Gelato vs Gooten 2025: Which is Better for Print on Demand

It’s safe to say I’ve experimented with a lot more print on demand platforms than the average entrepreneur or creator. I’ve tested heavy hitters like Printful and Printify, marketplaces like Redbubble, and niche options like PODPartner.

Gelato and Gooten have both earned a place in my “top ten” list – but for different reasons. Gelato is my go-to for sustainability, amazing sales tools, personalization options, and paper products. Gooten is a top choice for unique products, fast delivery times and ease of use.

So, which is best for you overall? That’s what I hope to help you figure out today, with this head-to-head comparison guide. Let’s get started.

Quick Verdict: Pros and Cons

Both Gelato and Gooten are excellent, reliable POD vendors – with solid reputations. For instance, Gooten has a 4.3 out of 5 star score on Trustpilot, compared to Gelato’s score of 4.5.

Personally, I think Gelato is just slightly better than Gooten for a few reasons. It’s a more eco-conscious brand, with more advanced tools for sellers, like the Personalization Studio, price calculator, and mockup generator (which includes access to Shutterstock images).

Gooten is great at delivering products to customers fast – and it has a slightly larger range to choose from than Gelato, but it does lack a lot of integration options, and there are no great “premium plans” for scaling companies (more on that later).

Gelato Pros and Cons:

Pros:

Local, eco-conscious production and fast shipping Constantly high product quality Excellent range of paper products Strong design and sales tools Unique features (like the Personalization studio) Plenty of integration options Valuable premium plans

Cons:

Limited product variety Some features cost extra Gooten Pros and Cons

Pros:

Great range of unique products Quick production and delivery times Free plan with no subscription fees Excellent product quality User-friendly tools and dashboard Wider range of printing options

Cons:

Limited customer support No unique paid features Fewer logistics partners Gelato vs Gooten: My In-Depth Comparison

Still not sure which platform is best? I could spend forever talking about the similarities and differences between Gelato and Gooten.

But to keep things simple, I’m going to focus on the things that really matter to sellers, like product options, sales channels, and fulfillment services.

Product Options, Customization and Branding

Compared to some POD vendors, Gelato has a slightly smaller range of products to choose from (a little over 350). Alternatively, Gooten has more than 500 product lines, including more than 200 exclusive products, like puzzles, clocks, and pet supplies.

However, it’s worth mentioning that Gelato’s products are more sustainable, and the company offers some of the best paper products I’ve seen so far – including aluminum or foam print options.

The customization options are a little more basic with Gelato (there’s no laser or 3D UV printing, like you get with Gooten).

However, you can access the personalization studio with Gelato, which allows you to give customers the power to upload their own photos, text, or designs onto products. Gelato even handles fulfillment and file management with personalized products for you.

Plus, Gelato’s design tools are a lot more advanced, with support for premium mockups, Shutterstock images, and unique visual assets. Gooten’s mockup studio is good – but it’s not quite as sophisticated.

From a branding perspective, Gelato and Gooten both offer white label packaging, custom packing slips, and inserts – so you’ll have no problem making sure your brand stands out.

Product Quality and Profitability

One of the reasons I rate Gelato so highly among POD vendors is that it always seems to deliver consistent quality. No matter what type of product you order, from t-shirts to posters, you’re always going to get crisp colors, strong prints, and premium materials.

Gelato partners with print facilities in over 32 countries (less than Gooten’s 110 partners), and they all follow strict quality assurance standards.

Plus, I really like the fact that Gelato’s design tools actually tell you when your images are low quality – or might lead to a poor design.

Gelato’s base product costs can be a little more expensive than Gooten’s – but it’s worth noting that they’re constantly refining their pricing to help boost profit margins.

From a profitability perspective, it’s also worth remembering that many of Gelato’s best tools are tied into premium plans – so you might end up spending more per month overall.

Gooten is a little cheaper, with no monthly subscription costs – but based on the reviews I’ve read, product quality can vary. You also can’t order free samples with Gooten, so if you want to check quality for yourself, you have to pay the full base price of each item.

Global Fulfillment and Shipping

Both Gelato and Gooten offer global fulfillment. Gelato has 140 production partners in local regions worldwide, and Gooten has more than 70. Both automate fulfillment processes, and work with world-leading shipping carriers to help cut costs.

Notably, Gelato does have a lot more logistics partners than Gooten – so if you’re looking for variety, you know where to find it.

In terms of delivery speed, both companies perform pretty well. Gelato’s production times depend on the product you’re ordering and the location, but most standard orders are produced within 3 days.

Expedited shipping options are also available in some regions.

The big perk of Gelato’s fulfillment process is its emphasis on sustainability. If you’re selling to a market that values environmentally responsible production (and you want to stand out in your niche), Gelato’s local fulfillment approach can be a huge selling point.

Gooten is one of the fastest POD vendors I’ve worked with. Clothing and home décor products are usually produced in 1-3 days. The current average is around 1.5 days for clothing, and 3-5 days for wall art.

You also benefit from flexible, “expedited order processing” with Gooten. Select products can be produced and shipped in just two days or less.

Plus, all orders come with order tracking details, so you can keep your customers informed.

Gelato might have a slight edge in Europe due to more localized facilities, while Gooten’s times can be good in the US, especially if you pair the right shipping methods with your store’s location.

Integrations and Sales Tools

Ideally, I think the best print on demand company should plug into as many platforms as possible. Gelato isn’t the “king” of integrations – compared to options like Printful, but it supports all the major players like WooCommerce, Etsy, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and TikTok.

Gooten is similar, with integration options for Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, TikTok Shop, and BigCommerce. Most companies do rely on the companies “custom API” for advanced automation, though – which can be a little tricky to use for beginners.

Overall, I think Gelato’s sales tools are a lot better. There’s a “Price Navigator” for analyzing profit margins, an analytics dashboard, and a mobile app for managing stores on the move.

You also get access to premium mockups on paid plans. Plus, as mentioned above, you can use the Personalization studio to empower your customers to create their own custom products.

Gooten does offer some handy tools for business leaders, like a dashboard with order management tools, a simple mockup generator, and a product hub for companies with multiple stores.

The custom API also means you can set up workflows that include order status tracking and address validation.

All around, I’d give Gelato the win for integrations (sales channels) and overall sales tools, but Gooten still has plenty to offer beginners.

Gelato vs Gooten: Ease of Use and Customer Support

It probably comes as no surprise that both Gelato and Gooten are very easy to use – I’ve yet to find a POD platform that isn’t user-friendly. Gelato has a straightforward, intuitive dashboard, and offers companies a range of great learning resources, such as the Gelato Academy.

Gooten is very straightforward too. In fact, I think most beginners will be able to set up their stores a lot faster with Gooten, because there are fewer features, and advanced design tools to experiment with. From a support perspective, Gelato has a slight edge.

While both companies offer self-help resources, Gooten really only offers support via email, whereas Gelato also supports online chat. Neither company has a phone line – but they’re both pretty responsive, and the reps are very helpful when they do respond to a query.

The main issue I have with Gooten is that the lack of a live chat means that I’ve been left occasionally sitting for hours at a time, refreshing my inbox. I don’t really have that problem with Gelato.

Gelato vs Gooten: Pricing and Fees

Cost is obviously a huge factor in deciding which POD platform to partner with. First you need to consider the base costs of products.

Gelato and Gooten both offer pretty competitive pricing – although some of Gooten’s products are a little cheaper. They also both offer bulk discounts.

Gelato and Gooten also each allow companies to get started for free.

The main difference is that Gooten only has a free plan – there are no subscription tiers at all.

Gelato gives you the option to “upgrade” to a premium plan for extra benefits.

You can choose from:

Gelato+: $25/month. Includes product discounts up to 20%, premium mockups, millions of stock images, and branded packaging options. Gold: $129/month. Includes up to 25% off products, 30% off branding tools, and the Price Navigator app for advanced analytics. Platinum: Custom pricing. Offers all Gold perks plus dedicated support, special discounts, and community events.

Notably, though, there are some extra fees for Gelato too. If you want to use the Personalization Studio, for instance, that has its own tiered pricing studio.

The Starter plan is free (with a 6% transaction fee on each item). There’s also a Regular plan that costs $19 per month and cuts the transaction fee to 4%.

Overall, Gooten might be a little more expensive – but I honestly think it’s worth it, particularly when you account for things like product discounts and sales tools on the premium plans.

Gelato vs Gooten: Which is Best

It’s probably clear from this comparison that Gelato is my winner overall, thanks to its great product quality, value-added premium plans, and great design and sales tools.

But really, both of these tools are fantastic – they’re just better suited to different people.

I’d recommend definitely choosing Gelato if you care about sustainability, consistently high-quality products, and advanced personalization and design features. It’s also a good option for vendors looking to really scale their POD business.

On the other hand, Gooten might be a good option if you’re looking for a wider variety of products, ultra-fast delivery times (particularly in the US), and simple design tools. It’s also a good choice for those who want to experiment with custom APIs.

Keep in mind, you can try out both of these companies for free – so there’s nothing to stop you from testing them out for yourself, if you’re still not sure.

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