A print on demand website is an online store whose products are printed only after someone orders. You build the store, connect a provider such as Printful or Printify, and each paid order passes to them to print, pack and ship. You pay the provider per order, so your margin is your price minus their cost.
| Printful | Printify | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Prints in its own facilities | Network of independent print providers |
| Free plan | Yes, pay only when an order comes in | Yes, up to 5 stores |
| Paid plan | Growth, $24.99 a month | Premium, from $24.99 a month billed yearly or $39 monthly |
| Paid plan benefit | Up to 33% off product prices | Up to 33% off new products |
Updated
Vendor blogs explain print on demand mostly to sell their own service. This guide stays neutral: how the order flow actually works, what to compare between providers, how to set up the store side, and a calculator for the one number that decides whether the shop survives, the profit left on each order.
Enter your retail price, the provider's product and shipping cost, and your payment fees. The example values are placeholders, so replace them with the numbers from your provider and payment settings.
| Cost | Who charges it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Product base price | Provider | Blank item, one print placement and fulfilment |
| Extra print placements | Provider | Back, sleeve or label prints add to the base price |
| Shipping | Provider | Varies by product, order size and destination |
| Sales tax or VAT | Depends on region | May be collected by your store or the provider |
| Payment processing | Your payment provider | A percentage plus a fixed fee per order |
| Store subscription | Your store platform | Monthly, spread across all orders |
The same arithmetic the calculator runs. Pass your own numbers; percentages are written as whole numbers such as 2.9.
function podProfit({ price, shippingCharged, productCost, shippingCost, feePercent, feeFixed }) {
const revenue = price + shippingCharged;
const fees = revenue * (feePercent / 100) + feeFixed;
const profit = revenue - productCost - shippingCost - fees;
return { profit: +profit.toFixed(2), margin: +((profit / revenue) * 100).toFixed(1) };
}
podProfit({ price: 28, shippingCharged: 0, productCost: 12.5,
shippingCost: 4.75, feePercent: 2.9, feeFixed: 0.3 });
// { profit: 9.64, margin: 34.4 }A customer pays on your store. The integration passes the order to the provider, which prints the item, packs it and ships it to the customer, then charges your account for the product and shipping.
Printful's pricing page sums up the profit model as retail price minus Printful cost. The same logic applies to any provider, so the price you set is the main lever you control.
Compare base price, shipping to your main customer countries, production time, print methods, branding options such as inside labels, and how misprints are handled.
Plan fees matter only once you sell regularly. Both providers' paid plans cut product prices, so calculate whether the discount on your expected monthly orders covers the subscription.
Thousands of stores sell the same blank products. Original designs, your own lifestyle photos, honest sizing help and clear delivery times are what separate a real brand from a catalogue copy.
A focused shop with a small range of strong designs is easier to market than a huge catalogue. Add products when you see what sells.
Very little. Printful and Printify both offer free plans and charge for fulfilment only when an order arrives. Your real upfront costs are samples, a store plan if your platform charges one, and a domain.
Printful prints in its own facilities, which gives consistent quality and branding options. Printify connects you to a network of independent printers, so prices and quality vary by the provider you pick. Order samples from both and compare the actual products.
Any platform the provider integrates with directly, such as Shopify or Etsy, so orders flow through automatically. Check the provider's integrations page before you commit.
Add the provider's product cost, the shipping you pay and the payment processing fee, then set a retail price that leaves a profit you are happy with per order. The calculator on this page does the arithmetic using numbers you enter.
You do. The provider prints and ships, but customers buy from your brand and contact you. Most providers let you report misprints or damage to them for a reprint.
Related: How to start a Shopify store, How to build an ecommerce website, Profit margin calculator, Product photography guide, Business name generator.
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