Printify & Printful Profit Calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Enter your numbers in each field above — the calculator updates instantly as you type, so there's nothing to submit.
2. Use your real figures when you have them, or sensible estimates while you're planning. If a field doesn't apply, leave it at zero.
3. Compare the results, then change one input at a time to see how each lever (price, cost, fees, volume) moves the outcome.

When to use this calculator

• Before publishing a new POD product — model both suppliers and pick the higher-margin one.
• When Printify rotates print providers or Printful announces a base-price change.
• Before scaling ad spend — confirm profit per item still covers a higher CAC.
• When deciding whether to absorb buyer shipping (free shipping) or pass it through.
• When comparing the same design across Etsy, Shopify, and a personal site (each has different fee math).

Formula

Profit per item = Selling price − Base cost − Platform & payment fees − Shipping you cover − Ads · Margin = Profit ÷ Selling price × 100

Worked example

A $19 mug with a $9 Printify base cost, about $2 of platform and payment fees, no shipping you cover, and no ads.

1. Profit = $19 − $9 − $2 − $0 − $0 = $8
2. Margin = $8 ÷ $19 ≈ 42.1%
3. Add $4 of ads per sale and profit drops to $4 (≈21% margin)

Answer: About $8 profit per item (≈42% margin) — $4 if you spend $4 on ads to make the sale.

More worked examples

How it works

Expert tips

• Printify gives lower base costs but quality varies by print provider — order at least one sample before committing a design to a new provider.
• Printful's higher base cost usually pays back in fewer returns and color complaints, especially on apparel.
• Free shipping on POD items usually doesn't work unless you bake all supplier shipping into the item price first.
• Premium garments (Bella+Canvas, AS Colour) command higher prices — pricing a 'cheap blank' at the same price as a premium one is leaving margin on the table.
• Watch Etsy's Offsite Ads — they add ~15% fee to attributed orders. Bake an 'effective' fee % of 12–14% if you've ever crossed the $10k threshold that makes Offsite Ads mandatory.

How to interpret your results

• Dollar values are shown per sale, per order, or per item unless a result is explicitly labelled monthly, weekly, or daily.
• Percentages (margin, ROI, conversion rate) are easier to compare across products and price points than raw dollars — use them when you benchmark.
• A positive result means you're ahead after the costs and fees you entered. A negative result means the current numbers don't work — change a lever (raise price, cut a cost, lower ad spend) and recalculate.
• Treat the output as a planning estimate, not a guarantee. Fees, taxes, and conversion rates shift over time — re-run the numbers whenever a key input changes.

Limitations

• Doesn't include Printify Premium ($29/mo) or Printful subscription savings — model those as a fixed monthly cost separately.
• Doesn't account for currency conversion if the buyer pays in non-USD.
• Doesn't model returns; POD returns are messier than in-house fulfillment because suppliers usually don't take items back.
• Single-item view — for monthly totals, multiply by expected orders or use the Shopify Profit / Etsy Profit calculators.
• Doesn't include sales tax pass-through.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting platform and payment fees on the selling channel — the supplier base cost is only one of two cuts on every sale.
• Comparing Printify and Printful by base cost alone, ignoring shipping rates and product quality differences that change the real per-sale economics.
• Pricing without leaving room for ads — paid traffic can wipe out a thin margin fast on print-on-demand items.
• Treating the supplier sample price as the price you'll pay — premium print providers, larger sizes, and extra print areas push the base cost up.
• Absorbing buyer shipping on a low-margin item without rechecking whether the sale is still profitable.

Related Guides

Go deeper with plain-English guides on the same topic.

• How to Calculate Your Printify & Printful Profit

  Work out your real profit per item on Printify and Printful — after base cost, fees, and shipping.

  Read guide →

• Printify vs Printful: Which Print-on-Demand Platform Is Better?

  A 2026 head-to-head of Printify and Printful — model, catalog, quality, shipping, integrations, pricing, profit, support, and a clear decision framework.

  Read guide →

• Is Print-on-Demand Profitable?

  Low-risk but thin-margin — here's how POD economics really work and whether it's worth it.

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• What Is A Good Print-on-Demand Profit Margin? Complete POD Profit Margin Guide (2026)

  What a good POD profit margin looks like in 2026 — gross vs net margin, every POD cost, formulas, worked t-shirt/hoodie/mug/poster/tote examples, pricing tables, and common mistakes.

  Read guide →

FAQ

How much profit do you make on Printify or Printful?

After the supplier base cost and your platform's fees, most sellers see $3–$8 of profit per item, depending on the product, price, and channel. A $19 mug with a $9 base cost and $2 of fees lands around $8 profit; a $25 t-shirt with a $13 base cost and $3 of fees lands around $9.

Is Printify or Printful cheaper?

Printify usually has lower base costs because it's a marketplace of competing print providers. Printful often charges more per item but is known for consistent quality and faster handling. For a given product, run both through this calculator to see which gives you better profit at the same selling price.

What fees should I include?

Whatever the channel you sell on takes — for Etsy that's the listing fee, transaction fee, and payment processing; for Shopify it's payment processing and any app subscriptions; for your own checkout it's just the payment processor's fee. Add ads if you run them.

How do I price a Printify or Printful product?

Start with the base cost, add your channel's fees as a percentage of the price, add a margin you actually want to keep, and round to a clean number. Then test it in the calculator — if profit per sale is under $3–$4, the product probably needs a higher price, a cheaper supplier, or a different print provider.

Does this calculator work for other POD platforms?

Yes — the math is the same. For Redbubble (where you set a markup over a base price), use the Redbubble Profit Calculator instead. For the broader print-on-demand workflow, the Print-on-Demand Profit Calculator handles a wider mix of fees and shipping models.

What to calculate next

You may also find these tools helpful.

• Print-on-Demand Profit Calculator

  Real profit after POD base cost, platform fees, and ads.

• Redbubble Profit Calculator

  Real earnings after Redbubble's platform and excess markup fees.

• Profit Margin Calculator

  Universal profit, margin, and markup for any product or channel.

• Etsy Profit Calculator

  See your true profit after Etsy fees.

Related Resources

Helpful guides and tools to take your next step.

• Printify Profit Workbook

  Plan Printify product profit, base costs, shipping, and margins step by step.

  Open resource →

• Printful Pricing Guide

  Price Printful products profitably using margins, formulas, and product examples.

  Open resource →

• Print-on-Demand Profit Checklist

  Review base cost, fees, shipping, and margin before listing a POD product.

  Open resource →

• Printify vs Printful

  Compare base costs, quality, shipping, integrations, and profit margins.

  Compare tools →