Society6 vs Redbubble: Which POD Marketplace is Better

Redbubble is better than Society6; continue reading to find out why...

What are Society6 and Redbubble? What are their Pros and Cons?

In the world of POD marketplaces, Society6 and Redbubble stand out as two popular platforms that allow artists to upload their designs and sell them on various products, from stickers and phone cases to framed photography prints. Both Society6 and Redbubble provide a marketplace for photographers and other types of artists to showcase and sell their work, offering a wide range of products for their designs to be printed on.

In short, artists use print-on-demand sites like Redbubble and Society6 to sell their art. This article is about the pros and cons between the two; which one will you create an account on? They are similar in many ways, but not so much in others. They offer a quick and easy way to get your art prints in front of potential customers.

Print on Demand Print Quality

When comparing Redbubble vs. Society6 print quality, I would say both produce high-quality prints. People who want to sell their work on these online marketplaces that connect artists with buyers should be fine with print quality. Here is a YouTube video showcasing the print quality that these platforms offer.

New Society6 Marketplace Fee Structure, Charge to Upload?!

Previously, Society6 did not charge artists to upload and sell their art. Besides their fulfillment commission, creating your online store and uploading your designs was free. They have recently changed that by introducing a pricing model that limits free users to 10 designs max and prevents them from changing their artist margin. Plenty of free print-on-demand platforms are available that won't charge you a monthly fee, such as Redbubble.

Winner: Redbubble

Product Fee Structure

When people sell their artwork on these marketplaces, they set their own profit margins on top of what is being charged by the platform itself. Many artists want to gauge how much they can make; this way, they can see if it's worth selling online through POD sites like these. Here, I will give examples of what type of pricing Society6 and Redbubble offer at the time of writing this article.

As a photographer, I focus on wall art products. Although these POD marketplaces sell various products, photographers usually sell something other than t-shirts and shower curtains featuring their photos. However, these types of sites are also great for graphic design artists.

Remember that you cannot change your artist margin/markup on the free plan at Society6; you get 10% of the net sale price unless you pay for a premium monthly plan. This pricing model is not artist-friendly, as you must sell your art for very low prices. For this reason, avoid Society6 unless you are willing to pay the monthly subscription costs for a higher tier that unlocks the ability to change your artist margins.

With Redbubble, the default artist markup is 20%, but you can change it to whatever you like without paying for any premium plan like you would with Society6. Do note that Redbubble also has fees, but they don't charge upfront as Society6 does. Redbubble is by far the better choice because of this. However, if you already have a large portfolio, it could be worth uploading it to both to maximize profit.

Redbubble:

• art print base price: $8.05 – $35.56 depending on size
• framed art print base price: $92.44 – $150.20 depending on size

Society6:

• art print base price: $16 - $63 depending on size
• framed art print base price: $47 - $173 depending on size

Winner: Redbubble

Redbubble and Society6 Product Selection

Both Redbubble and Society6 have a variety of products independent artists sell through their shops. Although Redbubble offers a larger variety of products, Society6 offers more framing options. 

Redbubble has over 70 different products.

Society6 has over 60 different products.

Winner: Tie

Artist Shop, Which has the Best Online Store

If you don't already have an existing customer base on another website or your own website, it's possible to use Society6 or Redbubble as a portfolio homepage for your work. Redbubble and Society6 allow artists to upload their artwork and sell pieces from shops that offer customization features. Both offer a quick store setup process that's easier for the non-tech-savvy type.

It's a good idea to focus on a "niche" to make your shop more successful.  The people who visit your shop are more likely to buy similar types of art as the piece that got them there in the first place, so uploading only one specific style of art will increase your overall sales.

Here are some links from their blogs with more information on their artists shops:

Winner: Tie

Traffic Levels of these Online Marketplaces

According to Ahrefs, a website that tracks web traffic, Redbubble has way more traffic than Society6. This means more people will see your work on Redbubble, and more eyeballs will result in more sales!

Redbubble Traffic: 10.3M

Society6: 730.4K

Winner: Redbubble

Conclusion: Is Society6 or Redbubble a Better Print-on-Demand Site?

Society6 charges artists a monthly fee, but Redbubble does not.

Redbubble has so much more web traffic than Society6 does.

Society6 offers more framing options, but Redbubble offers more product variety.

Winner: Redbubble

A Better Alternative to These POD Sites

Creating your own website has numerous advantages for those more dedicated to breaking into the world of POD (Print-on-Demand). While Society6 and Redbubble are online marketplaces with established customer bases that help make a quick and easy platform for artists, photographers with more marketing and technology skills may find it better to start their own websites instead. I've done this myself by using a print-on-demand dropshipping service called Printful and creating a free website with Square.

If you want to stick with the established marketplaces instead, I recommend using multi-marketplace upload tools to increase your profits by uploading to all of the major POD sites from one interface. Let me know what you think in the comment section below! Feel free to subscribe if you would like to get email alerts when I post new articles about selling photography online.