Print-on-Demand (POD) and digital products are two of the most accessible and profitable business models for e-commerce entrepreneurs today, experiencing unprecedented growth in the digital economy. The global print-on-demand market is valued at $12.96 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach an impressive $75.30 billion by 2033, representing a remarkable compound annual growth rate of 25.3%. Meanwhile, digital products are expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.62%, leading to an estimated market volume of over $15 billion by 2027.
These models allow creators to launch online stores without holding physical inventory, making them ideal for solopreneurs, side hustlers, and anyone aiming to build a passive income stream.
However, choosing between the two can be challenging, especially as both offer unique benefits, scalability potential, and business workflows. This guide will walk you through a detailed comparison of print-on-demand vs. digital products to help you make the right decision for your business.
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Market Growth and Industry Landscape
The explosive growth in both sectors reflects changing consumer preferences and technological advancements. The print-on-demand industry has seen interest grow by 300% in the last five years, with North America leading the market and holding the largest share. The United States print-on-demand market specifically was valued at $2.53 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $26.95 billion by 2034. In Europe, the market is set to grow from $1.58 billion in 2024 to $12.09 billion by 2032.
Digital products are experiencing similar momentum within the broader digital commerce ecosystem. Conservative estimates placed spending on digital products at $135 billion in 2024, with the volume of digital product transactions increasing by almost 70% over the last two years. This growth is driven by factors including widespread internet adoption (66% of the global population is now online), mobile device usage (70% of the global population owns a mobile device), and social media engagement (62% of the global population is active on social media).
What Is Print-on-Demand?
Print-on-demand (POD) is a retail fulfillment method where products are printed individually only after a customer places an order. You upload your designs onto blank products like t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, posters, or phone cases, and a print provider handles the printing and shipping directly to the customer.
Since there’s no need to keep inventory or manage logistics, POD has become an appealing model for creators who want to focus on design and branding.
The true power of POD lies in how quickly and inexpensively you can launch new ideas. Using a platform like MyDesigns, creators can use Dream AI to generate artwork, then instantly place that artwork on mockups, and publish in bulk to platforms like Etsy and Shopify using the Bulk Publish feature. With POD, you don’t need to be a seasoned designer or supply chain expert—you just need a solid design idea and a way to present it effectively.
Related Read: How To Create Print on Demand Designs with MyDesigns
The POD Business Model Workflow
The print-on-demand business operates on a streamlined five-step process that eliminates traditional retail complexities.
When a customer places an order, the workflow moves seamlessly from your online store to the POD supplier, who then handles production, packaging, and direct shipping to the customer. This circular process allows entrepreneurs to focus on design creation and marketing rather than inventory management and fulfillment logistics.
What Are Digital Products?
Digital products are intangible goods that are delivered electronically rather than physically. These include files like digital planners, clipart, printable wall art, courses, fonts, templates, music, and more. Buyers get instant access to their purchases, and sellers benefit from extremely low overhead since there’s no physical production or shipping.
What makes digital products so attractive is their ability to scale endlessly. You create the product once, and it can be sold thousands of times with no additional cost. Creators using MyDesigns can design products with Dream AI, then use Vision AI and Phraser AI to generate search-optimized titles, tags, and descriptions, publish across marketplaces, and track performance, all in one place.
Related Read: A Beginner’s Guide to Selling Digital Products Online in 2025
Popular Digital Product Categories in 2025
The digital product landscape continues to evolve, with educational content leading growth projections. The Online Education market will reach $203.81 billion in 2025, with an expected annual growth rate of 8.20%.
The Collaboration Software market is projected to grow to $16.62 billion by 2029, particularly benefiting productivity tools and business solutions.
We’ve covered top digital product niches in our choosing the right digital product niche guide.
In summary, top-performing digital product categories include:
- Educational content: Online courses, workshops, and tutorial packages
- Creative assets: Templates, graphics, fonts, and design elements
- Productivity tools: Planners, spreadsheets, and organizational systems
- Entertainment: Music, e-books, and subscription content
- Software solutions: Apps, plugins, and digital services
Pros and Cons of Print-on-Demand
POD Pros
Low Startup Risk: No need to pre-purchase inventory. Products are created after each sale, making it low-risk and budget-friendly.
Outsourced Fulfillment: The entire process, from printing to packaging and shipping, is handled by a third party.
Scalable Design Testing: Easily test multiple product designs or niches without upfront production costs.
Creative Freedom: Turn any idea into a physical product using MyDesigns’ Canvas and mockup tools.
Growing Consumer Demand: As demonstrated by numbers, pod demand is growing fast.
POD Cons
Slim Margins: Because each item is produced one-by-one, profit margins tend to be lower than with bulk manufacturing. Most print-on-demand sellers make an average profit of about 20%, though some businesses can achieve margins of 30-40% with premium products.
Limited Control: Quality control and shipping speed are dependent on your POD partner.
Customer Service Load: You may need to address order delays or print defects, even if fulfillment is outsourced.
Shipping Time: Unlike digital downloads, customers must wait for their items to be printed and shipped.
Pros and Cons of Digital Products
Digital Product Pros
High Profit Margins: Once created, digital products can be sold repeatedly with virtually no additional cost. Digital products typically offer profit margins of 90%+ after marketplace fees, significantly higher than POD products.
Instant Delivery: Customers receive their files immediately after purchase, improving the buying experience.
Passive Income Potential: You can earn while you sleep by automating product delivery and marketing.
Global Reach: Anyone in the world can download your product with no shipping limitations.
No Inventory Worries: One of the biggest benefits of selling digital products is the absence of inventory. After creating your digital product, you can sell it an infinite number of times without having to replenish stock.
Digital Product Cons
Market Saturation: Easy entry leads to lots of competition, especially on platforms like Etsy and Creative Market.
Piracy Concerns: Files can be shared illegally, reducing potential revenue.
Initial Time Investment: Creating a high-quality product often requires more upfront effort.
Platform Algorithm Dependencies: Changes to marketplace policies can significantly impact visibility.
Startup and Operational Considerations
When comparing print-on-demand vs. digital products, it’s important to consider the operational realities of each model. POD businesses often require sample orders, product photography, and pricing strategy. In contrast, digital product businesses benefit from faster delivery but must provide airtight digital file organization, instructions, and licensing.
MyDesigns bridges the gap by giving both POD and digital sellers a centralized dashboard for listing management, image utilities, and even mockup generation. If you plan to operate on multiple platforms, the Shops and Integrations feature lets you sync product listings across Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, and other destinations.
Which Product Type You Should Choose
Print-on-Demand might be best for you if:
- You’re a visual artist, designer, or brand builder who wants to see your work on tangible products (apparel, decor, etc.) and sell merchandise to your fans or customers.
- You value fast setup and low risk – you can launch a product line quickly without spending money on inventory, and a third-party handles the production logistics.
- Your target customers appreciate physical goods (for example, your niche has a gifting culture or people love wearing/using items that show off their interests).
Digital products might be best for you if:
- You have in-demand knowledge or creative digital skills that can be turned into content (e.g. writing an ebook, designing templates, recording a tutorial course).
- You prefer a business that can run on autopilot. After the upfront creation, digital sales require little intervention, making it easier to earn passive income online.
- Your audience is global or very online-focused – they’re comfortable downloading files or accessing content digitally, which means you can sell to anyone, anywhere instantly.
Many creators actually combine both. For instance, someone might sell a printable art file and also offer the same design printed on a canvas through POD.
Scalability and Automation
One huge advantage of both POD and digital products is that they’re highly scalable. Since you don’t hold stock, you can list dozens or even hundreds of products without major overhead. Of course, creating and managing that many listings can be challenging – but this is where AI and automation come in to help scale your business:
- Rapid design creation: AI tools like MyDesigns’ Dream AI can generate product designs or art in seconds from a simple prompt. This dramatically speeds up creating new POD graphics or digital content compared to designing everything manually.
- Bulk publishing & automation: You can upload and publish many listings at once, and even sync them across multiple sales channels. MyDesigns can also auto-fill your product titles, descriptions, and tags with relevant keywords, saving you hours of tedious work.
In fact, some sellers have doubled their product count (and sales) within months by leveraging these methods. For example, Living Stone Gifts doubled their listings and saw a 132% sales increase in just 4 months by automating their workflow. By using these tools, you can focus on design and strategy while repetitive tasks are handled by technology.
Emerging Platforms and Integration Opportunities
The integration of POD with social commerce platforms represents a significant opportunity for 2025. TikTok Shop now allows POD sellers to connect their stores directly to the platform, enabling sales through videos, live streams, and creator profiles. With TikTok’s massive audience and seamless shopping experience, early adopters are seeing conversion rates up to 4x higher than traditional e-commerce platforms.
MyDesigns offers TikTok Shop as one of the integrations, and it’s quickly gaining traction among our users. Explore MyDesigns shop integrations.
Profitability and Monetization Potential
Profit per sale: Print-on-demand products have built-in costs (base product, printing, shipping) that eat into each sale’s profit. In contrast, a digital product sale has almost no incremental cost, so you keep most of the revenue. (For example, a $25 POD t-shirt might only earn you a few dollars profit, whereas a $25 digital download would net nearly the full $25.)
Scaling income: Digital products can sell unlimited copies without additional expense, enabling passive income growth. Once you’ve made a digital item, selling 1 or 1,000 of them costs you the same effort. POD can also scale in sales volume, but each item sold still carries its production cost, so your margin per unit remains the same.
Monetization strategies: With digital goods you can get creative – bundle related files into a higher-priced package, offer paid memberships or subscriptions for ongoing access, or license your content to others for royalties. The POD model is more straightforward: you earn by selling more units or adding new product designs. Both models can be profitable, but often in different ways. Many entrepreneurs enjoy combining them (e.g. selling a printable design as a download and also on a physical poster) to maximize monetization.
Revenue Benchmarks and Success Metrics
According to industry data, approximately 3.8% of print-on-demand stores achieve estimated monthly revenues exceeding $50,000. The top-performing POD stores are primarily located in the United States (75.8%), followed by Canada (5.7%) and the UK (5.3%). For apparel POD stores specifically, top performers sell between $50-$100 on average.
Digital product creators in the top 20% typically earn between $2,500-$5,000 monthly. The key to success in both models often lies in effective marketing and continuous optimization rather than the business model itself.
Both models can be monetized in creative ways:
- Bundle products (e.g., a POD mug with a matching digital printable)
- Offer memberships or subscriptions for recurring revenue
- Use cross-selling to move customers between physical and digital offers
Entrepreneurs seeking passive income products often favor digital goods, but POD gives a tangible product experience that builds brand loyalty.
Marketing Strategies
Both business models benefit from content-driven marketing. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Pinterest are goldmines for showcasing both digital and physical products. Read our guide on using social media to promote your POD shop for a full breakdown.
With platforms like Etsy, you’ll also want SEO-optimized listings, something MyDesigns supports through its Vision AI tool. You can create content and optimize listings faster than your competitors.
Successful POD and digital products sellers also deploy a number of non-search strategies for ecommerce growth. We’ve covered these in detail in our promoting your Etsy shop guide, but most of these strategies work on other platforms as well.
SEO and Algorithm Optimization for 2025
Etsy’s algorithm has become increasingly AI-driven, using machine learning to personalize search results. To optimize for visibility:
- Conduct thorough keyword research using tools like eRank
- Create clear, keyword-rich titles
- Include at least five high-quality photos (avoiding dark images and collages)
- Establish clear return policies for all listings
- Maintain high review ratings and quick message response times
If your marketing goal is to go viral, read our blog on how to go viral on TikTok. Short videos showing how your digital planners work or how your POD apparel looks in real life can increase conversions dramatically.
Conclusion
So, print-on-demand vs. digital products: which is better? The truth is, it depends on your skills, resources, and audience. If you’re an artist or brand builder, POD gives you a tangible product line. If you’re a teacher, designer, or writer, digital products let you monetize your knowledge repeatedly.
Whether you choose print-on-demand, digital products, or both, the right tools will make or break your business . Platforms like MyDesigns empower creators with AI, automation, and bulk publishing to help you build and scale quickly. From instant design generation to one-click product publishing, you can transform your ideas into income.
The opportunities in both sectors are substantial and growing. With the print-on-demand market projected to reach $75.30 billion by 2033 and digital products benefiting from the broader $26 trillion digital commerce market, entrepreneurs who start building these businesses today position themselves for long-term success. The key is choosing the model that aligns with your strengths, interests, and business goals, then consistently executing with quality products and effective marketing strategies.
Ready to launch your e-commerce business? Sign up for MyDesigns and put your creativity, and automation, to work today!
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