Is FastSpring or Printful better?

Neither clearly leads. FastSpring starts at On request and Printful at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, FastSpring or Printful?

Printful has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for FastSpring and Free for Printful.

Does FastSpring or Printful run on more platforms?

FastSpring runs on web, api. Printful runs on Web.

Can I use Printful for free?

Yes. Printful has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. FastSpring starts at On request.

What is FastSpring best used for?

FastSpring is most often used for selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity, b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals, recurring subscription billing for digital products, reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchases. Of those, selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity and b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals are not what Printful is typically brought in for.

What can FastSpring do that Printful cannot?

FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance. Printful covers Print on demand, Custom products, Dropshipping, Automated fulfillment.

E-commerce · head to head

FastSpring vs Printful

FastSpring

E-commerce

Merchant-of-record commerce platform for global payments, subscriptions, and tax compliance

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Printful

E-commerce & Retail

Print on demand dropshipping service

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Printful has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.; Printful the Growth plan is $24.99 a month and only becomes free once a store reaches $12,000 a year in sales
They diverge on capability: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Printful covers Print on demand.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FastSpring and Printful actually diverge.

Attributes where FastSpring and Printful differ
Attribute	FastSpring	Printful
Starting price	On request	Free
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	web, api	Web
Category	E-commerce	E-commerce & Retail
Founded	2006	2013

Identical on both: pricing model (transaction), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in FastSpring

Global online payments
Subscription billing
Branded checkout
Tax compliance
Fraud prevention
Digital invoicing and quotes

Only in Printful

Print on demand
Custom products
Dropshipping
Automated fulfillment
Quality control
Inventory sync
Bulk orders
Designer tool

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

FastSpring

Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot Printful
B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot Printful
Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot Printful
Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot Printful

Printful

Print on demand fulfilment for apparel and merchandisenot FastSpring
Attaching a fulfilment backend to an existing online storenot FastSpring

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

FastSpring

Pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
As a merchant-of-record, FastSpring takes on more control of the checkout and payment relationship than a pure payment gateway like Stripe.
Revenue share pricing can become more expensive than flat per-transaction gateway fees at very high volumes.
Primarily targeted at software/digital goods sellers, so it is less suited to physical product e-commerce.

Printful

The Growth plan is $24.99 a month and only becomes free once a store reaches $12,000 a year in sales
Product discounts of up to 33% are tied to that paid plan, so the lowest unit costs are unavailable to small sellers
The free plan allows one sample order a month, capped at 3 items
Shipping and taxes are calculated separately from the quoted product price

Pricing, plan by plan

FastSpring

On request

Custom$undefined/mo
- All-in-one transaction-based pricing based on sales volume
- No subscription fees or per-feature charges
- Discounted rates for ACH and wire transfers

Printful

Free

FreeFree
- Unlimited integrations
- Basic dashboard
- Order fulfillment

Which should you pick?

Choose FastSpring if

You need global online payments.
You work on web, api.
You also want subscription billing.

FastSpring review

Choose Printful if

You need print on demand.
You want to start without paying.
You also want custom products.

Printful review

Questions people ask

Is FastSpring or Printful better?: Neither clearly leads. FastSpring starts at On request and Printful at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FastSpring or Printful?: Printful has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for FastSpring and Free for Printful.
Does FastSpring or Printful run on more platforms?: FastSpring runs on web, api. Printful runs on Web.
Can I use Printful for free?: Yes. Printful has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. FastSpring starts at On request.
What is FastSpring best used for?: FastSpring is most often used for selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity, b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals, recurring subscription billing for digital products, reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchases. Of those, selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity and b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals are not what Printful is typically brought in for.
What can FastSpring do that Printful cannot?: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance. Printful covers Print on demand, Custom products, Dropshipping, Automated fulfillment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FastSpring: What does FastSpring cost?

FastSpring uses flat-rate, all-in-one pricing based on transaction volume, with fees withheld from payouts. There is no minimum volume or subscription fee, and pricing is typically quoted based on expected sales volume after contacting their sales team.

Source

FastSpring: Is there a free plan?

FastSpring does not offer a free plan; instead pricing is transaction-based with no upfront subscription cost, and merchants only pay a commission on completed sales.

Source

FastSpring: What does FastSpring integrate with or include compared to a payment gateway like Stripe?

FastSpring bundles international payments, subscription management, tax compliance, fraud prevention, reporting, and B2B invoicing into one price, whereas gateways like Stripe charge separately for many of these features.

Source

FastSpring vs Printful

FastSpring

Printful

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in FastSpring

Only in Printful

What people use each for

FastSpring

Printful

Where each one falls short

FastSpring

Printful

Pricing, plan by plan

FastSpring

Printful

Which should you pick?

Choose FastSpring if

Choose Printful if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on FastSpring

More on Printful

Keep looking

Other head to heads