Custom stickers are a versatile little product. They are a great way to promote your brand, business, or event. Stickers can also show off your artwork or display your values. Stickers are also just plain fun.
We combed the internet in search of the best custom stickers. To accomplish this, we ordered multiple sets of die-cut stickers from all the major sticker makers and more niche sticker companies.
Here we will highlight the best options, discuss the factors that went into our reviews, and then discuss the pros and cons of each company. If you want to buy custom printed products like stickers, this guide is for you.
What is the Best Sticker Company in 2023 for your Custom Sticker Priting?
- VulgrCo-Our Choice for the Best Custom Sticker Printing Company
- CustomStickers – One of the best
- MakeStickers – Runner Up
- StickerMule – Worthy Mention
- StickerGuy – Great Prices but Limited Options and Colors
- Stickerobot – Quality Stickers but Expensive
- RockinMonkey – Quality Product but Slow
How Did We Select These 6 Brands?
With so many possibilities, picking a sticker printing company to order from can be overwhelming. So, we sat down and compiled a list of variables to examine. We looked at the following factors to rank the sticker companies:
- Print Quality: Based on the sticker print resolution and color accuracy. There seem to be tiers of print resolution, some custom sticker makers print in 1440p, some in 1200p, and some in 720p. We also used reference Pantone colors to check for color accuracy.
- Material Quality: Vinyl with a laminate coating is our gold standard for sticker material. In our testing, it held up far better than other materials. Some companies used lower-quality materials that aren’t as durable such as Polypropelene and Paper.
- Price: Our pricing metric is based on the price per sticker in various quantities and sizes. We did a weighted average to rank the sticker companies.
- Turnaround Time: There was a wide range of delivery times, from under a week up to a month. It’s not as vital to us as quality and price, but those being equal, speed is important.
- Customer Service: We reached out to each company with some investigatory questions. Response time and helpfulness were measured.
- Ordering Process: Some sticker producers had user-friendly websites that made ordering a breeze. We looked at the website UI, how easy it was to place an order, and how simple the proof process was.
VulgrCo-Our Top Choice for the Best Sticker Printing Company in 2022
CustomStickers.com
Takeaway: The best combination of quality and value. Great color and among the highest quality stickers available, at a great price.
Pros:
- Top-quality vinyl stickers
- Excellent color and resolution
- The best price per sticker
- No minimum order quantities
- Fast turnaround
- Free shipping
Cons:
- Not as many options as some sticker companies
About Their Stickers: Excellent Quality, Speed, & Pricing
CustomStickers.com offers one of the best quality stickers in the market. They use vinyl sticker material for all their stickers instead of lower quality sticker types.
Additionally, they finish their stickers with a weather-resistant laminate in either a matte or gloss finish.
Their materials are of high quality. We found that they held up even after multiple runs through the dishwasher.
CustomStickers’ colors are bright and accurate, and they print in high resolution. They appear to use 10-color digital printing. In addition, they have professional graphic designers that can help set up and design your custom stickers and labels.
Surprisingly, despite the high-quality product, their stickers are much better priced than other top-quality sticker companies.
Something cool about CustomStickers.com is that you can order smaller quantities – even one sticker – and still get the best value. When you buy large quantities, you get pricing discounts.
They have several options: clear stickers, holographic stickers, and sticker labels.
A Little About CustomStickers
Customstickers.com recently changed its business name. They used to be called FastStickers.com. In our experience, they still maintain one of the fastest turnaround times in the market.
Their sticker shop is in Utah, so they produce stickers in the USA. Their materials are also made in America.
They are known for their die-cut vinyl stickers, but they also make excellent clear vinyl stickers, holographic stickers, and decals.
MakeStickers.com – Runner Up
Takeaway: Fast turnaround, great colors, clean-cut lines. Lower quality materials drop them down a notch.
Pros:
- One of the fastest producers of custom-printed products
- Pretty good prices
- Fast turnaround
- A simple and intuitive website
Cons:
- Not made of vinyl
- Stickers are not as durable as others on the list
About Their Stickers: Great Print Quality and Speed
MakeStickers.com is one of the fastest sticker makers out there. Their print resolution and color look great.
They also use laser cutters to die-cut their stickers, so the cut lines look very clean, making for a nice-looking final product.
The downside is that Make Stickers uses Polypropylene (BOPP) for its material. It’s a pretty big step down from vinyl in terms of durability. The stickers are great for indoor use but won’t last as long outdoors or going through the dishwasher.
A Little About Make Stickers
Make Stickers is based in Illinois, and they do all their sticker production in-house. They are well known for their product labels.
From our research, they seem to be using HP Indigo style printing presses capable of quickly printing large quantities of custom stickers. These machines are excellent for output. However, they cannot use vinyl because they have an inline laser cutter, so they are limited to lower-tier materials.
StickerMule.com – Worthy Mention
Takeaway: Great quality but expensive.
Pros:
- Makes one of the best quality stickers
- Free air shipping
- Great customer service
- Lots of options
- Runs promotions
Cons:
- Expensive, among the highest prices on the market
- Cut lines were hit and miss
About Their Stickers:
Sticker Mule makes a great custom sticker. They also have many options: sticker sheets, clear stickers, wall decals, car stickers, and square-cut stickers.
Sticker Mule uses high-quality material, and they print in 1440p, making the image crisp and clear. It’s a great sticker choice.
That said, Sticker Mule has one of the highest average prices on custom stickers. They do occasionally run promotions that bring their prices in line with competitors. If you’re considering purchasing from them, wait for a deal.
A Little About Sticker Mule
StickerMule.com is based in upstate New York, but they also have an international operation and offer international shipping.
They have all the materials you’d want for easily customized stickers. There are lots of options. Surprisingly, they don’t offer a gloss finish.
Lately, they have been creating custom products outside of stickers. For example, they offer t-shirts, magnets, coasters, and more. They are worth checking out when you need a custom design put on promotional items.
StickerGuy.com
Takeaway: Uses screen printing for great quality but is very limited in terms of colors and shapes.
Pros:
- Cheap prices
- They use a manual printing process that is high quality
Cons:
- Very limited in terms of colors and options
About Their Stickers
Sticker Guy uses a silk screen process to print their custom stickers. This means the printing process is more manual, similar to how t-shirts are printed.
It looks great if you have a simple design with limited colors. Fine lines and details aren’t as easy to do with screen printing, and they charge based on the number of colors needed. Sticker Guy also does primarily simple shapes like square stickers and circle stickers.
You can get some nice stickers for cheap if you have a simple design with just a few colors.
Stickerobot.com
Takeaway: Like Sticker Guy, Sticker Robot uses a screen printing process. Their equipment is more sophisticated than Sticker Guy so it is more versatile, but also more expensive.
Pros:
- Silkscreen makes for a pixel-free print quality
- Colors pop
- Durable and thick material
Cons:
- Expensive
About Their Stickers
The silk screen process can make some great-looking stickers. Since it isn’t digital printing, it won’t have any pixelation. Instead, the process spreads ink across the vinyl one color at a time. The output can look amazing, but it limits the number of colors used. For certain designs, it looks incredible.
Sticker Robot is on the high end in terms of pricing. They won’t make die-cut single stickers either; you need to order a minimum of 250 stickers. This is because the process is more manual.
RockinMonkey.com
Takeaway: Great quality but very slow. Their customer service has gone downhill.
Pros:
- Nice color and resolution
- Good quality materials
- Decent pricing
Cons:
- Slow, took almost a month for our orders
- Customer service was non-responsive
About Their Stickers
RockinMonkey makes multi-purpose stickers that look great. They use 9 or 10 color printers to hit a wide color gamut. They also use vinyl rather than BOPP.
The default finish is a luster finish that is slightly different from the matte and gloss most companies offer.
The backing material is pretty thick, so it has an excellent weight. RockinMonkey has many options, including kiss-cut stickers, holographic stickers, clear labels, stickers, and even glow-in-the-dark stickers.
On the downside, they are the slowest company we tried; they took around a month per order. Don’t expect great customer service either. We had a hard time getting a response.
What are Custom Stickers Usually Made From?
Vinyl
Vinyl is generally considered the gold standard material. This is because it has the highest durability. For example, some vinyl can last for 7+ years outdoors.
This material is used for vehicle wraps, ATVs, sports helmets, and more.
BOPP
BOPP is a type of Polypropelene. Essentially it’s a light plastic material. It doesn’t have the same durability as vinyl, but it can typically last for several months, even outdoors. So it can be a great option if you don’t need long-lasting stickers.
Paper
Paper stickers are cheap but super temporary. They won’t last more than a few days in most conditions. Therefore, they are only useful for instances where the sticker will be applied temporarily, such as an “I Voted” sticker.
What are the Common Types of Custom Stickers?
Die Cut Stickers
Die-cut stickers are stickers that are cut through the backing material. They are typically cut to the shape of your design. This gives them a professional look even before they are applied.
Sticker Sheets
Sticker sheets are kiss cut. This means they are not cut through the backing paper. There are typically multiple stickers printed onto one sheet. A sticker sheet is handy when you want a bunch of stickers on a single page. Most companies are happy to do more than one kiss-cut per page.
Sticker Label Rolls
Sticker labels are usually printed on rolls. Roll stickers are fast and easy to apply to packaging and products.
What Are Stickers Used For?
Stickers make an awesome promotional tool. Die-cut adhesive stickers look great before application, while label stickers are ideal for products. Stickers make for great conversation starters as well.
They can be used as swag and giveaways for businesses, car and window decals, packaging labels, and more.
Conclusion
There you have it – our curated list of the best sticker makers today. We hope that makes the decision easier for you. Check out StickerReviews.com for more details.