Who each one suits
Shopify + Printify suits a seller building a real e-commerce business: many products, custom themes and apps, marketing tools, and merch as one part of a bigger catalog. You pay a monthly plan and do the store work, and in return you control everything.
Merch5 suits someone who just wants merch for sale: a brand, a podcast, a coffee shop, a creator. The storefront, the hosted checkout and production by Customnia in New York come together, with no monthly fee and nothing to maintain.
If merch is the only thing your store sells, the stack is a lot of fixed cost and upkeep for it. If you already run Shopify for other products, keep it, and add merch through the Shopify page linked below.
Shopify + Printify vs. Merch5 at a glance
Shopify and Printify figures come from their pricing and help pages at the time of writing (November 2026).
| Shopify + Printify | Merch5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Shopify Basic $39 a month, or $29 billed yearly. Printify Free $0, or Premium $39 a month ($24.99 billed yearly) | $0. No subscription and no setup fee |
| Card payments | 2.9% + 30¢ per online card order on Basic with Shopify Payments, plus a 2% fee if you use a third-party payment provider | Hosted checkout. No merchant account or payment gateway needed |
| Production cost | Printify bills your card or balance for production and shipping per order; the price depends on the print provider. Premium takes up to 20% off all products | 0% platform cut of your margin. Printing and shipping are charged out of each order after your customer has paid |
| Who prints | Printify's network of print providers; you choose one per product | Printed and embroidered by Customnia in New York. Tracked shipping to 100+ countries |
| Store | A full Shopify store: theme, apps, domain. You build it and keep it running | A storefront at yourstore |
| Embed on your own site | Through Shopify's own sales channels and buy buttons | Yes. A widget snippet for any website, plus a short link and a printable QR code. Checkout is hosted for you |
| Catalog | Printify's catalog across many providers, plus anything else Shopify can sell | T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, caps, totes and mugs |
| Taxes | You collect tax on your sales; Printify also charges sales tax on production in states where it is registered, unless you file a resale certificate | You, as the seller, are responsible for taxes on your sales |
| Buyer service | You answer buyers from your store's inbox | Buyers write to support@merch5.com about orders: tracking, address changes, faulty prints |
| Minimums | None | One item |
| Payouts | Shopify pays your sales out to your bank; Printify is paid from your card or balance | On request, to PayPal or your bank account, no minimum |
Facts from shopify.com/pricing, printify.com/pricing and help.printify.com (billing, sales tax) at the time of writing (November 2026). US prices; paid themes and apps are extra. Check their pages before you decide.
Shopify + Printify or Merch5: which one fits
Pick Shopify + Printify if
- Merch is one part of a bigger store with other products
- You want full control of theme, apps, checkout and marketing tools
- You want a very wide catalog from many print providers
- You are happy to pay a monthly plan before the first sale
- You will answer buyers and manage the store yourself
Pick Merch5 if
- Merch is the only thing you sell and you want no monthly fee
- You want the store as a widget inside the site you already have
- You want a hosted checkout with no payment setup
- You want buyer questions about orders handled by support@merch5.com
- You want payouts on request to PayPal or your bank, with no minimum
Try Merch5 before your next Shopify bill
Nothing to migrate and nothing to cancel. Your Shopify store keeps running while you test.
Upload the same artwork
Pick products and set prices. The production cost is shown next to each one, so you see your margin before you publish.
Share it where people already are
Post the link, print the QR code or paste the widget into your site. Compare what one order leaves you in each.
Shopify + Printify vs. Merch5 questions
At the time of writing, Shopify Basic is $39 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly, and Printify's Free plan is $0. Printify Premium, which takes up to 20% off all products, is $39 a month or $24.99 a month billed yearly. Card payments through Shopify Payments add 2.9% + 30¢ per online order on Basic, and paid themes or apps come on top.
Your buyer pays your Shopify store. Printify then charges your card or Printify balance for production and shipping when the order goes into production, by default 24 hours after it arrives. On Merch5 the buyer pays at Merch5's hosted checkout, printing and shipping come out of that order, and your margin goes to your balance.
On fixed costs, yes: Merch5 has no monthly fee, while Shopify starts at $29 to $39 a month before any order. Per item, compare one delivered shirt: Printify's provider price plus shipping and Shopify's card fee against the production cost Merch5 shows next to each product.
A lot. Shopify can sell anything, from your own stock to digital products, with thousands of apps and themes. Printify's catalog spans many providers and product types. Merch5 sells printed and embroidered merch only: t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, caps, totes and mugs.
Yes. Merch5 can publish products into your Shopify catalog and fulfill the orders, as described on the Shopify page. This comparison is for sellers whose store exists only for the merch.
With Shopify you are the seller and responsible for tax on your sales; Printify also charges sales tax on production and shipping in US states where it is registered, unless you file a resale certificate. On Merch5 you are the seller too, and taxes on your sales are your responsibility.
With Shopify + Printify, you do: order questions come to your store's inbox. On Merch5, buyers write to support@merch5.com about orders: tracking, address changes, faulty prints.
No. Printify prints each item after it sells, and the minimum on Merch5 is one item.
Merch without the store stack.
Storefront, checkout, printing and shipping in one place. $0 a month.