Meta description: SimplyPrint is great for printer monitoring — but it stops there. Here's why print shop owners are adding Manuflo to run the business side.
Target keyword: simplyprint alternative
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Looking for a SimplyPrint Alternative? Here's What Print Shop Owners Switch To
If you've been running SimplyPrint to keep an eye on your printers, you probably love it for what it does. The AI failure detection is genuinely impressive. The hardware compatibility list is enormous. The web slicer is a nice bonus.
But at some point — maybe when you tried to track down which customer owes you money, or figure out whether last month was actually profitable — you hit a wall. SimplyPrint doesn't do that. It was never designed to.
That's the gap this post addresses. Not a "SimplyPrint is bad" argument — it isn't. It's an honest look at what SimplyPrint does well, where it ends, and what print shop owners are using to fill in the rest.
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What SimplyPrint Actually Is (And Isn't)
SimplyPrint is printer management software. Exceptional printer management software, with a user base to prove it. Here's what it genuinely does well:
- AI failure detection — camera-based spaghetti detection that auto-pauses prints. This is their standout feature and it earns its reputation.
- Broad hardware support — hundreds of FDM printers, OctoPrint, Klipper, Bambu, Prusa, Mainsail. If it can print, SimplyPrint probably talks to it.
- Cloud slicing — OrcaSlicer, BambuStudio, and PrusaSlicer, all in-browser. Genuinely useful when you're away from your machine.
- Multi-user access — on the Print Farm tier, your team can share the dashboard.
- Native mobile apps — real iOS and Android apps, not just a progressive web app.
If your goal is to monitor a fleet of printers from anywhere and catch failures before they waste a full spool, SimplyPrint delivers.
The problem isn't what it does. It's what it doesn't do.
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Where SimplyPrint Ends
SimplyPrint is a printer dashboard, not a shop management platform. Once you move beyond "are my printers running," there's nothing there.
No order management. You can't log what you're making, for whom, or when it's due. Orders live in your head, a spreadsheet, or a notebook.
No customer records. SimplyPrint doesn't know who your customers are. Repeat buyers, custom requirements, contact history — none of it.
No invoicing. You finish a job, then switch to a separate tool (or email) to send the invoice. Then chase payment yourself. SimplyPrint has no financial workflow.
No revenue visibility. There's no answer to "how much did I make this month" or "which jobs are actually profitable." You have to piece that together manually.
Pricing that stacks up fast at scale. The free tier covers 2 printers. The Print Farm tier is $39.99/month for 10 printers — and you pay $4.99 per additional printer. At 30 printers, you're looking at $135+/month, and that's before adding users.
None of this is a criticism of SimplyPrint's design choices. They built what they set out to build. It just means that running a print shop as a business — not just running printers — requires something else alongside it.
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What Print Shop Owners Are Adding
When print shop owners go looking for what SimplyPrint doesn't cover, the conversation usually comes back to the business layer: orders, customers, money. That's where [Manuflo](https://manuflo.app) fits.
Manuflo is purpose-built for 3D print shops. Not a generic project management tool that someone adapted. Not a Notion template someone sold as a product. A proper SaaS built specifically for how print businesses actually operate.
Here's what it covers:
Order Management
Every job lives in Manuflo — client name, what's being printed, material, quantity, price, status, deadline. You can track a job from quote to shipped without ever opening a spreadsheet.
The print queue is visual. You know what's in progress, what's waiting, what just finished. When someone asks "where's my order," you have the answer in two seconds.
Customer CRM
Your clients are actual records in the system. Contact info, order history, outstanding balances. If someone's a repeat buyer, you know it. If they haven't ordered in a while, you can see that too.
This matters more than it sounds. Most small print shops are sitting on a customer base they under-leverage because the data is scattered across emails and memory.
Invoicing
When a job is done, you generate an invoice directly from the order. The numbers are already there — no re-entering anything. Clients get a clean PDF with your shop's details.
This workflow alone — from completed order to sent invoice — is something SimplyPrint simply doesn't have.
Revenue Dashboard
Manuflo shows you the numbers your business actually needs: orders by status, revenue this month vs. last, which materials you're using, what's pending payment. Not analytics for its own sake — the actual dashboard you'd build in a spreadsheet if you had the time.
Materials Tracking
Log your filament and resin inventory by material, colour, and weight. See what you're burning through. Know when you're running low before you run out mid-job.
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So Does Manuflo Replace SimplyPrint?
No — and that's the honest answer.
Manuflo doesn't monitor your printers in real-time. It's not going to catch a spaghetti disaster or let you watch your Bambu fleet from your phone. That's not what it does.
SimplyPrint watches your machines. Manuflo runs your shop.
For most print shop owners who are doing real volume, you need both. SimplyPrint on the hardware side. Manuflo on the business side. They're not competing products — they solve different problems.
If you've been running SimplyPrint and feeling frustrated that your "business management" is still a spreadsheet on the side, that's the exact gap Manuflo fills.
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Pricing Comparison
| | SimplyPrint (Print Farm) | Manuflo (Starter) | Manuflo (Pro) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.99/mo (10 printers) | $19/mo | $39/mo |
| Order Management | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Customer CRM | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invoicing | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Revenue Dashboard | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Materials Tracking | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Printer Monitoring | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI Failure Detection | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Cloud Slicing | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
The two tools cover almost zero overlapping ground. Which means if you're running SimplyPrint and you add Manuflo, you're not duplicating — you're completing the picture.
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Who Should Look at Manuflo
Manuflo is worth a serious look if:
- You're running a 3D print shop as a real business (or trying to get it there)
- Your order tracking is a spreadsheet, a whiteboard, or worse — your memory
- You finish jobs and then scramble to get paid because invoicing is a separate, manual process
- You want to know whether your shop is actually profitable, not just busy
- You've outgrown the "I'll figure out the business side later" phase
The free plan covers up to 10 orders per month and 2 printers — enough to see how it works with your actual setup.
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If you're already on SimplyPrint and you just need the business layer to catch up with your printer fleet, Manuflo is built for exactly that.
Try Manuflo free at [app.manuflo.app/signup](https://app.manuflo.app/signup)
Ready to manage your shop properly?
Join print shop owners who've ditched the spreadsheets. Free tier available — no credit card required.
Try Manuflo Free →