Printforge vs SimplyPrint: Printer Management vs Business Management

SimplyPrint is one of the most popular cloud platforms for managing 3D printers remotely. If you've looked into fleet management for a print farm, you've probably seen it. But SimplyPrint and Printforge do fundamentally different things — understanding the difference will save you from choosing the wrong tool.

What SimplyPrint Does

SimplyPrint's official plan comparison describes remote control, monitoring, cloud slicing, print queues and filament management. Higher tiers add maintenance and parts inventory, team tools and enhanced cost calculations. Features reviewed 8 October 2026.

Think of it as a remote control panel for your printers — start prints, watch them via webcam, get alerts on failures, and queue jobs.

What Printforge Does

Printforge is a business management platform for 3D printing operations. It handles the business side: cost calculation, professional quoting with PDFs, invoicing, client CRM, job tracking, material inventory, supplier management, and integrations with Shopify, Xero, and cloud storage.

Think of it as the office behind your print farm — everything from the moment a customer enquires to the moment they pay.

Key Differences

Printer Control vs Business Control

SimplyPrint centres on operating printers, slicing files and managing fleets. Check the customer-facing quoting and accounting workflow you need alongside those fleet functions.

Printforge connects the customer, calculated cost, quote, job and invoice. Review printer compatibility and integration requirements separately from the business workflow.

Quoting and Invoicing

SimplyPrint offers print-cost tools, with enhanced calculations on higher tiers. Compare those tools with your required quote documents and payment process.

Printforge has a full cost calculator (material, machine, labour, overhead with waste factors), professional PDF quotes with your logo and branding, invoicing with TAX INVOICE headers, GST, and ABN, and one-click email delivery to clients.

Client Management

When comparing products, check how customer records and customer communication connect to the production work.

Printforge has a full client database with tags, payment terms, interaction timeline (calls, emails, meetings), customer upload links for receiving files, and auto-creation from Shopify orders.

Inventory

SimplyPrint includes filament tracking and, on its Print Farm tier, maintenance and parts inventory. It should not be described as having no inventory.

Printforge tracks materials, consumables and suppliers, with stock alerts, reorder thresholds and purchasing tools on applicable plans. Compare the stock workflow your shop needs.

Pricing

The SimplyPrint pricing page returned AUD prices on 8 October 2026: Basic A$8.99/month, Pro A$13.99/month and Print Farm A$57.99/month for the displayed base setup. Printer counts, users, locations, add-ons and billing period affect the total. Free includes two printers; confirm current terms on the linked page.

Printforge has a free Hobby tier and AUD-priced paid plans. The current plan comparison lists features, limits and billing periods. The no-card trial includes Pro features.

Data Control

Ask each provider about exports, backups and any deployment requirements for your operation.

Printforge provides CSV exports and document downloads, with cloud-storage and backup options on applicable plans.

Do You Need Both?

Honestly — possibly yes. They're complementary tools, not competitors. SimplyPrint handles the physical side (printer control, monitoring, failure detection), while Printforge handles the business side (quoting, invoicing, client management, job tracking, inventory).

A typical workflow might look like: customer sends a file via Printforge upload link → you create a quote in Printforge → customer accepts → you create a job in Printforge → you start the print via SimplyPrint → SimplyPrint monitors the print → you mark the job complete in Printforge → you send an invoice via Printforge → customer pays.

When to Choose SimplyPrint

• You need remote printer control and monitoring
• You want AI failure detection and automated alerts
• You need a cloud slicer for your fleet
• You use OctoPrint or Klipper-based printers

When to Choose Printforge

• You need to quote customers professionally
• You need invoicing and payment tracking
• You need client management and CRM
• You need job tracking across your operation
• You need material and consumable inventory
• You sell on Shopify or use Xero for accounting

Choose around your daily work

SimplyPrint is a printer management tool. Printforge is a business management tool. If you just need to monitor and control printers remotely, SimplyPrint is excellent at that. If you need to run the business around those printers — quoting, invoicing, tracking, and managing clients — that's what Printforge does. Many print farms will benefit from using both.