your business, don’t worry. Look over these tips that will help you make up your mind:

• In-house production vs supplier chain. In-house production of your printed products is what you would ultimately want from your Shopify POD app because it will take full responsibility for the end result. Apps like AOP+ or Prodigi manufacture in-house and could be an outstanding option for small local brands based in the same country. However, a global brand with an international client base will ensure short shipping times and avoid international shipping costs by choosing a POD app that contracts local production hubs (Printful, Gelato).
• Product variety. Decide on what exactly you want to sell. It will help you narrow down your options significantly because there is a staggering variety of products available on different Shopify POD apps.
• Trust and reliability. You always want customer support that’s there for you, but with POD business, it’s a must. Any mistake can be very costly and you want support that takes your business responsibly.
• Sample order. Do it! You have to be the first to see the result, otherwise you can’t honestly vouch for product quality in front of your customers. Conveniently, apps like Prodigi offer free samples.

Print on demand apps for Shopify: key takeaways

A Shopify print on demand app can make or break your POD business. That’s why you can never do too much research before picking one.

We did a lot of it for you and at this point, you should have an easy time picking a reliable app with sufficient product selection and features that match your business needs.

Share

About the author

Nikoleta Kokleviciute

Nikoleta is a Marketing Manager at TinyIMG, an app for image and SEO optimization for Shopify merchants. Nikoleta loves diving deep into digital marketing, eCommerce, social media trends, and creating content that benefits its readers!