[Updates: My Redbubble account got suspended in mid-2023 for "mass posting designs" and I was unable to get reinstated. Therefore, I could no longer share about it.]
Having tried print-on-demand as a side hustle for a few years, I was surprised there were few comparisons on RedBubble and Amazon Merch which are my favorite and the only 2 that I used.
| Comparison | RedBubble | Amazon Merch |
| Setup | Easy to setup | Harder to setup with many being rejected |
| Analytics | Google Analytics | No analytics and only sales |
| Upload Limits | Unlimited | Limited by tier (e.g. T25 = Maximum 25 Active Design). There is also a product limit on top of the tier limit (e.g. shirt, phone, hoodie) |
| Ease of Making Money | Higher at start | Very slow crawl in the tiers (unless you buy your own design) |
| Payment Method | Paypal, US Bank Transfer | US Bank Transfer |
Are you looking for a way to make money with your art? Have you considered using one of the top two t-shirt apparel services? Redbubble and Amazon Merch allow you to upload and sell your artwork. But which one is right for you?
You should do both by using a standard 4500px by 5400px design for Amazon Merch and Redbubble. RedBubble is currently still a better investment of time than Amazon Merch but I am only at Tier 25.
Setup of Account
RedBubble was easier to set up without any fuss while Amazon Merch does reject people as it is a more popular platform taught by other POD (print on demand) sellers. Based on online experiences, you can re-apply several times with Amazon Merch until you get enrolled. Luckily, I had my Amazon Merch long ago before it was even popular.Analytics
Upload Limits
RedBubble has unlimited limits and you can clone existing designs easily.
Amazon Merch has many limitations and you start with 10 designs. You have to sell the same number of products to hit the next tier. It took me months to hit tier 25 and it takes forever to the next tier (Tier 100).
In addition, there is a product limit (i.e. a US normal T-shirt is 1 product, and a UK normal T-shirt is another product) so you have to decide what products to sell (e.g. handphone covers, various shirt designs, tote bags, cushion covers). Amazon Merch can auto-upload and translate your design to other countries like Japan.
However, managing the products is a nightmare (even at tier 25) as you cannot tell which design is not selling well and you have to find auto-translated products in order to completely delete a design (before you can upload another design due to the tier limit). I highly recommend using MerchFlow as it provides the sales of each product and can find products under the design (for deleting).
Ease of Making Money
Currently, I made around $3+ dollar in Amazon Merch from a random auto-uploaded product (i.e. a shirt that I didn't choose) as my plan was to make $0 royalty and focused on climbing up the tier.
In comparison, I made around $130+ in RedBubble (I set the royalty lower than default too).
Nevertheless, I would upload to both as it is so create an Amazon Merch design and upload it to RedBubble by cloning an existing template (in which you have to resize the image to fit the RedBubble products).
Payment Method
RedBubble offers PayPal as the payment option if you don't have a way to receive USD in a US bank account that Amazon Merch required. I set up a WorldFirst account to have a US bank account to receive USD from both.
Using apparel services like Redbubble and Amazon Merch makes it easy to monetize your artwork. You can choose from a variety of products, including t-shirts, mugs, stickers, and more, and then set your own prices. Both platforms offer attractive royalty rates that make it easy to profit from selling your work.
Besides Amazon Merch, I also tried Teespring and shared my experience in comparing the RedBubble and TeeSpring step by step, from creating a design interface to getting paid in profits.
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