ShineOn vs Printful: which is the better option for print on demand?

If you’re looking for a quick answer, Printful is one of my favorite print on demand solutions. It offers merchants a huge range of customizable products, powerful (but user-friendly) design tools, and it integrates with numerous sales channels.

However, ShineOn, with its unique range of jewelry products, could be the better pick for companies looking to stand out from the crowd with personalized necklaces, bracelets, and more.

Still uncertain? This comparison guide will tell you everything you need to know.

The Quick Verdict, Pros and Cons

TDLR: In my opinion, Printful is the best option overall. It gives you more high-quality products to choose from for your portfolio, better design tools, more integrations, and it has one of the best premium subscription plans in the POD market.

ShineOn, on the other hand, may be a good pick for small businesses primarily focused on selling jewelry products.

Printful Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Excellent selection of products
• Dozens of sales channel integration
• Global fulfillment options with branding options
• Handy quick store tool for beginners
• Lots of customization options
• Powerful design tools

Cons:

• No jewelry products
• Limited customer support

ShineOn Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Unique jewelry products
• Great pre-made design options
• Convenient product page templates
• Great educational resources
• Fast production and shipping times (in the US)
• Excellent customer support

Cons:

• Not many integrations
• Fewer products than Printful
• Variable shipping times outside of the US

ShineOn vs Printful: Head to Head

Like most print on demand solutions, ShineOn and Printful have a lot in common.

They both handle all production and shipping for merchants, and deliver goods worldwide.

Plus, they both have handy design tools, convenient options for branding, and they both integrate with third-party sales channels like Shopify – although Printful gives you more options.

Let’s take a look at these platforms head-to-head.

Product Options and Customization

Let’s start with product options – arguably where you’ll see the biggest difference between ShineOn and Printful.

Although Printful doesn’t have as many product options as some competitors, there are still nearly 400 options to choose from (compared to ShineOn’s 150+). You also get plenty of variety, with options for apparel, accessories, home décor, and more.

Printful also gives you plenty of ways to customize your products, with embroidery, DTF, DTG, and all-over print methods.

ShineOn mainly offers custom engraving options, because it focuses almost exclusively on jewelry products, like necklaces and bracelets.

Notably, ShineOn does say that its always on the “look out” for other products to offer, but for now, you don’t get too many options outside of jewelry.

On the plus side, that does mean that you’re getting access to more unique products that other print on demand sellers are unlikely to have.

When it comes to actually customizing your products, I think Printful’s design tools are a little better. While both companies give you access to pre-made templates, designs, and elements, Printful has an AI “upscaler” tool, and some other features that can help you create more premium-looking goods.

Product Quality and Profitability

From a product quality perspective, both of these companies have a great reputation.

I’ve personally never had an issue with any of Printful’s products, and like most users, I’ve noticed that you always get crisp, high-quality prints, and great materials, regardless of which option you choose.

ShineOn has a strong reputation for selling high-quality jewelry items – and many of the other options it offers (like home décor goods) are great too.

However, the pricing for ShineOn’s products can be quite high. Even with upselling tools, and pre-built product page templates designed to boost conversions, you might have a hard time maintaining profit margins.

Printful’s products used to be a lot more expensive, but the company recently implemented some price changes that significantly reduced the cost of base goods, without compromising on quality.

There’s also a fantastic premium plan (more on that later) which I think gives businesses a great way to increase their profit margins as they scale their operations.

Global Fulfillment, Integrations and Sales Tools

If you’re looking for a way to sell custom products worldwide, both ShineOn and Printful offer global fulfillment. They also both promise relatively fast production and fulfillment times.

However, since ShineOn’s production teams are mostly based in the United States, you will get much faster, cheaper shipping if your customers are in America. Outside of that, the shipping times can vary drastically.

Printful is a little more consistent, but again, the amount you pay for shipping, and the time it takes to deliver products can vary, based on your customer’s location.

Printful also has a significant edge over ShineOn in terms of integration options. ShineOn primarily integrates with Shopify, whereas Printful integrates with dozens of different sales channels, from Shopify and Etsy, to Amazon, and TikTok.

Printful also allows US-based merchants to create their own “Quick Store” where they can start selling products immediately through a simple, single-page website for free. That’s not something you can do with ShineOn.

Notably, both tools offer some handy tools for boosting sales, like reporting and analytical dashboards to help you make data-driven growth decisions.

Both companies also support white-label branding for packaging, and can automate a range of tasks on behalf of sellers, so you can focus on growing your store.

ShineOn vs Printful: Ease of Use and Customer Support

I’ve yet to find a print on demand platform that isn’t inherently easy to use.

Both Printful and ShineOn make it easy to sign up for an account in seconds, integrate the platform with your online store, create products, and sell them online. Both tools have a straightforward and easy-to-navigate dashboard, and convenient design tools for beginners.

However, I think Printful’s design tools are a little more user-friendly, while ShineOn’s analytical tools are a bit easier to get your head around if you’re new to online selling.

On the plus side, both companies offer a bunch of great educational and self-help resources, from videos, to blogs, and guides.

They also both have “Academy” style solutions which give you access to courses that teach you how to improve your designs and increase conversion rates.

If you need direct support from the team, Printful offers 24/7 customer service via chat and email – even if you’re using the free plan.

ShineOn supports chat and email too – and I think they’re actually more responsive than Printful, with dedicated teams that deliver answers to queries in seconds.

ShineOn vs Printful: Plans and Pricing

Finally, we come to pricing. Again, both ShineOn and Printful are pretty similar here, allowing users to sign up for an account for free and start selling without paying anything upfront.

You only pay for the base cost of the items you sell when a customer actually makes a purchase.

Although it’s worth noting that ShineOn’s products can be a little more expensive (as mentioned above).

Printful does offer a “premium” plan to growing companies, which I think gives it a major edge in the print on demand market. The “Growth” plan, costs either $24.99 per month – or it’s completely free if you’re earning more than $12k in sales per year.

This plan gives you instant access to a range of benefits, like 33% lower pricing on a range of products. Notably, you can also purchase additional services from Printful, like additional branding options, custom pack-ins and packaging, and creative services like photo shoots.

There’s even the option to pay for warehousing services for non-Printful items, so you can store all your products in one place, and take advantage of Printful’s shipping support.

ShineOn vs Printful: The Verdict

So there you have it. Overall, I still think Printful is the better option for most sellers, simply because it offers a wider range of products, more integrations with various sales channels, advanced design tools, and bonus extras (like the Quick Store creator).

However, ShineOn does have its benefits too – such as its fantastic customer support, and its wide range of jewelry items.

If you’re still struggling to decide, there’s really nothing stopping you from using both options. You could use ShineOn for jewelry POD with Shopify, and still work with Printful to expand your product catalog.

I’d recommend giving both platforms a try for yourself, and making your decision based on your own experience.