# How to price print on demand t-shirts

URL: https://madeupmerch.jackmccarthy020.workers.dev/learn/print-on-demand-t-shirt-pricing/
Updated: 2026-10-25

A Printful tee costs about twelve dollars before shipping and fees. Here's what's left at common prices, with the real numbers.

**Short answer:** Add up Printful's product cost, its shipping and the marketplace's fees, then price so a meaningful amount is left. A Bella+Canvas 3001 tee is $11.92 from Printful in sizes up to XL; sold on Etsy at $28.00 with free shipping it leaves about $8.02, and at $32.00 about $11.64.

## What Printful charges

Printful's catalog price for the shirt with a front print, before shipping. Sizes from 2XL cost more, so price those sizes up too. The same numbers, by size, are in [printful-costs.json](https://madeupmerch.jackmccarthy020.workers.dev/data/printful-costs.json).

**Printful base cost, US, front print**

| Shirt | S to XL | 2XL | 3XL | 4XL and up |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Classic tee (Bella + Canvas 3001) | $11.92 | $13.92 | $15.92 | $17.92 to $19.92 |
| Heavyweight tee (Comfort Colors 1717) | $15.60 to $19.95 | $17.60 to $21.50 | $19.60 to $22.95 | $21.60 to $24.25 |
| Ringer tee (Next Level 3604) | $14.79 | $16.79 | $18.79 | n/a |
| Long sleeve (Bella + Canvas 3501) | $18.66 | $20.66 | n/a | n/a |
| Crewneck (Gildan 18000) | $19.17 | $21.17 | $23.17 | $25.17 to $27.17 |
| Hoodie (Gildan 18500) | $22.63 | $24.63 | $26.63 | $28.63 to $30.63 |

## What the marketplace takes

- **Etsy (US):** a 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus shipping, payment processing of 3% plus 25 cents on the whole order (sales tax included), and 20 cents to list. If the sale came from Etsy's Offsite Ads, another 15%, capped at $100 an order (12% once a shop has passed $10,000 in sales in a year).
- **Your own store:** card processing, typically 2.9% plus 30 cents an order with Stripe or Shopify Payments, plus the store's monthly plan.
- **Shipping:** Printful charges shipping per order. In the US, when we checked, a tee was $4.95 plus $2.20 for each extra one in the same order, and a hoodie or sweatshirt $8.79 plus $2.50. Check Printful's shipping page for your products and countries.

## The math at common prices

On Etsy with free shipping, a $28.00 tee leaves about $8.02 after Printful, its shipping and Etsy's fees, or 29% of what the buyer paid. At $32.00 it's about $11.64. On your own store at $28.00, card fees are smaller and you keep about $10.02, but you pay for the store and for every visitor you bring.

One Offsite Ads sale takes a big slice of that margin, and once a shop makes $10,000 in a year, Offsite Ads become mandatory for the life of the shop. Price for the sale that comes through an ad, not only the best case.

## How to price so it pays

- **Price the heavy and big sizes separately.** A 3XL hoodie costs Printful noticeably more than a medium tee; one flat price either loses money on big sizes or overcharges small ones.
- **Free shipping is a price, not a gift.** Fold Printful's shipping into the item price and show free shipping, which buyers prefer, or charge it at cost.
- **Sell on what isn't a commodity.** A blank with a common phrase competes on price with thousands of listings. A design about one specific person (a name, an inside joke, a made-up college) is what people pay more for.
- **Order a sample.** One shirt at cost tells you more about the print and fit than any mockup, and gives you real photos.

## Questions people ask

### How much does a Printful t-shirt cost?

A Bella+Canvas 3001 is $11.92 in sizes up to XL from Printful's US catalog when we checked, before shipping. Heavier blanks, long sleeves, sweatshirts and hoodies cost more, and so do sizes from 2XL.

### What's a good price for a print on demand t-shirt?

There's no one answer, but run the numbers above first: under about 25 dollars with free shipping, Printful's costs and Etsy's fees leave very little on a classic tee. We start our own text tees at 28. Above the mid 30s, the design has to be clearly worth it.

### Do Etsy fees apply to shipping?

Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee is charged on the item price plus shipping (not sales tax), and the payment processing fee on the whole order, tax included.

## Sources

1. [Etsy fees and payments policy](https://www.etsy.com/legal/fees/)
2. [Printful shipping prices](https://www.printful.com/shipping)
3. [Etsy Help: How Etsy's Offsite Ads work](https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000338367-How-Etsy-s-Offsite-Ads-Work)
4. [Etsy Help: Fee basics](https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035902374)
5. [Printful catalog price for the Bella+Canvas 3001 (public API)](https://api.printful.com/products/71)
6. [Shopify pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing)
7. [Stripe pricing](https://stripe.com/pricing)

## Or just make one

- [Shirt Says](https://madeupmerch.jackmccarthy020.workers.dev/says/): Type what it says. Pick how it looks.
- [Nutrition Facts](https://madeupmerch.jackmccarthy020.workers.dev/facts/): Your person as a nutrition label. Serving size: 1 dad.
- [Fake Local](https://madeupmerch.jackmccarthy020.workers.dev/local/): Merch from a local business that doesn't exist.