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Print-on-Demand Platform Comparison
Choosing between Printful, Printify, and Redbubble impacts your margin significantly. Printify typically has lower base costs but requires your own storefront. Printful has higher base costs but more integrations and quality consistency. Redbubble handles everything but your control over pricing is limited.
Profit = Retail Price + Shipping Charged − Base Cost − Actual Shipping − Platform Fees
Etsy Fees = Listing ($0.20) + Transaction (6.5%) + Processing (3% + $0.25)
Profit Margin = (Profit ÷ Revenue) × 100
Etsy Fees = Listing ($0.20) + Transaction (6.5%) + Processing (3% + $0.25)
Profit Margin = (Profit ÷ Revenue) × 100
Which POD platform has the best margins?
Printify generally offers the best margins due to lower base product costs — a t-shirt starts at $7.49 vs Printful's $12.95. However, margins also depend on your selling platform. Selling via your own website (Shopify or WooCommerce) avoids Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee plus processing fees, which can add $3–5 on a $30 item. For beginners, Etsy + Printify is a strong starting combo. For scale, own-site + Printify maximizes profit.
How do I price print-on-demand products?
Start with your base cost and work up: (Base Cost + Shipping) ÷ (1 − Target Margin). For a 40% margin with a $12.95 Printful t-shirt and $4.50 shipping: ($12.95 + $4.50) ÷ 0.60 = $29.08 minimum before platform fees. Add another 10–15% buffer for Etsy fees and you land around $33–35. Always use this calculator to verify — the "markup 2x or 3x" shortcut doesn't account for platform fees accurately.