Quotes for custom shirts range from $4 to $40 for what looks like the same product. The spread is real, and it is almost entirely explained by quantity, printing method and fees that appear after the headline price.
What you should expect to pay
| Quantity | Method | Per shirt |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DTG / print on demand | $15–30 |
| 12 | Screen print | $12–20 + setup |
| 50 | Screen print | $7–13 |
| 100 | Screen print | $5–10 |
| 1 | Embroidered polo | $20–40 |
The pattern: screen printing gets dramatically cheaper with volume, print on demand stays flat. They cross somewhere around 15–25 shirts.
The six fees that inflate a quote
- Setup or screen fee — $15–40 per colour, per design. The big one on small screen-printed runs.
- Artwork fee — charged when your file is not print-ready.
- Digitising fee — embroidery only, $20–60 to convert artwork into a stitch file.
- Second-side printing — usually 50–100% of the first-side price.
- Rush fee — 20–50% for compressed turnaround.
- Shipping — often $8–15 on small orders, waived above a threshold.
A $9 shirt with a $35 setup fee and $12 shipping is $56 if you order one. Always compare total landed cost for your actual quantity.
Worked examples
One shirt, detailed design. Screen printing: $15 shirt + $35 setup + $10 shipping = $60. Print on demand: $20 all-in. Print on demand wins by a distance.
Twenty shirts, one-colour logo. Screen printing: $10 each + $35 setup = $235. Print on demand: $20 each = $400. Screen printing wins.
One hundred shirts. Screen printing is not merely cheaper, it is the only sensible option.
What actually drives the price
- Quantity — the single biggest factor
- Number of colours — matters enormously for screen printing, not at all for DTG
- Garment quality — a $4 blank and a $12 blank feel completely different after ten washes
- Print locations — front and back roughly doubles the print cost
- Turnaround — speed is the most expensive thing you can buy
Where Wearlie sits
Printed tees from $19.99, caps from $19.99, hoodies from $32.84, sweatshirts from $34.54. No setup fee, no design fee, no artwork fee, free worldwide shipping, no minimum. The price you see is the landed cost.
We are competitive at 1–10 units and genuinely not competitive at 50+. If you need volume, use a screen printer — you will pay less and get a denser print.
Frequently asked questions
How much does one custom t-shirt cost?
$15–30 all-in from a print-on-demand supplier. A screen printer will quote more once setup fees are included.
Why are custom shirts so expensive in small quantities?
Setup costs do not scale down. A stencil costs the same to make whether you print one shirt or a hundred.
What is the cheapest way to print 100 shirts?
Screen printing, at roughly $5–10 per shirt for a simple design.
Do custom shirt prices include shipping?
Often not. Check before comparing quotes — shipping can add $8–15 to a small order.
Is a cheap blank shirt worth it?
Rarely. The blank is where suppliers cut cost invisibly, and it is what the customer feels. A thin blank shrinks and loses shape within a few washes.
See our full custom shirts guide, or start at custom shirts and t-shirts.