Merch by Amazon vs Redbubble 2026 — Passive Income Compared

If you want truly passive print-on-demand income — upload a design, walk away, and collect royalties — your two best options in 2026 are Merch by Amazon (MBA) and Redbubble. Both handle everything from printing to shipping to customer service. You just upload designs and set a price. But which one actually puts more money in your pocket? We compared real earnings, traffic volume, product selection, and growth potential to help you decide.

How Earnings Work — Royalties vs Markups

Amazon Merch and Redbubble use completely different earning models. Understanding both is essential for pricing correctly.

Amazon Merch Royalties

Amazon uses a royalty model. You set a list price, Amazon deducts their production and marketplace costs, and you receive the remainder as a royalty. The royalty varies by product type and list price. Here's the standard t-shirt royalty table:

Most sellers price between $19.99 and $24.99, earning $3.52–$5.50 per sale. The sweet spot is $19.99 — competitive enough to convert but still a decent royalty.

Redbubble Markups

Redbubble uses a markup model. They set a base price for each product, and you add a percentage markup on top. The default markup is 20%, but you can set it anywhere from 0% to 1000%+. Your earning is the markup amount.

• Base price for a classic t-shirt: ~$16.00
• At 20% markup: Retail price = $19.20, your earning = $3.20
• At 30% markup: Retail price = $20.80, your earning = $4.80
• At 40% markup: Retail price = $22.40, your earning = $6.40

Redbubble gives you more control over your earnings, but higher markups mean higher prices, which can reduce sales volume. Most successful Redbubble sellers keep markups between 20–30% for apparel.

Real Earnings Comparison — At $19.99 Price Point

Let's compare what you actually earn per sale at a roughly equivalent $19.99 retail price:

Per-sale earnings are similar — Amazon pays slightly more ($3.52 vs $3.20). But the real difference is traffic. Amazon has roughly 10x the monthly traffic of Redbubble. Higher traffic means more potential buyers seeing your designs, which typically translates to more sales overall.

Product Range

Amazon Merch is heavily focused on apparel. You can sell t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, tank tops, raglan shirts, V-necks, PopSockets, phone cases, tote bags, throw pillows, and a few other products — about 13 total types.

Redbubble offers over 70 product types including stickers (their best seller), phone cases, mugs, posters, art prints, home décor items like shower curtains and duvet covers, laptop skins, notebooks, and much more. The sticker market on Redbubble is enormous — many sellers report that stickers generate more revenue than t-shirts.

Traffic and Discoverability

Amazon is the world's largest online marketplace with approximately 200 million unique monthly visitors in the US alone. When someone searches for "funny cat shirt" on Amazon, your Merch design competes for that traffic. Amazon's search algorithm heavily rewards sales velocity — once a design starts selling, it climbs the rankings and gets shown to more buyers.

Redbubble gets roughly 20 million monthly visitors globally. It's a niche marketplace for independent artists, and buyers come specifically looking for unique, creative designs. The competition is different — you're competing against other independent artists rather than major brands. Redbubble's SEO also extends to Google, meaning your designs can appear in Google Image searches and Google Shopping results.

Seller Requirements and Getting Started

This is the biggest practical difference between the two platforms:

• Amazon Merch: Requires an application and invitation. Wait times range from a few weeks to several months. You start at Tier 10 (10 design slots) and must sell designs to "tier up" to 25, 100, 500, 1000, and beyond. This tiering system limits how many designs you can have live at any time.
• Redbubble: Completely open. Create an account, upload your first design, and it's live within minutes. No application, no approval, no tier system. Upload as many designs as you want from day one.

For new POD sellers, Redbubble is far more accessible. You can start earning immediately while waiting for your Amazon Merch application to be approved.

Scaling Strategies

Scaling on each platform requires different approaches:

• Amazon Merch scaling: Focus on tiering up fast. Sell consistently at Tier 10 to reach Tier 25, then Tier 100. Use Amazon's advertising platform (Sponsored Products) to drive initial sales on new designs. Research trending keywords with tools like Merch Informer. Prioritize t-shirts since they have the highest royalty structure.
• Redbubble scaling: Upload volume is king. Successful Redbubble sellers often have 1,000–5,000+ designs. Enable all product types for every design — one design can appear on 70+ products. Optimize tags aggressively (Redbubble allows up to 15 tags). Ride trends quickly — pop culture moments and memes can drive massive short-term sales.

Content Restrictions

Both platforms have strict intellectual property policies, but enforcement differs:

• Amazon Merch: Very strict. Trademark violations result in immediate design removal and can lead to account termination. Amazon proactively scans for trademark and copyright issues. Repeat offenders are permanently banned.
• Redbubble: Also strict but more reactive. They respond to DMCA takedown notices and have a content review team. Fan art exists in a grey area — Redbubble has official partnership programs with some brands (e.g., certain movie/TV franchises), but unlicensed fan art will be removed if the IP holder files a complaint.

When to Choose Each Platform

Choose Amazon Merch if: You have access (approved application), you want the highest per-sale royalties on apparel, and you're willing to slowly tier up. Best for sellers who focus on keyword-optimized evergreen designs in niches with consistent demand.

Choose Redbubble if: You want to start immediately, you want to sell across 70+ product types (especially stickers), and you prefer a creative, artist-focused community. Best for sellers who produce high volumes of original artwork and want to monetize designs across many product formats.

Can You Do Both?

Absolutely — and you should. The same design can be uploaded to both Amazon Merch and Redbubble simultaneously. There's no exclusivity requirement on either platform. Most serious POD sellers upload to 3–5 marketplaces: Amazon Merch, Redbubble, TeePublic, Etsy (with Printify/Printful), and their own Shopify store.

A practical workflow: Create a design, upload to Redbubble first (instant), then upload to Amazon Merch. Use Redbubble as your testing ground — if a design gets traction there, prioritize it on Amazon where the traffic volume can multiply your earnings.

The Verdict

For maximum passive income potential, Amazon Merch wins on per-sale earnings and traffic volume. A single bestselling design on Amazon can generate $500–$2,000+ per month because of the massive buyer pool. However, the invitation barrier and slow tiering system mean it takes months to build a meaningful catalog.

Redbubble is the better starting point for new sellers. Open access, instant listing, 70+ product types, and a strong sticker market make it easy to start earning quickly. The total income potential is lower per design, but the ability to upload unlimited designs from day one means you can build a large catalog fast.

Our recommendation: Start on Redbubble today. Apply for Amazon Merch immediately. Use Redbubble to build your catalog and learn what sells while you wait for MBA approval. Once approved, upload your best-performing Redbubble designs to Amazon and scale from there.