How much does it cost to start your print on demand business? Short answer is, it can be done with $0 upfront cost. The real question that should be asked is how much time you are willing to invest. The print on demand business model is very much of a “your time or your money” online business model.
What the Products Actually Cost Me
Here are some real numbers pulled from the suppliers and refreshed on the first of every month.
| Product type | Item cost | Delivered to a US customer | Options compared |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-Shirt | $9.44 to $15.60 | $9.99 to $20.35 | 4 blanks, 3 suppliers |
| Sweatshirt | $16.00 to $19.17 | $25.26 to $27.66 | 1 blank, 3 suppliers |
| Hoodie | $21.58 to $22.63 | $28.97 to $31.12 | 1 blank, 2 suppliers |
Prices verified September 9, 2026 and refreshed again on the first of every month.
A t-shirt costs $9.44 to $15.60 to make and $9.99 to $20.35 by the time it reaches a US customer. That is the number that decides whether the rest of this is worth your time.
If you want the full breakdown by supplier, I keep it on what print on demand actually costs.
Can I Do Print on Demand for Free?
The cost to start a print on demand business can be zero dollars by utilizing the services of reputable ecommerce pod platforms such as RedBubble, Merch by Amazon, and Zazzle. The profit margin isn’t as high as having your own online store, but the barrier to entry is the lowest, and the learning curve is the easiest. Zazzle is becoming one of my favorites because the platform allows you to start selling custom products.
The three mentioned above are POD platforms that already have shoppers on their sites everyday. Merch by Amazon, is Amazon.
Signing up for an account with these marketplaces that act as your print provider is free, and you can easily upload well-researched designs to sell to target audiences. Whenever your design is found in search, and a buyer buys a physical product with your design printed on it, you’ll receive a royalty payment. These print on demand services literally provide everything you need.
The key to making money with print on demand products is to make sure that the designs you’re offering have a demand, you’re able to be found in search results, and you have to stand out from the rest of the competition. All of these things can be done for free, but it requires your time. The principles can also be used for different types of POD businesses.
Print on Demand Companies Royalty Payout
Every POD site has its own policies and amount required for payouts. The minimum payout amount is usually around $20, and the payments are either deposited into bank accounts or sent via Paypal. If you’re able to get into the Merch by Amazon program, there is no minimum for payouts.
Open a Print on Demand Store on Etsy
Etsy is an online marketplace with over 80 million active buyers, many with credit cards saved on file and ready to buy. While it technically can be free to get 40 free listings, the usual price of listing a product is $0.20. With the ability to integrate print on demand suppliers into Etsy shops and much more granular control over the pricing of products, Etsy is a popular choice for many beginners.
Success on Etsy is predominantly tied to being found in search and using Etsy’s features. More often than not, sellers whose listings offer free shipping will rank higher in search results. This, of course, would cut into the profit margins. On top of the $0.20 listing fee, Etsy also charges a platform fee, payment processing fee, and other applicable taxes and advertising fees. Etsy offers optional offsite advertising on behalf of their sellers. Once the item sells, a 15% fee is deducted if you have made under $10,000 in the past year, or 12% once you pass it. Offsite advertising is no longer optional once the store has generated over $10k in sales.
The Etsy Profit Calculator I Built for POD Sellers
I built an Etsy seller fee calculator that has features specifically catering to the needs of print on demand sellers. It pulls in product costs and shipping costs directly from some of the best print on demand services, and those costs now refresh from the suppliers on the first of every month, so the number you see is the number they are charging today. I’ve done my best to remove the guesswork and headaches so that the free Etsy calculator can help you price your products and maximize profit margins and earning potential.
How do POD Sellers Get Paid on Etsy?
When an item sells on Etsy, the funds are collected by the platform, and applicable fees are deducted before being released to the seller. Established sellers could receive payouts in as little as 24 hours. The actual deposit depends on the bank, but the funds typically post in 3 to 5 business days. For new sellers, the funds could be held for more than 30 days.
It is up to the seller to pay print on demand suppliers for the cost of products and fulfillment.
If you don’t have any money upfront, you can set the fulfillment period in Etsy to longer than usual. The downside to this option is that the buyer may not be willing to wait. More often than not, buyers don’t actually read product descriptions or fulfillment times. Typical fulfillment time is 3 to 7 business days, meaning the buyer expects to receive shipping information within that time.
It’s recommended to either have some cash or a credit card to pay the print providers and get the orders into the system to start the fulfillment process.
Start a Print on Demand Store on Shopify or WordPress
Having your own print on demand store on an ecommerce platform like Shopify is by far the most expensive and hardest route to take for starting a POD online store. Since you will have to generate the traffic either organically or by paying for ads, the barrier to entry is much higher than the previous methods mentioned.
Shopify subscriptions have several tiers, and only some of the higher priced ones offer the calculated shipping feature. You need it if you want the platform to pull shipping rates provided by the print on demand services of your choice.
You can definitely set up shipping fees on your own; it’s just very time consuming. Another option is to offer free shipping on all of your products.
There are third party apps in the Shopify app store that can help with running your store, but most free options are severely limited, and the subscription fees add up quickly.
On top of the base subscription fees and cost of apps, another major cost to consider is applicable taxes in your country. Many online sellers start selling without registered businesses, but the potential legal headaches should always be kept in mind.
Another platform like Shopify is WooCommerce, which is an ecommerce plugin that works with WordPress. It may seem like it’s a cheaper option than Shopify since you pay for hosting upfront, but the available POD supplier integrations are limited and finicky.
Between Shopify and WooCommerce, my personal recommendation is Shopify.
My Personal Recommendation of Print on Demand Services
There are many POD platforms that can be directly integrated with Etsy. I am only going to list the ones I’ve personally used and found that the print quality exceeded my expectations.
Printful
I’ve been with Printful since 2013, and as of 2026, other POD companies have caught up to the point that I stick with Printful mainly because I’m already in their ecosystem.
- Worldwide Print Facilities: Printful owns most of their fulfillment locations, and have partnered up with Printify.
- Zero Minimum Quantity Embroidery Services: They were one of the first and only POD companies to offer this service, and I’ve used it to sell thousands of embroidered hats.
Over the years, I’ve partnered with other creators and companies to build their own successful print on demand businesses, and they’ve all used Printful to sell products. Although moving forward, I may not be recommending Printful anymore, I’ll explain in a bit.
Here is what Printful charges me right now, against the others I use:
| Product | Supplier | Item cost | Shipping | Cost per order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bella + Canvas 3001 | Teelaunch | $11.00 | $6.00 | $17.00 |
| Bella + Canvas 3001 | Printify Printify Choice | $11.29 | $3.99 | $15.28 |
| Bella + Canvas 3001 | Printful | $11.92 | $4.75 | $16.67 |
Prices verified September 9, 2026 and refreshed again on the first of every month.
Printify Choice auto-selects a print provider per order, so confirm the cost in your own account before pricing a product.
Printify
You can’t talk about print on demand without mentioning Printify. You just can’t. But Printify isn’t really a print provider. It’s more like a curated marketplace that’s a massive international network of print shops, each specializing in different areas of print.
- Competitive Pricing: Vendors are competing against each other to earn your business.
- High Quality Standards: The vendors need to be able to deliver, or they’re out of the network.
- Transparency and Efficiency: Printify lists the businesses they work with, it encourages healthy competition within their marketplace and ensures production efficiency.
- Print Provider Locations: If you choose your own vendor instead of using Printify Choice, each print shop is region based, so it’s ideal for you to pick a partner that’s located in your country. This is not recommended if you plan on selling to an international audience.
2026 Update: Printify offers a solution where they choose the vendors for you. With Printify Choice, shipping follows the first item plus next item rule even when your order gets split across facilities. The catch is that the promise only covers Printify Choice items in the order. I wrote the whole thing up in does Printify combine shipping on multiple items.
That does not change the broader point. I’ve seen from other platforms and history, in general, that platforms will change policies as they please. If you’re stuck in a system, you will have to suck it up and pay. It’s just part of business, eh?
Gelato
This is a POD platform that’s like a happy medium between Printful and Printify. They work with a network of print providers. Their expertise is mainly in wall art and home decor items, but they offer a wide range of products as well.
- Trust in the Process: You don’t get to take a look under the hood and see which vendors you’re working with. They’re all selected by Gelato, and you’re expected to trust in their expertise.
- Smart Pricing: The base cost of their products sits somewhere between Printful and Printify.
- Customization Options: You can offer custom products, even on Etsy, through their integration. But it does come with a monthly subscription.
- Membership Benefits: If you’re part of their monthly subscription programs, it comes with business licensing to major stock photo sites, and you can sell the photos as printed physical items.
I’ve used Gelato for their wall art printing services, and the reviews from the customers have all been great. I tried to add their customization software integration into the Not Zero Yet merch store and it works, but the features are limited.
If you’re looking for custom product software integration for Shopify that’s also pretty easy to link up with other print on demand platforms, I’d recommend Tee In Blue or Customily. TIB is cheaper, Customily seems to have more advanced features.
The best thing about Gelato is probably the ability to sell stock photos as print items. This is a pretty easy and low cost way to sell popular art prints on Etsy, and it’s completely legal (According to Gelato and their licensed stock photos, always verify yourself. I’m not a lawyer and I’m not offering any legal advice.)
Is Print on Demand Worth It in 2026?
After being in ecommerce since 2006, and specifically print on demand since 2013, it’s my personal opinion that print on demand can still be a lucrative business model if you’re willing to put in the time to do research and build a community. It doesn’t matter if you start for free utilizing reputable platforms with their own customer base or build your own store from scratch. You will not make any money if you don’t have a paying audience.
Final Thoughts
If I were to start a print on demand business today, I’d start by doing research.
A metric crap ton of research.
Many online gurus offer advice like, “Start with a niche.”
It’s good advice, but it’s generic and kind of a clickbait if you ask me. What is a good niche to go into? How do you make sure it’s not already saturated? More importantly, what’s the likelihood of a product actually selling in that niche?
This is why the research phase should be the foundation of your print on demand business planning. It’s much better to go into business with a plan than to experience heartbreak, wondering why you aren’t getting any sales even though you followed all the instructions from all the famous YouTubers.
