Is Redbubble Still Profitable?

Each product has a base price set by Redbubble that covers production and its service fee. You add a markup on top (20% is the recommended default), and that markup is your gross earnings. On a $20 base T-shirt at 20% markup, you earn $4 and the shirt retails for $24 — before account fees.

This is where profitability took a hit:

Platform fee: Standard accounts now lose 50% of their earnings to a platform fee. Premium accounts lose 20%. Only Pro-tier artists (top sellers and ambassadors) are exempt.

Excess markup fee: any markup above 20% has 50% of those extra earnings taken.

Fee cap: account fees are capped at $150 per month.

So that $4 margin on a Standard account becomes about $2 after the platform fee — roughly 8% of the $24 a customer paid.

For Standard-tier artists, the honest answer is: much less than it used to be. Keeping only half of an already-small margin means most designs earn $1–3 per sale, and you need real volume to add up to meaningful income. That said, it isn't worthless:

It's genuinely passive — you upload once and Redbubble handles printing, shipping, and support.

A large catalog can still generate steady trickle income.

Premium and especially Pro tiers dramatically improve the math (20% or 0% fees instead of 50%).

It works best as one channel among several, not a sole income source.

High-volume artists with big catalogs and strong search visibility.

Artists who've reached Premium or Pro tier.

People treating it as low-effort supplemental income rather than a primary business.

It works least well for someone hoping to make a living from a small Standard-tier shop.

Keep markups at or below 20% to avoid the excess markup fee, unless your testing shows a higher price still nets more.

Aim to qualify for Premium/Pro to escape the 50% fee.

Focus on volume, niche designs, and Redbubble SEO (titles, tags, descriptions).

Diversify — selling the same designs through Etsy + a POD supplier, your own store, or other platforms often nets more per sale, at the cost of more setup and marketing.

Redbubble continues to adjust its fees and tiers, and the payment threshold drops from $20 to $10 in July 2026. Always check your current base prices and tier in your artist account.

This guide is general information, not financial advice or an earnings guarantee — results vary widely by niche, volume, and tier.