Most print on demand shirts net somewhere between $2 and $15, and a 20% to 40% margin is the usual planning target (Printful's own margin guide gives that range). In the worked example below the same shirt makes $3.27 at $24.99 and $12.32 at $34.99, so price, ad fees and reprints decide the result. The rest of this page is the arithmetic, line by line, so you can swap in your own numbers.
What this page adds: Etsy fees come from Etsy's own policy pages, every provider figure is labelled "example", and the ad-fee case and the reprint reserve are separate lines instead of being hidden in a flat percentage.
All figures in the worked example are not quotes from a provider. Provider catalog prices change and differ by country and print method, so read yours live from the Printful catalog or Printify catalog before relying on any result. Last verified: 2026-10-18.
The short answer
Example assumptions (not provider quotes): a unisex tee with one front print costs $13.00 to make, $5.00 to ship in the US, is listed on Etsy with shipping included in the price, and 5% of orders are reprinted or refunded.
| Selling price | Fees | Cost + reserve | Profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $24.99 | $2.82 | $18.90 | $3.27 | 13.1% |
| $29.99 | $3.30 | $18.90 | $7.79 | 26.0% |
| $34.99 | $3.77 | $18.90 | $12.32 | 35.2% |
Break-even is about $21.38 with no ads. If an offsite ad drives the sale, break-even rises to about $25.63. A single "20 to 40%" figure hides these assumptions: the same shirt spans 13% to 35% here with no change in cost.
The cost stack for one shirt (worked example)
Every sale passes through the same lines. Write them in this order and nothing gets lost.
Base cost and print cost
The provider charges one price for the blank garment plus the print. Printful's catalog price for a shirt covers the blank plus one print and varies with print technique, placement, color and size, so a "from" price on a listing page is the cheapest variant, not your variant. Pick the exact color, size range and technique you will sell and record that price. For the example we use $13.00 (example, not a quote).
Placement and file quality also change what you can sell. See print file size for t-shirts for the pixel math, because a rejected or reprinted file is a cost line (see below).
Shipping, and when it is charged twice
Providers price shipping by product category: a first item rate and a lower rate for each additional item in the same order. Printful's shipping page lists, for T-shirts, tank tops, long sleeves and polos, a standard US rate of EUR 4.69 for the first item and EUR 2.10 for each additional item (page read 2026-10-18; it displayed euros and we found no USD figure, so check your own currency view). The second shirt is EUR 2.59 cheaper to ship than the first.
The trap: if a buyer orders a shirt and a mug and they come from two providers, or from two fulfilment locations, you pay the first-item rate twice. Check whether your listing lets buyers combine items from different providers, and price shipping as if they will. Example shipping for this page: $5.00 per shirt.
Marketplace and payment fees
On Etsy, the fee stack for a US seller is a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing of 3% plus $0.25. These are the rates in Etsy's Fees & Payments Policy and Etsy Payments policy (read 2026-10-18). The transaction fee applies to the item price plus any shipping and gift wrap you charge, and processing applies to the whole order, so charging shipping separately does not avoid fees. The example includes shipping in the item price, so fees are calculated on the price shown.
For a store on your own site, the card processor replaces the marketplace. Stripe's standard rate for domestic online cards is 2.9% plus $0.30, with extra for international cards (+1.5%), currency conversion (+1%), and manually entered cards (+0.5%) (read 2026-10-18).
Fee total at $29.99: 6.5% is $1.95, 3% is $0.90 plus $0.25, plus the $0.20 listing, which is $3.30.
Ads, refunds and reprints (the hidden line)
Etsy's Offsite Ads fee is charged only when a buyer clicks an ad and buys, at 15% of the attributed order total (item, shipping and gift wrap) for shops under $10,000 in sales over the prior 365 days, or 12% once a shop reaches $10,000. Etsy caps it at $100 per order, and attribution requires a click on the ad followed by an order within 30 days. At $29.99 that is $4.50, which wipes out more than half of the example profit.
Reprints and refunds are the line almost every calculator drops. If a misprint is the provider's fault check your provider's reprint policy for what it covers; a customer-side problem (wrong size ordered, low-resolution file, address error) is yours. The example reserves 5% of the $18.00 fulfilment cost, which is $0.90 per shirt. This is an assumption, not a benchmark. Replace it with your own rate after 50 to 100 orders. The reserve scales: each extra percent of orders redone costs $0.18 per shirt here. How to set a refund-rate guardrail, and what providers cover, is in POD refunds, chargebacks and shipping promises.
Break-even and target price at three price points
Fees in the example are 9.5% of the price plus $0.45, and fulfilment plus reserve is $18.90. So:
- Break-even price = (18.90 + 0.45) / (1 - 0.095) = $21.38.
- Price for a 30% margin = 19.35 / (0.905 - 0.30) = $31.98.
- With a 15% offsite ad on the sale, fees are 24.5% of price plus $0.45: break-even = 19.35 / 0.755 = $25.63, and a 30% margin needs 19.35 / (0.755 - 0.30) = $42.53.
| Price | No ad profit | With 15% ad profit | With ad margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| $24.99 | $3.27 | -$0.48 | -1.9% |
| $29.99 | $7.79 | $3.29 | 11.0% |
| $34.99 | $12.32 | $7.07 | 20.2% |
Read this table before choosing a launch price. A shirt that clears 26% organically can lose money on an ad-driven sale. Decide your price for the ad case if you cannot opt out; shops that have not reached $10,000 in sales can opt out of Offsite Ads, per Etsy's help center; at $10,000 participation becomes mandatory at the 12% rate, where the example break-even is about $24.65. You can run these numbers with your own costs in the POD profit calculator.
Tracking this per order by hand is where most stores lose the thread. Slop City records cost, fees and refunds against each order automatically, so you see profit per sale instead of a monthly guess. See /pricing.
Hoodies, mugs and posters: where the margin is thinner
Heavier products raise both production and shipping cost while buyers resist higher prices. All inputs below are examples; fees use the same 9.5% plus $0.45 and a 5% reserve.
| Product (example) | Make + ship | Price | Fees | Reserve | Profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoodie | $32.00 + $9.00 | $54.99 | $5.67 | $2.05 | $6.27 | 11.4% |
| Mug | $9.00 + $5.00 | $18.99 | $2.25 | $0.70 | $2.04 | 10.7% |
| Poster | $9.50 + $5.00 | $24.99 | $2.82 | $0.73 | $6.94 | 27.8% |
The pattern, not the figures, is the point: the flat $0.45 and fixed shipping weigh most on low-priced items, and heavy items carry shipping that does not shrink with price. Check each category's live catalog price; mugs and posters can sit well above or below the examples.
When a paid plan with a discount pays for itself
Providers sell subscriptions that discount product prices. Printful's pricing page lists a Growth plan at $24.99 a month with up to 33% off product pricing, free once you reach $12,000 a year in sales. Printify's pricing page lists Premium from $39 a month billed monthly or from $24.99 a month billed yearly, with up to 20% off all products and up to 33% on new products (read 2026-10-18). "Up to" matters: the full discount does not apply to every item.
Break-even volume = monthly fee / discount per shirt. Assuming a 20% discount on the $13.00 example shirt, the saving is $2.60. A $24.99 plan pays for itself at 24.99 / 2.60 = 9.6, so 10 shirts a month. A $39 plan needs 15. Under 10 sales a month, the plan costs more than it saves; at 100 a month it is worth about $260 minus the fee. Check whether the discount applies to shipping (assumed no here).
Common mistakes that turn a profit into a loss
- Pricing from the "from" price on a catalog page instead of your color, size and print method.
- Forgetting that fees apply on shipping you charge, or pricing a free-shipping listing at a pre-fee margin.
- Ignoring the ad case when an ad fee applies automatically.
- Counting a discounted plan price without checking your monthly volume.
- Using a flat reprint rate of zero. Even 5% costs $0.90 per shirt here.
- Selling a design you cannot defend. A takedown costs the whole listing; see can I sell a phrase on a t-shirt.
FAQ
What is a realistic profit margin on a print on demand shirt?
In the example, about 13% at $24.99, 26% at $29.99 and 35% at $34.99 with no ads. Subtract every line instead of using a flat percentage.
Is print on demand profitable with Etsy offsite ads?
Only at higher prices. The $29.99 shirt falls from 26% to 11% margin when the 15% fee applies, and break-even rises from $21.38 to $25.63.
Why is my real profit lower than my calculator says?
Usually reprints and refunds, shipping charged twice across providers, and fees on the shipping amount.
Do print on demand subscription plans pay for themselves?
Above a monthly volume. At a 20% discount on a $13.00 shirt, a $24.99 plan breaks even at about 10 shirts a month.
Does this apply to dropshipping stocked products?
No. Made-to-order items carry reprint and production-time effects stocked goods do not. See dropshipping profit margin after shipping and fees.
Sources (read 2026-10-18)
- Printful pricing
- Printful shipping rates
- Printify pricing
- Stripe pricing
- Etsy Fees & Payments Policy
- Etsy Payments policy
- How Etsy's Offsite Ads work
- Printful margin guide
- Printful catalog, Printify catalog
Built a number you want tracked per order? See plans.