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E-commerce & Retail · head to head

Printful vs Square

Printful logo

Printful

E-commerce & Retail

Print on demand dropshipping service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Square logo

Square

E-commerce & Retail

Powering the economy

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; Square plus plan pricing not specified in documentation
  • They diverge on capability: Printful covers Print on demand, Square covers Payment processing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Printful and Square actually diverge.

Attributes where Printful and Square differ
AttributePrintfulSquare
Pricing modeltransactionfreemium
PlatformsWebPOS (Mobile app), Web
Founded20132009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-commerce & Retail).

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 Square

  • Payment processing
  • Point of sale
  • Invoicing
  • Payroll
  • Banking
  • QuickBooks
  • WooCommerce
  • Wix

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 Square
  • Attaching a fulfilment backend to an existing online storenot Square

Square

  • Accept payments with all-in-one POS applicationnot Printful
  • Online ordering and basic website creationnot Printful
  • Invoicing and appointment bookingnot Printful
  • Staff scheduling and loyalty programmesnot Printful

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

Square

  • Plus plan pricing not specified in documentation
  • Processing fees differ by tier but exact rates not detailed
  • Free plan pricing mentioned but specific features for Plus unclear
  • Text marketing charged at 3¢ per message after first 500 included

Pricing, plan by plan

Printful

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

Square

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Square review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Printful if

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

Choose Square if

  • You need payment processing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on POS (Mobile app), Web.
  • You also want point of sale.
Square review

Questions people ask

Is Printful or Square better?
Neither clearly leads. Printful starts at Free and Square at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Printful or Square?
Printful starts at Free and Square at Free.
Does Printful or Square run on more platforms?
Printful runs on Web. Square runs on POS (Mobile app), Web.
Can I use Printful for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Square is typically brought in for.
What can Printful do that Square cannot?
Printful covers Print on demand, Custom products, Dropshipping, Automated fulfillment. Square covers Payment processing, Point of sale, Invoicing, Payroll.
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