5 Best Shopify Print on Demand (POD) Apps 2026 (With Pricing per Item)
The best Shopify print on demand (POD) apps in 2026 let you sell your own designs on t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, totes, posters and phone cases with no inventory: each item is printed and shipped only when a customer orders. The five worth your time are Printful for quality and branding, Printify for the lowest prices across a huge network, Gelato for local production worldwide, CustomCat for low cost at volume, and Apliiq for custom apparel. Below is the price per item for six bestsellers on each app, so you can see your real margin before you pick. We do not make a print on demand app, so this is a neutral roundup ranked on merit.
Key takeaways
- All five apps are free to install. You pay the base price of each item when it sells, plus shipping.
- On the same Bella+Canvas 3001 t-shirt, base prices run from $10.69 (Gelato) to $14.59 (Apliiq). Printify is the cheapest on hoodies, totes and 18x24 posters; Gelato is the cheapest on tees, mugs and phone cases.
- Every app sells a discount plan (about $20 to $40 a month) that cuts base prices by roughly 20 to 33%. It pays off once you sell a few dozen items a month.
- Printful costs a little more but prints in its own facilities, so quality is the most consistent. Printify is cheaper because you choose from many independent print providers, so order samples first.
- Prices were checked on the live US catalogs on October 16, 2026 and change often, so confirm in the app before you set your retail prices.
On this page
Pricing per item: t-shirt, hoodie, mug, tote, poster and phone case
Base price per item in USD for the US catalog, smallest size, one front print, before shipping and before any discount plan. Where an app lets you pick a print provider (Printify) we show the lowest price from a US provider. The cheapest price in each row is in bold.
| Product | Printful | Printify | Gelato | CustomCat | Apliiq |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-shirt Bella+Canvas 3001 | $11.92 | $11.29 | $10.69 | $11.47 | $14.59 |
| Hoodie Gildan 18500 pullover | $22.63 | $19.86 | $21.59 | $21.99 G185 pullover | $22.99 |
| Mug 11 oz white ceramic | $6.75 | $6.44 | $6.26 | $6.82 | Not offered |
| Tote bag Cotton canvas tote | $15.25 | $9.67 | $11.36 | $11.88 | $10.99 |
| Poster 18x24 in, matte | $13.75 | $8.37 | $9.09 | $9.00 16x24 satin, no 18x24 | Not offered |
| Phone case iPhone, cheapest type | $16.95 Snap case | $11.22 Tough case | $8.82 Slim case | Not offered | Not offered |
| US shipping, first tee | $4.69 | From $4.49 varies by provider | $4.99 | $4.99 | By weight + $1 per item |
| Discount plan | Growth $24.99/mo, up to 33% off free once you pass $12K a year in sales | Premium $39/mo ($24.99/mo yearly), up to 20% off | Gelato+ $29.99/mo ($19.99/mo yearly), up to 33% off | PRO $30/mo ($25/mo yearly), 20 to 40% off | VIP $39.99/mo, 20% off |
Prices checked on each app's live US catalog on October 16, 2026. Tote blanks differ by app (Printful uses the Econscious EC8000, Printify and Apliiq the Liberty Bags tote, Gelato and CustomCat the Port Authority tote). Phone case prices are "from" and rise for newer, larger iPhones. Apliiq's public prices may drop once you link a store.
On a tight budget? A Gildan 64000 or 5000 tee costs less than the Bella+Canvas 3001: $7.50 on Printful and from $8.55 on Printify. It is a heavier, boxier shirt, so order a sample before you choose it over the 3001.
With a discount plan, the same Bella+Canvas 3001 drops to $9.04 on Printify Premium, $8.55 on Gelato+ and $8.67 on CustomCat PRO, and the Gildan 18500 hoodie drops to $14.99, $15.98 and $16.49.
What you keep on a $25 t-shirt
Base price is only part of the cost. Here is what is left from a $25 Bella+Canvas 3001 tee shipped to a US customer, before Shopify payment fees, ads and returns.
| App | Base price | Shipping | Total cost | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gelato | $10.69 | $4.99 | $15.68 | $9.32 |
| Printify | $11.29 | $4.95 | $16.24 | $8.76 |
| CustomCat | $11.47 | $4.99 | $16.46 | $8.54 |
| Printful | $11.92 | $4.69 | $16.61 | $8.39 |
The gap between the cheapest and the dearest is under $1 a shirt, which is why quality, shipping speed and how often orders go wrong usually matter more than the base price. Most stores also charge the customer some or all of the shipping, which moves the margin more than switching apps does.
The 5 best print on demand apps compared
| App | Rating | Reviews | Tee from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printful: Print on Demand | 4.8 | 3,944 | $11.92 | Quality and branding |
| Printify: Print on Demand | 4.7 | 4,353 | $11.29 | Lowest prices and widest range |
| Gelato: Print on Demand | 4.8 | 1,027 | $10.69 | Local production worldwide |
| CustomCat: Print on Demand | 4.6 | 113 | $11.47 | Low cost at volume |
| Apliiq: Print On Demand | 4.7 | 330 | $14.59 | Custom apparel and streetwear |
Ratings from the live Shopify App Store listings, October 2026. All five are free to install.
The apps, ranked
1. Printful: Print on Demand
Printful (4.8 across more than 3,900 reviews) prints in its own facilities rather than passing orders to outside shops, which is why its quality is the most consistent of the five. It adds custom branding, inside labels and packaging inserts, a strong mockup generator and a deep Shopify integration.
Pricing per item: Bella+Canvas 3001 tee $11.92, Gildan 18500 hoodie $22.63, 11 oz mug $6.75, tote $15.25, 18x24 poster $13.75, iPhone snap case $16.95. A Gildan 64000 tee is $7.50. US shipping from $4.69 for the first tee. The Growth plan ($24.99 a month, free once you pass $12K a year in sales) takes up to 33% off.
Watch-outs: it is the most expensive of the five on totes, posters and phone cases, so price those for margin.
Best for: brands that put quality and branding first. Free to install.
2. Printify: Print on Demand
Printify (4.7 across more than 4,300 reviews) is a network of independent print providers rather than one printer. For each product you choose the provider, so you can trade price against location, speed and quality. That competition is why it came out cheapest on hoodies, totes and posters in our table.
Pricing per item: Bella+Canvas 3001 tee $11.29, Gildan 18500 hoodie $19.86, 11 oz mug $6.44, tote $9.67, 18x24 poster $8.37, iPhone tough case $11.22. US shipping from $4.49 for the first tee, depending on the provider. Premium ($39 a month, or $24.99 a month billed yearly) takes up to 20% off, bringing the 3001 to $9.04.
Watch-outs: quality and shipping times vary between providers, so order samples and stick to one provider per product.
Best for: stores that want the lowest prices and the widest catalog. Free to install.
3. Gelato: Print on Demand
Gelato (4.8 across more than 1,000 reviews) routes each order to a production partner close to the customer, across more than 30 countries. That means faster, cheaper delivery for international stores, and in the US it was the cheapest of the five on tees, mugs and phone cases.
Pricing per item: Bella+Canvas 3001 tee $10.69, Gildan 18500 hoodie $21.59, 11 oz mug $6.26, tote $11.36, 18x24 poster $9.09, iPhone slim case $8.82. US shipping $4.99 for the first tee and $0.99 for each extra item. Gelato+ ($29.99 a month, or $19.99 a month billed yearly) brings the 3001 to $8.55.
Watch-outs: the catalog is smaller than Printify's, so check it has every product you plan to sell.
Best for: stores selling in several countries. Free to install.
4. CustomCat: Print on Demand
CustomCat (4.6 across 113 reviews) is a US printer with a large apparel and accessories catalog and a pricing model built for sellers who move volume. Its PRO plan takes 20 to 40% off list prices, the deepest discount of the five.
Pricing per item: Bella+Canvas 3001 tee $11.47, G185 pullover hoodie $21.99, 11 oz mug $6.82, tote $11.88, 16x24 satin poster $9.00. No phone cases. US shipping $4.99 for the first tee and $1.50 for each extra item. PRO ($30 a month, or $25 a month billed yearly, with a 60-day free trial) brings the 3001 to $8.67 and the mug to $3.75.
Watch-outs: a smaller review base than the leaders, no phone cases, and no 18x24 poster size.
Best for: apparel stores selling enough to justify the PRO plan. Free to install.
5. Apliiq: Print On Demand
Apliiq (4.7 across 330 reviews) is built for clothing brands rather than printed merch: embroidery, woven labels, custom tags and cut-and-sew pieces that make a garment feel like your brand instead of a printed blank.
Pricing per item: Bella+Canvas 3001 tee $14.59, Gildan 18500 hoodie $22.99, tote $10.99. No mugs, posters or phone cases. Shipping is charged by weight plus a $1 fulfillment fee per item. VIP ($39.99 a month) takes 20% off, bringing the 3001 to $11.67.
Watch-outs: the highest apparel prices of the five and an apparel-only catalog, so it suits brands where the garment is the product.
Best for: streetwear and clothing brands that want private-label finishing. Free to install.
Also worth a look: teelaunch (4.3) has some of the lowest prices we found, a $3.65 mug and a $5.99 tote, but a lower rating than the five above. ShineOn (4.6) is a strong pick for personalized jewelry, though its prices are only visible inside the app.
Which print on demand app to choose
Best for quality and branding: Printful.
Best for the lowest prices and widest range: Printify.
Best for selling internationally: Gelato.
Best for low cost at volume: CustomCat.
Best for custom apparel: Apliiq.
Which print on demand app fits your store?
Pick what you need most and we will point you to the best fit. We do not make a print on demand app, so every pick here is chosen on merit.
How we ranked these
We do not make a print on demand app, so nothing on this list is ours. We ranked on print quality and consistency, price per item, shipping cost and speed, catalog coverage, branding options, and rating and review depth. Prices come from each app's live US catalog, checked on October 16, 2026, for the smallest size with one front print. Gooten was left out because its per-item prices are behind a login and its rating (3.3) is well below the rest.
Common print on demand mistakes
Pricing from the base price alone. Shipping, Shopify payment fees, ads and returns all come out of the same sale. Work out your margin from total cost, as in the $25 tee example above.
Not ordering samples. You own the quality even though you never see the product. Order a sample of every product you sell, so you know the real color, fit and delivery time.
Paying for a discount plan too early. A $25 to $40 monthly plan only pays off once the discount on your orders is bigger than the fee. At about $2 to $3 saved per tee, that is roughly 10 to 20 shirts a month.
Selling generic designs. Print on demand is easy to start and crowded. Original designs and a clear niche are what actually sell.
Mixing providers without checking consistency. On Printify, quality and sizing vary between providers. Pick and test one provider per product rather than assuming they are all the same.
Think your app belongs on this list?
We review submissions against the same criteria we rank on and add the ones that qualify. If you build a Shopify app in this category, send it in.