How Much Does It Cost to Start a POD Business?

One of the most common questions I get is: how much does it actually cost to start a print-on-demand (POD) business?

And honestly, the answer depends on how “real” you want your store to look from day one.

Technically, you can start with almost no upfront cost. You can use free plans, upload designs, and sell products with zero inventory.

But if you want something that looks professional, runs smoothly, and stands a chance of making actual sales, most people end up spending somewhere between $50 to $500 in the first few weeks.

Let’s break everything down step-by-step so you know exactly what to expect, where the money goes, and how to budget for your POD business the right way.

1. Selling Platforms: Where You Sell Impacts Your Fixed Costs

The first thing you’ll need to decide is where you’ll sell your products.

This decision will have a major impact on both your setup costs and your monthly expenses. You can choose between a marketplace like Etsy or run your own store using something like Shopify.

Let’s look at both options.

Selling on Shopify

Shopify lets you run your own online store under your own brand.

It comes with monthly fees but gives you full control over how your store looks, how you handle marketing, and how you communicate with customers.

Shopify plans start at:

Shopify Plan	Monthly Cost
Starter Plan	$5/month
Basic Plan	$29/month (billed yearly)
Domain Name	$10 to $20/year

The Starter plan is great if you’re selling through social media, while the Basic plan works better if you want a full-featured store with themes, apps, and full site customization.

Personally, I started with Etsy for simplicity, but moved to Shopify once I wanted to scale and build a stronger brand presence.

Selling on Etsy

Etsy is a well-known marketplace where you can start selling with almost no upfront cost. You don’t need to set up a website or worry about hosting. But it does come with per-sale fees and a few setup charges.

Here’s a breakdown of the common Etsy fees:

Fee Type	Cost
Listing Fee	$0.20 per listing
Transaction Fee	6.5% of item price + shipping
Payment Processing (US)	3% + $0.25 per order
Optional Offsite Ads	12% to 15% of attributed sales

While Etsy is simple to start with, the main tradeoff is control. You’re building on someone else’s platform.

If Etsy changes its algorithm or fees, your business could take a hit. Still, for many people, it’s the easiest and cheapest place to start selling POD products.

2. POD Suppliers: Free to Start, But Costs Come with Each Order

Your print-on-demand supplier is the company that prints and ships your products. The good news is that most POD platforms don’t charge a monthly fee to get started. You only pay once a customer buys something.

Two of the most popular suppliers are Printful and Printify. They each have their pros and cons, but both offer free plans.

Printful

Printful is easy to integrate with both Etsy and Shopify.

You can start for free and pay only when an order is placed. They also offer a paid plan for sellers who want more features or bulk discounts.

Plan Type	Cost
Free Plan	$0
Growth Plan	$24.99/month

Printful tends to offer higher quality products and branding options, but sometimes at slightly higher base costs per item.

Printify

Printify also offers a free plan and works with multiple sales channels.

One thing to note is that they allow you to choose from a network of suppliers, which gives you more flexibility on pricing.

Plan Type	Cost
Free Plan	$0
Premium Plan	$24.99/month (billed annually)
Monthly Premium (after Feb 17, 2026)	$39/month

If you plan to sell in higher volumes, Printify Premium is worth considering. It gives you up to 20% off product prices, which can make a big difference if you’re getting regular sales.

Regardless of which one you choose, you’ll only pay the product and shipping costs after a sale is made. There’s no inventory risk, which is what makes POD so attractive in the first place.

3. Startup Costs: What You Might Spend Early On

Now let’s talk about the real costs that come with starting a POD business.

While you can technically avoid these, most people end up spending some money to make their store look legit and drive early traffic.

These are usually one-time or early-phase costs, and they vary depending on how much you want to DIY versus outsource.

Here’s a breakdown of typical early spending areas:

Samples

Getting physical samples is smart. It lets you check the print quality, test different products, and take your own product photos.

Basic samples: $30 to $75 for one or two products
Full range samples: $100 to $200+ if you test multiple products or variants

I recommend ordering at least 1–2 samples of your best-selling designs so you can see the quality for yourself and take photos that look more authentic than mockups.

Branding Tools and Design Software

To create your logo, edit images, and build mockups, you may want access to premium tools.

Canva Pro or other tools: $12 to $30/month
Mockup generators (like Placeit): $10 to $20/month
Optional logo design (Fiverr or Upwork): $5 to $50 one-time

You can do most of this for free if you’re good at design, but having a small budget here can save time and make your brand look more polished.

Photography and Brand Setup

If you want high-quality product photos, you’ll need either a basic setup or someone to take photos for you.

DIY setup with good lighting: $0 to $50
Hiring a beginner photographer: $50 to $200

Product photos are a huge trust factor. If you use only supplier mockups, your store might look generic. Even simple, clean DIY shots can boost your credibility.

Marketing Budget

This is the big variable. You can start a store and wait for organic traffic, or you can invest in getting eyeballs right away.

Small test budget: $20 to $100 for Facebook, Etsy, or TikTok ads
Moderate budget: $200 to $500 if you want faster feedback and traction

Many sellers choose to run $5/day ads on social platforms to test what’s working.

Others rely on free methods like Pinterest, Reddit, or SEO. You can always start lean and reinvest once you see sales coming in.

4. What You Actually Pay Per Sale

Let’s run through a real-world example of what it costs to sell a product using Etsy and Printful.

Example Scenario:

Product Price: $30
Shipping Charged: $5
Platform: Etsy
POD Supplier: Printful

Here’s the cost breakdown:

Item	Amount
Etsy Transaction Fee (6.5%)	$2.28
Etsy Payment Processing (3% + $0.25)	$1.30
Etsy Listing Fee	$0.20
POD Base Cost (e.g., t-shirt)	$13.50
POD Shipping	$4.50

Total Costs: $21.78
Profit: $13.50 (before marketing costs)

If you run paid ads to generate the sale, factor that in as well. A $3 cost-per-purchase would drop your profit to $10.50. Still profitable, but tight.

That’s why testing pricing, optimizing conversion, and using samples for better visuals are all important.

5. Realistic First-Month Budgets

Depending on your platform and how lean or invested you want to be, here are three sample first-month budgets:

Option 1: Etsy + POD (Budget Friendly)

Etsy Listings: $2 to $10 (based on 10 to 50 products)
Samples: $30 to $100
Design Tools: Free to $20/month
Ads: $0 to $100

Total: $30 to $250

You’ll have no fixed monthly cost unless you pay for optional tools or ads.

Shopify Starter: $5/month
Domain: Optional $10 to $20/year
Samples: $30 to $100
Design Tools: Free to $20/month
Ads: $20 to $100

Total: $20 to $250

This setup is great if you’re promoting via TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube and want to drive traffic to a lightweight store via a link in bio.

Option 3: Shopify Basic + POD (Full Brand Setup)

Shopify Basic Plan: $29/month
Domain: $10 to $20/year
Samples: $50 to $150
Apps (optional): $10 to $50
Ads: $50 to $200

Total: $60 to $400+

This is more for sellers who want to go all-in with a real brand, custom domain, and a fully functional store.

Final Thoughts

Starting a print-on-demand business doesn’t have to be expensive, but it’s also not truly free if you want to look professional and start making money quickly.

Here’s the truth based on what I’ve seen, done, and tested:

If you want to test the waters, you can absolutely start for under $100
If you want a real, polished store, $200 to $400 is a more realistic range
The biggest hidden costs come from ads and samples, which are both worth it if you’re serious

Whether you choose Etsy, Shopify, Printful, or Printify, the most important thing is getting started and learning as you go.

Budget what you can afford, be smart about your spending, and reinvest into what’s working.

If you do that, you can build a solid POD business without taking huge risks or sinking thousands upfront.