A small business comparing print-on-demand companies is really comparing two numbers: the total monthly cost to keep the shop running, and how much of each sale the business actually keeps. Those two numbers get buried under marketing copy about print quality and product variety. This breaks down what a small business owner actually pays across the platforms most commonly compared, and where the margin really lands.
Printify and Printful themselves are free tools with optional paid tiers, but neither hosts the storefront. A small business typically pays for Shopify or a similar e-commerce platform on top, plus any apps for reviews, email, or upsells. A marketplace like Etsy skips the separate storefront bill but charges listing and transaction fees on every sale and gives the business less control over its own branding and search visibility. Bear Grips Pro Shops folds the storefront, the product catalog, and the checkout into one flat monthly plan.
| Platform | Monthly cost | Extra costs | Who keeps the retail margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Grips Pro Shops | $0 to $105 | None, no minimum, free US shipping included | The business, in full |
| Printify or Printful + Shopify | Free tool + Shopify subscription | Apps, theme, domain | The business, in full |
| Etsy (with a POD backend) | No separate storefront fee | Listing fees and transaction fees per sale | The business, minus fees per sale |
| Redbubble | Free to list | None upfront | Redbubble sets much of the base price; the seller earns a margin on top, not the full retail price |
Marketplaces like Etsy and Redbubble bring in browsing traffic but hand over pricing power, branding, and the customer's contact information to the marketplace itself. A business that wants to build its own name, run its own promotions, and own its customer list needs a platform where it sets the retail price and keeps that relationship. That is the tradeoff worth weighing against a marketplace's built-in foot traffic.
| Product | VIP base | Typical retail | Margin per piece |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton tee | $19.88 | $30 | $10.12 |
| Comfort Soft Hoodie | $36.88 | $55 | $18.12 |
| Snapback hat | $25.86 | $35 | $9.14 |
Selling 15 tees, 8 hoodies, and 6 hats in a month on this pricing clears roughly $448 in margin, well above the $59 monthly plan cost. See the budget comparison for how the free tier stacks up before that volume is reached.
The free plan ($0/mo, 3 live products) suits a business testing its first designs. Self-Service VIP ($59/mo, 200 live products, the lowest base prices) fits a business ready to build out a full catalog and keep every dollar of margin. Done-For-You VIP ($105/mo) suits an owner who would rather send one design a month and let an advisor build the shop, price it, and pick the top-selling colors. Every tier includes the built-in affiliate program, worth 10% of any referred business's subscription plus $1 per unit that business sells.
Free plan to start, no minimum order, no marketplace fees. Set your own retail price and keep what you earn.
Start FreeEtsy brings marketplace search traffic but charges listing and transaction fees on every sale and limits how much branding and pricing control the seller keeps compared to an independent storefront.
Typically yes. Printify and Printful are fulfillment integrations, not standalone storefronts, so most sellers connect them to a Shopify, Etsy, or WooCommerce store they pay for separately.
Bear Grips has a free plan at $0 a month with no minimum order, which lets a business test its first products before committing to a paid tier.
Yes. There is no restriction on retail pricing across any plan; the default recommended profit is $10 per item and most businesses charge more on hoodies and leggings.
Bear Grips Pro Shops