SwagUp is great if you’re looking to elevate your branding efforts. But is the platform worth the price and other costs? Are the solutions offered fit for your swag gifting needs? In this article, we aim to answer these questions—and more!—as we explore SwagUp’s features, benefits, drawbacks, and considerations of using SwagUp.

SwagUp Overview

SwagUp, founded in May 2017 by Michael Martocci, offers an end-to-end solution for creating and distributing custom swag. SwagUp operates on a simple, three-step process: design, pack, and send. The platform offers a vast selection of swag items, from t-shirts and hoodies to notebooks and water bottles, and even tech gadgets. You can customize these items using a digital design studio, giving you control over the look and feel of your swag. After designing, SwagUp takes care of inventory and storage. Lastly, the platform handles the distribution and shipment of the swag items.

Main Features

There are many aspects in which SwagUp prides itself. What are they? Let’s find out below!

Inventory management

SwagUp offers an inventory management feature to declutter your workspace. If you have inventory from a former swag partner, you simply need to send these items to the SwagUp warehouse, where you can actively monitor your inventory levels. When your supplies are running low, SwagUp will notify you, ensuring you never run out of your branded swag items.

Reporting 

With SwagUp, you can access a detailed reporting feature to track the progress of your swag items. Through this feature, you will be able to generate comprehensive reports that give insight into the performance of your swag campaign. Such reports provide key metrics like the number of distributed swags, the most popular swag, and the speed with which inventory is depleted. These insights can then enable you to better inform your swag-related strategies or decisions about future designs and purchases.

Swag management dashboard 

The platform also features a centralized dashboard, streamlining the processes involved in swag management. Here, you can oversee all the aspects of your swag process, from design and production to inventory and distribution, in one place.

Rewards program

SwagUp has a rewards feature where you can get $1 SwagUp credit for every 100 rewards points you accumulate, which can then have a higher multiplier depending on your subscription tier. For example, if you’re in the Basic tier, you’ll get 1x Rewards, meaning you can get $500 in credits for every $50,000 spent.

Pricing

SwagUp offers four plans that have different prices and benefits. Let’s take a look at each.

Basic 

This tier is SwagUp’s free pricing plan, which includes access to the platform and your own dedicated swag expert. You can also get unlimited mockups for your swag items under this tier, as well as free assembly and quality check of your swag packs (aka swag kits). You’ll also only have 1x Rewards for every amount you spend on swag. Zapier is the only integration available for subscribers of this plan.

Silver

The second tier, Silver, is priced at $99/month (annual plan, paid monthly) or $80/month (paid yearly). It includes everything offered in Basic in addition to free blank samples and access to more swag and 3rd party storage & fulfillment. Discounts are also available under this tier, such as a 5% discount on shipping and a 20% deduction on storage. You can also pay for an expedited production with a 50% discount. As for the rewards, you will have a 2x multiplier.

Gold 

Gold is SwagUp’s most popular tier among users, offering everything included in the Silver plan, plus additional perks. This tier comes with greater discounts across several features: a 10% shipping discount, a 50% storage discount, and 3% off swag purchases, making it more cost-effective over time. Expedited production is also included at no extra cost. Additionally, if you’re under this tier, you will gain access to SwagUp Shops (also known as swag stores), with a 10% shop transaction fee. The rewards multiplier is also now at 3x, meaning you can get more SwagUp credits that you can use in the future. Pricing for this tier is $499 per month when billed monthly on an annual plan or $400 per month when paid upfront for the year.

Platinum

Platinum is SwagUp’s highest-tier and most premium offering, priced at $999 per month for an annual plan paid monthly, or $800 per month when paid yearly. Building on everything included in the Gold tier, Platinum unlocks even more advanced features. You’ll gain access to a dedicated design team that customizes your swag based on your specific preferences and needs. This tier also includes gift card options and global fulfillment capabilities, making it ideal for teams with international recipients. Your swag items are covered by insurance, providing added peace of mind. When it comes to rewards, the multiplier increases to 4x, meaning you’ll receive $2,000 in SwagUp credits for every $50,000 spent. Additional perks include 5% off swag purchases, 10% off shipping, an 8% swag shop transaction fee, and free storage.

SwagUp also has other fees for packing, repacking, and warehousing that you must know about. These prices vary depending on your tier, so we included them in a table below.

For shipping, SwagUp has standard and express prices for US and international shipping, which we have also included below.

Standard rates 

Here is the price breakdown for the rates under standard shipping.

Standard US shipping rates

Standard international shipping rates

Standard Canada shipping rates

Standard India, Brazil, Argentina, Philippines, and Costa Rica shipping rates

Express rates

The express rates for domestic and international shipping, where you can have shorter delivery times, are also listed below.

Express US shipping rates

Express international shipping rates

Express Canada shipping rates

Pros and Cons

Now, let’s move on to the advantages and downsides of using SwagUp.

Pros

✅ Swag kits: SwagUp thrives in customizing and sending out swag kits. So, if you’re aiming for a personalized unboxing experience for your recipients, SwagUp’s swag kit can be a good choice.

✅ Transparent pricing: All of SwagUp’s pricing—from its tiers to its shipping and packing fees—is indicated in the platform. This removes any element of surprise when you want to send swag domestically or internationally.

✅ Real-time tracking and monitoring: Using SwagUp’s dashboard, you can easily track and monitor your shipment, allowing you to stay updated on your swag’s real-time location and status. However, you must do this within the platform, as SwagUp doesn’t send any email notifications.

✅ Advanced swag scheduling and planning: With SwagUp, you can schedule your shipments ahead of time, which is great if you want your swag to arrive on time.

Cons

❌ Poor customer support: Many users have complaints about SwagUp’s support, citing that it can be slow, unresponsive, or totally unhelpful during issues. For marketing events, some users are also left without much support, making it challenging to manage large campaigns.

❌ No On Demand swag: Currently, SwagUp doesn’t offer an On Demand swag solution, meaning all items must be ordered in bulk and stored in advance. This can be limiting if you want more flexibility, such as sending swag only when needed, without holding inventory.

❌ High costs: While SwagUp supports global fulfillment, the international shipping fees are considered steep by many users. In addition, its warehousing fees can get expensive as they’re billed every 6 months. These costs can add up quickly if you have a global team or bulk swag items. 

❌ Advanced features and discounts are locked behind higher tiers: A lot of SwagUp’s perks and discounts are only available to higher tiers, such as Gold and Platinum. This means that if you need access to swag stores or require more integrations, you would need to pay a whole lot more.

SwagUp is best for…

… enterprises with big budgets for swag 👍

With SwagUp’s tiered pricing and bulk ordering model, it’s most ideal if you’re a large company that can commit significant budgets to swag. The platform also rewards higher spending with its tier-based perks like rewards credits, discounted storage fees, and swag discounts, which makes it more cost-effective if you have a bigger budget.

… businesses that prefer swag kits 👍

If your company frequently assembles swag packs for events, new hires, or client onboarding, then SwagUp may be a good fit for you. Since the platform handles the storage, kitting, and global shipping, it can effectively streamline your swag distribution.

… organizations that value price and fee transparency 👍

Don’t want surprise fees or extra costs when partnering with a swag platform? SwagUp may be a good fit since its pricing and plan benefits are presented upfront. Discounts and even additional fees for storage and shipping are also included in their pricing page, so you can see exactly what you’ll be paying for and plan accordingly.

SwagUp may not be a good fit for…

… companies that regularly send gifts to international recipients 👎

While SwagUp offers global fulfillment, international shipping costs can be high. Even their domestic distribution and shipping to countries near the US, like Canada, can be pretty costly. As such, if you have frequent global gifting needs, you might find these fees burdensome compared to other platforms with more competitive or inclusive global rates.

… leaders who have occasional, one-time gifting needs 👎

Since SwagUp focuses on bulk swag and swag juts, the platform is less suited for you if you only have one-off or occasional gifting needs. The subscription commitments and the high upfront costs associated with bulk swag may also make you feel constrained.

… businesses that require immediate and reliable customer support 👎

Several users have reported inconsistent experiences with SwagUp’s support team; this includes but is not limited to slow response times and difficulty resolving issues quickly. As such, this may be a drawback if dependable customer service is critical to your swag campaigns.

SwagUp can be great when it comes to bulk swag and custom swag kits. Its tiered prices, rewards system, and discounts also make it a solid option if you have large budgets and recurring swag needs. However, the platform’s lack of On Demand swag, high international shipping fees, and inconsistent customer support may limit its appeal, especially if you need flexibility or global scalability.

Looking for more comprehensive swag solutions? Explore the best SwagUp alternatives

SwagUp might be a well-known swag platform, but it’s far from your only option. If you’re struggling with high shipping costs, limited flexibility, or lackluster support, it’s worth exploring platforms built for today’s global teams. Whether you need to send gifts on demand, simplify swag logistics, or scale across countries, there are platforms that offer more for less. Don’t settle. Discover better swag solutions that actually work for how your team operates.

SwagUp vs PerkUp, the #1 platform for an all-in-one, global swag solution

Both SwagUp and PerkUp offer corporate swag solutions, but their capabilities differ in key ways. SwagUp focuses on bulk swag and kits that require long lead times and warehouse storage. PerkUp, on the other hand, is designed for global scaling, offering international delivery without inflated shipping fees and comprehensive swag solutions from On Demand swag and bulk swag to swag kits and gift cards. If you’re looking for a platform that supports everything from one-off gifts to global campaigns, it’s easy to see why teams at Microsoft and Product Hunt choose PerkUp. See it for yourself in our side-by-side analysis of SwagUp vs PerkUp.