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E-commerce & Retail · head to head

Printful vs WooCommerce

Printful logo

Printful

E-commerce & Retail

Print on demand dropshipping service

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
WooCommerce logo

WooCommerce

E-commerce & Retail

The flexible, open-source ecommerce platform

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; WooCommerce the plugin is free but you must supply and pay for WordPress hosting, which WooCommerce itself puts at $25 to $350 per month for most stores
  • They diverge on capability: Printful covers Print on demand, WooCommerce covers Product management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Printful and WooCommerce actually diverge.

Attributes where Printful and WooCommerce differ
AttributePrintfulWooCommerce
Pricing modeltransactionfreemium
Founded20132011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), 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 WooCommerce

  • Product management
  • Shopping cart
  • Payment integration
  • Shipping management
  • Tax calculations
  • Customer accounts
  • Order management
  • Inventory tracking

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

WooCommerce

  • Running an online store inside an existing WordPress sitenot Printful
  • Selling physical, digital or subscription products with full control of the codenot Printful
  • Building a customised commerce workflow through plugins and hooksnot 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

WooCommerce

  • The plugin is free but you must supply and pay for WordPress hosting, which WooCommerce itself puts at $25 to $350 per month for most stores
  • Functionality such as subscriptions and bookings comes from paid extensions priced at $29 to $299 per year each, renewed annually
  • Card payments through WooPayments cost roughly 2.50 to 2.90 percent plus 30 cents per transaction
  • Total cost depends on how many extensions a store needs rather than a single published plan price

Pricing, plan by plan

Printful

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

WooCommerce

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Core ecommerce features
    • Unlimited products
    • Community support
  • Premium$299/year
    • All Free features
    • Premium support
    • Performance optimization

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 WooCommerce if

  • You need product management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want shopping cart.
WooCommerce review

Questions people ask

Is Printful or WooCommerce better?
Neither clearly leads. Printful starts at Free and WooCommerce at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Printful or WooCommerce?
Printful starts at Free and WooCommerce at Free.
Does Printful or WooCommerce run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 WooCommerce is typically brought in for.
What can Printful do that WooCommerce cannot?
Printful covers Print on demand, Custom products, Dropshipping, Automated fulfillment. WooCommerce covers Product management, Shopping cart, Payment integration, Shipping management.
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