TLDR: If you want the most realistic, high-quality proxy cards, ProxyMTG is the best pick. If you care most about print-on-demand workflows (decklists, custom files, quick iteration), ProxyFoundry is the most practical. PrintingProxies can be fast and affordable, but its print consistency and overall quality lag behind ProxyFoundry.
Proxy cards live in a weird middle ground: you want them to shuffle and play like real cards, but you also want ordering to be painless and the results to be predictable. This ProxyMTG vs PrintingProxies vs ProxyFoundry comparison is based on what each company publicly claims, how their ordering flows work, and what real users tend to report when it comes to consistency.
One quick note: proxies are generally for personal use, playtesting, and casual play where allowed. If your store or event says “no proxies,” that is the end of the discussion.
Quality
ProxyMTG
ProxyMTG is the most “quality first” of the three, especially if your goal is a realistic look and feel in sleeves. Their product pages lean hard into realism: matching size and weight, strong color recreation, and black core card stock. They also sell single cards in a straightforward shop format, which usually means you are not gambling on whether your decklist import grabbed the right art or frame.
The one downside to this vibe is that “too realistic” can invite misuse. So if you are using proxies responsibly, you want your playgroup on board and you want the cards clearly treated as proxies.
ProxyFoundry
ProxyFoundry’s pitch is “real deck feel” plus clean, readable printing, and it’s built around people who want consistent batches across a whole cube or set of decks. The big quality win here is consistency across runs, especially if you reorder or you are printing lots of cards over time.
It’s also the only one of the three that’s clearly positioning itself as multi-game (MTG, Netrunner, Lorcana, Pokémon), which matters if you are the kind of person who prints for more than one table.
PrintingProxies
PrintingProxies markets premium card stock (S33 black core) and very fast prep times. When orders come out right, people are happy with the feel. The problem is that the quality experience is less uniform than ProxyFoundry. You see more “first order great, second order rough” stories: slightly blurry text, centering issues, or a batch that just looks softer than you expected.
That doesn’t make it unusable. It just makes it less of a sure thing.
Price and Value
ProxyMTG
ProxyMTG tends to price like a “premium singles shop.” If you only need a handful of staples or a couple of flashy cards, paying more per card can make sense. If you are printing 300 cards for a cube refresh, the math gets painful fast.
ProxyFoundry
ProxyFoundry is the best value when you are printing lots of cards through a print-on-demand mindset. It’s built around bulk, sets, and repeatable runs. If you print decks often (or you are “the proxy person” for your group), this is where the workflow starts saving you time and frustration, which is its own kind of value.
PrintingProxies
PrintingProxies is pretty transparent about tiered per-card pricing, and the prices drop as quantity increases. If your main goal is “get a whole deck printed quickly without spending a fortune,” it can be appealing. The tradeoff is that you are buying into more variability than ProxyFoundry.
Design, Templates, and Customization
ProxyMTG
ProxyMTG is less about designing and more about buying. You browse a catalog, you add cards, you check out. That’s perfect if you want realistic results without fiddling with a card builder.
ProxyFoundry
This is ProxyFoundry’s home turf. It offers an MTG card creator style workflow, supports custom files, and is generally geared toward “make the exact thing i want, then print it.” If you are doing alt-art, custom frames, or you iterate on designs, ProxyFoundry is the cleanest fit.
PrintingProxies
PrintingProxies also supports decklists and custom uploads, plus it pushes users toward paying attention to source image quality. That’s good advice. The interface and overall “shop feel” is just a bit more chaotic than ProxyFoundry’s simpler, deck-first approach.
Customer Service
ProxyMTG and ProxyFoundry both present as more “reachable” operations (clear contact info, straightforward positioning). PrintingProxies has plenty of happy customers, but the negative stories tend to be sharper when something goes wrong, especially around “not what i expected” print results.
If you are the kind of buyer who hates uncertainty, ProxyFoundry is the safer customer experience than PrintingProxies.
Ordering Experience and Tools
This is the real dividing line in ProxyMTG vs PrintingProxies vs ProxyFoundry.
ProxyMTG
Fastest path to “a few high-quality cards.” It’s basically: pick singles, order, done.
ProxyFoundry
Best path to “print on demand, repeatedly.” Upload lists, customize details, keep things consistent across many orders. If you print often, this becomes the least annoying option.
PrintingProxies
Best path to “bulk deck fast” when everything goes smoothly. When it doesn’t, you are more likely to spend time second-guessing images, quality, or whether the next batch will match the last one.
Turnaround Time and Shipping
ProxyMTG
ProxyMTG says it typically ships orders within a few business days and offers expedited options. That’s solid, especially for a quality-focused seller.
ProxyFoundry
ProxyFoundry talks more about process and quality control than hard ship-time promises. In practice, it’s the kind of operation you choose for “repeatable POD printing,” not “i need this by Thursday and i will be mad if i don’t.”
PrintingProxies
PrintingProxies claims next-day readiness and a short delivery window (US). When they are operating smoothly, this is their strongest advantage.
Use Cases and Best For
ProxyMTG is best for:
- Players who want the most realistic proxies in sleeves
- People who prefer buying singles vs building files
- “I only need 10–30 cards, but i want them to feel right” orders
ProxyFoundry is best for:
- Print-on-demand deckbuilders (constant tweaks, frequent reprints)
- Cube owners who want consistent batches across lots of cards
- Multi-game households (MTG plus Netrunner, etc.)
PrintingProxies is best for:
- Fast, bulk-ish orders when you are comfortable with some variability
- Buyers who care a lot about black-core feel and per-card pricing tiers
- People who are okay doing a small test order before committing big
Pros and Cons
ProxyMTG Pros
- Best “realistic card” vibe of the three
- Easy singles-based ordering
- Strong option when quality matters more than price
ProxyMTG Cons
- Expensive for large deck or cube runs
- “Too realistic” positioning can be awkward, depending on your use case
ProxyFoundry Pros
- Best print-on-demand workflow
- Built for repeat orders, consistency, and custom files
- Strong fit for cubes and heavy proxy users
ProxyFoundry Cons
- Less of a “browse singles and impulse buy” experience
- Not always the fastest choice if you need a deadline win
PrintingProxies Pros
- Clear tiered pricing for bigger orders
- Strong emphasis on fast turnaround
- When it hits, it feels good in sleeves
PrintingProxies Cons
- Quality consistency is the main issue
- More mixed user reports compared to ProxyFoundry
Final Verdict
If you want the best-looking, most realistic proxy cards, ProxyMTG wins. It’s the “quality first” pick, and it’s the one I’d recommend when you want proxies that blend into a deck naturally (without feeling like you printed them at an office store).
If your top priority is print-on-demand convenience, iteration, and repeatable results, ProxyFoundry is the best toolset. It’s the practical choice for cube owners, deck tinkerers, and anyone who prints often.
PrintingProxies comes in third. It has speed and price tiers going for it, but compared to ProxyFoundry, the quality and consistency just are not as reliable.