Cotton Bureau vs Teemill (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Cotton Bureau and Teemill share a 2.6 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on whether you care more about value for money, where Cotton Bureau grades higher, or platforms, where Teemill does.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cotton Bureau
Curated tee marketplace where designers sell on demand or pre-order
Which one is for you
Pick Cotton Bureau if
- Fits if you are a designer who wants tees sold without running a store
- Works for people who can live with a monthly payout
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need every design accepted, as up to 90% are rejected
- Skip it if you want your own store, since sales go through Cotton Bureau's marketplace
- Pricey if you want a branded store, which has an upfront development cost and a 4 to 6 week build
- Watch out: payouts come once a month, and balances under $25 wait until December
Pick Teemill if
- Fits if you want a free store for organic clothing
- Works for sellers who want Teemill to handle customer service
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: profits are paid 30 days after a sale, not at once
- Not for you if you want mugs, posters or other product types, as the range is clothing-led
- Watch out: product costs and your margin are only visible once you have an account
- Skip it if you want a mobile app, as none is listed
How we grade them
| 2.6GPACotton BureauGood | 2.6GPATeemillGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BNo fees to list. You earn the gap between your price and the base price, paid on the 15th once you reach $25. | CA free store, but the homepage gives no price list. Product costs and your margin are set inside the dashboard. |
| Free plan and trial | ASelling is free for on-demand and pre-order tees, with no upfront cost at all. | AFree e-commerce store with no upfront investment or hidden fees, per the homepage. |
| Features | CDesign review, seller-set prices, customer service handled for you and pre-order campaigns. It sells tees on its own marketplace, with branded stores only as a paid extra. | CStorefront builder, print and ship, plugins, Print API. The gap: the range is clothing, accessories and homeware in natural materials, not all POD types. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Designs are submitted for review and wait for an answer. | CNo store rating on record. You build a store and set up products first. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, sold through Cotton Bureau's own marketplace, with no store integrations listed. | BWeb only, with Etsy, TikTok Shop, YouTube and Instagram links and a Print API. |
| Best for | designers selling tees on demand or by pre-order | a free store with sustainable print-on-demand clothing |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cotton Bureau and Teemill. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cotton Bureau has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Teemill has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
Teemill scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other print-on-demand and dropshipping services on the chart, none scores higher than Cotton Bureau for less, and none scores higher than Teemill for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Teemill also covers dropshipping.
At a glance
| Cotton Bureau | Teemill | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Selling on Cotton Bureau is free for on-demand and pre-order tees, with no upfront cost; sellers earn what they charge above the base price. | A free e-commerce store with no upfront investment or hidden fees, per the homepage. Teemill sends profits 30 days after a sale. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Cotton Bureau | Teemill |
| Price read from | support.cottonbureau.com | teemill.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cotton Bureau
- Designs are curated and the help center says up to 90% are rejected, so acceptance is not guaranteed.
- Products are sold through Cotton Bureau's own marketplace, not through a store the seller owns, unless a branded store is arranged.
- A branded store carries an upfront development cost and a typical 4-6 week build.
- Payouts run monthly, on the 15th, once earnings reach $25; smaller balances are paid in December.
Teemill
- The homepage gives no price list; product costs and your margin are set per item inside the dashboard, which needs an account.
- The range centers on clothing, accessories and homeware made from natural materials, not every POD product type.
- Profits are paid 30 days after a sale, not immediately.
- The site is mostly built in the browser; Teemill lists no desktop or mobile apps.
Key features
Cotton Bureau
- Design review
- Submissions are reviewed before they go live; the help center says up to 90% of submissions are rejected.
- Seller-set pricing
- Sellers choose a retail price above the base number set by Cotton Bureau and keep the difference.
- Customer service handled
- Cotton Bureau deals with lost packages, returns, refunds, exchanges and wrong sizes or addresses.
- Sales methods
- Designs can be sold on demand or as pre-order campaigns; stock sales are available to larger sellers.
- Branded stores
- A fully branded store covering many product types is available with an upfront development cost, and it is aimed at creators with substantial audiences.
Teemill
- Free storefront builder
- A no-code store builder with templates, built-in mockups and pre-made designs, so a store can go live without a separate website.
- Print and ship included
- Teemill prints each order on demand and ships it; the site says it ships from the UK with factories in the US and Europe.
- Sales channel plugins
- The homepage lists plugins for selling on Etsy, TikTok Shop, YouTube and Instagram, plus a separate integrations page.
- Print API
- Developers can create custom products, place orders, sync products and generate mockups through Teemill's Print API, which has documentation and sample code.
- Organic and circular products
- Products are described as made from organic materials and designed to be returned and remade when worn out.
- Customer service handled
- Teemill says its team answers your customers' questions, and that it sponsors offers such as free UK shipping automatically.
Plans
Cotton Bureau
Seller account$0
No upfront cost. Accepted designs are sold on Cotton Bureau; payouts go out on the 15th of each month once earnings reach $25.
Teemill
Free store$0
Build and run a storefront at no cost; Teemill prints, ships and handles customer service, and pays out profits after 30 days.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cotton Bureau or Teemill?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Cotton Bureau and Teemill are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Cotton Bureau or Teemill?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Cotton Bureau and Teemill have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.