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Redbubble is a marketplace: you upload art, and it sells and ships. Printify is a fulfilment back-end you connect to your own shop, so the fees stack up differently.
This comparison follows who takes which cut at each step for a UK seller, using published figures. Both platforms changed terms in 2026. Nothing here is an income promise.
Quick Overview
- Redbubble is a marketplace; Printify is a fulfilment back-end for your own shop.
- Redbubble's payout threshold fell to £10 from 1 July 2026, counted after fees.
- Printify lists Premium at $39 a month, checked on 20 October 2026.
- Printify's Free plan has no monthly fee, but order and shop fees still apply.
- Redbubble suits easy trialling; Printify plus a shop suits brand-builders.
The core difference: marketplace or back-end
Redbubble: you sell inside its shop
On Redbubble the customer pays a base price plus your markup. SellerCalc describes the base price as manufacturing plus Redbubble's service fee, and says you keep the markup, less account fees.
Redbubble sells through its own marketplace; you upload art and pick products. Base prices vary by product and destination. Sources disagree on a default markup, so none is given here: check the figure your own dashboard shows.
Printify: you bring the shop
With Printify you choose the storefront, set your own price and pay Printify the base cost plus shipping on each order. Its blog says the Free plan has no monthly fee (checked on 20 October 2026).
That is not the same as free to run. Costs arise on every order, and the shop you connect charges its own fees on top. Printify works as the back-end behind whichever storefront you choose, at the price you set.
What changed in 2026, in plain English
Redbubble: a lower payout threshold
Redbubble's Help Centre says the artist payment threshold fell from £20 to £10 on 1 July 2026. The balance counts after account fees, so earning £10 gross does not guarantee a payout.
Payment is monthly, for the previous month's shipped orders. A balance below the threshold rolls over to the next period, so money arrives with a lag.
Printify: a reported Premium price rise
Printify's blog lists Premium at $39 a month or $299 a year, checked on 20 October 2026. Prices can change. MyDesigns.io reported that monthly billing rose from $29 on 17 February 2026, with the annual price unchanged.
Plans are quoted in US dollars, so UK sellers should expect the pound cost to move with exchange rates. No fixed pound figure is given here.
How a print-on-demand marketplace takes its cut: Redbubble
The three tiers
Redbubble's Help Centre describes three account tiers. Standard carries a 50% platform fee on monthly earnings, Premium 20% and Pro none. Fees on Standard and Premium are capped at £150 per payment period.
The fee applies only when you make sales. A new seller should expect to start in Standard unless Redbubble says otherwise. Figures in this article were checked on 20 October 2026; fees can change, so confirm them on the live pages.
Tier movement is not yours to control
AutoKeyworder, a third-party comparison, reports that Redbubble does not publish its tier thresholds. It quotes the help centre as saying upgrades from Standard to Premium happen only on rare occasions and are not granted on request.
In practice, plan your pricing around the Standard fee rather than hoping to move up. Nobody can promise an upgrade.
The excess-markup rule
Redbubble's Help Centre sets a 20% markup threshold for Standard and Premium artists. SellerCalc, whose rates it says were verified in June 2026, reports an extra 50% fee on the earnings above that threshold.
So a higher markup is not simply more money for you. The extra fee sits on top of the tier fee, which is worth knowing before you price a sticker pack.
A short illustration
SellerCalc's example, illustration only: a 30% markup on a $20 base price gives $6 gross. The excess fee is $1, and then the tier fee applies.
It is not a forecast of what you will earn. Check the figures on your own Redbubble dashboard before you set any markup.
How a fulfilment back-end charges: Printify's Free and Premium plans
Free: the lower-commitment start
Printify says its Free plan has no monthly fee. You pay only the base product and shipping cost for each order that comes in, plus the fees of whichever shop you connect.
That makes it a low upfront commitment way to start. It is still not free to run, because every order carries those costs.
Design time and shop setup also have a price, even if it is only your evenings.
Premium: a monthly fee for a catalogue discount
Printify's blog lists Premium at $39 a month or $299 a year, with up to 20% off catalogue products.
Its own illustration puts break-even at roughly 17 orders a month at a $12 average base cost. Your actual savings depend on the products you sell and the discount level you get.
A one-minute rule
If you cannot name a monthly order volume near that break-even, stay on Free. Revisit Premium once real orders show whether you are heading towards it.
Illustration only: two cost stacks
Here are the cost layers for each route, using only the figures quoted in this article. No selling price is assumed, because none of the sources gives one.
The two examples use different base figures, so do not read them as a like-for-like result. Neither is a forecast of earnings.
- Redbubble, from SellerCalc's example: a $20 base price with a 30% markup gives $6 gross. An excess fee of $1 applies to markup above Redbubble's 20% threshold, then the 50% Standard tier fee applies to the earnings.
- Printify Free: Printify's own illustration uses a $12 average base cost, plus shipping, on every order.
- Printify Premium: $39 a month for up to 20% off catalogue products, so the base cost could sit below $12 depending on products and discount level.
- Etsy UK on top of Printify: a £0.15 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price including postage, and 4% + £0.20 payment processing, plus the 0.48% regulatory fee reported by Kassenklingeln. Fees may attract VAT.
The extra fee layer on the Printify route: your own shop
Etsy UK core fees
Etsy's UK seller page lists a £0.15 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price including postage, and 4% + £0.20 payment processing through Etsy Payments. This was checked on 20 October 2026 and fees can change.
Listing fees are billed as $0.20 USD, so the pound amount varies. The page is an older FAQ, so check Etsy's current fees page.
Etsy: reported 2026 changes
The Kassenklingeln fee calculator, which says it checked Etsy's Help Centre on 28 September 2026, reports that Etsy raised its UK Regulatory Operating Fee from 0.32% to 0.48% on 22 June 2026.
It also says Etsy's fees may attract VAT for sellers without a VAT number. This is not tax advice: check Etsy's Help Centre and GOV.UK.
Shopify Basic benchmark
The Why Matters UK pricing guide lists Shopify Basic at £25 a month, or £19 a month billed yearly. It gives Shopify Payments online card rates of 2% + 25p.
Checked on 20 October 2026; prices can change, so confirm on Shopify's UK pricing page. This is a benchmark for building your own shop, not a recommendation.
These shop-side costs come on top of Printify's base cost and shipping, so add them in before you set a price. If you are still choosing a store builder, a fuller comparison may help.
Strengths and trade-offs at a glance
Pros
- Redbubble needs no shop of your own; you upload art and it handles selling and shipping.
- Printify gives you control over price, storefront and customer relationship.
- Printify's Free plan has no monthly fee, so testing carries low upfront risk.
Cons
- Redbubble's Standard tier takes 50%, payouts arrive monthly and tier moves are not yours to control.
- Printify needs a shop, so you carry that shop's fees on top of base cost.
- Printify's plans are priced in dollars, so exchange rates affect the pound cost.
Who each route suits, and the work it brings
The marketplace route: less setup
Redbubble suits beginners who want to try designs with minimal setup. You upload art and pick products, and Redbubble sells through its own marketplace.
The trade-off is that you are selling inside someone else's shop rather than your own.
Printify plus a shop: more control, more work
This route suits sellers who want to choose their own storefront and set their own prices. The added work is setting up and maintaining a shop, and the shop's own fees sit on top of Printify's base cost and shipping, such as Etsy's fees or a Shopify plan.
If that is the direction you are leaning, a basic grounding in how ecommerce platforms differ is worth having.
A matching rule
Low effort and trialling designs points to the marketplace. Wanting your own storefront and pricing points to Printify plus a shop. This is general guidance, not personalised advice.
Check before you commit
A short checklist
Fees drift, so read each live page yourself before you start:
- Redbubble Help Centre: current tier fees, the payout threshold and the figures on your own dashboard.
- Printify's pricing page: Free and Premium prices in dollars, and the current discount.
- Etsy's current fees page or Shopify's UK pricing page, plus GOV.UK guidance on fees and VAT.
- Write down the date you checked each figure.
FAQs
Is Printify free to use?
Printify's Free plan has no monthly fee, per its blog checked on 20 October 2026. It is not free to run, though: you pay the base product and shipping cost on every order, plus the fees of whichever shop you connect.
When does Redbubble pay out, and what is the threshold?
Redbubble's Help Centre says it pays monthly, for orders shipped the previous month and after account fees. The threshold fell from £20 to £10 on 1 July 2026. A smaller balance rolls over to the next period.
Can I choose my Redbubble tier?
No. AutoKeyworder, a third-party comparison, reports that Redbubble does not publish its tier thresholds. It quotes the help centre as saying upgrades from Standard to Premium happen only on rare occasions and are not granted on request.
Does Redbubble have a default markup?
Sources disagree, so no default is stated here. Check what Redbubble shows when you set up, and remember the extra fee that applies to markup above 20%.
Do Printify's dollar prices matter to UK sellers?
Yes, somewhat. Printify quotes its plans in US dollars, so the pound amount you pay moves with the exchange rate. Check the dollar price on Printify's pricing page and the pound charge when it is billed.
Verdict
Choose Redbubble if you want designs in front of buyers with the least setup and can accept the 50% Standard fee a new seller should expect. Choose Printify plus your own shop if you want your own brand and customer list and can take on the extra work.
The biggest reservation is control: Redbubble tiers are not yours to move, while Printify's costs stack across plan and shop fees. Next step: work through the check-before-you-commit list and read each live pricing page.
