Softwr

Software · head to head

Printful vs Shopkeep

Printful logo

Printful

Software

Print on demand dropshipping service

From
Free
Rated
-
Shopkeep logo

Shopkeep

Software

Cloud-based POS for small businesses

From
$49/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Printful has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Printful the Growth plan is $24.99 a month and only becomes free once a store reaches $12,000 a year in sales; Shopkeep unreliable inventory control across multiple locations
  • They diverge on capability: Printful covers Print on demand, Shopkeep covers Point of sale.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Printful and Shopkeep actually diverge.

Attributes where Printful and Shopkeep differ
AttributePrintfulShopkeep
Starting priceFree$49/month
Pricing modeltransactionUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebiPad, Web
Founded20132008

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Printful

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

Only in Shopkeep

  • Point of sale
  • Payment processing
  • Inventory management
  • Customer profiles
  • Sales analytics
  • Employee management
  • Mobile POS
  • Reporting

What people use each for

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

Printful

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

Shopkeep

No use cases recorded yet. See the Shopkeep review.

Where each one falls short

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

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

Shopkeep

  • Unreliable inventory control across multiple locations
  • Cloud-dependent with no offline transaction processing capability
  • Dropped Bluetooth connections cause lost sales and payment processing failures

Pricing, plan by plan

Printful

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited integrations
    • Basic dashboard
    • Order fulfillment

Shopkeep

$49/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Shopkeep review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Printful if

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

Choose Shopkeep if

  • You need point of sale.
  • You work on iPad, Web.
  • You also want payment processing.

Questions people ask

Is Printful or Shopkeep better?
Neither clearly leads. Printful starts at Free and Shopkeep at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Printful or Shopkeep?
Printful has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Printful and $49/month for Shopkeep.
Does Printful or Shopkeep run on more platforms?
Printful runs on Web. Shopkeep runs on iPad, Web.
Can I use Printful for free?
Yes. Printful has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Shopkeep starts at $49/month.
What is Printful best used for?
Printful is most often used for print on demand fulfilment for apparel and merchandise, attaching a fulfilment backend to an existing online store. Of those, print on demand fulfilment for apparel and merchandise and attaching a fulfilment backend to an existing online store are not what Shopkeep is typically brought in for.
What can Printful do that Shopkeep cannot?
Printful covers Print on demand, Custom products, Dropshipping, Automated fulfillment. Shopkeep covers Point of sale, Payment processing, Inventory management, Customer profiles.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Shopkeep: How much does Shopkeep cost?

Shopkeep by Lightspeed pricing varies by plan. Customers must request quotes for current pricing, which has shifted since the Lightspeed acquisition.

Source
Shopkeep: What hardware does Shopkeep require?

Shopkeep operates on iPad tablets, cloud-based systems, and traditional cash register setups, requiring third-party hardware integration.

Source

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