Society6 vs Spreadshirt 2024: The Ultimate Comparison

General, I believe Spreadshirt is likely one of the most versatile POD platforms for inexperienced persons. It offers you the choice to promote by means of an current market, create your individual retailer, and even combine your POD instruments with a spread of marketplaces and platforms. For me, it’s the clear winner on this comparability.

Nevertheless, for those who’re an artist seeking to promote high-quality prints, Society6 is a barely extra “niche-focused” answer. It has a wonderful popularity for producing top-quality merchandise, and makes it comparatively straightforward to start out incomes cash on-line.

In the event you’re a member of the ever-growing inventive economic system, you might need thought-about monetizing your expertise with the assistance of a Print on Demand (POD) platform. As a subset of dropshipping, POD presents entrepreneurs, artists, and creators one of many best methods to start out promoting merchandise on-line.

With this enterprise mannequin, there are minimal upfront prices, nearly no dangers (you solely pay for what you promote), and also you don’t need to take care of producing and fulfilling orders your self.

The largest problem? Determining which platform to make use of.

Spreadshirt and Society6 are two Print on Demand options I’ve seen ship wonderful outcomes to artists and creators in the previous few years.

Nevertheless, whereas they’re each POD platforms, they aim very completely different audiences. Right here’s what it is advisable to know to make the appropriate alternative for what you are promoting.

Spreadshirt vs Society6: How the Platforms Work

On the floor, Spreadshirt and Society6 appear fairly related. They each provide you with a web-based market you need to use to promote merchandise with out creating your individual ecommerce retailer.

Additionally they each supply entry to a variety of customizable merchandise (though Spreadshirt appears to have extra selection to supply). Nevertheless, these platforms work in very other ways.

How Society6 Works

Society6 describes itself as an “artist-driven market”, and I can positively see why. The corporate focuses particularly on serving to unbiased artists to monetize their creativity.

In comparison with Spreadshirt, the expertise of utilizing Society6 is fairly fundamental.

All it is advisable to do is join an account (free of charge), and add your unique designs to the platform.

Based mostly on the dimensions of your file, Society6 provides you with a spread of things you’ll be able to apply your print to (there are 90+ merchandise to select from).

When you’ve uploaded your prints, prospects should purchase them from the Society6 market, and Society6 handles the remainder.

The crew prints your merchandise, ships them to prospects, and handles all buyer communications for you. After that, you obtain a “fee” for every sale made.

Often, these commissions begin at round 10%, however you’ll be able to set your individual costs on premium plans.

How Spreadshirt Works

Spreadshirt began off lots like Society6, giving creators a market they might entry to listing their merchandise, and join with potential consumers.

Nevertheless, nowadays, there’s a couple of solution to promote with Spreadshirt. {The marketplace} continues to be an excellent choice, attracting greater than 80,000 guests a month.

When you join an account, you need to use the Spreadshirt mockup generator and design instruments to create your merchandise, and listing them on the location.

Plus, you’ll have the ability to entry promotional marketing campaign instruments to showcase your gadgets on Amazon and Ebay.

Alternatively, you’ll be able to select to create your individual Spreadshirt Store (Free of charge) with Spreadshop, and earn commissions on each product you promote by means of your customized storefront.

There’s additionally the choice to make use of SPOD to attach your Spreadshirt POD instruments to a spread of different ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, resembling WooCommerce, Etsy, and Shopify.

Society6 vs Spreadshirt: The Professionals and Cons

I’ve experimented with dozens of print on demand platforms in the previous few years, they usually all have their very own professionals and cons to contemplate.

Spreadshirt and Society6 are not any completely different. Right here’s my perception into the principle professionals and cons of every platform.

Society6 Professionals and Cons

Spreadshirt Professionals and Cons

Society6 vs Spreadshirt: Pricing and Charges

One of many first issues I’m requested about after I evaluation a POD platform, is how a lot it’s going to value to make use of the service.

Whereas each Society6 and Spreadshirt do supply free plans, there are some variations of their pricing construction (and the way you receives a commission).

Society6 Pricing and Charges

The excellent news for inexperienced persons within the POD area, is you don’t need to spend something to get began with Society6.

There’s a free plan which lets you promote as much as 10 designs on {the marketplace}, create your individual customizable artist store, and place your designs on nearly any product.

You’ll additionally have the ability to ship to prospects worldwide, and entry around-the-clock help.

Nevertheless, you’ll be able to’t set your individual costs on this plan, as an alternative you simply earn 10% of the online sale value, no matter what you promote.

If you need somewhat extra freedom, you’ll be able to improve to the Fundamental plan for $4.99 per 30 days, which lets you set your individual costs, and extends your design restrict to 100.

There’s additionally the “Professional” plan for $12.99, which supplies you a design restrict of 10.000, in addition to entry to your individual gross sales analytics dashboard and quarterly development report emails and webinars.

You’ll additionally get a 20% low cost on the bottom value of your merchandise if you purchase them your self. I’d positively suggest contemplating each paid plans for those who’re scaling your artwork enterprise.

By way of transport and product prices, each can range relying on what you select to promote, and the place your prospects are.

Nevertheless, because you solely earn a fee from a sale, quite than paying for base merchandise and transport and protecting the earnings, you shouldn’t have to fret about these charges an excessive amount of.

You might simply need to hold them in thoughts when setting your individual costs.

Spreadshirt’s Pricing and Charges

Similar to Society6, Spreadshirt permits firms to start out promoting merchandise on-line free of charge. No matter gross sales technique you select, whether or not you’re constructing a Spreadshop retailer, or promoting by means of {the marketplace}, you don’t need to pay any month-to-month charges. There are additionally no upfront prices to fret about.

You don’t need to take care of transport charges or base product prices except you select to promote your merchandise by means of Spod.

This integration permits you to set your individual costs for any gadgets you create, and also you’ll must pay for the core value of the merchandise you create, plus transport charges.

On this occasion, your base product costs and transport charges will range relying on a spread of things, together with the merchandise you select, the way you need to customise them, and the situation of your prospects.

If you wish to keep away from upfront prices altogether, you need to use both Spreadshop, or the Spreadshirt market, and easily earn a fee on your entire gross sales.

This provides you with much less management over your revenue margins, but it surely does imply you don’t have to fret about budgeting for base merchandise prices and transport your self.

Promoting by means of Spod additionally means you’ll want to contemplate the prices of any ecommerce platforms you’re utilizing, like Shopify.

Core Options and Performance

Whereas Society6 and Spreadshirt are two very completely different platforms, they each supply firms a spread of options that may make it simpler to start out promoting customized merchandise on-line.

Each platforms include design instruments and mockup turbines, though I did discover Spreadshirt’s instruments to be somewhat fundamental.

Society6 goes somewhat additional to make sure you get top quality prints, supplying you with instructions on which sorts of information to add, and guaranteeing you’ll be able to’t simply apply your photos to any merchandise (in the event that they’re not massive sufficient, for example).

Each platforms additionally provide you with a variety of completely different merchandise to select from, although Spreadshirt’s choices are somewhat extra numerous.

Society6 focuses primarily on dwelling décor, wall artwork, attire, and equipment, although there are some tech and outside choices obtainable too. Spreadshirt primarily focuses on attire, but it surely does provide you with a variety of printing choices you gained’t get elsewhere (like flock print).

Society6 vs Spreadshirt: Product Designs and High quality

Testing the standard of the merchandise you may get from POD firms might be difficult. Even for those who order a pattern product (which you are able to do on each Spreadshirt and Society6), there are many variables that may have an effect on print high quality over time.

Based mostly alone experiments, and what I’ve learn from in evaluations from prospects, Society6 does have a barely higher popularity for delivering constant high quality.

The corporate would possibly solely provide you with entry to 90 distinctive merchandise, but it surely leverages state-of-the-art expertise for printing, and implements strict high quality assurance measures to make sure success.

I additionally respect the truth that the dimensions of the file you add to Society6 determines which merchandise you’ll have the ability to customise and promote.

If a picture is just too small, Society6 gained’t simply stretch it to suit an area, which implies you’re much less prone to find yourself with poor-quality prints.

Spreadshirt doesn’t essentially have a foul popularity for product high quality, however experiences can range from one client to the following.

A lot of the merchandise you obtain will look improbable at first, however the design can start to fade over time (significantly on commonly washed clothes).

Nevertheless, it’s value noting that you simply do get extra product choices to select from with Spreadshirt (over 200), and extra methods to customise your gadgets.

There are sublimation and embroidery choices, display, flock, flex, and metallic printing, and even glow-in-the-dark printing choices.

Spreadshirt vs Society6: integrations

Right here’s the place the variations between Society6 and Spreadshirt actually change into apparent. As I discussed above, Spreadshirt offers you a bunch of how to promote your merchandise.

You possibly can promote your gadgets immediately by means of the Spreadshirt market, or create a “Spreadshop”, which additionally integrates with instruments like Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress.

Alternatively, for those who take the “Spod” route, you’ll have the ability to promote by means of a spread of ecommerce platforms and market channels.

There are integrations for Squarespace, WooCommerce, Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, Ebay, and extra. Even with {the marketplace} choice, you’ll be able to nonetheless entry integrations to advertise your merchandise on Amazon and Ebay.

Notably, Spreadshirt additionally presents firms an open API, so you’ll be able to create sure connections and automations your self, in case you have the appropriate developer data.

So far as I can inform, Society6 presents completely no integration choices. The one solution to promote merchandise with the platform is with an “artist retailer” on the Society6 market.

You possibly can all the time hyperlink individuals to your retailer web page on social media and different channels, however there are not any direct integrations.

Buyer Help and Service

Lastly, let’s check out the client help you’ll be able to count on to obtain from each platforms. With Society6, around-the-clock buyer help is included on all plans.

You possibly can contact the crew by way of e-mail, or entry a chat characteristic to seek for self-help help in Society6’s guides and FAQs.

I couldn’t discover any chat or cellphone choices, though you’ll be able to probably attain Society6 by means of social media (although I wouldn’t count on an instantaneous response).

Spreadshirt is a bit more complete with its strategy to help. Although the service hours are restricted to enterprise hours (various relying on the place you reside), you may get in contact by means of each e-mail and cellphone.

Plus, the corporate has a ton of nice self-help sources obtainable, resembling movies, guides, blogs, FAQs, and tutorials. Sadly, I couldn’t discover a stay chat choice.

Like Society6, Spreadshirt can be lively on numerous social media channels, and it has its personal devoted discussion board obtainable, if you wish to search help from different artists and creators.

Society6 vs Spreadshirt: The Closing Verdict

Finally, whereas each Society6 and Spreadshirt have their very own distinctive advantages, I believe Spreadshirt is the higher answer general.

It offers artists a wider vary of merchandise (and customization choices) to select from, in addition to a number of methods to promote their gadgets throughout completely different channels.

Spreadshirt is exceptionally straightforward to make use of, and the client help positively has an edge over what you’d get from Society6.

Nevertheless, Society6 does stand out in a couple of areas. It’s an excellent entry-level answer for artists who need to attain an current viewers by means of a complete market.

The design instruments are somewhat extra superior, and Society6 additionally has a greater popularity for delivering constant high quality.