Print-on-demand (POD) sites have exploded in popularity in recent years, and they have completely changed how people shop.
Now, customers can buy distinct designs from artists all over the world, while artists can quickly and affordably sell their unique designs without the hassle of printing, shipping, and customer service.
One of the most popular sites of all is Redbubble.
Founded in Australia back in 2006, Redbubble connects artists and designers with customers who want customized products.
But it’s not the only print-on-demand site, and many alternative sites allow people to buy customized products like t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, and pillows.
Here, we’ll take a look at 17 of the best Redbubble alternatives you can try out today, whether you are selling or buying.
Best Redbubble Alternatives in 2023
Redbubble is a great POD site that’s easy to use for both buyers and sellers. When it comes to how to sell on Redbubble, artists simply choose their products, upload their designs, and Redbubble takes care of the rest.
But perhaps you can’t find exactly what you are looking for on the site, or maybe you just want to explore your options. Here are the 17 best alternatives for 2023.
1. Printify
Like Redbubble, Printify makes it easy for artists to make their own creations by printing their designs onto a wide range of products.
It then takes care of the printing and shipping using a global network of partners, and it offers fast delivery times all over the world.
It also comes with an easy-to-use tool you can use to create designs and add them to a range of products.
However, one big difference is that Printify is not a marketplace, and you cannot sell directly on the site. Instead, you can integrate Printify with your own store on platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
There is a free plan available, but it is fairly limited because it only allows five stores on each account. With the Premium Plan, on the other hand, you can open more stores and get a 20% discount on all the products for $24.99 per month.
2. Zazzle
When it comes to sites similar to Redbubble, Zazzle provides something very close. Founded in 2005, it has an extensive product catalog, and while it is a bit smaller in terms of traffic, it is still one of the most popular sites of its kind.
Like Redbubble, it takes care of all the marketing for sellers, so it’s a great way to get lots of eyes on your products.
Customers can find thousands of high-quality products, including t-shirts, business cards, stickers, and mugs, along with a huge selection of artists and designers producing unique designs.
Zazzle makes it easy for artists to set up personalized storefronts, add their products, and set prices, and it takes care of all the printing, shipping, and customer service. In addition, designers can offer their services using Zazzle LIVE.
It is free to sell on Zazzle, but the platform charges a commission of 15% per sale.
3. Society6
Society6 is not as big as Redbubble, but it still features a huge range of products. There is more of a focus on home decor, furniture, outdoor products, and wall art.
Watercolors and floral patterns are popular, rather than the pop-culture and novelty T-shirts that you find on sites like Redbubble.
If this is your style as an artist or a customer, it could be a good place to buy or sell. Some items also get promoted by the site, leading to more sales.
Customers can use a follow function to find out about the latest designs from their top artists, and artists also get personalized profiles.
It’s free to sign up for sellers. There is then a base price on products set by the website, and sellers can decide on the markup. The default is 10%, but this can be changed.
4. Sellfy
Sellfy is not a marketplace like Redbubble. Instead, it is an eCommerce platform. One thing that makes it popular is that you get more control over how your storefront looks and how you market and sell products.
Getting started is easy. Just sign up, create a store, and add your designs to a wide range of products, including hats, phone cases, t-shirts, and home decor. There are also lots of eco-friendly and sustainable products.
It is free to get started selling up to 10 products, with the only charge being commission. However, there are also Starter, Business, and Premium plans costing $22, $59, and $119 per month, respectively.
These come with a range of additional features, including the ability to remove the Sellfy branding, set up subscriptions, and add features like cart abandonment.
5. Spring
If you’re looking for sites like Redbubble to sell t-shirts, Spring is the place to go. It was originally known as Teespring, and it is a platform where you can build your own custom store.
Its main focus is t-shirts, but there are lots of other products in the catalog, including posters, yoga mats, tote bags, and more.
Stores are very customizable, and while it is not a marketplace, one of the major features is that you can integrate your store with YouTube. Not many services can do this, and if you have a strong presence on YouTube, this is a great way to market your products.
It’s completely free to use. Spring only charges a base cost while artists keep the rest of the profits. Artists have full control over prices and profit margins, and they can even create promo codes.
Related: How To Make Money on Social Media.
6. Printful
Printful is a popular site for artists to create POD merchandise, promotional products, and branding. Artists can customize products, and the site integrates with many eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento, as well as marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy.
Sellers can use the Design Maker to quickly create designs. There are not as many products as some of the sites here, but the products are known for being of very high quality.
The free plan allows you to customize 417 products using over 16,000 clipart images.
There is also a Printful Plus plan that provides a few extras for $9 per month and a Printful Pro plan that is $49 per month and provides extras like built-in tools, design assets, and access to tools like background removal.
7. Cafepress
Cafepress is a popular marketplace that was founded way back in 1999, where you can shop for custom mugs, t-shirts, tote bags, home decor, and more.
It is easy to create your own products, which you can list in the marketplace. It’s free to start selling. CafePress takes care of everything and collects a commission on sales.
If you are a seller, you can have your own online store, which is great for designers with an existing audience. It also has an Officially Licensed section where sellers can create licensed merchandise with designs from comics and movies.
8. Printbest
Printbest has about 100 products in the catalog, including coasters, bottles, mugs, and keychains.
It is not a marketplace like Redbubble. Instead, you sell via your storefront, giving you more control. It integrates with platforms like Shopify and Etsy.
It offers very fast order fulfillment of 1-2 days, and it also claims its prices are 20% lower on average for printed apparel. Thus, Printbest offers potential savings compared to Redbubble.
9. Threadless
One of the best things about Threadless is the way it helps get artists noticed. It started out as a t-shirt company, and it now offers accessories from stickers to beach towels along with home decor.
Sellers can use the Artist Shops feature to create their own shops, and they can then get their products featured in the marketplace.
The site runs design challenges where you can submit your work. If your work scores highly, it can get featured.
Or, you can set up an Artist Studio and get a customized storefront. Threadless also has a section on New Artists and Staff Picks to get sellers noticed.
It’s free to start selling on Threadless. Like many other sites, each product has a product cost, and sellers can choose how much markup they want to add.
10. Design By Humans
Design By Humans does not have as many products as Redbubble, but it still has a good collection of t-shirts, phone cases, mouse pads, and stickers.
Founded in 2007, it features work from thousands of creatives from all over the world. Shoppers can browse by product categories as well as the ‘Popular’ and ‘Artists’ collections.
It also features a ‘Brands’ section with licensed fan merchandise featuring Harry Potter, Stranger Things, The Lord of the Rings, and more.
It has regular design contests with cash rewards for artists. It also allows sellers to double their royalties for the first 90 days.
11. TeePublic
Despite its name, TeePublic doesn’t just focus on t-shirts. It has a wide range of stylish products, from home goods to products for kids, stickers, goods, phone cases, magnets, and more.
It was launched in 2013 and currently has over a million designs.
However, its main focus is on apparel for both adults and kids, including hoodies, crewneck sweatshirts, and onesies.
It has an ‘Artists to Watch’ section as well as ‘Editor’s Picks’ to help sellers get found. Artists can upload as many designs as they want to and create storefronts without any need to worry about printing and shipping.
New designs are featured with sale prices for the first 72 hours, and there are no costs involved.
12. Spreadshirt
Spreadshirt is a large marketplace that seems to have everything, including t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, dog t-shirts, caps, stickers, and more. It also has a licensed merchandise section.
Over 250 products can be customized, and there is a Customize Tool that sellers can use to create products of their own. There are lots of designs and fonts available, and you can also use your own graphics and photos.
It’s completely free to use, and sellers can either sell in the marketplace or open their own ‘Spreadshop.’ In addition, they can sell on external marketplaces, so there are more ways to profit.
13. Fine Art America
If you’re looking for sites like Redbubble to sell art, Fine Art America is a great choice. This is a marketplace similar to Redbubble, but the main focus is wall art and framed prints.
There are hundreds of materials to choose from as well as canvas, acrylic, wooden frame, digital prints, and more.
It takes care of the printing, framing, shipping, and customer service, leaving sellers to supply the designs and set their own prices.
It’s free to get started, but you can also upgrade to Premium for $30 per year to get more sales opportunities.
14. TeeFury
TeeFury is a popular website for t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, and other custom apparel. Lots of talented creative artists (known as TeeFurians) use the platform, and shoppers will find a huge range of designs.
It has a special ‘$18 Weeklies’ section as well as other collections, including Anime, Gaming, Horror, Movies, and Pets. It also has products like tees, posters, aprons, towels, drinkware, phone cases, and more.
A new limited edition design t-shirt is released every day. It’s a great marketplace for pop culture fans.
15. Displate
Displate is another POD marketplace, but it only focuses on metal wall prints. That might seem niche, but metal posters have become incredibly popular.
With its strong social media presence, Displate has seen rapid growth in recent years. It makes the process of getting started and uploading art very easy for artists, and its large audience makes it a great place to get their work found.
It’s popular with various subcultures, with most of the art inspired by comics and gaming. While it is free to sign up, artists need to get approved by sending in a portfolio before they can open a shop on the platform.
16. Merch on Demand by Amazon
Merch on Demand is one of the biggest print-on-demand services online because it is from Amazon. Content creators can take advantage of the huge global Amazon marketplace with millions of customers ready to buy.
Products sold here are eligible for fast Prime Shipping. The disadvantage for sellers is that there is a lot of competition. The product range is also more limited, with a focus on apparel and phone accessories.
But because of the huge potential provided by the site and the fact that sellers can set the royalties of their products, it’s certainly worth looking into.
Here’s how to sell on Amazon.
17. Gelato
Gelato is not a marketplace like Redbubble, so there is more work involved on the artist’s part, but it does offer lots of flexibility.
Once you have used the platform to design products, including apparel, calendars, mugs, cards, and stationery, Gelato integrates with major platforms like Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, and more, so you can sell your products via your own store.
With a global customer base and production partners in 33 countries, Gelato claims to deliver products within 72 hours on average.
While there is a free plan, Gelato also offers Gelato+ and Gelato+ Gold plans with premium features like 30% off shipping, exclusive discounts on new products, and premium apparel.
FAQs
Got questions about Redbubble? Here are some answers.
Are Redbubble and TeePublic the same?
No, Redbubble and TeePublic are two different sites. They are both print-on-demand marketplaces, so artists and designers can create their own designs using the product range available, and customers can buy them directly from the site. However, they have different features and prices.
Does Redbubble own your art?
You remain the copyright holder of the art you create for products on Redbubble. If you create original art and upload it, you own it. Just be careful with fan art, which is a bit different. In this case, the intellectual property belongs to someone else, and you need permission, as explained here.
Is using Redbubble free?
When you buy something on Redbubble, you just pay the cost of the item along with any shipping fees. To sell on Redbubble, it’s completely free to sign up, and there are no listing fees. But you will have to pay a commission on sales. More info here.
Is Redbubble a legit site?
Yes, Redbubble is definitely legit. It is one of the largest print-on-demand marketplaces in the world, and it has been around since 2006. You can find lots of Redbubble reviews online that will give you a good idea about what other buyers and sellers think about it.
Conclusion
There are several Redbubble alternatives, some of which are marketplaces and some of which connect with platforms like Shopify so you can sell elsewhere.
If you’re an artist, sign up to a few sites and see how it goes on each. You may end up focusing on one site over the others, or you might end up selling your unique creations on several sites.
Print-on-demand is here to stay, and it’s only getting bigger. So check out the sites above and enjoy buying or creating a variety of unique products.
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