Print on Demand & Dropshipping

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Print on Demand & Dropshipping page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

Sell products you never stock: a supplier prints or ships each one when an order comes in.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about print-on-demand and dropshipping services, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 15 print-on-demand and dropshipping services

   12 of them are free or have a free plan, and 2 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $24 a month in the middle

   From $1 (Printful) to $49 (Zendrop), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Printify and CJdropshipping

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   1 of 15 have iPhone and Android apps

   15 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 3.0

   10 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Printify, at 3.4.

6. 6

   Best free option: Printify

   Printify has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.4. Print-on-demand marketplace with 2,000+ products and 70+ printers.

7. 7

   15 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 15 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three print-on-demand and dropshipping services we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   3.4GPA

   Printify

   Free plan · from $24.99/mo

   For: Most people starting a print-on-demand store

   Printify puts your designs on 2,000+ products, each made by one of 70+ print providers you pick by base cost and location, and publishes them to Etsy, Shopify, TikTok Shop, Amazon, eBay, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and more, or to a free Pop-Up Store on your own domain. The free plan connects up to 5 stores with unlimited designs, and you pay for each product and its shipping when an order comes in: the pricing page's example tee costs $8.77 with one print. It covers a reprint or refund for manufacturing errors within 30 days. Know the limits: orders are made by the provider you pick rather than by Printify, Premium is non-refundable, and a custom API needs Enterprise.

   The Printify Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   3.2GPA

   Printful

   Free plan · from $24.99/mo

   For: Sellers who want one company to make every order

   Printful makes, packs and ships every order in its own fulfillment centers, from the one nearest the customer, and says each order passes a 3-step quality check; it covers a reprint or refund for its own errors. The free plan has all 584 products, unlimited store connections across 20+ channels including Shopify, Etsy, TikTok Shop and Amazon, and free design and mockup tools. Its Bella + Canvas 3001 tee lists at $11.92 with one print. It is second because the catalog is smaller than Printify's, labels, extra print placements and premium images cost more per order, Quick Stores are for US sellers and buyers only, and there is no phone app.

   The Printful Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   3.2GPA

   CJdropshipping

   Free

   For: Dropshippers selling products they do not design

   CJdropshipping lists products at factory prices, sources items you ask for, ships orders from its warehouses and can print on products and packaging. The app is free with no subscription: you pay CJ for each product, its shipping and any service fees. It connects to Shopify, Etsy, eBay, TikTok Shop and Shopee, with an API for other stores. It is third because it does a different job from the two above, selling ready-made goods rather than your designs, and know the limits: CJ is based in Yiwu, China, the 2-to-3-day delivery it quotes applies only to items in its local warehouses, and WooCommerce and Wix are not among its store apps.

   The CJdropshipping Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Printify and CJdropshipping give the most for the money among print-on-demand and dropshipping services: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $24 a month across the 11 that charge, from $1 (Printful) to $49 (Zendrop). 4 more cost nothing at all.

5 of the 15 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 3 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded print-on-demand and dropshipping services, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Printify	A	A	A	C	B	3.4
CJdropshipping	A	A	B	C	B	3.2
Printful	A	A	B	C	B	3.2
Prodigi	A	A	B	C	B	3.2
CustomCat	A	A	C	C	B	3.0
DSers	A	B	B	C	B	3.0
Gelato	A	B	B	C	B	3.0
Gooten	A	A	C	C	B	3.0
Spreadconnect	A	A	C	C	B	3.0
Tapstitch	A	A	C	C	B	3.0
AutoDS	C	D	B	C	B	2.2
Spocket	C	C	C	C	B	2.2

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where print-on-demand and dropshipping services land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 15

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every print-on-demand and dropshipping service we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1PrintifyFree plan · from $24.99/mo3.4
2. 2CJdropshippingFree3.2
3. 3PrintfulFree plan · from $24.99/mo3.2
4. 4ProdigiFree plan · from $47/mo3.2
5. 5CustomCatFree plan · from $25/mo3.0
6. 6DSersFree plan · from $19.90/mo3.0
7. 7GelatoFree plan · from $19.99/mo3.0
8. 8GootenFree3.0
9. 9SpreadconnectFree3.0
10. 10TapstitchFree3.0
11. 11AutoDSFrom $19.90/mo2.2
12. 12SpocketFree trial · from $24/mo2.2
13. 13SynceeFree plan · from $39.99/mo2.2
14. 14ZendropFree plan · from $49/mo2.0
15. 15AliDropFree trial · from $24/mo1.8

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 2,265

  tools graded

• 72

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries