Print-on-demand looks like easy money until you do the maths. A $25 t-shirt sounds great until you realise $16.45 goes to Printful, $2.19 goes to Etsy and IRS (sales tax on Etsy fees), leaving you $6.36. That’s 25% margin — fine, but tighter than most beginners expect.
The calculator above models the full cost stack: Printful base cost + Printful shipping + sales platform fee + US sales tax on the platform fee (for sellers in states with sales tax). Plus quantity scaling and a breakeven price for any product/platform combination.
Why hoodies are hard
The base cost economics:
| Product | Base | Shipping (1st item) | POD cost | Typical sale | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic T-shirt | $8.95 | $4.50 | $13.45 | $20-$22 | 35-40% |
| Premium T-shirt | $11.95 | $4.50 | $16.45 | $24-$28 | 30-40% |
| Hoodie | $22.95 | $5.95 | $28.90 | $35-$40 | 5-15% |
| Mug | $6.95 | $4.95 | $11.90 | $14-$18 | 30-45% |
| Tote Bag | $9.50 | $4.50 | $14.00 | $16-$20 | 15-30% |
| Phone Case | $13.95 | $4.95 | $18.90 | $22-$28 | 10-25% |
| Sticker 3-pack | $4.95 | $3.95 | $8.90 | $8-$12 | 10-25% |
| Poster A3 | $8.50 | $5.95 | $14.45 | $16-$24 | 10-30% |
Mugs, t-shirts, and tote bags consistently produce the best POD margins. Hoodies, phone cases, and posters tend to be tighter. Stickers can work at scale but per-unit margin is small.
The platform fee + sales tax trap
For sellers in states with sales tax (most under state sales tax nexus), Etsy’s fees attract US sales tax:
- 6.5% transaction fee → 7.8% effective (after sales tax)
- $0.20 listing fee → $0.24 effective
This catches people who price products against the headline 6.5% number and find their actual margin 1-2pp lower than expected. The calculator above includes this automatically.
Quantity matters
Printful’s first-item shipping is $4.50-$5.95. Additional items in the same order are $1.50-$2.95. A 2-item order has shipping cost $6 vs 2× single-item shipping at $9 — significant per-order improvement.
Practical implications: - Bundle deals (2 t-shirts, get 10% off): margins on bundled orders are often dramatically better than singles - “Add another for $X off” upsells: cheap to fulfil because of additional-item shipping discount - Set-style products (3-pack stickers): Printful effectively pre-bundles for you
When Shopify beats Etsy
| Channel | Per-sale fee | Monthly cost | Traffic source | When it wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy | 6.5% + $0.20 + sales tax | None | Etsy search + Offsite Ads | 0-100 sales/month, no marketing budget |
| Shopify | 1.5-2% (Shop Pay) | $25/month | Your own ads + SEO | 100+ sales/month, willing to do marketing |
| eBay | ~13% + $0.30 | None | eBay search | Heavily price-driven categories |
| Custom | 1.5-3% (payment) | Variable | Your audience | You have a list/social presence |
Most POD sellers start on Etsy (cheap to test, built-in traffic), then add Shopify when volume justifies the $25/month + own-marketing cost.
What the calculator doesn’t include
- Marketing/ad spend — typically 10-30% of revenue for active POD sellers using Etsy Ads or Facebook/Instagram ads
- Design time/cost — your hourly time creating designs (or licensed graphics costs)
- Etsy Offsite Ads — 12-15% commission on attributed sales for sellers who aren’t opted out (and below $10k/year can’t opt out)
- Income tax — see side hustle tax calculator for the post-tax view
- Returns and chargebacks — typically 1-3% loss rate on POD; build into your pricing
Putting it all together
For a sustainable POD business: aim for 30%+ gross margin per product, 25%+ after marketing costs, and prepare to pay 20-40% of net profit in tax (depending on your other income). That means: a $25 t-shirt with $16.45 Printful cost + $2.19 platform fees → $6.36 gross profit → $4-$5 after marketing → $3-$4 after tax. Sustainable, but you need volume to make it meaningful.
Aim for the right products (mugs, premium t-shirts), the right platform (Etsy initially, Shopify at scale), and the right pricing (15%+ above breakeven) for genuine economics.