Tired of juggling inventory and complicated shipping for your creative business?
Finding a reliable print-on-demand partner that delivers quality without breaking the bank can feel like searching for a unicorn, right?
Dive into our in-depth Gelato review!
We’ve explored their website and services to answer the burning question: Is Gelato the best print-on-demand platform to elevate your business in 2025?
Let’s find out.
Ready to streamline your print-on-demand business? Gelato boasts a global network of 140+ print partners in 32 countries, ensuring that 90% of orders are produced locally and 90% arrive within 5 days.
What is Gelato?
Think of Gelato as a super-efficient helper for your online store.
If you want to sell things like t-shirts with your cool designs, or mugs with funny quotes, Gelato steps in to handle the tricky parts.
You don’t need to have a room full of shirts or boxes waiting to be shipped.
Here’s the simple breakdown: You create your design, and when someone buys it from your online shop, Gelato takes that order, prints your design on the product, packs it up, and sends it straight to your customer.
You just focus on making awesome designs and selling them – Gelato takes care of the rest!
It’s like having a magic warehouse and shipping department all in one, without you having to lift the heavy boxes.
Who Created Gelato?
While the name “Gelato” might first bring to mind the delicious Italian ice cream, the print-on-demand platform Gelato was founded in 2007 by Henrik Müller-Hansen.
Building on his experience with OptimalPrint, a successful Europe-wide personalized greeting card and photobook service, Müller-Hansen recognized the need for a more efficient and sustainable global printing network.
His vision was to create a platform that empowers creators and businesses by enabling local, on-demand production worldwide, reducing waste and delivery times.
Gelato’s aim is to make global e-commerce smarter, faster, and greener for both people and the planet.
Top Benefits of Gelato
- Global Reach, Local Production: Gelato’s extensive network of print partners across the globe means your products are often printed closer to your customers. This translates to faster shipping times and potentially lower shipping costs, enhancing customer satisfaction.
- No Upfront Inventory Costs: Forget about investing in bulk stock that might not sell. With Gelato, products are only printed when an order comes in, eliminating the financial risk and storage needs associated with traditional inventory.
- Wide Range of Customizable Products: From apparel and accessories to wall art and home decor, Gelato offers a diverse catalog of products you can personalize with your unique designs, allowing you to cater to various customer preferences.
- Seamless Integration: Gelato easily connects with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and Etsy, automating the order fulfillment process. This streamlined workflow saves you time and reduces the manual effort involved in selling online.
- Focus on Sustainability: By promoting local production and on-demand printing, Gelato actively works to minimize environmental impact by reducing transportation emissions and avoiding overproduction. This can also appeal to environmentally conscious customers.
- Scalability: As your business grows, Gelato can effortlessly handle increased order volumes without requiring you to invest in additional equipment or warehouse space. This allows you to scale your business efficiently.
- Real-time Order Tracking: You and your customers can stay informed about the shipping status of orders through Gelato’s tracking system, improving transparency and providing peace of mind.
- Branding Options: Gelato offers various branding options, such as custom packaging slips, which can help you create a more professional and personalized experience for your customers, strengthening your brand identity.
Best Features of Gelato
What truly sets Gelato apart in the crowded print-on-demand landscape?
Beyond the core benefits, Gelato offers a suite of powerful and user-friendly features designed to empower creators and simplify the entire selling process.
Let’s dive into some of the standout capabilities that make Gelato a strong contender for your print-on-demand needs.
Product Catalog
Gelato boasts an extensive product catalog catering to diverse creative needs.
Whether you’re looking to sell apparel like t-shirts and hoodies, home goods such as mugs and posters, or even stationery and phone cases, Gelato offers a wide array of high-quality blank products ready for your designs.
This vast selection allows you to expand your online store’s offerings and reach a broader customer base, all managed through a single, integrated platform.
You can easily explore different product categories and find the perfect items to showcase your unique artwork and designs.
Personalization Studio
Unleash your creativity with Gelato’s intuitive personalization studio.
This user-friendly design tool allows you to effortlessly upload your artwork, create new designs using built-in elements, and visualize how they’ll look on various products.
The studio provides a clear preview, ensuring your designs are perfectly placed and sized before going into production.
This easy-to-use interface makes it accessible for both beginners and experienced designers to bring their creative visions to life and prepare them for sale.
Templates
For those looking for a head start or inspiration, Gelato offers a selection of professionally designed templates.
These pre-made designs can be easily customized with your own text, images, and branding elements, saving you time and effort in the design process.
Whether you need a quick design for a promotional campaign or a starting point for a new product line, these templates provide a valuable resource to accelerate your creative workflow and ensure your products have a polished and appealing look.
Branding Projects
Elevate your brand identity with Gelato’s branding projects feature.
This allows you to consistently present your brand across all your products and customer touchpoints.
You can customize packaging slips with your logo and brand messaging, creating a more professional and memorable unboxing experience for your customers.
Consistent branding helps build recognition and loyalty, turning one-time buyers into repeat customers.
Gelato understands the importance of brand presentation and provides the tools to help you achieve a cohesive brand image.
Analytics
Gain valuable insights into your business performance with Gelato’s integrated analytics dashboard.
Track your sales, identify best-selling products, and understand customer behavior to make data-driven decisions.
This feature provides crucial information to help you optimize your product offerings, refine your marketing strategies, and ultimately grow your online business.
By understanding your sales trends and customer preferences, you can make informed choices that contribute to your long-term success in the competitive e-commerce market.
Pricing
| Feature | Free Plan |
| Free | $0 |
| Gelato+ | $25/month |
| Gold | $129/month |
| Platinum | Custom pricing |
Pros and Cons
Choosing the right print-on-demand platform is crucial.
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of Gelato will help you make an informed decision for your business.
Let’s explore what Gelato does well and where it might fall short.
Pros
Cons
Gelato Alternatives
While Gelato offers a strong platform, several other print-on-demand services cater to different needs and preferences. Here are a few notable alternatives:
- Printful: Known for its high-quality printing and branding options, Printful offers a wide range of products and seamless integrations. They handle everything from printing to shipping and even offer warehousing services.
- Printify: This platform connects you with a network of print providers, often leading to more competitive pricing and a vast product catalog. However, print quality and shipping times can vary depending on the chosen provider.
- Gooten: Gooten partners with various manufacturers to offer a diverse selection of products, including home goods. They focus on efficient order fulfillment and aim for cost-effective shipping solutions.
- Redbubble: This is a marketplace as well as a POD platform, allowing artists to sell their designs directly to consumers. They handle production and shipping, and it’s a great option for reaching a built-in audience.
- Zazzle: Similar to Redbubble, Zazzle is a marketplace with extensive customization options. They offer a wide array of unique products and empower creators to design and sell their own items.
Exploring these alternatives can help you find the platform that best meets your specific business requirements and goals.
When making your decision, consider factors like product selection, print quality, pricing, shipping options, and ease of integration.
Personal Experience with Gelato
Our team recently explored Gelato to streamline the merchandise production for our online content creators.
We aimed to find a solution that would handle printing and shipping directly to their audiences, freeing up our time to focus on content creation and marketing.
After testing various platforms, Gelato stood out due to its global reach and ease of use.
Here’s a breakdown of our positive experience with Gelato:
- Extensive Product Catalog: We were able to offer a diverse range of merchandise, from branded apparel like t-shirts and hoodies to accessories like mugs and phone cases, all within the Gelato platform.
- Seamless Integration: Connecting Gelato to our existing Shopify stores was remarkably straightforward, automating the order fulfillment process without any technical headaches.
- Intuitive Personalization Studio: Our creators found the design tool very user-friendly, allowing them to easily upload their logos and designs onto various products and preview them accurately.
- Efficient Global Production: The fact that Gelato utilizes local print partners significantly reduced shipping times for our international audiences, leading to happier customers.
- Valuable Analytics Dashboard: The sales data and insights provided by Gelato’s analytics helped us identify our best-selling products and understand customer preferences, informing our future design decisions.
- Consistent Branding: The option to customize packaging slips with our brand logo added a professional touch to the delivery experience, enhancing our brand image.
- Reliable Customer Support: Whenever we had questions, Gelato’s support team was responsive and helpful in resolving any queries promptly.
Overall, Gelato proved to be a valuable asset in simplifying our merchandise operations, allowing our creators to focus on what they do best while ensuring a smooth and efficient experience for their fans.
Final Thoughts
So, should you try Gelato?
If you want to sell your cool designs on things like shirts and mugs without dealing with all the messy storage and shipping stuff, Gelato is worth checking out.
They have lots of different things you can put your designs on.
It’s easy to connect to your online store, and they print stuff close to your customers so it gets there faster.
You don’t have to buy a bunch of stuff ahead of time, which is great!
They do have some extra fancy features if you pay a bit, but you can start for free.
If you want an easy way to sell your creations to people all over the world, Gelato can help.
Ready to make your designs a reality?
Visit Gelato’s website and see how easy it is to get started!
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Gelato, and how does it work?
Gelato is a print-on-demand platform that helps you sell custom-designed products online without holding any inventory. You upload your designs and connect your store, and when a customer buys something, Gelato handles the printing, packaging, and shipping directly to them. You only pay for the production and shipping costs after a sale.
What types of products can I sell through Gelato’s product catalog?
Gelato offers a wide product catalog including apparel (t-shirts, hoodies), home decor (mugs, posters, canvases), accessories (phone cases, bags), and paper goods. They are continuously expanding their offerings, providing diverse options to showcase your creative designs and cater to different customer needs.
How does Gelato handle branding projects for my online store?
Gelato allows you to enhance your branding projects by offering options like custom packaging slips with your logo and messaging. This helps create a more professional and personalized experience for your customers, strengthening your brand identity and fostering customer loyalty with each delivered order.
Can I track my sales and understand customer behavior with Gelato’s analytics?
Yes, Gelato provides an analytics dashboard where you can track your sales performance, identify your best-selling products, and gain insights into customer purchasing patterns. This data helps you make informed decisions to optimize your product offerings, marketing strategies, and overall business growth.
What are the costs associated with using Gelato’s print-on-demand service?
Gelato doesn’t have mandatory monthly fees for its basic service. You primarily pay the base cost of the product and the shipping fee when an order is fulfilled. They also offer subscription plans like Gelato+ with potential discounts and extra features, but these are optional depending on your business needs and scale.
