How Much Do Custom T-Shirts Cost?

Most price guides give you a range. Here are our actual numbers, worked out for real orders, and what moves them, so you can budget before you ask for a quote.

The short answer

A custom T-shirt costs the shirt, plus the printing for each place you print. A basic cotton tee printed in one color on the front starts at $10.75 each for 24, shirt included. The printing on its own runs from $5.54 a shirt for a one-color front on 12 shirts, down to $2.00 a shirt at 401 or more.

There is no screen or setup fee on top: screen setup is built into the price per piece. Our designer adds the shirt you pick, your sizes and every print location, and shows your full price per shirt before you order.

Worked examples, 12 to 250 shirts

Each price is the printing for one shirt, in one location: a full front about 11 by 11 inches, on a cotton tee. Our designer prints each design whichever way costs less, screen printing or full-color DTF, and so does this table. Add the shirt you choose.

On a dark shirt, light ink needs a white underbase printed first, which counts as one more color. A photo or a gradient prints in full color, DTF, at any quantity.

Three orders, worked out

• 24 staff shirts, a one-color logo on the left chest. A small chest logo prints for $1.01 a shirt (DTF), the cheapest way to put your name on a shirt.
• 100 event shirts, two colors on the front and a one-color sponsor list on the back. $4.18 for the front plus $3.19 for the back, a shirt.
• 48 navy shirts. A white logo needs no underbase, so it prints for $4.98 a shirt (Screen print). The same logo in light blue needs one, and prints for $5.25 (DTF).

What moves the price

• Quantity. Screen printing gets cheaper per shirt at 26, 51, 101, 201 and 401 pieces. One color on one location is $7.03 a shirt from 12 and $2.00 from 401. Sizes count together toward the quantity.
• Ink colors. Each color is its own screen, up to 6 in a location. At small quantities a design with more colors prints in full color instead.
• Dark shirts. Light ink needs a white underbase first. At 100 shirts, one color is $3.19 a shirt on a light shirt and $4.18 on a dark one.
• Print locations. Each location is priced on its own, and a small one costs less: at 24 shirts, a left chest is $1.01 and a full front $5.54.
• The shirt. Fleece and polyester cost a little more to print: one color on 48 is $4.98 on a cotton tee, $5.26 on a polyester performance tee and $5.93 on a fleece hoodie. The garment itself is priced by the style, and the designer shows it.
• Bigger sizes. 2XL and up usually cost more, because the garment does. The designer shows the extra next to each size.
• Names on the back. Each name prints in full color, $1.88 a shirt on an order of 24 names.
• Custom ink colors. An ink mixed to a Pantone color is $9.50 for each one, once per order.
• Rush. Most orders are ready about 10 business days after you approve the proof. Rush can have many ready in 3 to 5 business days, for 25% more.

Screen printing or DTF: where the price flips

Screen printing has a setup for each color, built into its price per shirt, so it gets cheaper fast as the quantity climbs. DTF is priced by the size of the print and barely changes with quantity. For a one-color full front, screen printing costs less from 26 shirts; with two colors from 51, and with four colors from 101. Below that, full-color DTF costs less.

You don't have to work it out: leave the method on Auto in the designer and it picks the cheaper one for each print. Screen print, DTF or embroidery? compares them in full, and our screen printing page has every quantity and color count.

Embroidery instead

For polos, jackets and hats, embroidery looks right where print doesn't. It's $1 per 1,000 stitches with a minimum of $8 a logo on each garment, plus a one-time $35 to digitize a new logo, which we keep for every reorder. See custom embroidery.

How to spend less without a worse shirt

• Check the next price break. If you're close to one, a few extra shirts can cost little or nothing more in total.
• Use fewer colors. A strong one or two-color design often looks better on a shirt than a busy one, and costs less.
• On dark shirts, think white. White ink needs no underbase.
• Print where it counts. One location costs less than two, and a left chest less than a full front.
• Order once for the whole group. Sizes count together, and a team store lets everyone pick and pay for their own. Our sizing guide helps you get the spread right.

Outfitting a team or a crew? See team uniforms and work uniforms.

T-shirt price questions