Enter your product base cost, platform fees, and selling price to instantly see your net profit and margin percentage. Works for Printify, Printful, Redbubble, and any print-on-demand platform.
Add your product base cost (what the POD supplier charges you) and any platform or transaction fees.
Enter the price you charge customers on Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, or your own store.
Instantly view your net profit per unit and profit margin percentage so you can price with confidence.
Pricing is the single biggest lever in a print-on-demand business. Price too low and you work for free; price too high and you lose sales to competitors. The sweet spot is a margin that covers your costs, accounts for returns and refunds, and still leaves enough profit to reinvest in designs and advertising.
Your profit per unit is simple: Sale Price − Base Cost − Platform Fees = Net Profit. Your profit margin is that net profit divided by the sale price, expressed as a percentage. Most successful POD sellers aim for a margin between 30% and 50%.
The most effective way to increase your margin without raising prices is to use higher-quality, more unique designs. Generic clip-art sells for $15; a well-designed, niche-targeted product can sell for $25–35 with higher conversion rates. Investing in premium design assets pays for itself within a few sales.
Most experienced POD sellers target a profit margin between 30% and 50%. Below 20%, you have very little room for advertising, returns, or discounts. A 40%+ margin gives you the flexibility to run ads profitably and absorb occasional refunds. The right margin depends on your niche — commodity products like basic t-shirts have thinner margins, while unique or niche-specific designs command higher prices and wider margins.
Take your selling price, subtract the Printify base cost (shown on each product page), subtract any marketplace fees (e.g., Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee), and divide the result by your selling price. Multiply by 100 to get a percentage. For example: selling a shirt at $24.99 with a $9.50 base cost and $1.62 in Etsy fees gives you $13.87 profit, or a 55.5% margin. Use this calculator to run the numbers instantly.
Printful does not charge monthly fees or setup fees. You pay the base cost per product (which includes printing and fulfillment) plus shipping costs. The base cost varies by product — a Bella+Canvas 3001 tee starts around $8.95, while a premium hoodie can be $25+. Printful also offers branding add-ons (inside labels, pack-ins) at extra cost. Unlike Printify, there is no marketplace fee from Printful itself, but your sales channel (Etsy, Shopify, etc.) will still charge its own transaction and payment processing fees.
The most common reasons for thin POD margins are: (1) pricing too low to compete on volume without any ad budget, (2) not accounting for all fees — marketplace transaction fees, payment processing fees, and shipping costs add up fast, (3) choosing expensive base products without adjusting the sale price, and (4) using generic designs that don't command a price premium. The fix is usually a combination of raising prices on strong-selling designs, switching to lower-cost print providers for commodity products, and investing in unique, niche-targeted designs that justify higher prices.
Start by calculating your total cost per unit (base cost + fees + shipping). Then decide your target margin — at least 30% for products without ad spend, 40%+ if you plan to run ads. Work backwards from the margin: if your total cost is $14 and you want a 40% margin, your sale price should be at least $23.33. Research competitors in your niche to make sure your price is within range. The best way to charge more without losing sales is to offer designs that customers can't easily find elsewhere — unique, high-quality artwork specific to a passionate niche converts better and supports higher prices.
Profit margin and markup are related but calculated differently. Markup is your profit divided by your cost — if you buy at $10 and sell at $20, your markup is 100%. Profit margin is your profit divided by your sale price — that same $10 profit on a $20 sale is a 50% margin. POD sellers typically talk in margins because it's more useful for budgeting: a 50% margin means half of every dollar you earn is profit. This calculator shows your margin percentage automatically.
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