Print on demand in the United States
What it costs to get a printed product to a customer in the United States, and which supplier to print with — 6 suppliers, 254 products, blank price and shipping added together rather than quoted separately.
Each supplier's cheapest standard service, in USD, checked Sep 18, 2026. Shipping is what the supplier charges you, before what you charge your customer.
Headline finding
On 10 of 95 blanks, the cheapest blank in the United States is not the cheapest order.
Once each supplier's own shipping is added, a dearer blank wins 11% of the time. Picking a supplier from price tables alone gets those wrong.
What each supplier charges to ship to the United States
Ranked on a plain t-shirt, the one category every supplier stocks. The range column shows how far the rate moves across everything else they sell here — a poster or a hoodie is not a tee.
| Supplier | T-shirt | Each additional | Range | Wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printful prints in or near the United States | $4.95 | $2.20 | from $4.49 · $4.95 median 187 products | — |
| Printify prints in or near the United States | $4.95 | $2.40 | from $4.95 · $5.39 median 193 products | 2–5 days to dispatch |
| Gelato prints in or near the United States | $4.99 | $0.99 | from $3.66 · $4.99 median 54 products | 7–11 days to arrive |
| CustomCat prints in or near the United States | $4.99 | $1.50 | from $4.99 · $4.99 median 35 products | — |
| Teelaunch prints in or near the United States | $6.00 | $2.00 | from $4.25 · $6.00 median 36 products | — |
| Gooten prints in or near the United States | $6.99 | $3.00 | from $6.99 · $6.99 median 78 products | 5–8 days to arrive |
"Each additional" is what a second t-shirt costs in the same order, where the supplier publishes one — the same product as the column beside it, not the cheapest add-on rate in their range. Waits are not like for like: some suppliers publish the wait before dispatch, others an arrival estimate, and the column says which.
Who prints near your customer
Printful, Printify, Gelato, CustomCat, Teelaunch, Gooten run production in or near the United States. On t-shirts the local rate is not currently the cheapest here, which is worth knowing before assuming proximity wins.
Printing near the buyer also shortens delivery and avoids customs. If you sell into the United States in volume, it is usually worth more than the few cents between blank prices — see the full shipping comparison for how the same products price to other destinations.
What a blank actually costs landed in the United States
Blank price plus that supplier's own shipping — a real order, placed with one supplier. Ranked by how many suppliers will both make and post it, so the most contested blanks come first.
| Blank | Cheapest landed | Blank + shipping | Cheapest blank instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gildan 18500B 6 suppliers compared | $18.85 CustomCat | $13.86 + $4.99 | same supplier |
| Gildan 18000 6 suppliers compared | $19.49 CustomCat | $11.50 + $7.99 | same supplier |
| Gildan 5000 5 suppliers compared | $10.99 CustomCat | $6.00 + $4.99 | same supplier |
| Bella Canvas 3480 5 suppliers compared | $13.52 CustomCat | $8.53 + $4.99 | same supplier |
| Bella Canvas 3005 5 suppliers compared | $14.50 CustomCat | $9.51 + $4.99 | same supplier |
| Bella Canvas 3501 5 suppliers compared | $15.04 CustomCat | $10.05 + $4.99 | same supplier |
| Bella Canvas 8803 5 suppliers compared | $15.32 CustomCat | $10.33 + $4.99 | same supplier |
| Bella Canvas 3001 5 suppliers compared | $15.38 Gelato | $10.39 + $4.99 | same supplier |
| Gildan 18000B 5 suppliers compared | $16.54 CustomCat | $11.55 + $4.99 | same supplier |
| Gildan 18500 5 suppliers compared | $21.98 CustomCat | $13.99 + $7.99 | same supplier |
| Comfort Colors 1566 5 suppliers compared | $28.99 CustomCat | $21.00 + $7.99 | same supplier |
| Ceramic Mug 11oz White 4 suppliers compared | $8.44 CustomCat | $3.45 + $4.99 | same supplier |
Only suppliers with both a verified price and a shipping rate for the United States are costed, so a missing half never becomes a zero. Printify appears where we price every one of its print providers for that blank; elsewhere its rate depends on which factory fills the order, which is a choice rather than a quote.
Where to start for the United States
Counting the cheapest landed cost across the 95 blanks we can price and post to the United States: CustomCat wins 27, Gelato wins 21, Teelaunch wins 18, Gooten wins 15, Printful wins 13, Printify wins 1. No supplier dominates, so the answer is per blank rather than per shop.
The practical approach: pick the blank first, then check that specific product rather than committing your whole catalogue to one supplier. On 10 of these blanks the cheapest price and the cheapest order are different suppliers, and shipping is where the difference hides. Our profit calculator takes it the rest of the way, once fees are in.
Selling into the United States: common questions
How much does it cost to ship a print on demand t-shirt to the United States?
Across the 6 suppliers we can quote, posting one t-shirt to the United States costs between $4.95 (Printful) and $6.99 (Gooten), on each supplier's cheapest standard service, before the shirt itself. Figures checked Sep 18, 2026.
Which print on demand supplier is cheapest for the United States?
On blank price plus that supplier's own shipping, CustomCat is cheapest on 27 of the 95 blanks we can cost both ways for the United States, ahead of Gelato on 21. It depends on the blank, so check the product you actually sell rather than picking one supplier for everything.
Is the cheapest blank always the cheapest order in the United States?
No. On 10 of the 95 blanks we compared for the United States — 11% — the supplier with the lowest price on the blank is not the one with the lowest total once shipping is added. Comparing blank prices alone picks the wrong supplier on those.
Which print on demand suppliers print in or near the United States?
Printful, Printify, Gelato, CustomCat, Teelaunch, Gooten operate production in or near the United States. Printing near the buyer is the single biggest lever on both cost and delivery time.
Other markets
Countries without a page here are ones where every supplier we can quote charges the same regional rate — most of continental Europe prices identically — so they are covered by the shipping cost tables rather than repeated a dozen times.
