T-shirt pricing questions, answered
Common questions from custom apparel sellers.
Is the t-shirt pricing calculator free?
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Yes, completely free. No account, no credit card, and no time limit.
How do I calculate the cost per t-shirt?
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Add up your blank shirt cost, ink or transfer material cost, your one-time setup fee divided across the run, your packaging costs, and your pressing time. Divide the total by how many shirts you printed. The calculator does this automatically.
How do I amortize a screen printing setup fee across a run?
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Enter your one-time screen setup cost and your print run size, and the calculator divides that fixed fee across every shirt in the run. This matters because a $40 screen fee spread across 12 shirts is a very different per-unit cost than the same fee spread across 100.
Does the calculator handle screen printing, DTF, and HTV differently?
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Yes, in the sense that you enter the real per-shirt cost for whichever method you use: ink and screen fees for screen printing, per-transfer cost for DTF, or vinyl and weeding time for HTV. The cost structure is the same; only your ingredient list changes based on your printing method.
What is a good profit margin for custom t-shirts?
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A healthy margin for custom shirts is typically 50 to 70 percent, meaning your selling price should be 2x to 3x or more your true cost per shirt, including your setup fee and pressing time.
How much should I charge for a custom t-shirt?
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It depends on your true cost per shirt. A common starting point is to charge at least 3x your cost of goods. For a shirt that costs $7 to make once setup and printing labour are included, $18 to $28 is a reasonable retail range depending on design complexity and blank quality. See
Etsy's pricing guidance for handmade sellers for more context.
Does this work for hoodies and other apparel too?
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Yes. Hoodies, sweatshirts, and tote bags use the exact same cost structure: blank cost, printing materials, setup fees divided across the run, and labour. Just swap in the blank cost for whatever garment you're printing on.
Does it include Etsy fees for apparel sellers?
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Yes. You can enter Etsy's transaction fee (6.5%), listing fee, and payment processing fees. See
Etsy's current fee schedule for exact amounts.
What is the difference between the free calculator and Batchforja?
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The free calculator gives you a one-time cost-per-shirt calculation.
Batchforja is the full platform for ongoing batch tracking, blank inventory, and automatic margin monitoring across your entire apparel range.
