Printables pays in coins, not cash
Printables.com launched in 2021 as a rebranded version of PrusaPrinters, operated by Prusa Research — the Czech company behind popular open-source desktop printers. It grew quickly to millions of models and a large community, especially among Prusa printer owners.
To reward popular designers, Printables introduced a reward system where creators earn "Prusa coins" based on downloads, makes, and likes. These coins can be redeemed in the Prusa shop for filament, printer parts, and accessories — which has real value if you own and use Prusa hardware.
But coins are not cash. They cannot be withdrawn, transferred, or spent outside the Prusa ecosystem. A designer who earns 500 coins cannot pay rent with them. For creators who do not use Prusa printers, the reward is worthless. And for creators who want a real business from their 3D designs — not a discount on their next spool of filament — Printables provides no path forward.
Proofly is built for the opposite goal: every sale on Proofly produces real money, sent to the creator. No coins. No credits. You set a price, the buyer pays by card, and 100% of that price goes to you via Stripe Connect — with buyers covering a flat ~$1 service fee separately.
| Feature | Printables | Proofly |
|---|---|---|
| Creator revenue | Prusa store credits (coins) | 100% of sale price in cash |
| Commission | N/A — no marketplace | 0% seller commission |
| Paid downloads | ❌ Not supported | ✓ Any price, any format |
| Free downloads | ✓ | ✓ Supported alongside paid |
| In-browser 3D viewer | Basic preview only | WebGL: rotate, measure, wireframe, X-ray |
| Piracy protection | ❌ None | HiddenMark™ per-buyer fingerprint |
| Creator analytics | Views, downloads only | Revenue, conversion, geography, A/B test |
| Payment methods | N/A | Stripe (card, Apple Pay, Google Pay) |
| Platform focus | Prusa community | All 3D creators, all printers |
Your Printables models can be pirated with no recourse
Every model on Printables is free to download — that's the platform's design. Even models marked "no commercial use" or "all rights reserved" can be downloaded by any registered user and redistributed elsewhere with no technical barrier.
If your design shows up on a piracy Telegram group, a Discord server, or another free-download site, Printables has no mechanism to identify who downloaded it from your listing and redistributed it. There is no per-download fingerprinting, no buyer-linked identifier embedded in the file, and no investigation tool available to creators.
Proofly uses a different approach: every paid download gets a unique HiddenMark™ embedded in the mesh geometry itself — a fingerprint linked to the specific buyer account and order. The mark survives slicing, format conversion, and most editing operations. If a file surfaces on a piracy site, upload it to proofly.store/hiddenmark and the verification tool reads the watermark out and tells you exactly which buyer leaked it — order number, timestamp, email.
This changes the risk calculation for piracy: if buyers know their copy is uniquely marked, they are far less likely to reshare it. The deterrent effect is often stronger than enforcement after the fact.
Proofly's 3D viewer vs Printables preview
Printables shows a basic 3D preview — you can rotate the model to inspect it from different angles. It is a useful sanity check. But it does not show polygon count, bounding-box dimensions in mm, manifold status (watertight or not), or any mesh-quality information a buyer needs before purchasing a complex model.
Proofly's viewer is a full WebGL environment built on Three.js. Buyers can:
- →Orbit, pan, and zoom with mouse or touch controls
- →Switch between solid, wireframe, clay, X-ray, and normals display modes
- →Read live polygon count and bounding-box dimensions in mm or inches
- →See a watertight / non-watertight badge for print-readiness
- →Measure point-to-point distances on the mesh surface
- →Use explode view to inspect multi-body assemblies
- →Take a PNG screenshot for their reference
A better viewer means fewer "does this print okay?" questions, fewer refund requests, and more confident purchase decisions — all of which translates to higher conversion on your listings.
The coins vs cash math: what Printables really pays
Printables rewards range from a few coins for a download to larger amounts for popular makes and features. Prusa has not published a fixed exchange rate, but based on community reports, coins are roughly worth a few cents each when redeemed against Prusa store prices.
To put this in perspective: a model with 1,000 downloads on Printables might earn its creator 200–500 coins — worth roughly $2–$5 in Prusa store credit. The same model priced at $5 on Proofly with 1,000 purchases would earn $5,000 — all of it in real money, transferred to your bank account.
Even at a much lower conversion rate — if only 3% of Printables browsers convert to paying customers — 30 sales at $5 = $150 cash vs $5 in store credit. The math for any model with real demand strongly favors a marketplace with actual payments.
Example: 1,000 downloads/month
Conversion rate depends heavily on model quality, niche, and listing photos — but even at 3%, cash from Proofly outpaces Printables coins by 30×. The gap widens as model price and downloads increase.
Printables is optimized for Prusa — Proofly is for everyone
Printables is built around Prusa's ecosystem. The community skews heavily toward owners of Prusa MK-series, Mini, and XL printers. Models that are calibrated for Prusa-specific profiles — print settings, supports, purge towers — tend to perform best. The coin reward system redeems only in the Prusa shop.
Proofly supports all printers, all slicers, and all buyers. STL, GLB, OBJ, 3MF, FBX, and ZIP packages all upload and preview natively. Print settings (layer height, infill, support type) are optional metadata fields — useful for print-optimized listings but not required. Buyers come from all communities, not just one hardware ecosystem.
This does not mean you should abandon Printables — it is a strong discovery channel for Prusa users. The effective strategy is to use Printables as a top-of-funnel source (free models, community exposure, makes photos) and direct interested buyers to your Proofly shop for premium or paid versions of your designs.
Creator analytics: coins vs data
Printables shows basic stats: total downloads, number of makes, and likes. These are useful for understanding which models resonate — but they tell you nothing about what drives purchases, where buyers come from, or how to price for maximum revenue.
Proofly's creator dashboard is built for a selling business:
- →Revenue tracking: earnings by day, week, and model — cumulative and per-listing
- →Conversion funnel: impressions → item views → purchases, with drop-off rates
- →Buyer geography: country-level heatmap with flag display — useful for pricing in local currency
- →A/B thumbnail testing: upload two cover images, track CTR for each, declare a winner
- →Category benchmark: how your models compare to the category average (views, conversion)
- →Actionable signals: "high views but 0 purchases — try a lower price or better cover"
These tools exist because Proofly is designed for creators who treat 3D design as a business, not a hobby with occasional store credits.
How to migrate from Printables to Proofly (or run both in parallel)
Option A: Run both in parallel (recommended)
You do not need to delete your Printables account. Keep free preview files or lower-detail variants on Printables for community exposure and makes — then direct interested buyers to your Proofly shop for the full commercial version, support-optimized files, multi-part ZIP, or a premium license.
- Create a free Proofly account and connect Stripe
- Upload your top-performing Printables designs to Proofly with full-resolution files and a price
- In your Printables profile bio and model descriptions, add a link: "Full version + commercial license available at proofly.store/profile/[yourname]"
- When you upload new models, publish a free sample on Printables and the full pack on Proofly simultaneously
Option B: Migrate fully to Proofly
If you want a clean break, or if you have been sharing commercially-licensed models for free and want to start charging:
- Review your Printables model licenses — make sure none block commercial use on other platforms
- Upload your model archive to Proofly (STL, GLB, ZIP packs — all formats supported)
- Set pricing — Proofly has an AI price suggestion tool that shows market rates by category
- Enable HiddenMark™ protection on paid listings — embeds per-buyer fingerprint automatically at checkout
- Optional: update or remove Printables listings, or leave them as free preview samples
Founding Creator status — first 100 sellers
Proofly's first 100 creators receive Founding Creator status — a permanent badge on their profile and priority placement in marketplace listings. If you are migrating from Printables now, you may still qualify.
As a Founding Creator, your listings appear above non-founding creators in default marketplace sort order, giving you a structural visibility advantage as the platform grows. This advantage compounds with more listings, better reviews, and the HiddenMark badge — all of which signal trust to new buyers.
Claim your Founding Creator spot →Frequently asked questions
Can you make money on Printables?
Not in cash. Printables rewards popular designers with Prusa coins — store credits redeemable only in the Prusa shop. There is no way to set a price on a model or accept real payments. To earn actual money from 3D designs, creators need a marketplace. Proofly is 0% commission — you set your price, buyers pay by card, and 100% of the sale amount goes to you.
What is better than Printables for earning?
Any marketplace with Stripe or PayPal payments: Proofly (0% commission), Cults3D (~20%), MyMiniFactory paid tiers, or CGTrader (~30%). Proofly is the best on commission — you keep 100% of the listed price, with a flat ~$1 service fee paid by the buyer separately. For free sharing AND paid sales in parallel, keep a free demo on Printables and a full paid version on Proofly.
Do Printables models get pirated?
Yes. All Printables models are free to download by any registered user and are frequently scraped and redistributed. There is no per-download fingerprinting or enforcement mechanism. Proofly's HiddenMark™ system embeds a buyer-linked fingerprint in every paid download — if a file appears on a piracy site, you can identify which buyer leaked it.
Can I sell Printables models on Proofly?
Yes, if you own the copyright. Check your model's license — if it is Creative Commons BY-NC, commercial use may be restricted. If you hold the copyright and the license allows commercial use (or it is your own original work you published under no restrictive license), you can upload and sell it on Proofly. Contact a lawyer if you are unsure about a specific CC variant.
Does Proofly work for non-Prusa printers?
Yes. Proofly supports all printers and all slicers. There is no printer brand preference. STL, GLB, OBJ, 3MF, FBX, and ZIP packs all upload and display natively. Print settings metadata (layer height, infill, supports) is optional — useful for print-optimized STL listings but not required.
Start earning real money from your 3D models
Upload your models, set your price, keep 100%. HiddenMark™ watermarking protects every paid download. Creator analytics show exactly what drives conversions. No coins. No platform commission.