Redbubble is a great platform to make some extra money but it does have its limits. For example, royalties are quite low and there is a lot of competition amongst individual sellers.
If you’re looking for some great print on demand alternatives to Redbubble — you came to the right place.
This article will cover everything you need to know about print on demand marketplaces such as Redbubble and other methods of making money with print on demand, as well as provide you with some alternative POD companies.
Redbubble Marketplace Alternatives
Redbubble is what we call a print on demand marketplace. Artists and marketers upload designs to these existing popular marketplaces that take care of the selling for you. You can kind of compare it to eBay. People find your Redbubble listings by looking up terms on the eBay marketplace and they come to this marketplace with the intention to shop.
Here are some other popular print on demand marketplace alternatives to Redbubble.
Society6
Society6 is a Redbubble alternative marketplace. Society6 is more commonly used by artists as opposed to other pod marketplaces on this list.
While every other print on demand alternative on this list is free, Society6 charges a $1 verification fee to every new seller.
Profit Margins
Society6 has a royalty fee of 10%. This means that the profit on a regular t-shirt sold for $25 is only $2.50.
Monthly Traffic
According to similarweb, Society6 has 6 million monthly visitors, compared to Redbubbles 31 million.
Spreadshirt
Spreadshirt is another print on demand marketplace where anyone can upload their own designs and make a profit from them.
Profit Margins
Spreadshirt charges a base price on every product. You can decide how much you want to go above that base price, and that will be your profit margin. The base price for a regular t-shirt is $13.99 meaning on a $25 t-shirt you will make a profit of $11.01.
Monthly Traffic
According to similarweb, Spreadshirt has 3 million monthly visitors, compared to Redbubbles 31 million.
Zazzle
Zazzle, is most comparable to Redbubble. Both are very big, get a large number of monthly visitors, and have similar profit margins. However, Zazzle offers a bit more in-depth customization as opposed to Redbubble.
Profit Margins
Zazzle has profit margins that are similar to that of Society6 and Redbubble. They are very low but at least you can set them yourself. The average royalty is set at 15%. Going above that, will probably result in zero sales as there is a price competition on the platform.
So for a $25 shirt, you will make a profit of $3.75.
Monthly Traffic
According to similarweb, Spreadshirt has 16 million monthly visitors, compared to Redbubbles 31 million.
Teespring
Teespring is a bit different from Redbubble. They are comparable in that they are also a print on demand marketplace but they have way less organic traffic coming in.
Teespring is more geared to those who want to own their own store but aren’t ready to do so under their own branding. For example, you’ll often see Youtubers and other creators link to their Teespring merch store.
Profit Margins
Just like spreadshirt, teespring charges a base price and lets you set the price of the shirt yourself. They have different rates for US and EU orders with EU orders being slightly more expensive and thus cutting into your profit margins.
Here are the profit margins on on a regular t-shirt sold for $25:
- US: $14.43
- EU: $11.05
Monthly Traffic
According to Similarweb, Redbubble has double the amount of visits of Teespring.
Start Your Own Webshop Instead
A second Redbubble alternative is to just completely do it yourself. You can have a print on demand integration set up to your own Shopify store and sell custom products under your own brand. Cool right?
Here’s what you’ll need: a Shopify account and a POD integration.
Here are some print on demand companies that integrate with Shopify.
Printful
Printful is one of the leading providers in print on demand with over 1M orders shipped every month.
This Redbubble alternative allows you to start your own store in a second through easy integrations with countless other platforms. For example, Printful can be integrated with shop-builders such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Squarespace. For those who prefer to sell on a marketplace, you can integrate Printful with marketplaces such as Etsy, Amazon, eBay, and more.
Printful does all of their printing in-house, has a 24/7 support system and multiple locations worldwide. While they are the most expensive option out there, you can count on a seamless experience when using them as your print on demand supplier.
Profit Margin
On a basic t-shirt (Gildan 64000) that you price at $25, you’ll make a profit of $12.47.
Read our Printful print on demand guide
Gooten
Gooten is another POD supplier and alternative to Redbubble. Gooten functions in a similar fashion to Printful in that you can integrate it with your own online store.
Gooten is often seen as a cheaper alternative to Printful that still has locations worldwide. However, this comes with some downside as Gooten orders often take longer to fulfill, are slightly less vibrant in print and the support is less than optimal. But hey, you get what you pay for.
Profit Margin
On a basic t-shirt (Bella + Canvas) that you price at $25, you’ll make a profit of $12.11.
Teelaunch
Another Redbubble alternative for shop-owners is Teelaunch. This app is only available to Shopify owners and cannot be integrated with any other platform.
Teelaunch beats Printful in the Shopify app store being reviewed at average 4.5 stars as compared to Printful’s 4.3 stars.
Profit Margin
On a basic t-shirt (District Unisex Tee) that you price at $25, you’ll make a profit of $11.50.
Read also: Teelaunch vs Printful
Which is better? POD Marketplace Or A Store Integration?
While both options are based on print on demand services, they are very different business approaches.
Offering designs on POD marketplaces is more a “set and forget” type of business. While starting your own print on demand store requires a lot of your attention as you are building a brand, marketing said brand and offering customer service.
Both options are completely different.
Creating a brand is for the entrepreneurs with a budget and a lot of dedication and motivation.
Uploading designs to a POD marketplace like Redbubble, Teespring, Zazzle and so on is for those who want a source of passive income but don’t want anything to do with the actual selling process.
Uploading to a POD marketplace is very “casual”. It doesn’t require you to start a real business and anyone can get started with it, completely free.
Starting your own POD store requires investment, a registered business and a completely lifestyle change.
No one option is better. It’s about personal preference.
Summary
These Redbubble alternatives should give you quite a bit of options regarding to starting with print on demand.
Traffic-wise, Redbubble has the most amount of traffic at 30 million monthly visitors. Followed by Teespring at 18 million visitors and Zazzle at 17 million monthly visitors.
However, traffic doesn’t mean everything as more traffic also means more competition between sellers.
If you decide to choose the store route, I recommend you check out our print on demand guide.
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