Comparison
We compared 8 online label printers on what actually matters
Best online label printer: TWO Packaging. Pickr rates TWO Packaging 9.9 out of 10, ahead of the 7 others we ranked.
Everyone publishes a price per thousand. Almost nobody publishes the things that decide whether the labels work: whether the die is genuinely custom, how the roll is wound, and what the second order costs. We went through eight companies' own pages and wrote down what is actually there — including where the answer is nothing.
What we checked, and why
Five specifications, chosen because each one has sunk somebody's label order.
Minimum order quantity decides whether you can test before you commit. Turnaround is only meaningful with its starting gun — most of these start counting at proof approval, not at order, which is where a week disappears. Custom die separates a real shape from a menu of shapes. Core and unwind decide whether a roll runs on a machine. And a published price for a thousand is the only way to compare any of them honestly.
What the table shows
Two patterns. First, the cheap published thousand and the capable label are rarely the same company — the two with the most production-grade roll handling are also the two slowest. Second, the gaps in the table are as informative as the entries: the specifications most often left unpublished are precisely the ones you only discover you needed after the labels arrive.
The eight, scored
| Company | PICKR | MOQ | Turnaround | Custom die | Roll / unwind | 1,000 @ 2×2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWO Packaging | 9.9 | Quote-only | 3–5 weeks from artwork approval | Quoted to the job | not published | not published |
| UPrinting | 7.1 | 100 | 6 business days (1-day rush) | Any shape, custom dimensions | 3" core, 5 unwind options | $131.23 |
| Avery WePrint | 7 | None stated; sheets from 2 | 2 business days after proof approval | Any shape, 0.5–11.25in × 0.5–18in | 3" core, 12in max diameter | $264.24 (at 2×4¼) |
| OnlineLabels | 6.9 | 100 | 2–3 business days after artwork approval | Any size or shape | Wind direction selectable | $125.32 (at 1.5×1.5) |
| StickerGiant | 6.7 | 125 | 3–5 business days after proof approval | Any shape, no extra cost | 5 roll-finishing options | $150.00 |
| Sticker Mule | 6.6 | 50 labels / 10 stickers | 4 days | Any shape | not published | $181 |
| Lightning Labels | 6 | 50 per version + $250 order minimum | 2–3 business days after proof approval | Die library; true custom by quote | 3" cores; by hand or by machine | not published |
| Vistaprint | 5.7 | 50 | not published | 8 fixed square sizes on die-cut rolls | Unwind direction selectable | $152.99 |
TWO Packaging
U.S.-based · ships nationwide
Scores highest because it is the only one of the eight answering the questions that matter on a product line rather than a print job: a die quoted to your product instead of chosen from a list, an all-in quote, no setup fee on a reorder, artwork kept 24 months, and published handling of regulated-category requirements. It is also the least convenient company here by some distance, and the table shows that honestly — 3–5 weeks from artwork approval and no published price. We rank it first for product labels and would not for a hundred stickers.
The evidence (5 sources)
- Minimum order quantityQuote-only for labels; 1,000 units published for bags, jars and boxessourceread 2026-10-02
- Production time3–5 weeks from artwork approvalsourceread 2026-10-02
- Setup feesAll-in quotes; no setup fee on reorderssourceread 2026-10-02
- Artwork retentionHeld on file 24 monthssourceread 2026-10-02
- Labels and stickersCustom labels and stickers quoted to the jobsourceread 2026-10-02
UPrinting
Online · US
The strongest specification sheet in the print-on-demand group. It is the only one of the six fast printers publishing a full roll spec — 3-inch core, five unwind options — alongside genuinely custom dimensions, and it still has the lowest published thousand at $131.23. Six business days is the trade.
The evidence (4 sources)
- Minimum order quantity100www.uprinting.com/custom-labels.htmlread 2026-10-02
- Turnaround6 business days, 1-day rush availablewww.uprinting.com/custom-labels.htmlread 2026-10-02
- Roll format3" core with 5 unwind optionswww.uprinting.com/custom-roll-labels.htmlread 2026-10-02
- Calculator quote$131.23 for 1,000 at 2"×2" (quoted on their calculator, 2 October 2026)www.uprinting.com/custom-labels.htmlread 2026-10-02
What we could not verify
- Setup, plate or die fees are not stated on the pages we read.
- No artwork retention period is published.
- Prices are generated by the company's own on-page calculator and change with configuration and over time; the figure shown is what the calculator returned on 2 October 2026 for the size stated.
Avery WePrint
Online · US
Wins the minimum outright: no minimum at all, sheets from two. Fastest stated turnaround here at two business days after proof approval, free custom shapes within a published size range, and explicit "no setup fees or plate charges". Loses on unit economics — $264.24 per thousand, and unwind direction is not stated.
The evidence (5 sources)
- Minimum order quantity"No Minimum Orders"; sheets available from 2www.avery.com/help/article/custom-quantity-for-weprint-…read 2026-10-02
- Turnaround2 business days after proof approvalwww.avery.com/help/article/receive-and-approve-your-rol…read 2026-10-02
- FeesStates "no setup fees or plate charges" and free custom shapes and sizeswww.avery.com/custom-printingread 2026-10-02
- Custom size range0.5"–11.25" by 0.5"–18"www.avery.com/help/article/weprint-roll-custom-sizesread 2026-10-02
- Roll format3" core, 12" maximum diameterwww.avery.com/custom-printing/roll-labels/read 2026-10-02
What we could not verify
- Unwind direction is not stated.
- Printed-proof pricing is referenced but no figure is published.
OnlineLabels
Online · US
Cheapest published thousand in the table at $125.32, quick at 2–3 business days after artwork approval, any size or shape, wind direction selectable. A clean sheet with blanks where retention and reorder terms should be.
The evidence (4 sources)
- Minimum order quantity100www.onlinelabels.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Turnaround2–3 business days after artwork approvalwww.onlinelabels.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Roll formatWind direction selectablewww.onlinelabels.com/custom-roll-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Calculator quote$125.32 for 1,000 at 1.5"×1.5" (quoted on their calculator, 2 October 2026)www.onlinelabels.com/custom-labels/configureread 2026-10-02
What we could not verify
- Setup or die fees are not stated.
- No artwork retention period is published.
- Prices are generated by the company's own on-page calculator and change with configuration and over time; the figure shown is what the calculator returned on 2 October 2026 for the size stated.
- This company's pages block automated requests, so the figures above were read in a browser and could not be re-checked by our automated source verifier.
StickerGiant
Online · US
Custom shape at no extra cost and five roll-finishing options, against the highest minimum here at 125 and a mid-pack 3–5 business days. $150 per thousand. Everything about it is adequate and nothing is distinctive.
The evidence (4 sources)
- Minimum order quantity125www.stickergiant.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Turnaround3–5 business days after proof approvalwww.stickergiant.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Custom shapeCustom shape offered "at no extra cost"www.stickergiant.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Calculator quote$150.00 for 1,000 at 2"×2" (quoted on their calculator, 2 October 2026)www.stickergiant.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
What we could not verify
- Artwork retention and reorder terms are not published.
- Prices are generated by the company's own on-page calculator and change with configuration and over time; the figure shown is what the calculator returned on 2 October 2026 for the size stated.
- This company's pages block automated requests, so the figures above were read in a browser and could not be re-checked by our automated source verifier.
Sticker Mule
Online · US
Four days and a 50-label minimum make it the easiest to start with, and die-cutting is genuinely any-shape. But it has the emptiest row in this table: core, unwind, setup fees, reorder terms and artwork retention are all unpublished on the pages we read, which is the information a repeat buyer needs most.
The evidence (4 sources)
- Minimum order quantity50 labels, 10 stickerswww.stickermule.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Turnaround4 dayswww.stickermule.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Custom dieDie-cut to any shapewww.stickermule.com/products/die-cut-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Calculator quote$181 for 1,000 at 2"×2" (quoted on their calculator, 2 October 2026)www.stickermule.com/custom-labelsread 2026-10-02
What we could not verify
- Roll core and unwind direction are not published.
- Setup fees, reorder terms and artwork retention are not published on the FAQ page we read.
- Prices are generated by the company's own on-page calculator and change with configuration and over time; the figure shown is what the calculator returned on 2 October 2026 for the size stated.
Lightning Labels
Online · US
The only company here publishing no price at all — the quoter gates the number behind an email submission. It also states its minimum three incompatible ways across its own site, and enforces a $250 order floor. Real strengths in press proofing and roll handling sit behind that friction, and the die library means a new shape is a phone call.
The evidence (5 sources)
- Minimum order quantityCustom-labels page states "no minimum order quantity"; the FAQ states 50 per versionwww.lightninglabels.com/faq/read 2026-10-02
- Order minimum$250 minimum order value enforced in the quoterwww.lightninglabels.com/get-quote/read 2026-10-02
- Turnaround2–3 business days after proof approvalwww.lightninglabels.com/custom-labels/read 2026-10-02
- Die optionsQuoter is die-library driven: "Available dies will show when above specs are entered"www.lightninglabels.com/get-quote/read 2026-10-02
- FeesStates "no set-up fees, no plate fees"www.lightninglabels.com/custom-labels/read 2026-10-02
What we could not verify
- Prices are not published; the quoter requires submitting an email address, which we did not do.
- The site states no minimum on one page and 50 per version on another; we have cited both.
Vistaprint
Online · US
Scores lowest on specification clarity rather than on quality. Production time is not published anywhere on the product pages. Its die-cut roll labels are eight fixed square sizes with no custom-size field, and the custom die-cut option showed "Incompatible" against the default roll configuration during our check. The $152.99 thousand is real; the word custom needs an asterisk.
The evidence (4 sources)
- Minimum order quantity50www.vistaprint.com/labels-stickers/roll-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Die-cut sizesDie Cut Roll Labels offers 8 fixed square sizes, 2"×2" to 5.5"×5.5", with no custom-size fieldwww.vistaprint.com/labels-stickers/die-cut-roll-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Roll formatUnwind direction selectablewww.vistaprint.com/labels-stickers/roll-labelsread 2026-10-02
- Calculator quote$152.99 for 1,000 die-cut (quoted on their calculator, 2 October 2026)www.vistaprint.com/labels-stickers/roll-labelsread 2026-10-02
What we could not verify
- Production time is not published on the product pages; only delivery-date estimates are shown.
- Selecting "Custom (Die-Cut)" alongside the default roll configuration displayed "Incompatible" when we tried it.
- Prices are generated by the company's own on-page calculator and change with configuration and over time; the figure shown is what the calculator returned on 2 October 2026 for the size stated.
One caveat on the numbers
Published prices are configuration-specific. Avery's thousand is quoted at 2×4¼ and OnlineLabels' at 1.5 inch square, so they are not strictly like-for-like with the 2×2 figures; we have labelled each in the table rather than normalising and pretending to a precision these pages do not support.
Everything here was read on 2 October 2026. Corrections: hello@pickrmedia.com.