Printful vs Bear Grips Pro Shops

January 2, 2026 8 min read By Eli Goldberg

Quick Answer

Both platforms cover print-on-demand apparel for ecommerce brands but use different storefront models.
Bear Grips Pro Shops gives the brand a dedicated storefront under a custom slug at shops.beargrips.com.
Printful is a Shopify and WooCommerce integration that adds product variants to the brand's existing store.
The right pick depends on whether the founder wants a separate apparel storefront or in-cart apparel.

Table of Contents

Storefront model comparison
Pricing comparison
Storefront customization
Catalog coverage comparison
Affiliate and ongoing revenue
When each platform wins
Frequently Asked Questions

Printful and Bear Grips Pro Shops both handle print-on-demand apparel for ecommerce brands, but they solve different problems. Printful drops apparel SKUs into the founder's existing Shopify or WooCommerce store. Bear Grips Pro Shops gives the brand a separate storefront at shops.beargrips.com under a brand slug. Here is the full side-by-side for ecommerce startups picking between them.

Storefront Model: In-Cart vs Separate Storefront

The biggest difference is where the apparel lives:

Printful: apparel SKUs live inside the existing Shopify store; customer checks out in the main cart
Bear Grips Pro Shops: apparel lives at shops.beargrips.com/your-brand as a separate storefront; customer checks out on the Pro Shops checkout

Which one is better depends on the brand. If the core product and apparel share customers, in-cart can drive attach rate. If the apparel needs its own size charts, color swatches, and brand presentation, a separate storefront wins.

Pricing And Margin Comparison

Both platforms charge a fulfillment base plus a markup the founder sets. Sample comparison for a basic tee at retail $35:

Platform	Plan	Base cost	Founder profit at $35 retail
Bear Grips (Free)	$0/mo	$23.93	$11.07
Bear Grips (VIP)	$59/mo	$19.88	$15.12
Printful	$0/mo (Plus tiers exist)	varies by garment	varies

Bear Grips publishes a flat catalog price; Printful pricing varies by garment and brand. The VIP plan tier is comparable to Printful subscription tiers for high-volume sellers.

Storefront Customization And Branding

Brand presentation differs:

Printful: apparel inherits the Shopify theme; customization is bound by what the theme supports
Bear Grips Pro Shops: dedicated storefront with brand logo, color palette, header image, and custom URL slug; product page titles and descriptions written by the platform on the DFY plan

Founders who run a non-standard Shopify theme often find Printful integration awkward; the apparel size charts and color swatches do not always render correctly.

Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.

Apparel Catalog Coverage

Bear Grips Pro Shops runs a 63-piece catalog spanning Bear Grips, Bella+Canvas, Sport-Tek, Next Level, Champion, Gildan, Independent Trading Co., Cotton Heritage, Jerzees, Hanes, AS Colour, Yupoong, Richardson, Otto Cap, and Valucap. Catalog includes tees, hoodies, polos, tanks, joggers, leggings, sports bras, shorts, hats, and crewnecks.

Printful catalog is broader (clothing, accessories, home goods, wall art) but the brand selection on apparel skews slightly different. For apparel-only brands, the two are roughly equivalent on coverage.

Affiliate And Recurring Revenue Differences

Bear Grips Pro Shops includes a built-in affiliate program: every signup gets a referral link, 10% of referred vendor subscription fees, plus $1/unit sold by referred vendors. Printful does not offer an analogous affiliate program for vendors referring other vendors.

For ecommerce founders who run podcast or content presence in the founder community, the affiliate side income is meaningful.

When Each Platform Is The Better Fit

Pick Printful if:

The Shopify store is already the brand's only shop and the apparel should appear in the same cart
The founder wants apparel SKUs alongside the core product on every product page
The brand uses non-apparel POD items (mugs, posters, phone cases) regularly

Pick Bear Grips Pro Shops if:

The founder wants a separate apparel storefront under the brand
The apparel needs a real branded site with size charts, color swatches, and fit photos
The founder wants affiliate side income from referring other brand founders
The brand is bigger than just Shopify and would benefit from a permanent apparel home

Try The Storefront Model For Your Ecommerce Brand

Free shop, no integration required. Dedicated apparel storefront at shops.beargrips.com under your brand slug.

Start Free

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run both Printful and Bear Grips Pro Shops at once?

Yes. Some brands run Printful for in-cart apparel and Bear Grips for a separate flagship apparel storefront. The two complement each other.

Which has lower base prices?

Depends on the garment. Bear Grips publishes a flat catalog price; Printful prices vary by garment and brand. For most common pieces, the Bear Grips VIP base is within 5-10% of Printful.

Does Bear Grips integrate with Shopify?

No, by design. The storefront is a standalone site at shops.beargrips.com. Promote the link from your Shopify site footer and email.

Which platform handles US printing?

Both. Bear Grips and Printful both print in the US with around a week delivery to the customer.

Eli GoldbergSmall Business Branding Writer

Eli writes about small business and startup branding. He spent eight years in B2B marketing before going independent and covers how small companies use apparel for swag, conferences, hiring events, and team building.